Chapter 104

Delmar and the two ladies were hiding behind a large shrub in someone's garden. They had been running down the quiet street until they were exhausted. Once they had put enough distance between themselves and their follower, they dashed into a garden and hid underneath some dense shrubs. To Sarah, it felt like Deja Vu where she was hiding in a garden again to save her life from psychopaths.

Sarah tried to get her racing breath under control with her heart thudding in her throat. She noticed how Delmar tried to silence both of them by holding his index finger across his lips. Who was that woman and what did she want from them? How could she be so strong? Sarah though. She hoped that their hiding place was not too obvious. She wondered about her husband and two sons. Were they still alive? The woman who was after them must have been possessed. Where else would she have gotten her strength from? If she still had that amount of strength left in her, then that could only mean one thing, the portal was still open. Sarah had to force the idea out of her head that her husband and two sons had been killed before they could reach the portal.

Sarah and Emily got their breaths under control when Delmar heard something coming down the street. If it was the same woman who attacked them earlier, then at least he had slowed her down a little. A knife stab like that was enough to kill anyone. If she was not dead already, she would be close to death, suffering from internal bleeding and possible organ malfunction. The steps approached. Delmar was almost too scared to breathe as he tried to look up the road through the branches of the shrub. His vision was limited, but he did not dare to move. The slightest sound would give away their hiding place and they might never have another opportunity to escape again.

'Bitches,' Delmar heard the woman's voice not too far from them. The voice was horrid and demon-like. His heart jolted with fear. She was close. Too close.

'I know you are here somewhere,' Hecate said. 'I can smell your fear.'

Delmar saw her walking down the road, worse, she was walking towards them. From the dim street light, he could see blood running down her right hand. There was also a streak of red stain on her clothes running from where he had stabbed her in the stomach.

'Come on, hell isn't such a bad place,' Hecate said. 'I'll arrange something special for you. Maybe you can be the big boss' personal whores, what do you say? Wouldn't you like that?' She sensed their presence in a garden not too far. She would have to change her strategy this time and be quicker too. If she could eliminate the boy, then the rest would be easy. She would play cat and mouse with the two ladies until one of them cracked. She would enjoy killing them, but first, she wanted to test their emotional abilities inflicting as much fear on them as possible.

Through the dense shrub, Delmar could see the woman in front of them. Could it be a coincidence or could she really smell their fear? Was she just bluffing or did she really have special abilities? Delmar thought. The only thing they could do was to wait in their safe place and see what happened next. If she knew where they were, they would have to run for their lives again. He noticed her yellow glowing eyes. They seem to be looking straight at them penetrating his heart and soul. She stood in front of the garden. The only thing that separated them was a low wall. Maybe she was not mocking after all.

'Will you come out by yourselves or should I come get you behind that bush?' Hecate asked. Her face was grim.

Delmar turned his head and noticed the fear on Emily and Sarah's faces. They had been discovered. A light went on a few meters behind them and Delmar tensed. All they needed was a light to show the woman where they were exactly. Delmar heard something behind them. It sounded like a door was being unlocked. He turned his head and saw the front door of the house opening. A man in his late thirties appeared scanning the garden.

'Is someone there?' he asked stepping off his porch onto the lawn. He was wearing white pyjamas with blue stripes that matched his slippers. His face seemed puffy like he had been woken up from a deep sleep.

Delmar saw him walking towards the wall. He knew that the man would spot the woman or thing in the street if he just carried on walking. That would buy them some time to figure out what to do next.

'Can I help you,' the man asked heading towards the wall.

Delmar knew the man had noticed her standing in front of his wall. If the man had known better, he would have gone back into his house and locked the door behind him, but even that would not have helped him much if the woman was after him.

'Good evening sir,' Hecate said in a voice that almost sounded polite. 'I'm hurt really badly. I've been attacked and stabbed with a knife. I got away, but I fear that I'm losing too much blood. I need to get to the hospital.'

'God, lady,' the man said getting closer to the wall. Too close. He saw the blood on her arm and clothes. 'We need to get - '

Delmar saw how she struck out with both her arms. She grabbed the poor fellow's head and snapped his neck with a loud crack. His head spun around almost two-hundred-and-seventy degrees on his shoulders. For a brief moment, the man's eyes were staring at Delmar while his body was facing the road. He collapsed and fell to the ground like a marionette whose ropes had been cut.

Hecate chuckled for a moment. Her face grew into a serious mask again and she said, 'Fuck it then. I'll come to you.'

Delmar looked at Sarah and Emily and motioned towards the open door of the house. They had to be quick. He seized the moment and jumped up from behind the shrub. He grabbed Emily by her sleeve and started running towards the front door. He glanced back and saw Sarah closely behind them. He caught a glimpse of the woman jumping over the wall and started chasing after them.

Delmar waited anxiously for Emily and Sarah to enter the house. As soon as they were inside, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it. He turned the key and heard the lock slide just in time. There was a loud bang against the door which made it shudder in its frame. He slid the chain in the groove for extra protection.

Delmar ran through the house where the lights have been switched on. They needed an escape route, a back door. He entered the kitchen, but it was dark, too dark to see. He searched the wall for a light switch by sliding his hand down the walls. He found something, pressed the switch and soon there was enough fluorescent light in the kitchen to burn holes in the sun. He squinted scanning the kitchen counters until he found what he was looking for. The key was still in the lock of the kitchen door. Delmar made sure the door was locked when he pulled the key from it just in case. He heard loud bangs coming from the front door. He ran back and saw that the door started to crack in the middle. Soon it would break.