```The Story of a Writer```

IX

Dear readers,

Derek slowly lifted his trembling eyelids. There were pieces of tiles flying in front of him, slicing through the air at all sides. This must be heaven, he thought. In front of him was an angel, prettier than anything he had ever seen. The angel was feminine, covered in a silver dress that seemed too big for her, revealing nothing of her limbs. Golden linings could be traced at the side of the dress, forming her body frame from bottom till her shoulder. Her dress was emitting rays of golden light, giving Derek a warm feeling he had never felt before. Huge pair of wings, as white as snow, stretched out on both sides from behind her. Feathers of white fell endlessly from her wings, glowing with a soothing light, filling the floor with indescribable beauty and brightness. Her dark hair swayed behind her like blackened silk; so long it was that it went beyond the wings that were level with her chest. She was lifted from the ground by an unknown force, floating steadily as if she was standing on solid flooring in air.

Among the broken tiles, she flew gracefully towards Derek, her right arm stretched out. All of a sudden, the warm feeling faded away, with fear began coursing his veins again. It was replaced by the sight of a disgusting person with chains all
over his body.

Just inches away from Derek, the axe had destroyed the entire tile flooring, burying itself deep inside the concrete. The cannibal was furious, with his yellow eyes staring sternly at Derek. Forester and Emma were frozen on the spot. They could only look at the great axe; reluctantly imagining their fate should the axe came down upon them. The cannibal removed the axe from the floor effortlessly and raised it vertically above its head. It took two heavy steps in front and swung the axe down with full might. This time, it was bound to hit flesh.

“Vanish…” Derek mumbled under his breath in a voice he himself did not recognise as he slotted his medallion into the empty slot right behind him.

The floor beneath the three flipped downwards, opening a short tunnel leading down. They fell down along with the crumbs of tiles that was beneath their feet, leaving the hallway with the cannibal. It was not a long fall. They landed on soft land after sliding though a steep bend in the tunnel. Slowly, they got up and stood in silence. It was dark and quiet where they fell; their heavy breathing rang sounded like an orchestra in there. Forester reached for his jeans pocket and took out the lighter he always carried with him. He reeled the flint wheel once and the spark lighted the place for a short millisecond. He ran his thumb on the wheel again, yet the fire was not up. He was about to spark it for the third time…

“Can’t believe that idiot actually let you in here. I guess I’ll just have to take it from here,” a mysterious voice echoed around the three.

The three of them stopped everything, even their breathing. Emma’s eyes were getting used to the dark. She actively scanned the place, trying to move as little as possible in order to keep silent. There were figures around them at all corners. There were two figures right next to her on the left and right. If it was only those two, she’d be fine, but in front of her was another figure. That was not the worst of it, every single figure she could see was moving!

Forester took the risk and snapped the lighter. The fire came on. “Holy…”

“Oh my God!” Emma placed her hands over her mouth.

Derek was shocked beyond words. There were skeletons dancing about the place, and one single transparent figure began to materialise. It turned out to be a lady in a black evening gown. She smiled sweetly, and most likely to herself for it was the,
“I found dinner” kind of smile.

“Tonight’s a very delicate night. What a joyful banquet,” the lady muttered in joy.

Emma was the first to get back to her senses. Her survival instinct caught her. She grabbed both of her friends’ hands and made a dash through the narrow passageway up front. The skeletons began to chase them. Forester held up his lighter and ran in front of Emma. Derek was running beside Emma. He took a quick glance backwards and saw the skeletons closing in on them. The skeletons seem to have agile legs that move twice the speed of Derek, in the meantime producing a messed up bone hitting against bone sound.

“I see stairs! Hurry!” Forester shouted.

They went up the spiral stairs. Suddenly, Derek pulled Forester’s hand. Forester came to a halt. He glanced down at Derek, who was gasping desperately for breath. No…Forester trembled in fear. There were screams, from beneath the stairs, in the dark.

“Emma… Where is she?” Forester asked Derek as he shook his hand away, unwilling to face what lied before him.

“Something… caught her legs… and pulled… her down,” Derek struggled to get enough air to speak. Derek took a deep breath and then said, “We have to go now, before they come here. We’ll die if we stay here! Go! Go!”

Derek shouted as he pushed Forester upwards. Forester resisted, “I am not leaving here without her!”

At that moment, there was a loud cry, signifying terrible agony. Derek and Forester stared into the stairs that led downwards into the black void. For a slight moment there was absolute silence. Then, the bones began to sound again. Forester picked up a tiny stone pebble and secured it on the button that keeps the gas valve open with his cellophane tape he had with him then. His hands did the work easily as if he had been training on it for a long time. With immense hatred, he flung the lighter down the stairs. He paced up the stairs slowly as the sound of the lighter hit something. Derek held on to Forester’s hand as they moved up the stairs in total blindness.

Forester got hold of a doorknob. He twisted it and gently pushed it slightly open. He looked out of the opening, to check the situation outside. Derek was looking down into the darkness as the light coming from the opening of the door shone onto the stairs. The stairs were silent, as it was on the other side of the door.
Forester pushed open the door and stepped out. Derek turned around and stood in awe. One would never have thought that they were in a gigantic mansion if they ever stepped into this place. The place was lit by an artificial moon, probably a lamp in disguise. The ground was not solid, but soft soil covering the entire platform. There was a slight fog amidst the air. The most significant thing in this room… was that it was filled with crosses that stuck to the ground. In the middle of the place was a dead tree. The place was as big as any graveyard that existed.

“I can’t believe they could fit a graveyard in this mansion,” Forester exclaimed.

“The skeletons are not coming anymore. I think we are safe for the time being,” Derek said as he shut the door and locked it.

“I can’t believe it, Derek… Emma is gone…” Forester said as tears flowed down his cheek.

“Yeah…” it was the only thing Derek could say.

A cool breeze began to rise. Forester and Derek enjoyed the cooling breeze for a short moment, until it hit them. A graveyard in a mansion was unbelievable, a breeze in a mansion was impossible… There was a swishing sound, and the two immediately stared at the dead tree. The thick branches were swaying aimlessly. From the top of the tree, a black light began to shine. Slowly, a figure materialised.

“Forester,” Derek said as he reached for a sharp wooden stick nearby. “I hope your history of Count Dracula is going to help us somehow in this…”

As if enjoying this sight, somewhere deep inside the mansion, someone grinned. “Jumping from ground floor to third floor… It seems there’s progress. Derek, you’re going to have lots of fun there. I didn’t give it the whole third floor for nothing.”

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