Escape to the Woods

Escape to the Woods
The fire dances around the crib and shoots outward towards Alroy. It singes the cuffs of his pants. He beats the flames with his hands trying to put them out. The fire rises higher. Alroy pushes away from the flames. He unbuckles his slacks. He forces them to his ankles and stands to shake free of the pants. His large feet stamp hard down on the fabric desperately trying to subdue the flames.

Quinn stares at the spectacle before her. In awe of the growing flames, her eyes dance in the colors, mesmerized. She fails to notice Alroy approaching her. Pantless, he descends down on her. Grabbing her shirt, he lifts her from the ground. His face now inches from hers.

“You treacherous witch, how are you doing this?” He pulls her close, his breath rank in her nose as he yells.

His actions distract from her fascination. The fire dies down as she turns her attention to Alroy. Seeing the flames extinguish, Alroy draws Quinn closer to him. He glances at the charred wood floor, the circle still smoldering. “How did you do that?” he hisses again.

Quinn shrugs. No longer distracted by the flames, the thought of her child and the danger he was in settles into her head. Had she started the fire? If so, how? She has no answers herself, so she certainly was not answering Alroy.

Alroy finds no amusement in her confused gaze. He shakes her furiously and slams her back against the wall. “Tell me!” he screams.

“I don’t know!” she coughs out. Her body shakes from the impact. She bucks against him, trying feveredly to separate herself from him. She no longer has the upperhand, and her survival instincts are failing her. Unexpectedly, the fire had soothed the baby back to sleep. A cute little snore comes from the crib.

The sound brings Quinn’s protective instincts forward, more powerful than her survival instincts. She pulls Alroy close and drives her knee into his groin. The beast shrieks and drops her to the ground. He grabs his knees as he wails in pain. “Fuck!” He cries out.

Quinn takes advantage of the distraction. She sprints towards the man. Being off-balance, he easily tumbles through the door as her weight impacts him. Quinn slams the door and locks it behind him. She stumbles towards the crib. A loud crash lands against the thick wood door. Quinn barely reaches the crib before another crash sounds. She sees the doorjam shake.

She snatches her child gently from the crib and wraps him in a blanket. The wall around the door begins to crumble. Quinn tears open the window sash. She slips through the opening, trying carefully to not wake the baby in her arms. Her feet hit the soft grass below the window just as the door buckles. 

Alroy tears through the room, knocking over the crib. When he makes it to the window, he sees Quinn dashing towards the woods with the baby in her arms. He shouts out after them, gripping the ledge of the window tight in his hands. The wood splinters. Blood trickles into his palms. He pulls back laughing hysterically.

“Run, little dove.” He calls after her. His body vibrates at the excitement of the pursuit. “This is exactly how I like it.” He smiles and strides out of the room towards the front door, still ignoring the two deities in the main room.

Absorbed in their own battle, the deities fail to notice the noise created or the gust of wind that whooshes through the room as the outside door opens. Each one blocks the other's advances. The battle proceeds in a stalemate. Dian Cecht counters each strike from The Cailleach. Every blow hitting harder drives him to his knees. The Cailleach smiles, thinking she has the advantage.

On the floor, Dian Cecht closes his eyes. He places his hands firmly on the floorboards and violently shakes the ground beneath her feet. She tumbles backwards. Dian Cecht opens the floor beneath her and she crashes to the dirt ground below. The Cailleach pounds against the boards above her. She tries to break through but the ground around her pulls her into it. The quickness of the chaos disorients her. Her screeches muffle as the ground consumes her.

She shakes free of the dirt. A large column of ice bursts through the floor and straight to the ceiling. When the ice shatters away, The Cailleach rises through the hole it created. After looking around the room, she cackles. Dian Cecht is no longer in the room. She realizes she is alone in the cabin. 

Outside, Alroy trods towards the woods, taunting Quinn as he draws nearer. Quinn scampers along the fallen leaves. She tries hard to move quietly but the floor of the woods crackles under her feet. Each stick she tramples over bites against her ankles. She bites her lower lip preventing herself from crying out.

Alroy lumbers through the woods. His movement is noticeable. Quinn stops to gather her bearings and determine Alroy’s location. She roaches down behind a tree and checks on the baby in her arms. She smiles at his sleeping face. He coos peacefully unaware of the terror around him.

Her attention draws to his little hands opening and closing in his sleep. He kneads the blanket keeping him warm. She runs her fingers over his knuckles. He wiggles under her touch, fluttering his eyes.. Quinn draws back afraid of waking him.

The distraction allows Alroy to spot her behind the tree. She jolts upward as his large foot cracks a stick behind her. Her movement drives her into his arms. She cries out and nearly drops the baby. Desperate to hold onto the child, she squirms from his grasp and scurries deeper into the woods. The sudden movement wakes the child. Quinn notices him stirring in her arms as she rushes away, however he does not cry.

Her downcast look distracts her from the shoddy made path. She trips over an uncovered branch and tumbles onto the ground. The baby spills from her arms and glides across the leaves. Quinn reaches out to stop the baby, but it collides against Alroy’s foot. He bends down and scoops up the infant. An evil smile defines his face. Quinn freezes in dread.