II. Run To Your Fears

"Bella! Wake up!!"

It was the dead of night when she heard Alexander's whispering. Beyond the low register of his voice was the sound of urgency. She wiped her eyes to adjust her vision. "Did I mess up again?" she wondered. For Alex to frantically wake her up like this, she must have infuriated her Aunt again.

"What did I do this time?" she asked, anticipating the sermon and punishment awaiting her. It had been six years since her father died. The cruelty of her Aunt was just as long and she was beginning to grow indifferent to it.

Moonlight was barely present that night. Had it been brighter, she would have seen Alexander's serious and terrified expression. Still, the young man's voice gave it away. "Y-your Aunt.. have to run… run away!" he said, stammering.

That's an unusual sight. Alexander had always been a tough kid. Despite the upbringing brought by the Geneva household, the boy belonged to the streets.

"Why? I thought you said I couldn't make it away from home," she replied, about that time when she badly wanted to escape the cruel place she once called home. "Besides, my Aunt would not let me leave until she got me to yield my inheritance to her-"

"That's what I'm saying!" Alexander exclaimed. He almost shouted but managed to keep his voice down. The way he acted started to scare her as well. "Alex, you have to tell me what's going on?" Bella asked though she feared she already knew the answer.

Thud! Thud!

Before she could understand what was going on, furious pounding on the door followed the heavy footsteps. If not for Alexander's voice, she wouldn't have known what was coming for her.

"They're coming to kill you!"

***

Bella found herself running from the inching terror. "What on earth is that thing?!" she exclaimed in between her breaths. Having just brushed with death should have prepared her for the most horrifying of things. But that… that's not just something.

It took great effort to muster her strength to escape from the monstrous abomination. It's a wonder she wasn't frozen with fear. The soft mud made it difficult to run out of the graveyard but she could not afford to slow down. She had to run for as long as there was ground.

"Just how far does this cemetery go?!" she said, frustrated that she couldn't find the exit. A couple of minutes had passed and by no means she was a slow runner yet the tombs extended for as far as her eyes could reach.

Regardless, she had to escape that thing first. Exiting the graveyard would be second. If it's any consolation, she couldn't hear any footsteps following her. She wanted to look back but didn't want to confirm the terror that a demonic creature could be chasing her.

"Maybe I was just hallucinating," she considered. Still, her feet did not stop. With or without that monster, being cold and naked in a dark cemetery on a rainy night wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

"Damn those bastards!!" She clenched her fist as she remembered her Aunt's goons that buried her. From the looks of it, they must have had their perverted way with her, thinking she was dead. A tear fell from the corner of her eye. She was abused in many ways… but not that kind.

Bella was lost at that thought when she almost tripped on a tombstone. "Aww! Crap!!" she cursed at the pain coursing on her ankle. It wasn't enough to cripple her but she chose to stay on the ground and crawl her way out. She didn't trip over because of clumsiness. Probably half a kilometer from her was another shadowy figure silently standing and facing one of the tombs.

"I'm not hallucinating!" she realized. It was awful that the possibility that there was more of that creature in this graveyard dawned on her. Judging from those creatures' looks, they must be some sort of ghouls that feasted on fresh dead bodies. Or so the legends go. "I have to get the hell out of-"

Her thought was interrupted by a cold thing, swiftly brushing her back. It was followed by a warm feeling of thick liquid.

"AAAAHHH!!" she screamed as the sharp pain followed through.

She instinctively rolled over to avoid another strike from wherever that came from. It turned out she was right. A huge black arm with sharp claws rose from the earth slashing the place where she had been. Slowly, the owner of that arm revealed himself. Itself.

"Playtime's over, little Ascender." It was the same demonic creature she was running from! It crawled out of the mud menacingly and its violent aura sent a shiver down Bella's spine. Its glare made her understand that there was no escaping this time. Her only response was a look of hatred.

"Don't give me that look," the demon said, sounding disappointed. "It's not fun if you're not scared. How about I give you a free strike? Strike me with all you've got!"

The demon sneered. It wasn't being generous. It wanted to give her hope only to crush it at the very last second. If there's anything worse than death, Bella was sure that this demon intends to do just that.

"I just escaped death a few moments ago," she murmured. It seemed to amuse the monster before her but its smile only made it look more sinister. She stood up with her naked body covered in mud with the stake in hand. "It's about time I ran to it!" she screamed.

Was it despair? Insanity? Or perhaps, a disgusting eagerness to survive?

BSSHKK!

Charging toward the monster, Bella stabbed the stake to its stomach with all her might. It must be arrogant enough to accept her strike head-on. But it didn't expect it would actually pierce him.

"W...What the f-" the monster stammered. The smile vanished from its face. It's replaced by… terror?

Black liquid with the same consistency as blood started to pour out from the monster's abdomen. Not taking her chances, Bella pushed the stake harder. And harder. The gore and stench did not even flinch her. Whether it was a real demon or just an elaborate costume didn't matter to her any longer.

"I have to live!!" she screamed, not stopping with the stabbing. The demon staggered and flailed his arms in a hopeless attempt to kill her but Bella continued to push, making the monster lose its balance and fall to the ground.

"I will have my revenge!!" Still screaming and stabbing. She was atop the monster as she pulled and pushed the "knife" nonstop. An insane expression was on her face with an even more deranged smile than the demon had. "I will take back what's mine!"

Raising the stake over her head, Bella prepared to deliver the final strike. Her mud-covered body is now drenched in blood. The torrent continued and lightning flashed on her face. As if the skies were with her, they bellowed with a thunderous roar.

"I will kill everyone who stands in my-"

Drunk in adrenaline, Bella did not notice the claw of the monster. Using the last of its strength, the monster pierced her heart. "F***... I couldn't eat you… but you will die with me…" the monster said.

As life escapes her, Bella's body slowly falls, but before completely hitting the ground, she manages to strike the final blow, splitting the monster's skull in half as its body slowly melted like butter except it was mud.

Little did Bella know that someone was watching from afar.

"She actually killed a Mudghoul!" a figure in the shadows thought surprisingly. It slowly emerged from the darkness and walked towards the casualties.

The figure took off its cloak, revealing its true nature.

"So… you're human…" Bella managed. The shock on the man's face was indescribable when he realized that she wasn't dead… yet. "I thought you're… a monster too… when I saw you… looking at a grave."

The man knelt and put his cloak atop Bella, covering her body. "Your concern is… unwarranted. Can you just… kill me? You didn't… help me fight that… monster. What good is… your help now?" she said.

Bella knew it. The monster had struck her a fatal blow. Judging from the gashing blood, her heart must have been destroyed. Literally. The fact that she could still speak her final words was nothing short of a miracle. To her surprise, the man carried her.

As her face got closer to his, Bella had a better look at the man. His scarlet eyes seemed to glow behind the messy black hair that covered them. She spent her whole life driven by hatred, chasing revenge. Never once did she set eyes for a man.

"You must be crazy… no hospital could save me," she said, smiling at her own hopelessness as she coughed more blood.

It had been pouring since Bella had crawled out of the earth. By the time the rain stopped, it was already nightfall. The furious noise from the rain was replaced by gloomy silence.

"No. There isn't," the man replied without meeting her eyes. "Tell me where your grave is," he demanded.

She smirked. Such a heartless man, he was just like her. Or perhaps it was kindness. Maybe it was mercy. What a poetic and cruel world. She just emerged from the dead only to kill a demon, then die again. "At least, a grave was already prepared for me," she thought, "and a handsome undertaker is escorting me."

"How thoughtful," she whispered sarcastically. "Will you mourn for me?" she asked, pointing in the direction of where she was buried alive, then drew her last breath.

Bella's arm lay motionless. Her eyes closed. This time, she dies.

"No," the man replied to the lifeless woman. "I'm just going to bury you," he swore, walking the path that Bella pointed to.