Buzzing in her ears. Like a swarm of flies chewing their way in.
None of it made sense. At first. But then, the buzzing became whispers, irritating whispers, in her head. Maybe in her ears. The uncertainty prompted anxiety in her.
Her eyes darted around. The marble coffin covered in moss, the rusty spear, the chains, the runes... something wasn't right about that place.
"BE WARE, TRAVELLER, HERE LURKS THE DEVIL"
The words flashed across her mind. Then the whispers got louder and louder, that she covered her ears and closed her eyes. The whispers persisted. Closer.
She found herself screaming. Then, a voice so close to her that she felt a presence behind her. It whispered.
"Help me!"
Then silence.
She slowly looked up. No one. Nothing but the gentle flowing of the water and the drops that echoed ominously. A sharp pain on her waist as she turned, she stopped suddenly, a cold shudder running up her spine.
The side of her head throbbed. She felt the bump on her wet, dark hair and scrutinised the blood on her hands, her vision dizzy and hazy.
A drop eerie echo prompted her to look up.
White flash... Nothing.
Sure as day, she had seen something standing not too far from her. Was her mind playing tricks on her?
Just then, two distinct voices pulled her thoughts back to reality.
"Look," one spoke, "this wasn't here."
"You think she went in?" asked the other.
"Of course she went in, where else would she go?"
"It's deep."
"Idiot!... If she escapes, it's over. Climb in now!"
"Why me?"
"It's your fault she escaped... getting hit by a girl. I hate incompetence."
The voices were replaced by footsteps landing in flowing water.
"I have to hide," she thought
Her attention quickly shifted to the coffin. She stood. Her wet clothes stuck to her, making her shiver. She dropped her light bag and dragged her feet towards the marble coffin.
***
"It's heavy,"
Kitsune walked around it, trying to find a hole, anywhere to hide.
"THE ELEVENTH" out of all the symbols and words, those were the only ones that stood out to her. They were in calligraphy English and stood out on the coffin.
As she looked at the runes on the spear... the voices of the men, the water running. Her senses seemed disoriented. The whispers started again.
"Free me," a sort of voice reverberated. It was more of a suggestion than a sound, both in her mind and ears.
She looked around. It seemed like everything was closing in on her. The shadows were getting longer, it was getting darker, and everything was spinning. From the corners of her eyes, she saw moving figures, upon turning, only to find nothing.
Her heart raced. Her breathing was distorted, deep gulps from her mouth. She wanted to run, but where?
"The spear," the voice came again.
Promptly, she pulled it out and held it defensively.
A drop of water ushered in a deep silence. She could hear the panting of her breath. Then, a long, dragging sound broke the silence, making her stumble back. The coffin was open.
She stood.
In the coffin, a pale man lay, his eyes shut. There was no smell of a decaying corpse, nor any sign of worms. His skin was as white as a ghost, and his body was frail and emaciated.
His face had a thick patch of beard, his eyes sunken, dried-up lips white as snow. Black pants he wore, nothing more, and he lay like a mummy. Above all, he was fairly tall, slightly over six feet.
But then, a loud thud diverted her attention. She looked back and came face to face with the two thugs.
***
"There you are," said the one with the bloody crooked nose, "look what you did to me."
Her eyes widened, and she took a couple of steps back, nearly stumbling. She held her spear menacingly.
"Stay back!" she said, masking her fear, "I'm warning you."
"Scary," said the other thug, "look, she has a spear." His focus was slightly caught by the ruins around them.
"You know the thing about curiosity and cats? For the trouble you gave me, I'll kill you slowly."
Kitsune felt a cold sensation run down her spine. By then, he was already standing in front of her. A wide swing. He moved effortlessly, grabbed her hands, and twisted them. The spear fell.
He roughly threw her aside. Her head knocked against the coffin, and a pulse of pain surged through her. Warm blood flowed against her face, partially blinding her eye.
"I would have made it quickly, but I will return the favour," he said
He roughly pinned her down, holding down her hands as his other arm strayed to her thick thighs. Kitsune screamed, kicking violently, trying to wriggle out, but his grip was firm.
"Hold still, I am going to make a woman out of you," he said.
"He, hurry up," his companion said, "this place gives me the creeps."
"She's a fighter, I like that", he said, "I'm gonna enjoy breaking you. Once it's in, they all become docile, you'll see."
He then ripped her shirt and ignored her screams.
"Shut it," he said, hitting her hard across the face, "no one's coming."
Just then, his eyes were drawn to the man in the coffin.
"Dee! There is a corpse here."
"Forget about the corpse, just hurry it up so we can kill her."
He was about to touch Kitsune when...
A hand.
Quick as a flash shot out and clamped his neck. It was cold, like firm steel. His eyes went wide as he watched the man in the coffin sit up straight.
"What... the," he said, losing his words.
Slowly, the pale man opened his eyes. His pupils lit crimson.
"Hey, let go of my..."
"Where am I?" asked the man suddenly, his voice deep, soft and terrifying. He turned to face the man he was holding everyone went silent.
His eyes then turned to the girl on the ground. Her shirt was ripped, blood on her face, and her eyes were wet and swollen from tears.
"I see," he said
He slowly began crushing the man's neck. Sounds of bones breaking reverberated in the air, the man struggled to breathe, and his eyes bulged out red and bloody. he hit the iron like hands.
A faint, "Help me," tried to escape his lips, but it was all in vain.
Then, like a twig... snapp!!. His lifeless body dropped.
His companion, with shaky hands, took out his handgun and shot the man in the head. He fell from the coffin right in front of Kitsune, who screamed in panic.
Then silence.
"An interesting weapon," his voice echoed.
He then stood. His body made cracking noises.
He walked toward the thug, the wound on his head closing, and the chunk of bullet fell off.
The thug fired severely, screaming and cursing; The bullets hit, but he walked on, unfazed, undeterred.
"What are you? Why won't you die?"
They now stood face to face.
He clenched his fist and punched him hard in the stomach. Blood splattered behind him as the man's fist went through his stomach, and after a moment, he fell back, lifeless.
He then turned to Kitsune and began making strides toward her. Soon, he stood in front of her.
He knelt and scrutinised her. She closed her eyes.
"P-Please don't hurt me."
But instead of pain, she felt his hand move across her face. He held her jaw and looked at her keenly, fascinated by her appearance. She opened her eyes, and the man gently pushed back some hair that had been stuck in her wound.
"I wouldn't dare," he said, "after all, are you not my master?"
"Master?"