The Rider of Rosewood
The Beast Within

Rosalind continued to bang on the door in an attempt to force it open. Charlotte was going to pay for locking her in here! After several more minutes of pounding, she gave up. For now, she’d have to wait until Mr. Fowler got home. He’d let her out, right? She wasn’t sure who she could trust anymore.

Something shiny caught her eye in the dark corner of the room. She went over to investigate. Thick silver chains coated in blood lay completely shattered on the ground. Why the hell do they have bloody chains in their basement? What broke them? She didn’t think her situation could get creepier, but she stood corrected.

Just when her panic was about to get the best of her, she noticed a small window a couple of centimeters away from the ceiling. She stood on her tiptoes and desperately reached for it, to no avail. She jumped as high as she could in one last attempt to reach the window. Alas, she had no luck. She collapsed onto the dusty floors in defeat.

Gran would be so worried about her when she didn’t return home. Rosalind blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. She wanted to get out of here more than anything. She would gladly give up whatever cure Charlotte was looking for if she knew what it was. She wasn’t even certain what they were trying to cure. What is “the gift” that was mentioned in the note?

She sat on the stairs, struggling to pick the lock with a bobby pin. The sun was setting on the horizon. The vibrant shades of scarlet and cotton candy pink were visible through the window.

Someone aggressively shook the doorknob, trying to get in. “Why won’t you open?” Theo scolded the door under his breath.

“Theo! Thank God you’re here! Can you please let me out?” Her voice was still shaky from all the crying.

“Rosalind? What are you doing down there?”

“Your psycho mom locked me down here,” she informed him.

“Are you serious?” There was a twinge of fury in his voice.

“Yes!” she answered.

“It was never supposed to go this far,” he whispered to himself.

“Can you please let me out now?”

“Unfortunately not,” he confessed. My mother seems to have run off with the only key we have.”

“So, what should I do now?” She was desperate to get out of there.

He said nothing for a few seconds, then he spoke up. “There might be another way, but you won’t like it.”

“What is it?” she asked, with a note of skepticism in her voice. “I might be willing to try.”

“Do you still have the bow and arrows with you?” he asked.

“Yes, why?”

“You may need them if the plan doesn’t go as intended,” he explained.

“What plan, Theo?”

“It’ll take me about twenty minutes, but when I return I’m going to let you out. Okay?”

“Okay.” She had no idea what he was planning, but she didn’t have any other options at the moment.

Twenty minutes felt more like twenty years in the dank cellar. Several small black spiders had crawled onto her. She promptly flicked them off and crushed them underneath her shoe. She hated spiders. Just the thought of them gave her chills. She had always been an anxious person. Childhood neglect will do that to a kid. Lately, her anxiety had been pushed to its limits. If Theo didn’t come back for her she’d kick his ass when she got out of here.

All of a sudden, a loud scratching sound came from the other side of the door.

“Theo, is that you?”

“Stand back!” His voice was hoarse and gravelly. “Please close your eyes I don’t want you to see-” He choked on his own words.

She covered her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Fine. I won’t look if you don’t want me to.”

“Thank you,” were the only words he could utter. She heard the sound of scratching on the other side of the door, then the crash of the door toppling over. She shielded her face with her hands,trying to dodge incoming splinters.Rosalind clenched the bow in her hand tightly, unsure of what he would do next.

She could hear footsteps walking toward her, but they sounded too light and rapid to be human. “Follow the sound of my voice.”

Rosalind followed him up the stairs and outside the house. As she walked beside him, something rubbed against her skin. It was warm and soft, like a dog’s back…It felt like...fur?

“Stop!” The sound of footsteps stopped, and he sniffed the air. “We’re not alone.”

“How can you tell?” she asked him.

“Just... get down,” he stammered.

She hid behind a bush and waited. The scent of smoke drifted through the air. She opened her eyes for a brief moment, just to be sure the forest wasn’t burning down. Three people stood around a campfire with lit cigarettes in hand.

“C’mon Chandler, we’ve been at this for days with no sign of the guy, and I’m starving! I’m sure the boss won’t mind if we take a night off and drive to the nearest Ben and Jerry’s.”

“Are you seriously suggesting we disobey the boss’s direct orders?” Chandler spat. “If anything goes wrong, she’ll never put me in charge again.”

“Hey man, it was just a suggestion.”

“Shut up, Heath!”

Heath turned to the third boy. “Hey Duke, do you wanna go get some ice cream?”

Duke didn’t respond. He stood up. “He’s nearby and not alone.”

“How many are with them?” Chandler clenched his fists.

“Just one, a female. She’s young too.” Duke took another step in her direction. She wanted to look at Theo, but she resisted. Duke was standing only a few inches away from them. She held her breath and stayed perfectly still. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it, putting it out. “Let’s split up.”

“Hey, I’m the one that gives the orders around here!” Chandler snapped. Duke facepalmed.

Chandler stared directly at them. He slowly approached them, smirking. “Looks like there’s going to be a change in plans, boys.”

Theo’s voice was hushed to a whisper. “I need you to run as fast as you can, don’t stop until you’re back at your home and don’t let them see your face.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine, Rosalind. Just go!”

Rosalind ran out of the bush and hid behind a nearby tree. There had to be some way she could help Theo.

“Look what we have here.” Heath cackled.

“She’s gonna be so proud of me when she sees this,” Chandler said to himself. He pulled a silver knife out of his pocket. “Prepare to die Mixedblood!”

Without thinking, Rosalind reached into her quiver and grabbed an arrow. She carefully aimed and fired. The arrow pierced through Chandler’s hand causing him to drop the knife and wince in pain.

She bought Theo some time–she just hoped it was enough. She sprinted through the forest.

“Hey! Stop right there!” Duke called out.

But she did not stop. She sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her. The wind in her hair, the sound of leaves crunching underneath her feet. She had run through these woods without a destination more times than she could count. Something about it felt natural, almost instinctive. The mix of adrenaline and the feeling of freedom was so exhilarating she nearly forgot why she was running for a moment. She would not stop or even slow down until she reached Gran’s cabin.

Upon entering, she slammed the door behind her and locked it. She gasped for air. She could barely process the events of the past two days. Was an ordinary life too much to ask for? She plopped herself down in the nearest chair and tried to catch her breath.

“Late night, eh?” She was startled by Gran’s voice coming from across the room. She was standing on a step stool stirring a pot over the fire.

“Gran, what are you doing awake?”

“I can sleep when I’m dead. Right now, I’ve got half a dozen orders due tomorrow morning. It seems I’m not the only one awake at this hour.”

“I can explain.”

Gran pressed her finger against her lips. “Don’t bother explaining what I already know.”

“What do you know?” she asked the old woman.

She winked.“Everything.”

Rosalind was more confused than ever. It seemed like Gran knew more about what was going on in Rosalind’s life than Rosalind did. She glanced out the window hoping to see Theo standing outside unharmed, but there was nothing except trees.

Gran gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s been a rough night. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”

She nodded. Her muscles ached, and she could barely keep her eyes open. She was so exhausted, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing Theo was out there alone, being hunted, like an animal. She spent the entire night tossing and turning. She got out of bed the moment the sun began to rise. She wasn’t typically a morning person, but there was no point in staying in bed any longer.

When she entered the kitchen, she was greeted by Gran, who was sipping from a coffee mug twice the size of her head. “Rough night?”

“Yeah.”

Gran hopped down from her step stool. “Why don’t you help me with my latest project? It could take your mind off your worries.”

“Sure, why not?”

Rosalind was helping Gran with an experiment when there was a faint whimpering sound coming from the other side of the door. She rushed to the window to see what was causing the sound. It was the wolf! It was weak and dripping with blood. She grabbed an umbrella from the coat rack, prepared to defend herself.

The wolf made eye contact with her, it looked almost sorrowful. “R-Rosalind.” He mumbled before passing out on her doorstep. As the first light of dawn shone upon the animal, it transformed into a man.

Not just any man, it was Theo.

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