Mind Games

– Chapter 22 of the Legends of the DragonRider

Anitra dashed across the night-dark farmyard, trying to simultaneously keep her head down and swivel it around to look in every direction all at once. Not that there was much to be seen, mind. It was just past sunset, but the sky was cloudy – the only source of light was a sullen, flickering glow from the farmhouse windows. It should seem hospitable but, somehow, it didn't – more like the eyes of some half-asleep beast, ready to leap up and devour anyone who was unwary enough to draw close. Indeed, the whole farmhouse did not so much stand as loom, menacingly – its proportions somehow subtly off, wrong on some fundamental level.

Not that she knew much about farming, of course – she'd been a city-girl before becoming an adventurer. Indeed, maybe that was why this whole place seemed so... frightening, she tried to tell herself as she reached the barn and snuck in through the half-ajar door. She'd seen farms from a distance, and had a vague sort of awareness of how they worked, but everything about the place – the layout, the sounds, the smells – was unfamiliar, and therefore scary... especially in this kind of darkness. Though... it wasn't that dark in here, was it? Oh – there! An old, badly-tarnished oil-lamp was hanging from a nail, the flame inside flickering weakly, dimmed by the soot-covered glass that surrounded it. Cheap oil, but still being wasted here... and who'd leave a live flame unattended in this oh-so-flammable place? Seemed... inadvisable.

Something stirred in the shadows, further back, and instantly Anitra's heart was in her throat, beating fast. It wasn't unattended – someone was here! She could hear hay rustling, and a deep groan that sounded somehow angry. Desperately, she looked around – there! A ladder, leading up to the hayloft! Quick and quiet as she could manage, she scaled it, arriving at the top out of breath and trying hard to cover the sound with her hand as she scrambled away from the edge. Beneath, the rustling sounds escalated to heavy footfalls. Someone was shuffling towards the door, grumbling wordlessly... at least at first.

She couldn't help but peek – crawling up to the edge to look as a lanky figure emerged into the faint light of the sooty lantern. A giant of a man, impossibly tall and long-limbed, walking slouched-over like some massive ape – she could almost imagine his knuckles dragging on the floor. A stained set of overalls covered most of his huge frame, his enormous feet lodged in a set of wooden clogs liberally stained with pungent farm-animal droppings, while his head, from this angle, was hidden by a wide-brimmed and rather ragged straw-hat. Despite these simple clothes, an aura of sheer menace hung around him – a kind of skin-crawling feeling that she'd normally associate with a bloodstained berserker or some massive, ravening beast. She clamped her hand more tightly over her mouth, willing her breath to be silent.

Rather than pull open the door and leave, though, he'd paused there, beneath her – looking around. "Door's been touched..." he grumbled suddenly, his voice deep and gravelly, loaded with a predator's hungry menace. Reaching out, he pulled the heavy door fully shut with a creak and a slam. "Thought I herd somthin'... you're in here, aren't you, you little slut!" The menace escalated in that word, turning into a vicious loathing – only to fade back into a chilling sort of insanity as he chuckled darkly. "Wanna play hide-and-seek with daddy, hmm? Oh, I'll find you alright, I'll find you... and the longer you hide, the worse it'll get!" He was spinning around now, stalking back and forth – checking behind the support-beams, behind stacks of haybales – the lantern dangling from one of his massive, gnarled fists, casting swaying shadows across the barn.

Anitra's accelerated breathing and rapidly-beating heart were not slowing down, even though she was laying perfectly still, trying her best not to move a muscle. He was hunting for her now! Or, maybe not for her, but she had a very clear feeling that it wouldn't improve his mood when he realized that she wasn't who he'd been looking for. Either way, it wouldn't take long before he checked the hayloft! She had to risk moving, to find some way out that didn't go right past that monster – hopefully, his grumbling and cackling and thunderous footsteps would cover the sound of her scurrying around...

Pulling back from the edge, she looked around as best she could in the light reflecting up from the oil-lamp below – it was easier, now. Apparently, he'd turned up the wick, so as better to search. The hayloft, unfortunately, was largely empty, and short on hiding-places. A couple of haybales were stacked near the edge, and there were a few more further back... she scuttled towards them, but hiding behind those would buy her no more than a minute or two, unless he merely peeked up over the edge instead of searching properly. Though, she apparently wasn't the first person to consider that hiding-spot – behind the stack, a thick layer of fresh hay had been spread, for a makeshift bed, and an odd, somewhat-familiar scent hung there.

That was about it, though. At the back, half-blinded by the darkness, she found the hatch that the hay had likely been brought up here through – but it was thoroughly barred, and if she tried to fumble it open, the sound would certainly alert the monster beneath long before she could get out. She was trapped like a rat, and from the sound of it, he was almost done searching the area below. Her desperate eyes fixed on the pair of haybales that lay near the edge – waiting, presumably, to be taken down and put to use. If flight was out of the question... she'd have to fight. Instinctively, she reached behind her shoulder, finding the hilt of BlackFire. It felt... odd and awkward in her hand, but it was there. As were the black scales that covered her torso, her wrists, her legs. But, she didn't have the little, golden buckler that Drewyn had crafted for her, specifically to deal with powerful blunt-force attacks... which was just one more reason she didn't want to engage that freakish giant in any kind of fair fight.

Scurrying over to the bales, she tried to get a fix on his position. He was definitely coming this way... no surprise, since the bales were right by the ladder, which he'd need to use to get up here. Maybe she should try to push it back once he'd started climbing? No, no, he had to weigh more than a ton, there was no way she'd be able to shift it once he was on it. The bale was her best bet. As soon as he was underneath, push one of 'em over the edge and onto his head! With a little luck, it'd knock him to the ground, and break the lantern in the process – leaving him covered in flaming straw! Then she'd just have to get out of there before the fire spread to the rest of the barn, and the whole thing collapsed on top of him. Wouldn't that be grand?

Well, if not, it should still knock him off balance, giving her an opening to jump him, sword in hand, for the finishing blow. Gritting her teeth in effort, she started pushing the bale as quietly as she could, inching it a bit off the edge – not an easy task, though, considering how heavy the bloody thing was. He was coming out from underneath the overhang now – grumbling to himself about not finding anything, and figuring he knew where to look next. The shadows on the far wall gave her a good idea of his position, or at least that of the lantern in his hand. Just a couple more steps...

Straining at every sinew and digging her sandals into the hay-strewn loft, she pushed the bale as he emerged from underneath it. With a quiet rustle, it tipped off the edge, leaving her to collapse on her belly, overbalanced now that the thing she'd been pushing was gone. From close-up, she watched the bale tumble towards the giant's strawhat-concealed head... only for one of his impossibly-long arms to reach up and swipe it aside in midair, sending it harmlessly to the ground where it scattered into a layer of tangled hay as the strings holding it together broke.

He was turning, now, lifting his head, and staring right up at her. His face was like a demonic mask, barely human – twisted into something monstrous by the burning anger, sadistic hatred, and depraved lust that was written all over those wind-tanned features. "Knew you were up there, you, sow!" he bellowed, the sound shockingly loud – and before Anitra could respond, his huge hand was there – his arm so freakishly long, he could reach all the way up here. A ham-sized fist closed around her neck and head, pulling her violently forwards – all she could do was grab it and cling on for dear life as she was dragged into the air and left dangling from his grip.

His face was right in front of hers, now, as she peered out over his gnarled fingers – the lower half of her head vanishing within his grip. His eyes were alight with fury, but showed no recognition that she wasn't the girl he'd been searching for. "Y'wanna play pranks on yer old daddy, do ya?" He demanded angrily, scowling at her while a cloud of foul breath, mixed liberally with the easily-recognizable stench of cheap alcohol, washed over her. "Such a useless daughter I've got... as if 'twasn't enough ya murdered yer mother!"

Fixated as she was on his demonic face and angrily-growled words, frozen in fear as she struggled to keep too much of her weight from resting on her neck, Anitra hadn't noticed that while he spoke, he'd reached out with his other long arm to hang the lantern safely back on its nail. Which now left him with a free hand that, balled into a fist, he proceeded to smash into her belly with sickening force. As he dropped her on the floor – specifically, the part that'd just been covered in fresh straw – she retched and rolled into a ball, clutching her stomach, overwhelmed by pain and nausea. She was barely conscious of the rustling and occasionally clinking sound of a set of overalls being undone and pulled off...

PREVIEW ENDS - if you want to see how Anitra gets out of this situation, and find out what's going on in the first place, head to my Discord-server to read the full story. Link is on my front page!