Collab between @Fox of Hearts and @Cartoonicat
London's Sacrifice
ft. The Big Bad Wolf
Charlotte never heard of zombies before. The groans and moans reminded her of Henbard on stormy nights. Such clunking and rattling don't scare her that much anymore. The hands were a different story. She had a hunch that these people might not be as nice as Miss Kitty.
"I don't know, Miss London. The cart's awfully slow. I fear that we need to run."
"Okay, I'll cover-"
Sadistic Peter seemed to have heard them, because a bright light engulfed them suddenly. London and Charlotte felt their stomachs constricting as their legs became heavier. When they were able to see again, the women found themselves dressed in heavy Victorian gowns. Their skirts were barely flat thanks to the hoop skirts underneath the layers of lace, silk and satin. London's was a rich burgundy red while Charlotte's was a vivid peony. Both of them were wearing red hooded capes.
"This reminds me of Red Riding Hood," Charlotte exclaimed.
"I was reading that story to Ella the day Joseff walked into Henbard."
Hands flying to her cinched waist, London frowned in confusion - then disdain.
"Oh come on," she groaned. Mumbled something about getting jipped of a cool magical girl transformation. Frowned down at the heeled boots on her feet. Some shuffling later the Cryptodex that had been in her cargo pants pocket dropped to the floor of the cart.
A rather unpleasant thought crossed Charlotte's mind after she mentioned that fairy tale. Her blue eyes widened in horror.
"I … We better run, Miss London! The Big Bad Wolf is coming!"
"What?" London's head popped up from bending over the floorboards, fingers grazing the worn spine of her journal.
Charlotte's words couldn't be any truer. A wolf started howling in the distance. His cries were answered by several others. Their cries threw the clawing hands into a frenzy. It wasn't long before the women found armored knights, decaying archers and rotting axe-wielding woodsmen bursting from the fragile soil.
"D-Dios..."
Charlotte felt her heart leaping to her throat.
God please help us! Let us escape this mortal peril! As much as she'd love lightning to strike down their enemies, she knew wishful thinking wasn't going to save them. She stumbled onto her feet and began climbing out of the cart to give London more room. The dark-haired girl grabbed the Cryptodex and her katana before scrambling out of the cart behind her.
"I say we run until we reach Grandma's House, a church or holy ground."
Reading ghost stories was thrilling for the children but she wouldn't want to live in one. At least, not this kind of story. This one made her think of those scary Poe and Lovecraft stories Master Salem loved reading. The type of stories that gave her nightmares for days!
London looked skeptical.
"Grandma's House? Isn't that where the wolf is actually at in the story- Ah!" She narrowly evaded a hand breaking out of the ground, her dress almost getting grabbed. Scowling, she fumbled with top layer of her dress as she ran and tried ripping off the under layers for ease of movement. Every time one fell away, a new layer appeared just as perfectly ruffled as before.
"Son of a…" a glimpse of green shone in her peripheral, hands freezing in place. Her gaze lifted.
Off in the distance, many pairs of phosphorous green eyes opened wide. Thin green lines appeared beneath the eyes. Some opening wider to reveal sharp teeth illuminated by the same green light. A heavy scent of phosphor began permeating the air. The animals sounded like wolves but their eyes and jaws indicated they were a lot more canine.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no no. Wolves? Werewolves? Hounds of Baskerville? Whichever, London definitely liked those less than the zombies. At least she could hope to outrun the rising corpses, but dogs were
fast and she was
not. Especially in this damned dress!
"Nevermind - Grandma's House sounds fine," London swallowed. Scrambled desperately to hitch the front of her dress up but, with so many heavy layers, found it impossible. She cursed under her breath and balled the fabric in her hands best she could with both of her own items to carry.
As they ran, adrenaline slowly ebbing away the pain in her legs but her new attire doing little to help their agility, she wondered if Charlotte was as naturally wary of dogs as London herself. Anything with sharp teeth and the ability to bite, really. She remembered first meeting Jo - how she'd been standoffish and distant until the fluffy Shiba Inu finally lowered her guard with persistent nuzzles and a curly, wagging tail. Thought back to her introduction with Kenai and how he'd reminded her of a wolf. Only when Jace had her feed him a treat and explained the significant personality difference between his dog and Matt's did she come to appreciate Kenai as more than a scary set of teeth.
But now, as they ran through the graveyard scene, London doubted tummy rubs and tasty snacks would get the pursuers on their side.
A yelp sounded beside her and London skidded to a stop, the weight of her dress carrying her forward.
"Charlotte!" The maid had fallen and, a few steps behind her were several clambering zombies. Inhaling sharply, London hurried over and tried pulling Charlotte to her feet. Bending over forced her to suck in a breath; the metal wires of her corset poked and prodded her midsection. The feeling was familiar, as this was not the first time she'd worn a dress or heels, but that had been for cosplay. For something fun! As much as she'd hated all of the outfit's frills, she would much rather have Ciel Phantomhive's ball gown than this authentically stuffy thing.
"C-Come on," London grabbed her hands and made to haul her up, ankles buckling atop unsturdy heels.
"I've twisted my ankle," Charlotte hissed as she collapsed on the ground once again beside London.
"You need to go!" She gave London a little push below the waist.
"You can't get caught with me. Go! The rest need you!"
Eyes flicking from Charlotte to the horde getting closer, London chewed her lip. Took a step back.
"But we-... you-..." They needed Charlotte.
London needed Charlotte. How was she supposed to get out without her? How could she be expected to leave her behind?
Charlotte made sense, but London did not want to leave her to be stuck in Henbard forever. Or, worse, catch up to them as one of Peter's monstrous transformations. If she still had her rosary, she'd give it to her, but Kelsey had that now - wherever she may be. Less than an hour ago she'd have smacked herself for being so stupidly sentimental and would have easily left Charlotte behind, but now?
"Miss London!"
London's hesitation gave their pursers a chance to catch up. A grey werewolf appeared behind her and hauled her up by the waist. Charlotte tried to grab him by the ankles but London's feet made contact with her face repeatedly. The maid had to back off or risk getting blinded.
Letting out a shriek, London flailed in the werewolf's grasp.
"S-Stop!" She'd seen how these horror films went: Bloody, and right for the jugular. On instinct, she smashed her Cryptodex and the butt of her sword into the beast's snout repeatedly.
The creature barely flinched. He bared his fangs at this vicious Red Riding Hood before he snapped his teeth onto the edge of the book. He tried wrenching it out of her hands. The book began twisting and stretching as the two played out their mini tug-o-war.
"No, stop!" London dropped her katana, the wooden sword clanking to the floor, so as to grab her journal with both hands. He couldn't take it; not her Cryptodex. She vaguely registered the sound of ripping pages before her arms flung back and hit her in the face, only half of her precious journal clasped tightly in her fingers.
Upon realizing what happened, her heart dropped.
"Leave her alone!"
Charlotte grabbed the fallen katana from the ground and stabbed upwards. The tip shoving swiftly and violently into the werewolf's groin. The creature let off a high-pitched whine, dropping London on the floor. He curled up in a dog-like fashion as he rode out the waves of pain radiating from his nether region.
Sitting up with yet a further bruised tailbone, London barely let herself acknowledge it. Instead, she shot forward to grab the two halves of her Cryptodex, hands shaking. Her lip quivered, several of the pages torn beyond comprehension. The werewolf's half - the half that had all of her notes on Henbard - had been drenched with saliva and punctured with holes. She clutched the pieces in her hands, knuckles whitening.
London snapped. She rose and slammed her boot onto the werewolf's face with an enraged scream. The creature's body popped like a balloon beneath her heel and she stumbled forward. Startled, she stopped to stare: Nothing remained of the incident except for her ruined Cryptodex. Suddenly, London felt hollow.
"Miss Kitty … really knows a lot," Charlotte wasn't even sure how to phrase her thoughts. Kitty had taught her and Wendy self-defence before and her number one tip was to kick men between their legs. Charlotte still wasn't sure why or how that would work.
"Please support me! We can try running like we are in a three-legged race…."
She reached for Charlotte. Her body felt weak, drained, and her mind in a dark tunnel. All she could think about were the written pages crinkling from sharp teeth and drool. If the pages stuck together - and she didn't have time to dry them separately - nobody would be able to read them.
Ever.
"Try binding my injured ankle to yours," Charlotte elaborated as London helped her up.
"Tear off part of your skirt and use it to bind our ankles together." Quietly, London did exactly that.
The two Red Riding Hoods remained silent as they struggled to move quickly across the graveyard. Their progress was hampered by the occasional ankle grab or opportunistic werewolf. The former was dealt with a stomp while the latter would receive a brutal katana whack to the face, courtesy of London.
Just a little more! Charlotte could see a pair of iron-wrought gates up ahead. She couldn't help rejoicing despite the severe pain coming from her ankle. She gritted her teeth and gave London's waist a gentle squeeze. She could feel her partner picking up the pace too, which meant they were almost completely in sync. A rather pleasant development considering how upset London seemed to be with them at the beginning.
Red rays of the rising sun began breaking through the ink black sky the closer they got to the gates. As more light poured into the desolated land, the undead shrieked in agony before crumbling to dust. The werewolves were conspicuously absent. Neither woman seemed to care. They were too focused on getting out of the graveyard in one piece.
"London, look! I think we've reached the end of this part of the Rabbit Hole!"
Beyond the gates was a steep cliff. A small golden door floated in the air a little beyond arm's reach. A key sat snugly in the keyhole waiting for someone to open the door. Where the door lead to didn't bother Charlotte at all. She was so relieved to be out of this place that she practically dropped to the floor beside London. Finally, she felt safe enough to sit down and rest!
As they approached the gate and entered, London had said not a word. Removed her arm from around Charlotte's waist, her own limb feeling heavy, and let the maid rest. London joined her on the ground, setting her Cryptodex pieces out in front of her.
London was glad to be out of there, truly, but as she stared down at her hard work torn in two, she couldn't stop her throat from tightening. Drew her lips into a thin line. Carefully, she set to separating the pages only to have one rip right in her hands. A sad, angry laugh bubbled in her throat and she began to cry. Grabbed the half of her journal and threw it against the gate.
Gentle arms wrapped around London's waist from behind. She tensed at first, then melted into the contact. Charlotte gave the raging, crying London a tight hug before turning her around and hugging her again.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
She felt bad for not being able to offer anything other than hugs and platitudes. She knew the poor girl was hurting a lot considering how she lost something precious to her. The tears were making her want to cry too. Poor, poor, Miss London!
In response, London returned the hug so tightly it seemed she used Charlotte as an anchor. Should they find a way out of Henbard, the Cryptodex would have been a record of their nightmare. A way of trying to understand what happened. Now, it was gone. She cried into the maid's shoulder until there were no more tears left to shed. Sniffling, she leaned back and met Charlotte's eyes.
"T-Thank you," she said,
"and… thank you f-for... saving me earlier."
Her Cryptodex entries were gone, but she'd made it out alive. That had to count for something.
Charlotte's face grew warmer when London thanked her. She muttered a soft
"you'd have done the same." Her words were so gentle that London probably missed them. She began soothing London's messed up hair and taming the strands into a neat braid. Once she was done, she retied the ribbons of London's hooded cape.
"I'd offer you a cup of tea or cocoa but there's nothing here. Maybe we could get some on the other side of this door? A warm drink always makes people feel better."
Wiping the last few tears away, London nodded. Rose to her feet and helped Charlotte stand, grip steadying to compensate for the maid's twisted ankle. Her eyes went towards the ruined half of her Cryptodex, limp against the gate. After making sure Charlotte would be alright standing in place, she went to retrieve the journal from the ground. Even if it was ruined, London would not leave it behind for Peter's collection.
"Let's go," she said, coming up on Charlotte's side and looping an arm around her waist to help her walk. From there, they stepped through the door.
On the other side they found themselves atop the roof of Bellwoods Elementary School's belltower. While London had never been a student there, she recognized it from her drives through the town. Looking down, she did not see any activity down below. No students, teachers, janitors or campus officers. London's knees felt like jello as the height finally hit her:
They were
very high up.