The Dungeon of Depraved Beasts (An Erotic Horror Novel) (16 page)

“He’s furious,” Jeff whispered and Olivia knew he meant
Rurik.

While Olivia was with Gog, Jeff and Frederick had found a
way to burrow through their adjacent dungeons. They had begun fighting and that
had pulled Rurik away from Gog and Olivia.

Leo, who was a trusted prisoner, had begged to Rurik to open
his cage, so he could help break up the fight. Rurik didn’t think twice, and he
let Leo out. As Leo was “helping” break up the fight, Jeff escaped, flying off
and snatching Olivia. But not before, he had swiped at Rurik’s eyes. Rurik had
screamed out in pain, and had sent Frederick and Leo after Jeff because he
couldn’t see.

Frederick and Leo had run right to Olivia, and then
Frederick had doubled back to find Jeff. As Leo and Olivia had made their way
further along the river, Frederick had come back with Jeff, but had said that
the river had swept up Leo and Olivia during the scuffle. Rurik had gone into a
rage once he thought he had lost Olivia, and he went to alert Michael. At that
moment, Frederick had released Jeff, and Jeff had sprung into action, flying
high into the air and grabbing Frederick.

Rurik had realized that he had been fooled and he lunged
quickly, striking Frederick and causing him to bleed. As Jeff quickly flew
away, Rurik began to sound the alarms.

Leo only nodded as he listened, never speaking. “We should
be almost there,” he murmured.

“Argh!”

Olivia screamed at the sound and looked up just in time to
see a monster leap off the cliffs and dive into the river. The monster swam
faster and faster towards the boat and with horror, Olivia realized the monster
was some type of sea creature.

Olivia looked up at the cliff and she saw Nae standing half
naked at the edge, a look of pure bewilderment across her face. Their eyes met,
and in that second, Olivia knew that Nae comprehended her plan. Nae somehow
knew that Olivia had not been kidnapped but was escaping. Nae blew Olivia a
kiss and then closed her eyes.

Olivia watched in confusion, but then she saw Nae’s mouth
begin to move.

“Nae! She’s helping!” Olivia exclaimed.

Leo and Jeff looked up in confusion. Sure enough, the river
began to move faster, but the monster seemed caught up in a rip tide.

Leo shook his head in amazement.

“Thank you, Nae,” Olivia whispered.

The boat lurched forwards, moving quickly down the
now-raging waters. Olivia felt the air begin to change and she looked over at
Leo with alarm.

“I feel it, too. We’re getting closer,” he confirmed. The
air began to feel heavy and almost sticky against her skin.

Olivia kept turning back to look for the monster but he
seemed to have gone under or disappeared.

“We’re not in the clear yet,” Leo said grimly.

The boat continued forward and Olivia looked up at the
cliffs while Jeff kept watch of the rear. Frederick moaned occasionally, his
eyelids fluttering open and close.

“Leo!” Olivia shrieked. Lunging off the cliffs was Rurik,
his face twisted in anger and fury.

Leo cursed and tried to use his hands to propel the small
canoe faster. The river was still rushing quickly, but not as quickly as it had
been when Nae had been helping.

“She is mine!” Rurik roared, landing on the banks with
supernatural ease. Olivia screamed as Rurik came running into the water, making
a beeline for their canoe.

“Leo! Hurry!” Olivia screamed, though she knew there was
nothing he could do. Rurik moved steadily through the water, his anger
radiating off his gruesome body. His beady eyes were narrowed and his yellow
teeth were bared. His hands were raised and open, and Olivia knew he wouldn’t
let go once he caught hold of her.

The boat continued to push forward, but Rurik was able to
move quickly through the water. Olivia backed up as far as she could go and she
was perched on the far end of the canoe.

“You are my female!” Rurik screamed. “She belongs to me! You
cannot deceive me!” he bellowed.

“Leo!” Olivia cried again. Her heart was pounding out of her
chest and she could barely hear anything over the roaring of her own blood in
her ears. Her legs scraped against the side of the boat and she felt the wood
cut into her legs.

“Fools!” Rurik roared as he came close enough to almost
lunge at the boat. “She is mine!”

“Leo! Faster!” Olivia screamed as Rurik swiped at her, his
fingers only mere inches from her face. Jeff made a low growling noise and
hovered between Frederick and Olivia.

“Out of my way!” Rurik screamed, swiping again at Olivia and
this time grabbing part of her hair.

Olivia screamed again, just barely wrenching her hair from
Rurik’s death grip.

“Mine!” he yelled, and he reached for her again, this time
taking hold of Olivia’s hair. Olivia shrieked in pain as Rurik tightened his
grip and pulled. Olivia clawed at Rurik’s hands as she was dragged across the
small width of the boat.

“No!” Leo shouted, lunging at Rurik. With one easy swipe,
Rurik knocked Leo down.

“Leo! Help! Please!” Olivia cried, kicking her legs at Rurik
as he nearly pulled her over.

Jeff aimed a kick at Rurik who temporarily loosened his grip
and Olivia pulled away slightly. Rurik tightened his grip again and roared
loudly, the sound echoing off the cave walls. Rurik yanked Olivia again and
this time Leo sprang up, letting out his own terrible scream as he kicked Rurik
squarely in the chest.

Stunned, Rurik staggered back and it was just enough for him
to release his grip on Olivia. Olivia scrambled backwards, hitting the other
end of the canoe, as she let out a sob. Rurik stumbled back to his feet and
lunged for her again. At that precise moment, the boat left the water.

Olivia screamed and she felt Leo’s hands on her, holding her
down. The boat was airborne and it took Olivia a moment to realize that the
boat had gone over the edge of a cliff. Olivia looked up and caught a glimpse
of Rurik yelling angrily as he clambered to catch himself before going over.

The canoe moved swiftly towards the river below and Olivia
didn’t even have a moment to notice the surroundings because the boat smacked
the water and flipped over. Olivia was thrown into the churning waters, and she
paddle furiously in the dark water, holding her breath as she struggled to find
which direction was up.

Olivia’s lungs began to burn and she panicked that she
wouldn’t be able to find the surface. Suddenly she burst through the water, and
she gasped and choked, spluttering as she inhaled large gulps of air.

“Olivia!” Leo cried a few yards away.

Olivia kicked towards him, trying to swim against the
current. She could tell they were outside, but the color of the sky was off.
She could just make out a bank behind Leo and she fought to make her way
towards it.

Leo swam towards her, and gripped her, pulling him with her
as they made their way to the bank. He dragged Olivia up onto the mud.

“Stay here!” he panted and he dashed off.

Olivia sat up, shivering in the cold, terrified as she tried
to keep Leo in her sight. She didn’t see Jeff or Frederick and she kept looking
back towards the large rock and caves, which she assumed was where the fortress
was located.

She watched Leo run towards the edge again, and then she saw
him helping drag Jeff out of the water and she sagged with relief as Jeff
pulled Frederick behind him. Olivia imagined they made quite a group. A human
female dressed in a sopping wet gown and three monsters.

Leo rushed towards Olivia, and Jeff staggered behind him
with the weight of Frederick.

“Let’s go!” Leo urged, yanking Olivia by the hand.

“Leo! I don’t understand! Where are we?”

“We’re outside! I knew those windows in the Rec Room were fake.
Wherever we are is nothing but a desolate wasteland.”

As Olivia jogged after Leo, she tried to look around.

Leo was right.

Everywhere Olivia looked, she saw death and barren waste.
The ground was brown, the sky was bleak and there was no life anywhere:
shriveled trees, ugly weeds and hills of dirt. She tried to rectify the
beautiful landscape from the Rec Room with the reality. She craned her neck to
turn around and she saw the enormous, ugly structure where she had been kept.

The building was a fortress in sense, stretching on for what
seemed an eternity. There were no windows, only tall, dark, walls made of a
dark material. Olivia shuddered as she thought about the horrors that lay
within those walls.

“Hurry!” Leo shouted, as they continued to run along the
bank. “They will be following us!”

Sure enough, as soon as Leo said the words, a swarm of
beasts ran out of a small door that Olivia had missed.

Olivia screamed, and she ran faster. Jeff grunted as he
shifted and tried to move faster with Frederick. One of the monsters was a fast
runner, and he was swiftly moving closer. He roared and swiped at Jeff, who
shouted and turned around to punch the monster in the face. The monster cried
out in pain, clutching at his wounded face before stumbling into the rushing
water.

“Keep running!” Leo cried, dragging Olivia with him.

Olivia’s legs burned and she realized that she had lost her
heels in the water. She ran on her bare feet, her feet sinking into the
slippery mud beneath her. She shoved at her wet and matted hair that fell in
her face and she panted as she hurried behind Leo. Her chest felt as if it
would explode.

“Leo!” she gasped, “I can’t run much further.”

“You have to. Were almost there.”

Leo’s legs seemed to carry him quickly and Olivia felt a sudden
pang of envy of Leo’s beastly form, clearly his body, which resembled an
animal, was made for such activity. Olivia felt herself slow down and just as
she thought her heart would explode out of her chest, she felt a sudden shift
in the atmosphere.

Time seemed to slow down and Olivia seemed to run through an
invisible barrier; the air seemed to vibrate as she passed through it.

Leo sagged with relief and Olivia watched with confusion as
Jeff stumbled through with Frederick. The monsters continued towards them and
Olivia cried out, trying to continue running. Leo grabbed her hand to stop her
and Olivia watched with amazement as the monsters ran into the invisible
barrier and bounced backwards.

“They can’t pass,” Leo whispered. “And they can’t see us.”

“Huh?”

“We’ve just passed through the boundaries of Gorside’s land.
Magical barriers divide the grounds. I don’t exactly understand the workings of
it, but we should be safe. We should still hurry though. I’m not sure of
Gorside's power or knowledge and I don’t know how long we can rely on this
protection.”

Olivia glanced back at the monsters that were now yelling in
protest as they slammed into the invisible wall.

“Why could we pass?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Mastiv said it had something to do
with the fact that we are not from this world.”

The monsters crying out and shouting only mere feet away
made her anxious. “Alright. What’s next?”

“This way,” Leo said, motioning them forwards. “The portal
is near a grove of black bushes.”

Olivia saw a cluster of ugly black bushes up ahead. She took
off towards the bushes, running quickly as she sensed how close they were to
escaping.

Leo was behind her and once they arrived at the bushes, Leo
dropped to the ground, spreading his paws out on the ground.

“What are you looking for?”

“There should be a flat white stone laying around here.”

Olivia dropped to her knees too, her hands frantically
running along the surface of the earth.

“I found it!” she cried, pulling out her hand, which
contained a smooth, shiny white stone.

Leo took it gingerly from her hand and inspected it.

“This is it,” he murmured his snout spreading into what
could only be construed as a grin.

Olivia smiled her first real, genuine smile since she had
arrived in this nightmare.

“You’re beautiful when you smile,” Leo said softly and
Olivia felt herself blush for some reason. The moment was awkward and she found
herself wondering for the one-millionth time of how a monster such as Leo could
exist in the world she knew as home.

“You’re sure you want to go to Earth?” she couldn’t help
asking, knowing that Leo must be from a different world.

Leo chuckled. “Positive.”

Olivia sighed. Jeff and Frederick approached, and Olivia
thought Frederick looked worse. It was hard to tell with the normal sickly
pallor of his skin.

“Okay,” Leo said. “We need to hold hands. Mastiv told me
what to say.” He looked around at the group, everyone expectantly watching him.
“Let’s hope it works,” he said nervously.

They made a small circle and Olivia stood between Leo and
Jeff. She was used to Leo’s furry paw, but Jeff’s rotting skin made her skin
crawl. She reminded herself that Jeff had helped save her life.

Leo held the stone between he and Olivia’s palms and began
to stroke it slowly.

“Gods of the Universes,” he murmured, “We humbly request you
grant us safe passage to Earth.” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut, and Olivia
mimicked the gesture. “Earth, earth, earth,” he repeated.

He looked at the group. “Say it with me,” he said.

Olivia and Jeff began to murmur along with Leo.

“Earth, earth, earth, earth.”

Without warning Olivia felt the ground fall out from under
her feet. She wanted to scream but she found herself frozen. She moved through
blackness, sometimes feeling Jeff and Leo beside her and other times feeling
nothing against her skin. There was a pressure and an excruciating heaviness
against her body as if she were being squeezed through a keyhole. She wanted to
shriek with pain, but she remained frozen.

Suddenly she hit the ground, and she began to gasp and gulp
for air. She felt the ground beneath her and her fingers brushed against blades
of grass.