Chapter Thirty Four- The Devil She Doesn't Know Part Five

I did not know what it was, but it was in pursuit and that was more than enough reason for me to scream for help hysterically and increase my pace.

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I will not say that I regard my mother to be the wisest person I know, but she was extremely right about one thing; the Devil you do not know, is far worse than the Devil you know.

"Okay, look, I am sorry, I just thought-"

"Shut the fuck up bitch!" Lark hissed, silencing Jon as he attempted to speak. "Let Kerv handle this one, Jon."

Imagine if I die here tonight, all because of my stupidity, all because I decided to be a rebel. The urge to burst into tears was unbearable, but I endeavoured to repress the tears.

"Where are they?" Kerv directed the perplexing question at me.

"Who?" My confusion could not be missed, but my response vexed him even more.

His jaw clenched and he fisted his shirt, alarming me. I thought he was reaching for a gun, but thankfully I had not spotted any weapons on them. "You know who the fuck I am talking about, do not play dumb!" He howled at me and I shrunk into the couch as though I thought I could sink into its sponges and escape this escalating terror.

"I swear I do not know." My voice trembled and I felt my body giving up on me even more.

"My aunt and sister. Where are they keeping them?" He seared me with his eyes and my eyes darted from corner to corner in search of the nearest exit.

I do not know where their aunt and sister are, and I knew that they were not going to believe me. Yes, I am aware that my father is responsible for a lot of disappearances, because most of those 'missing people' are rotting away in his personal prison, but I cannot say that I know every single person he has killed. The Devil probably is responsible for their disappearance and that has absolutely nothing to do with me.

"Jon... I want to go home." I told him, looking at my phone.

"Just answer the fucking question!" Kerv slammed his fist into the table and I jolted up slightly in shock.

"I do not know, I swear that is the truth." I raised my voice at him, blinking repeatedly as my eyes became heavier.

"Wrong answer. Try again. This is your last chance." I went quiet and Kerv yet again slammed his fist into the table. The brothers began conversing among themselves.

"She is not going to talk, we will have to force the words out of her." Lark shared his opinion.

"She thinks that daddy can save her, let's show the little bitch that we mean business." Geal added in a villainous voice.

"Should we begin with method A...or method B or better yet, method C?" Lark's question made frissons of fear to surge up my spine.

"Method B," Kerv decided, "then when we are done with her, we will move on to method A."

"I am giving you one last chance," Kerv addressed me once again, this time unbuckling his belt and removing it from his waist before coiling it around his hand, "tell me what happened to my sister and aunt or I shove my dick deep in your throat and we will each take turns fucking you like the little whore you are until you beg us to kill you."

I gulped, the tears finally falling out. I directed my pleading stare to Jon, he showed me no mercy, all he emitted was abhorrence and just like his brother, his eyes promised me ruthlessness and nothing less. Kerv rose to his feet, tightening his grip on the belt and nodding his head at his brothers to pass on some message to them, some sort of go- ahead signal.

"Please, please don't do this, I swear I do not know anything, I am not lying to you, please- my imploring speech was cut off by a strident scream which pervaded the silent night. The scream came from a female and was subsequently followed by multiple gun shots. The furious blasts were so powerful and in immediate succession, that I thought my heart would drop to my stomach. Kerv and his brothers ducked down, positioning their bodies as close to the floor as possible. Even in my withered state, instinct took over and I seized the opportunity and ran out of the living room. I made it through the clustered furniture and found myself out of the backdoor.

I did not stop, I ran the fastest I have ever ran as more gun shots pierced into the night. I constantly looked over my shoulder as I run into the woods without direction, the unfamiliar terrain working against me. I do not know how many times my foot almost got caught between the thick, snarled roots and threw me off balance. My heart hammered my chest, pumping blood to my muscles which quickly became exhausted and painful, but I kept on running, taking turns into the unknown and finding myself nowhere close to the main road.

The moment was a vivid reminder of the disturbing nightmare I had, and the recall of the ending of that nightmare kept me running. I yelped, not managing the scream trapped at the back of my throat as I heard a thud sound from not so far behind me. The sound was accompanied by the crunch of snapping dry branches and crushed twigs and straws.

I immediately whipped my neck back and my eyes made a terrifying discovery. The moon was shrouded by clouds yet again, limiting my vision to only a silhouette much like mine: with long, bowed horns, large, retracted wings, except larger and more imposing. The sinister looking figure was very tall and largely built and had glowing, bright orange eyes like the color of boiling lava. I did not know what it was, but it was in pursuit and that was more than enough reason for me to scream for help hysterically and increase my pace. I was practically sprinting through the miniature forest, praying not to stumble into a dead-end and pleading with the one above to spare my life. I peered over my shoulder one last time, observing that the figure was much closer than before and taking my eyes away from the path in front of me led to my ruin. I did not notice the coiled tree roots and the small dead log on time and I tripped and fell on my front, my chin colliding with the pebbled ground and breaking my fall. The impact of the fall was so brutal, it knocked me out cold.