Murder in the Haunted Castle
Missed the story so far? Catch up here: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-one Chapter Thirty-two
Kim clung to the rough stone of the castle wall as though she loved it deeply and never wanted to let go. The wind pulled at her as she inched her way along the ledge, threatening to dislodge her if she took one wrong step.
The snow was falling harder and thicker, and the effect was to make the ledge slippery and treacherous. But Kim knew she had to keep moving. The butler was on the ledge too, and he was chasing her. Sometimes she could hear him calling out to her, shouting something which she could never hear properly because of the wind howling around them.
Kim tried to not look at him. They were both making painfully slow progress along the ledge, but it seemed to Kim that the butler was catching up with her. She knew the best thing for her to do was ignore her pursuer and concentrate on keeping moving, on where she should place her hands and her feet. Once she was off the ledge and on solid ground, she could run.
But until then she had to move carefully and slowly.
Kim could see the corner of the castle wall through the blizzard, between gusts of snowflakes. Once around that corner she should be able to jump straight onto the ground.
But it seemed like there was still such a long way to go, and her teeth were chattering and her fingers were numb and Kim’s core body temperature had plummeted. She needed to get inside soon, somewhere warm and dry.
Unable to help herself, Kim glanced back. The butler was closing in on her. His tall, imposing form was clearly visible in the snowstorm, his black clothing a shocking contrast to the white of the snow. Kim looked back towards where the ledge ended, to the corner of the castle wall.
There was too far left to go. She wasn’t going to make it. Not unless she picked up some speed. But that meant being a little more reckless, risking slipping on the ledge and losing her foothold, her handholds, and falling, falling to a certain death.
Kim looked back at the butler.
He was almost on her!
He reached out with a large hand to grab her by the hair.
Kim took a swing at him, knocking his hand away. The movement almost unbalanced her and she quickly leaned into the castle wall, hugging it for dear life. Turning her head away from the butler, Kim concentrated on moving her feet once more. She shuffled along the ledge like an arthritic old lady, working hard to ignore the tingling in her back as she imagined the butler’s hand only inches from her, ready to snag at her clothing and pull her off the icy ledge.
Agonising moments later and Kim was at the corner of the castle wall. Part of her wanted to pause, to celebrate making it this far without dying. The sensible part of her knew she wasn’t at safety yet. First of all she had to climb around the corner of the wall without falling, and secondly she had to avoid the manic butler chasing her along this narrow ledge.
Again she resisted the urge to look back, to check how close he was. Every time she paused to do this, she lost valuable seconds and he drew closer.
Kim slid her hand along the freezing cold stone wall and around the corner. She shuffled closer, hugging the wall for dear life. At the corner, right at the angle where she felt most exposed, most vulnerable, she gave in to her instincts and looked back.
The butler wasn’t far behind still, but he had fallen back a little. He was still close enough that Kim could see the expression of pure hatred and fury on his face.
Kim turned and looked in the opposite direction. She could see down the side of the castle now, and the ground was only a couple of feet away. The problem was, with it being so thick with snow, Kim wasn’t sure where actual solid ground began. If she leaped for the safety of the ground now she might just land in an overhang of soft snow and miss the edge of the cliff entirely.
And then she would fall.
Get a move on! Kim’s mind screamed. If you keep wasting time here, he will catch you and surely throw you off the cliff himself.
Concentrating on clinging to the castle wall and trying her hardest to not think about the crazed murderer pursuing her, Kim edged around the corner. The wind buffeted her from both directions, almost as though it was in cahoots with the murderous butler. Kim clung on with her numb, frozen fingers.
She made it around the corner and then attempted to pick up speed, to shuffle a little faster. It was difficult to resist the urge to leap for the safety of the ground, so close now. But still she was aware that the snow was deceptive, that it could be tricking her. She had no idea how far that ledge of snow might extend out away from actual, solid ground. If she jumped too soon, she would fall through the soft snow and plummet to her death.
Kim continued inching forward. The wind tugged at her hair, dragging it out painfully until she realised it wasn’t the wind at all, but a hand. The butler had grabbed a fistful of Kim’s hair and yanked hard, almost pulling her off the ledge.
Kim screamed. Letting go of the wall with one hand she grabbed his forearm, digging her fingernails into the soft flesh of his wrist. The butler refused to let go, and the pressure on her scalp increased as he pulled even harder.
Kim turned her head, trying to ease the pain in her scalp and her neck. Her fingers had found a crevice in the stone wall, and that was all that was keeping her from being pulled off the ledge. She couldn’t hold on for much longer though.
Ignoring the pain, and slowly turning her head so that she was facing the butler as he hauled himself around the corner of the castle wall, Kim was able to pull his arm closer to her mouth. Opening her jaws wide, she then bit down on his forearm, clamping her teeth into his flesh.
He roared with anger and pain, and let go.
Kim almost fell from the ledge then, the momentum unbalancing her. Fortunately she managed to keep hold of the crevice in the castle wall. Taking advantage of her sudden freedom, Kim began shuffling along the ledge again. She edged over the bank of snow, but even though she was tempted to step onto it and start running, still she wasn’t convinced that it would hold her.
Kim shuffled along the ledge some more. The butler was gaining on her. Even though her face was turned away from him, she could hear him panting and grunting.
It was now or never. She had to put some distance between her and her crazed pursuer, and the best way of doing that was by running. Surely she was over solid ground by now?
Kim stepped off the ledge.
Her foot disappeared into the soft snow. She fell over as it sank deeper, and she was up to her knees and then her waist before her descent slowed to a stop.
Not stopping to wonder if she was in the overhang of snow or if she now had solid ground beneath her, Kim clawed at the snow, forcing a passage forward. If her hands hadn’t been frozen enough before, they were now turning incredibly painful. Her skin had become mottled with white and blue patches, and her whole body was shivering violently.
The butler landed in the snow beside her. He reached out to grab her, but Kim smacked his hand away.
She pushed forward through the bank of snow, and her right foot finally found purchase on something solid. Continuing to fight her way through the waist high snowbank, Kim found the going a little easier. She was definitely on solid ground now.
Her legs hit something solid, an obstruction preventing her from moving on any further. Kim glanced behind. The butler was coming for her.
Scooping frantically at the snow, Kim quickly realised she had barged into a wooden fence. It had to be there to stop people from wandering too close to the cliff edge, but in all this snow she hadn’t noticed it.
Kim climbed over the fence and dropped into the snow on the other side. If she could get around to the front of the castle and bang on the front door, scream and shout, maybe she could rouse somebody.
If they could hear her through the thick walls and the noise of the wind.
Kim fought her way through the snow. Even over the wind she could hear the butler grunting as he climbed over the fence. If only she could move freely, she was sure she could easily outrun him. But having to struggle every inch of the way like this, Kim was tiring.
The castle walls loomed over her. Ahead she could see the cars parked at the front, half buried in a blanket of white. Kim stumbled and fell face down in the freezing snow. Even as cold as she was, the shock of the icy snow on her face made her gasp.
Get up! Quick, before he catches you!
Kim climbed back on her feet, but she was moving too slowly. Her muscles ached and responded sluggishly to commands from her brain.
Before she could start running again, a large hand had encircled her arm, gripping it tight. Kim struggled to fight her way free, but she was yanked around to face the butler.
He loomed over her, and grinned.
See you on Friday for Chapter Thirty-four.
Cheers,
Ken
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