Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Two.

Sammy did her best to struggle against the wall of muscle she was held against, but it was of no use. He was simply too strong despite her repeated thrashing.

The man was carrying her effortlessly through the house, and because of the blindfold she had become completely disoriented with where he was taking her. Between the twists and turns, all while she fought for her freedom - she was completely lost.

Finally, after what felt like forever he closed a room door behind them.

Sammy felt like a trapped animal, and even when he deposited her into a chair, she couldn't help the rising fear that was bubbling in her stomach, and cementing her into that one spot.

She briefly thought of Susan and Tom, reminding herself that they come here every year. So, it's not all that bad. But still, despite the application of logic, her anxiety grew.

There was something not quite right here.

Raising her hands slowly she reached to remove the blindfold.

However, the room was dark, and she somehow sensed she wasn't alone. But, whichever shadow her assailant lurked in, she was currently cueless about it.

Her eyes were straining about her, desperately trying to get any sense of bearings. Or any sense of where the nearest threat was.

But, the only light was from the moon outside, and as it filtered in through minimalistic holes and tears in the tatty curtains, the room itself still seemed shrouded in an opaque dark shadow.

Part of her told herself to move, to go and rip them open and shed some more light in the darkness.

But a more primal part of her was in control, and that part of her, was far too afraid to move. Sammy was rooted to the spot in her small chair, while all she could do was frantically survey the room she was currently held in.

Suddenly she jumped, hearing a loud scream from somewhere else in the mansion.

But, before she could react further, a single lone claw scraped down her cheek and under her jaw.

It was sharp, very sharp, and applied just enough pressure to let her know that, without doing any damage to her skin.

"Don't move," came the snarling voice beside her ear.

Squashing her discomfort, Sammy clung to the logical part of her brain, forcing out her next question.

"I thought this was meant to be a haunted house tour?" Sammy asked, sounding more unimpressed than she realised she was able.

"Oh, don't you worry, Poppet. You'll get a tour," came the sinister voice, this time breathing down the other side of her neck, as the claw tapped on her shoulder. "As soon as I'm done with you, I'll leave you for the rest of my beasts, I'm sure you will put on quite the show."

Sammy was flushed by another wave of fear, questioning what the hell she had walked into, and why on God's green earth, she thought this was preferable to cleaning out the skunks. Normally, they weren't even that dirty.

But, before she could question his meaning any further, a loud bang signaled another's entry into the room.

She let out a small squeak in fright, her eyes searching frantically over where the sound had came from.

But to no avail, she couldn't see a damn thing.

"MINE," came a new and powerful voice.

"Shit." Her kidnapper cursed, loudly moving away towards the growling, without concealing his footsteps.

Sammy could hear them struggle, but finally the flight part of her responses kicked in and she managed to get up and run to the window.

Briefly she fell, having stumbled into a table, and ending up smacking her head on the ground. But, her groan only seemed to make the growling at the other side of the room intensify.

Pulling herself upright and ignoring the throbbing in her temple, she made it to the curtains.

It tore down as she desperately tugged it, illuminating the room in moonlight. But, she didn't bother to check out the scene behind her.

Looking outside she was on the second floor, below her there seemed to be a hedge.

"Fuck, this is going to hurt." She cursed under her breath.

Opening the window, she was momentarily chilled by the cold air, and that's when the growling sounds increased, but not only from behind her.

"Seriously!" She screamed out.

Below her, surrounding the hedge there were at least fifteen large wolves, snapping and snarling at her.

"Damn it! That's enough," she bellowed, "This kind of shit isn't funny!"

Then she was turning to the two men grappling with one another, ready to wring both their necks.

"What the hell kind of shtick, are you running here?" She yelled at them.

Her fear was gone, replaced by her anger, and it was at boiling point.

"Oi!" She screamed, "You two pack it in now. The shows over, and so help me if you have in any way damaged those wolves, I will skin you both alive." She threatened them.

The two men, suddenly stopped, both were topless, and if she weren't so angry the sight would have made Sammy's mouth run dry.

Both men looked up, startled by her threat and taking in her stance. She was stood tall, arms folded across her chest and one foot tapping as she addressed them.

"Damaged them?" Came a confused voice, "You are concerned for them?"

"Of course I am, you sick freaks, holding wild animals captive without the correct permits and protections in place is a crime. They are wild, they are meant to be free, not trained guard dogs for a seasonal fucking circus stunt! How dare you!" Sammy seethed at them both.

Both men were dumbfounded by her response.

"Pleading the fifth, huh?" She called them out. "People like you are the reason these animals are in trouble. The reason, for dwindling numbers and struggling packs," she threw out at them. "It's disgusting, and I will not spend another minute here. Now, get the fuck out of my way!"

With that, she stomped towards both men. Walking straight past them and pulling out her cell. She activated the torch, and made her way along the corridor.

A low pitched snarling began as she walked, obviously the next part of the tour.

"Bite me, you sick bastard!" She snarled back, causing the snarling to suddenly cease.

She got to the stairs and started stomping down them, her rage building with every step.

"Wait," called a voice behind her.

But Sammy only scoffed, like hell she would spend another minute in a place like this.

Her hand was gripping the door handle, when her arm was wrapped in the warmth of another hand.

"Please, it's not what you thi..."

The voice was cut off as Sammy's right hook made contact with his jaw.

"Keep your animal abusing hands off of me." She hissed out.

Turning she threw the door open, and strode out towards her car, doing her best to hide the crippling pain in her hand, damn she wished it was his nose or throat she had hit.

Sammy was shaking with anger. How dare they treat those majestic wolves that way. Reducing them to circus animals, trapped in the back yard of a mansion.

Throwing her car door open she climbed in and slammed it shut. But before she could turn the engine on, the passenger door closed beside her.

She wasn't alone.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter