Chapter 95: The Price of Escape

The moment the clock stopped ticking, every hair on Gene’s body stood on end.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

The Mad Hatter’s smile dropped significantly.

The March Hare’s ears flattened.

Charlotte’s legs tensed.

Even Owl looked nervous.

The giant bird slowly turned his head toward the ceiling.

“She definitely knows we are here.”

Silence filled the room.

Then the entire castle shook.

Dust exploded from the ceiling.

Ancient stone groaned.

Far above them, something screamed.

The sound wasn’t human.

It wasn’t even animal.

It sounded like eleven different things screaming at once.

There was laughter.

There was crying.

Some voices begged while others threatened.

Surprisingly, all of them came from the same throat.

Queen Rosanella had awakened.

“Oh dear,” the March Hare muttered.

The Mad Hatter sighed.

“Well.”

He stood.

His chains rattled.

“I suppose subtlety is no longer an option.”

Another tremor shook the room.

This one stronger.

Cracks raced across the walls.

Gene immediately moved.

“Everyone get ready.”

His slime armor flowed across his body.

“Time to leave.”

Nobody argued.

The escape had begun.

⸻

Charlotte sliced through the final magical restraints holding the prisoners.

The enchanted chains hit the floor.

The Mad Hatter rubbed his wrists.

“There we are! Much better.”

The March Hare stretched.

Several bones popped.

“I truly missed freedom.”

Gene pointed toward the exit.

“We need to move.”

The Hatter laughed.

“That’s an excellent suggestion.”

The group sprinted to the corridor.

The moment they opened the door…

…all hell broke loose.

Nightmare creatures poured in through the hallways.

Twisted animals.

Living dolls.

Creatures made from stitched together rotten flesh.

Things with too many limbs.

Things with too many eyes.

Things that should never  exist.

The Queen’s nightmare army.

And they all had one mission.

Kill the intruders.

A giant rabbit creature lunged first.

Its teeth looked like rusted knives.

Its eyes dripped black fluid.

Lilith squealed.

“Fluffy let’s get ‘em.”

Fluffy exploded forward.

The Cerberus smashed into the monster.

Three jaws clamped down simultaneously.

Bone shattered.

The rabbit screamed.

Fluffy shook his heads violently.

The creature was  shredded apart.

Chunks of flesh splattered across the corridor.

Lilith leaped from Fluffy’s back.

Her ice sword flashed.

A second creature lost its head.

A third lost both arms.

A fourth was frozen solid.

The frozen monster exploded when Fluffy crashed into it.

Blood and ice scattered everywhere.

Gene watched proudly for half a second.

Then another nightmare creature charged towards him.

It was a massive wolf.

It’s belly bloody with distended and exposed organs.

Gene punched forward.

His chaos armor enhanced his blow.

The creature’s skull detonated.

Brain matter painted the wall.

The headless wolf’s body hopped  two more steps before collapsing.

“Let’s Move!” Gene shouted.

The group pushed deeper into the castle.

⸻

The enemies kept coming.

Every corridor contained more monsters.

Every room hid another ambush.

Selene’s staff lit the darkness.

Fireballs roared through hallways.

Ice spikes erupted from stone floors.

Lightning jumped between enemies.

One spell froze a dozen monsters.

The next shattered them into bloody fragments.

Charlotte climbed along the ceiling.

The giant spider dropped onto enemies from above.

Her legs punched through skulls.

Her bites contained venom that melted flesh.

Nightmare creatures collapsed screaming.

Aralez transformed repeatedly.

Wolf.

Bear.

Tiger.

Each form tore through enemies in there own special ways.

Each form left bodies behind.

Owl became a living death raining down from above.

His massive talons ripped creatures apart.

Wings shattered bones.

Beak pierced hearts.

Even the Mad Hatter joined the battle.

The freed prisoner carried a giant clock hand.

Nobody knew where he got it.

Nobody wanted to ask.

The sharpened metal weapon carved through monsters.

The March Hare fought beside him.

Fast.

Precise.

Deadly.

Years of captivity had not weakened them.

If anything, it had made them more dangerous by making them more deranged.

⸻

Then the castle itself attacked.

The walls moved.

Hallways shifted.

Doors appeared where none existed.

Floors vanished.

Reality twisted.

The Queen was awake.

And she knew exactly where they were.

A corridor folded in half.

Charlotte barely escaped being crushed.

A staircase melted away forming into a pit of teeth.

Wilbur pulled Lilith away moments before she fell.

A ceiling became a giant mouth.

Owl ripped through a wall with his talons.

The castle screamed.

The sound echoed around them endlessly.

Gene realized something horrifying.

The castle wasn’t just corrupted.

It was alive.

And it hated them.

“We’re running out of time!” Selene shouted.

Another tremor shook the fortress.

The Mad Hatter nodded.

“Agreed. I do believe she will be here soon.”

Nobody wanted that.

Absolutely nobody.

⸻

Then they reached a dead end.

Gene skidded to a stop.

Three stone walls.

No exit.

Behind them came hundreds of nightmare creatures.

The corridor filled with monsters.

Growling.

Screaming.

Crawling.

Running.

Small nightmares moved too slow and were trampled by larger ones.

Other creatures held on to the tops of the larger creatures, yearning to get into jumping distance.

A living tide of madness!

For the first time all night, Gene felt genuine panic.

Wilbur quickly stepped forward.

The pig warrior smiled a dangerous smile.

“We need to keep moving.”

“How?”

Wilbur cracked his knuckles.

“I’ll make a door.”

The group stared.

Wilbur inhaled.

His muscles expanded.

Armor strained.

Veins bulged.

The already massive warrior became even larger.

Gene suddenly understood.

“Oh no.”

Wilbur laughed.

“Oh yes. Yes. This will be tremendous thing indeed.”

Then he charged.

⸻

The impact sounded like a bomb.

Wilbur smashed into the castle wall.

Stone exploded all around.

The fortress shook.

Cracks raced outward.

Another charge, this time he hit with both fists.

Another explosion.

The wall collapsed.

Moonlight flooded in.

Fresh air.

Freedom.

Wilbur had literally punched a tunnel through the side of the castle.

Unfortunately…

The castle didn’t appreciate that.

The entire structure suddenly came alive.

Massive black tendrils erupted from the cracks in the walls.

Multiple wrapped around Wilbur’s leg.

Another group grabbed his arm.

Another pierced straight through his shoulder.

Blood sprayed as Wilbur squealed in pain.

Every time the pig warrior ripped one tendril apart.

Another immediately replaced it.

More emerged.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

The castle was trying to kill them.

“GO!” Wilbur shouted.

Nobody moved.

“NOW!”

Gene cursed.

“Charlotte!”

The spider understood.

Silk lines shot forward.

Everyone grabbed on.

The giant spider launched them through the opening.

They flew out one after the other.

Selene.

Lilith.

Owl.

Aralez.

The Hatter.

The Hare.

Gene… Gene was next.

Just before being launched , he solemnly looked back.

Wilbur stood alone.

Covered in blood.

Surrounded by monsters.

Still fighting.

Yet, Wilbur laughed.

Then the castle swallowed him.

⸻