The day you meet your Villain

Then came the Villain

With one more swing of the hatchet, the door smashed with a clatter of broken pieces of wood, their smashed splinters colliding with the wooden floor with a tremendous racket.

Dean, jerking Remises behind him, was already on the run down, the hallway to the staircase. There was a bang and Harriet appeared suddenly at the doorway of her room awoken by all the noise and with and fuming with rage. She stepped into the hall and as Dean and Remises dashed past, froze in her tracks.

The executioner stopped in front of the large woman. Harriet’s hand flew to her huge bosom and a scream was taking shape in her facial features. The man she stared at was almost seven feet tall. He was strapped all over with leather, buckles and blades. There was the scar as Remises had described and the axe he wielded was mighty. He raised the hand holding the great axe over his head, brought the other hand up to support it and with a vicious snarl on his face, he brought it down. He struck three powerful blows and the large woman crumpled in hacked pieces in front of him. He growled.

Remises looked back just as the turned the corner to descend down the stairs.

“Dean!”

Dean paid no heed. He raced down the stairs as fast as he could manage, feverish but determined. However, just as they alighted on the landing, the executioner was upon them. He had appeared like a flash of lightening. Dean looked up at him and his mouth dropped open.

… Whenever the killer caught sight of Ryan, he caught up with him less than the time it takes to say ado…

Dean had written that.

The executioner flung the axe at the brothers. Dean pushed Remises out of the way and the hatchet blade sliced through the air towards Dean’s throat. It almost touched the flesh, when the big man held back, grunted loudly and turned, backing Dean as he faced Remises. He raised the axe.

When he did this, it dawned abruptly on Dean that the man had no intention of killing him. But Remises? He took that fact to his advantage and his gaze shifted immediately to the Executioner’s left leg where he was quite lame.

… He moved with a limp, favoring his left foot. As a youth, he had been a bull fighter and had attained a major injury…

That was how Dean had explained this handicap. With one great effort, accompanied with a loud cry and using all the strength he could muster, Dean struck the giant just as he took a swing at his little brother.

The executioner bent double upon the impact of the kick, missing Remises by a few inches when his aim wavered. The axe’s blade swung over Remises head and smashed into the brick wall where it was stuck fast. Dean snatched his brother who was white with shock and frozen with fear. He delivered another kick at the big man who tumbled out of their way then bustled into their room and flung the doors shut. He pushed home all the bolts. With two huge padlocks and shaking hands, he further secured their hideout. When he stood back to examine this defense, he turned whiten when he realized it wouldn’t hold for long. The doors were already trembling under the weight of the slams that the executioner, who had already regained his balance, was delivering with much enthusiasm at the door.

Dean, still watching the effects, cried, “This won’t hold for much longer”

“Dean.” Remises voice quaked with dread.

Den turned to look at him, his heart slamming to a stop to find his little brother was a white-faced as a sheet of paper. Remises had hung his shoulders, his fingers were laced together and his mouth was half open. He did not look at Dean. He was staring ahead of him. He looked very tired of being continually frightened and Dean feared. Dean knew Remises could hardly withstand surprising events and being startled was something he tried to avoid no matter how knowledgeable he was. Like their mother had been, Remises was asthmatic.

Remises staggered. Dean tumbled over to him keeping him steady by gripping his shoulders tightly.

Remises whispered to Dean’s hearing: “He’s… here.”

Dean looked knowing already that he’ll see nothing. He felt quite awkward. When Remises staggered again, he tried to hold him steady.

“What’s he doing?” Dean asked “Is he trying to make trouble.”

Remises face crumpled and he shook violently, still looking ahead of him.

“He’s with the book!” he whispered.

Dean almost fell faint himself when he looked again. His book hovered in the air held by an invisible hand.

Dean gasped for breath feeling his muscles weaken. Remises flopped to the floor losing consciousness.

The book floated lazily to the wall of their room. It hovered for a couple of moments then strangely, it disappeared into it. Dean stood rock still, watching with wide eyes. A startling crash from the door got his attention and he looked sharply at it. The door was beginning to budge. It was only a matter of time before the executioner gained entrance. He looked down at Remises, leapt over to their writing desk and grabbed a jug of water. Then he emptied its contents on Remises face. While remises slowly regained consciousness, Dean managed to lift him up to his shoulders. His eyes darted this way and that for a safe hide-out. In a few moments, the door broke open completely and the executioner made his way into the room.

***

Thelma had carried Casey to the safety of the rocks. Unfortunately, their modest lodge was situated at in a desolate environment, on top of a rocky hill and many miles away from other buildings and overlooking the seaside. Therefore, there was no one they could hurry to at that moment for help.

The house had once belonged to an old grandpa who loved the view and silence. It had been rented afterwards, by people looking for a brief relaxation or a place to spend a lonely vacation. After many years, the house, on the verge of dilapidation, had been rented to the girls at a very cheap price. They did a little refurnishing and paid for a carpenter’s touch. After which, they had been able to reside in this lodge for a couple of months, enjoying the serenity it had to offer up until that moment. Thelma looked at the lonely stretch of rocks that surrounded them. Just perfect!

She took Casey by the armpits, dragging her over to the cover of a couple of boulders without much labor. From where they were, they could view the front of the lodge and still remain hidden.

Casey mumbled something inaudible and stirred. Thelma, glanced at her, examined the cut and saw that it was terrible, more like a gash, and bleeding.

At that moment, the doors of the lodge exploded open. It happened just as Casey came to the surface, opened her eyes and tried to rise. Thelma placed a firm hand on her shoulder, watching intently at the doorway that had crashed open.

Something came out in a flourish. Thelma’s eyes widened.

“By golly,” she whispered, staring with unbelieving eyes.

Casey looked at the door herself then shocked, she tried to rise hastily to her feet.

Thelma’s hand kept her in check. They had to stay as hidden as possible so as not to attract attention. So crouching there, with a couple of rocks as their protection, they girls watched the thing that had emerged from the door.

***

It was wind!

The wind, all the time they’d been trying to get away, had taken a particular form and bustling out of the door, stood there with watching eyes. It had eyes.

“My God,” Casey whispered.

She was unaware of the blood that trickled down the side of her face.

“Where’s Rima?” Casey demanded, speaking softly but firmly and still looking at the ghost-like creature.

“I couldn’t get her out.”

Casey was shocked. She looked at Thelma. “You mean you left her in there!”

“There was nothing I could do.”

Casey blanched and crumpled with a soft sigh. Thelma watched her bite her lip with her eyes shut and her face contorted with misery.

“What are feeling so depressed about?” Thelma argued, “It’s just wind.”

“Does that look like just wind to you?!”

It was true. The wind had completely taken form and still standing there at the doorway, looking over every inch of the place, it now had the looks of a woman – a very wild woman.

Thelma screwed her eyes. She looked at this form with great curiosity. Then she drew her breath deeply, staring with sudden recognition.

“By the gods,” she muttered leaning closer for a better look. She laughed disbelievingly, “If I didn’t know better… I’d say… that thing right there… I’d say…”

“It was you,” Casey finished. She didn’t look surprised, just white and frightened.

Thelma breathed deeply. She turned to glance at Casey.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I just came to the same realization myself.”

They stared at the creature. It looked like the wanton ghoul of a witch from Tudor times. Yet, the girls were right. The wind-like being was transparent like a ghost. It had hair that billowed in bountiful curls and disappeared into the air. It wore a long flowing gown that reached the ground yet without any seams, just air. It had no feet. However, it was the face that gave them this intuition. It shared the exact features of Thelma’s face. Where Thelma’s jaw jutted, it’s jutted, where her nose pointed, the ghost’s pointed. They looked as alike as two peas, stood alike and had the same body build. The only other difference could be found in their eyes. Whereas Thelma’s was alive, spirited and at that moment, very surprised, the eyes of this unearthly being were austere, cold and hard. There was no compromising.

“Someone is definitely kidding me,” Thelma muttered

Casey said nothing. She was now looking uneasy as they scrutinized this being.

“What is the meaning of this?” Thelma asked.

Casey chewed her lip. She slid behind the rock to think. When Thelma glanced at her, she was biting furiously and her eyes looked far off. Thelma knew this was a habit of hers whenever she was anxious or greatly disturbed about something.

“What?” she whispered. “Why are you looking like that?”

“I have a feeling about this I’m so afraid to put into words.” Casey looked past her towards the gloomy rocks.

“You’re afraid to put into words?”

Casey nodded, still biting.

“Stop that,” Thelma told her “You’ll draw blood.”

Casey stopped but she wiped her face over and over again with her palms.

“Oh, let this all be a dream”

“What are you talking about?” Thelma inquired

“The book,” Casey whispered.

“What book?”

Casey went on, “In the book… she had hair that wafted into the wind and she floated without feet.”

Thelma leaned back on her heel watching her friend tear at her hair. Casey had grabbed her hair in handfuls and was yanking at them, like a diviner trying to interpret a message from a vision.

“She had harsh eyes… glassy eyes,” Casey continued speaking very fast like she wanted to say it all and be done with it. “And she came in the wind…” She looked up at the rocks farther off. “… first stalking her prey… the children… those three I told you about. Then when the time was right, she’d transform into a mighty hurricane where she’d begin to take her true form.”

Thelma looked fixedly at her. She was breathing deeply.

“What are you talking about?” she asked Casey.

Casey released a sigh. “I called her Athena.”

Thelma put a finger to her teeth and bit the nail. She was evidently thinking. It didn’t take her long to figure it out. She regarded her with blank expression on her face.

“In the book, you gave her my features.”

Casey sniffed. “Has she come to life?”

“The open laptop,” Thelma murmured “That must have been it. She was taking life all the time.”

Casey was sobbing hysterically. “She’s very dangerous, very deadly. There’s no where she cannot reach. What will we do?!”

“What about Rima?”

“I don’t know.”

“Any chance, she might still be alive?”

“I don’t know.”

“She’s probably dead.”

“It’s my fault.” Casey put her hand over her mouth. “What have I done?!”

“You’re not to blame. I wonder what has made it come to life.”

Thelma sniffed. She leaned closer to look over the rock again. All the while they were making this analysis, the ethereal being had moved away from the door to the path and was scanning the place with seeking eyes. So when Thelma looked over the boulder, she caught sight of her immediately. In that moment, their eyes mat. Thelma stiffened. Throwing her head up with her mouth open wide, the ghost-like being, shrieked in a high-pitched note then disappeared with a puff of smoke.

“She’s found us!” Thelma screamed, grasping hold of Casey’s hand and yanking her to her feet. Before they could take one more step, it appeared in front of them, and with one flick of her fingers, they were propelled backwards by a powerful blast of wind and crashed on the rocky path.

Thelma struggled to her feet but the astral being was upon her in no time. It grasped hold of the neck of her nightshirt and lifted her effortlessly to her face. The slight confusion that swept through her features was amazing. One moment it was mean, hard and deadly and the next, the granite features were taken over by perplexity. The grip it had on Thelma’s front shirt slackened, but it didn’t let go completely. They stared into each other’s eyes and Thelma was surprised to find just how alike they really looked.

The rage returned suddenly and the puzzlement disappeared from the face of the being. It swept Thelma aside with a wave of its hand and Thelma crashed into a couple of rocks where she lost consciousness.

It turned to face Casey but the other was already on her feet and running. It threw her head up again and screamed. Then it put out its hand and clutched the air, at the fleeing Casey. Casey stooped suddenly, like she had slammed into a brick wall then felt herself turn around by a force she couldn’t control and begin to saunter back all the way she’d run, poker-faced.

She walked like the foolish. It was a quite a weird sight. Thelma, who had come out of her faint, looked in bewilderment at her friend. She noticed immediately that Casey was returning back by no will of her own, then looking rapidly around her, found a large stone. She grabbed the stone, tried to get up and did, then she walked up to it to smash the hard object on its head. It became aware of her approach.

Without looking at her, the astral being flicked her fingers towards Thelma. However, Thelma had been anticipating this move. She shifted quickly to her side feeling the violent force of wind go past her. She regained course and descended upon the being with the rock. It disappeared with a puff of smoke like it had done before so Thelma looked around her quickly.

Casey had made it all the way to the two when Thelma struck. When the being disappeared, she inhaled deeply and heaved a big sigh. Bent double, her hands on her knees and she was gasping for breath, overwhelmed. Whatever had made her act without her accord had vanished. When Casey looked up to find Thelma searching around her cautiously, she assured her:

“It’s gone. It would remain gone for another ten minutes.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“The way I remember it; I am still the author of that book.”

The girls looked at each other then, completely relieved, they were able to chuckle.

“What was that? What had happened to you?” Thelma was curious.

Casey heaved a sigh. “I called it the ‘power of bewitchment’. It was one of the many supernatural attributes I gave to her, Athena. She can also be able to pass through doors so there’s no place we can go…” Casey swallowed “…nowhere at all.”

Thelma looked fixedly at her. “Is that supposed to be good news?!”

Casey looked up sharply. Thelma continued, “What exactly were you thinking writing a book like that?!”

“I had no idea it would turn out this way, now did i?”

“So what do you expect us to do? Spend the rest of our lives running from the wind? Is today supposed to be my last?”

“I have no idea. However, I think we’d better make good use of the time we’ve got instead of prattling about this and that, who’s dying and when.”

Thelma knew she was right. “We have ten minutes. If we start now, we’d be in town by the time it’ll be coming back. I have a feeling that thing won’t do anything to us in the public.”

“It’s no good. Whether public or not, she’ll get us. She’s mad now you’ve hit her. She will be more powerful than before.”

“Anyhow, let’s get moving.”

“You go.”

Thelma turned to look at her.

Casey added, “I have to go back for Rima.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Casey could see that Thelma was doubtful.

“For all we know,” Casey said “She could still be alive.”

Thelma didn’t waste a second. She started towards the lodge.