The Mansion Incident

Chapter Ten

Barry’s first shot missed wide. The first dog ran after Jill as she took off down the hallway, but the second dog came at him. He ran back the other way and went through the door to the lobby, swinging it closed as hard as he could. The dog got its head through the doorway just as the door slammed shut, and he heard a sickening crunch as the door crushed the dog’s neck. It flopped to the floor, a gurgling growl escaping its lips, but Barry held the door shut. The dog was already dead, so breaking its neck didn’t kill it. But after a moment, he realized that it couldn’t move. It might be dead, but a severed spinal cord still rendered it paralyzed. He eased the door open a bit but the dog just laid on the floor, growling and snapping its jaws open and shut while its body lay motionless.

He pointed his gun at the dog’s head to put it out of its misery, but he didn’t want to waste a bullet. However, for all he knew, the dog’s spine would heal up and it would be able to move again. Better to kill it for good and then go after Jill to make sure she was okay.

But before Barry could pull the trigger, he heard a thumping noise above him, and the sound of a door swing shut. Something was up on the second floor directly overhead, on the inner mezzanine balcony overlooking the lobby. He heard another thump like a footstep, and the unmistakable sound of chains dragging on the ground. His breath caught in his throat and his heart seemed to stop beating.

Another thump. Whatever it was, it was walking toward the steps. Barry made up his mind instantly. Better to show himself first and open fire before whatever it was could get to the steps and down to the ground floor.

He bolted out into the middle of the lobby and stared up at the creature above him. It was a person, but it walked like a gorilla with its back hunched over and hands dragging on the ground. Large manacles attached to its wrists trailed heavy chains behind them. It wore a raggedy blue shirt and filthy brown slacks, and its long hair concealed its face.

Barry did not ask it to freeze. It was not a person, it was another creature, like the skinless dogs and the walking dead man who murdered Kenneth. It was just another monster as far as he was concerned, and he wasn’t taking any chances.

He pulled the trigger just as the creature noticed he was there. The Colt roared and the creature jerked backwards, the bullet hitting it right in the chest, right where Barry intended. A dark jet of blood squirted up and stained the wall behind it, but the creature did not go down. Barry braced himself and fired again, aiming for the head this time.

The creature dodged sideways and the bullet struck the railing, splintering the wood. It grabbed the railing in dirty hands and vaulted right over it, leaping off the ledge and sailing right over Barry’s head. He ran forward and spun around, firing once more.

The creature took the shot right in the chest and flailed backwards, arms swinging wildly, the chains whipping around violently. It cried out an ear-piercing shriek that sounded almost human, like a woman screaming in agony. Barry winced at the sound and pulled the trigger again, aiming for its head. The creature flew at him, swinging each chain like a mace. Barry jumped to his right as the creature leaped past him, and he ran up the stairs as it regained its footing and came after him again.

For just a moment, its filthy hair waved away and Barry saw its face. He hesitated for only a second and fired once more, the bullet striking the creature right in the side of the head. It shrieked and fell sideways, breaking through the end of the railing at the foot of the stairs, its arm splintering the heavy wood like an axe.

Barry knew his gun like it was an extension of his own body, and he didn’t need to pull the trigger once more to know out that he was out of bullets. He ran the rest of the way up the stairs and went to the door on the left side of the lobby on the second floor as the creature howled in anger and ran after him.

He went through the door and slammed it closed. He was above the dining room, on the inner balcony on the second floor. He ran down the right side of the balcony, spying a door down at the other end. He barely made it five steps before the door behind him crashed inward and the creature broke through. The door came right off its hinges and spun over the railing, crashing down to the dining room below.

Barry turned around and instead of running away, he rushed straight at the creature. Swinging his arms up, he landed a powerful haymaker right across the side of its face, stunning it momentarily. It swung its arm down and Barry ducked as the chain whipped over his head and broke the railing to his right. He kicked hard right into the monster’s stomach and hit it with an uppercut. Its head snapped back and it grumbled something that might have been a word.

It fumbled for him, grabbing at his face, but he pulled his arm back and punched it right between the eyes as hard as he could without breaking his hand. The creature moaned in pain, staggering back, and he grabbed a tuft of hair in each hand and yanked. The creature screamed and lunged for him again.

Barry shouldered the creature past him and knocked it right over the railing. It flipped in the air once and crashed on top of the dining table below, landing right on its back. The table broke like a twig underfoot and the end tilted up like a teeter-totter, launching silverware and dishes into the air like a catapult. The creature moaned sadly, tangling itself in the linen tablecloth.

Barry did not wait for it to get up. He ran along the balcony to the door and went through, closing it after him. It led into another hallway branching straight ahead and to his left where it ended in a downward staircase. Barry took out his gun and reloaded it as he walked.

Hopefully, the creature wouldn’t come after him. Maybe hurting it would scare it off, or maybe it wasn’t intelligent enough to figure out how to follow him. But Barry knew not to expect anything that convenient. It was probably rushing back up the stairs right now to chase him down. It took four bullets from his Colt and barely slowed down. Maybe if he could get a clean head shot, but he doubted he’d be that lucky.

So he kept moving. Get ahead of it and stay ahead of it. Barry hated himself for it, but Jill would have to make it on her own for now. Maybe he could find a way around to the other side of the mansion and get back to her, but he doubted that too. The place was built like a maze. He prayed that Jill was still alive and was somewhere safe. He couldn’t risk coming after her.

As he headed down the hallway, he allowed himself to think of the creature’s face. He only glimpsed it, but he could not imagine what kind of sick experiment could create a beast like that with the face of a pretty young woman.

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