The Inferno's Claim

Freaked Out

Genova dashed out of the school building, running toward the exit with quickened steps, and her heart was not having it either. She felt like she was on the predator’s premises and needed to escape at once before being served on a golden platter.

Her head was jumbled in fright and her sight blurry as she made haste to disappear from this place without paying the slightest attention to her surrounding until she bumped into a soft wall. No, it wasn’t a wall but someone. They both found themselves on the hard ground with Genova on top of the latter.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry.” She muttered an apology as she quickly got back to her feet and intended to proceed with her escape. But before that could happen, she felt a firm grip that retained her from getting away on her right arm.

“Girl. Are you doing all right?” A soft female voice sounded.

“No, not at all. I mean, y-yes, thank you. I am sorry for bumping into you,” Genova apologized again, making sure her voice was calm as she could muster.

With that, she slowly peeled off her arm from the girl’s grip without looking at the latter’s face to take in how she looked and continued toward the school’s main gate.

Upon making it outside the school premises, she was glad to find a train of taxis standing just a couple of meters from the massive black gate and ran toward one of them.

“Countries Estate.” She said after getting in.

----

The ride was silent as Genova’s mind kept replaying today’s incident. The one that mostly raised fear and curiosity in her was the bird thing. Come to think of it, how can a bird be that massive? Most importantly, when did she encounter this creature, and why can’t she remember any of it?

Genova was engulfed in her reverie that she lost track of time. About an hour passed without reaching her destination which shouldn’t take more than forty-five minutes. But of course, how could that happen when the driver deliberately drove so slowly in order to waste more time and earn a lot more?

“Can you go a little faster, please?” She urged politely even though she was beyond irritated with such behavior.

“This is the maximum speed limit. Can’t go any faster,” the taxi man replied flatly.

Genova gritted her teeth as she stared at his plump face that looked like an over-inflated balloon through the rearview mirror.

“Pull over!”

“What? We haven’t yet reached your destination, miss-“

“Let me the hell out here!” Genova yelled in exasperation while ransacking through her bag in search of her purse so she could pay the damn driver his fee and have him on his way.

“You know… trying to reap people off isn’t going to bring you anywhere. Such trickery is nothing to be proud of. It’s disgusting!” She said and threw the bills at him before getting out.

The sly smile on the taxi driver’s face morphed into a frown when she banged the door behind her. “Hey, don’t you dare ruin my car – you can’t afford it if you break anything.”

“Go to hell!” Genova spat. Her usually calm and respectful demeanor was nowhere to be found. She hated that this driver was so despicable. Such people did not deserve hers or anyone’s respect.

“There is still quite a distance to your destination from here. This area is desolate; are you sure you want to go on foot? You won’t get any other ride except mine.” The driver pointed out as he watched the fuming girl’s retreating figure.

Genova ignored him and brought out her phone to find her way home. She typed in her address, but her eyes went wide the next second when she saw how far she had to walk.

“12km. Damnit!” She cussed. That would take her about 2 hours to achieve. Maybe getting out of the taxi wasn’t a good idea after all because as it stands now, she better push in her irritation and pride and call the greedy driver back before it was too late. No way she would survive a long walk under the blaring weather.

Thus, Genova turned around to do just that. However, her brows furrowed when she spotted the taxi still standing in the same position. Additionally, she could see the triumphant smirk on his fat lips as he stared back at her through the windshield.

Genova balled her hands into fists. With how confident the bastard looked, there was no way she would give him the pleasure of getting what he wanted. She would rather walk until her feet bled than get back inside that vehicle.

With that, she veered around to face the road and began trotting away.

The sun was high in the sky, unleashing its fury upon the surface.

Genova walked until her whole body glistened with sweat. There were 30 more meters until she reached the spot that would lead her through the woods. It was a shortcut her navigator had recommended. Also, this part will save her from getting roasted by the sun.

She heaved a sigh when she reached the partway and crouched before a huge tree for a breather.

“One hour down, 45 more minutes to go,” she muttered as she unzipped her bag to bring out her water bottle. She moaned ever so lowly as the slightly cold liquid slid down her throat, and she couldn’t be thankful enough that there was at least something to quench her thirst. Good thing she had a habit of carrying a water bottle with her.

Genova rested at the tree bank for a good while before continuing her journey. For unknown reasons, she always loved and enjoyed being around nature. Maybe because the air in the forest is always refreshing as well the calm atmosphere.

She was halfway to the mansion when twigs and snarls suddenly began to echo around her.

Genova paused to scan her surroundings, trying to locate where the danger was coming from when a bone-chilling scene caught her eyes. Only a few meters away from her position were massive scary-looking dogs with sharp claws and fangs dripping venom stalking toward her while growling murder. No, these weren’t dogs but wolves!

Their furs were black as night, and their eyes were like the bottomless pit.

Oh Lord, why didn’t nobody warn her there were wolves in the forest? Why was today such an unlucky day for her?

Genova took one step back, followed by another till she found her legs moving faster than she could have imagined. She ran with all her might while praying to survive these predators and live another day.