Uɴᴅᴇʀ Tʜᴇ Fʀᴏᴢᴇɴ Lᴀᴋᴇ

[Fox of Spades]

Yeah, that made lots of sense. Was Horus listening to himself? Leaving wasn't an option, but staying and getting murdered by some psycho in the woods was? Sure, an axe to the face sounded lovely. Actually, fuck no. "Are you serious?" Bram practically exploded. "We can't go outside because the trees scare you? Boo-hoo, get over it. If we stay here, whoever kidnapped us might decide to mount our heads on their wall!" There was a panicky glint in Bram's eyes, a look that made him look like he'd throttle Horus at any moment. "You don't know what to do? Let's get out of here and call the police? That's a start. Jeez, I never realized you were such a pansy." He was so used to lumping the twins together that he'd forgotten it was usually Rufus who called him out on his BS and traded blows with him whenever things got physical.

Realizing how agitated he was getting, Bram took a step back and sighed. He didn't apologize, but he held his tongue and decided on another approach. "Whatever, let's get Maddie and your brother and go." He wasn't negotiating, and before Horus could weigh in on the plan, he shot towards the coat hanger by the door and pulled down a knapsack that had been hanging on the rack.

Bram began pacing around the house like a raccoon, pausing once in a while to stuff unseen objects into the knapsack.

"Hey, Horus," he was too upset to keep up the name calling. "See if you can find anything useful. I found a knife and some rope. We'll need things if we're going into the woods. Maybe find food? Water? Whatever, just find something."

As Bram began looking through the cabinets and drawers, a figure outside the window stopped him in his tracks. There was a man in a black suit. He wore an old-fashioned top hat and held an axe in one hand and a lantern in the other.

His blood ran cold.

"Horus, we have to go. He's back."

---

"Neither do I Rufus," Maddie replied as she eyed the picture in the boy's hands. "But, I mean, we can't just call them serial killers, can we?" Truth be told, the quicker they got out of the spooky cabin in the woods, the better. However, she was with Horus on this one. Where would they go? All their phones were missing and the forest was unsafe. Not to mention, the strange deer they'd encountered by the lake. She always thought the woods were safe, and if anyone said otherwise, she would have been skeptical. Today, however, she wholeheartedly believed the creepy cabin was safer than the oddly unfamiliar woods.

The sound of furniture being pushed around and knocked over made Maddie wince. What were Bram and Horus doing? Or specifically, what was Bram doing? She felt a headache coming and pinched the bridge of her nose to alleviate the tension.

The sound of furniture being moved around stopped, and instead, she heard Bram's voice. It sounded quiet and uncertain.

​

"Maddie, Rufus," the boy in question called out from the end of the hall.

"What are you guys doing out there?" Maddie asked almost instantly.

Bram didn't answer, and instead, motioned for them to follow after him. "There's a strange man outside. We should leave."

 

[Dip]

Horus and Rufus
Isospir

At that very moment, Horus wanted to kick Bram's ass.
While there were many moments that Horus wanted to deliver a swift kick to the ass, this was one of the many moments that he was ready to actually deliver. He balled his fists at his sides as he listened to the words that spilled out of the other boy's mouth, and he wanted to kick and scream.

"Excuse me, it's hard to call the police when we DON'T HAVE OUR PHONES." The Witch exploded. "Not to mention, WE. DON'T. KNOW. WHERE. WE. ARE." He added, bringing his arms to his face. He sighed into his hands and groaned as he took a step away from the insufferable prick.

He knew his little brother wouldn't appreciate a fight with Bram right at that moment. Somewhere else? Well, that was expected. But in the middle of some strange and rustic cabin in the unfamiliar woods? That wasn't an ideal place for a brawl, and who would they contact to get blood out of hardwood floors?

Bram was safe, but only for now.

Horus pulled his hands from his face, and watched as the Vampire behaved more like a packrat than a blood-sucking heathen. He watched him move around the room, one eyebrow cocked towards the wooden ceiling as he did. It wasn't long before the master prankster asked for some help, and Horus groaned into his hands once more.

Were they stealing now? Really?

Horus hesitated before he moved, wanting so badly to argue, but what kind of moral position could he take in a situation like that? Not steal, and suffer alone in the cold October frost? Steal, and let his moral compass suffer a serious blow? The Witch swallowed his better judgment and neared a corner of the room, unsure of what to grab. There was a thin cotton sheet, and he supposed that would come in handy. A box of matches on the window, near an old candlestick, but that was all he could grab before his fears were confirmed.

"What?" He gasped loudly, dropping the items he had collected in the process. He collected the scattered tin of matches and chased after the rolling candlestick, and stood up to see the dark figure in the shadows of the woods.

Horus handed off the items to the Vampire and cursed under his breath. "Great. No, really, this is amazing. This is exactly what I wanted to be doing with my free time. No, really, this is ideal for me! Fuck!" The wicked Witch turned to the other boy and pointed to him with a shaking finger. "What are we going to do now, huh?! How are we going to get out of this! I told you we can't leave, so what do you do? You start-start looting!"

Horus had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"There's a strange what, where?" The Nanny asked, shock and skepticism dripping from his voice. "Hey, Bram, shut up for two minutes, okay? We don't have time for pranks."

The Witch, at that moment, poked his head from around the corner with the Vampire. "This isn't a prank, Rufus." The older twin warned. "We have to leave."

"Leave? Are you kidding? Leave and go where?"

Horus, at that moment, seemed to shake off his nervousness. "I was just asking him that!!" He responded to his brother. "We don't know where we are, we don't have any way to call anyone, we don't even have any food--"

The younger twin, at the sound of food, instantly dashed down the hall to where he thought the kitchen was. Unlike his twin, Rufus was ready to make a break out of that place. What did they need? They needed food! Duh! Horus watched with bright and round eyes as his younger twin left him in the clutches of Bram and Maddie, and he didn't know if the stranger would be any worse or any better.

Within seconds, the younger twin came back, and with him, he had a loaf of bread and the only jar of jam he could find. He grabbed Maddie as gently as he could in his haste and met with the duo in the living room.

Well, now they had to leave.

The younger twin took one peak out of the window and groaned loudly. He dropped the jam and bread and gave Bram a hard shove. "Are you fucking serious?" He asked loudly, anger seething from him. "What is this? A sick joke? There is no one out there! I can't believe--"

Horus was right. No one was out there. With a click of the locked door, their fears were confirmed.

Now, the stranger was inside.

​

​

​

 

[Fox of Spades]

Bram didn't appreciate the shove, not in the slightest. He hadn't been joking. He liked pranks as much as the next guy, but he also knew when enough was enough, and pranking them in the middle of the woods after they had almost drowned... well, that was certainly crossing the line. He was an ass from time to time but he wasn't downright cruel.

"Touch me again and I'll bash in your face," Bram snapped. Without hesitation, he slammed his free hand against Rufus' chest and shoved the offending twin away.

"What are you doing?" Maddie yelped as the scene played out before her and Horus. She was quick to jump into action and squeezed her way between both boys before they could retaliate. Bram and Rufus towered over her, but she placed a hand on each of their chests and pushed them apart. "Stop!" She screamed. "Both of you! Stop it! Stop it, now!"

"It wasn't a prank," Bram hissed.

"Bram, shut up!" Maddie retorted without so much as skipping a beat.

Bram eased up, but visibly tensed when everyone around him froze. Standing by the half-open door, was a man with an axe. He had graying hair and a crisp, dark overcoat that made him look like a messenger of death. The bright lantern he held in his other hand did little to make him seem less frightening, if anything, the odd lighting accentuated the dark circles underneath his eyes.

He looked as if he were lost in a daze. At least, until he noticed his possessions held firmly in the youngsters' arms. The man narrowed his eyes at the teens then scowled.

​

"If I were you, I wouldn't step foot outside this cabin." The man's voice was deep and gravelly. "There's a beast in the woods, a horrible beast."

Bram felt whatever confidence he had left waning, but he masked his fear with a scowl of his own. "You expect us to believe this bullshit?"

The woodsman shrugged as he set the lamp gently on the ground. "It roams the woods. It's always watching." The man continued to mumble on and on, something about the lantern, the beast, how the woods was no place for the likes of them—how the beast would eventually find them.

Crazy talk. That was all Bram thought it was. If anything was going to hurt them, it would be the madman who brought them into the woods in the first place. He tightened his grip on the knife he'd found, his eyes flitting from Maddie to the twins. They could take the man if they all jumped him, or if they bolted, they'd surely be able to get past him and rush out the door. All he needed was a signal. Any signal. They had to be in this together, or else, there was a very real possibility they'd die.

"What are you doing with my knife, boy? I suggest you return it," the woodsman called out.

Every muscle in Bram's body tensed. Screw signs, he was taking fate into his own hands.

With a primal scream, he launched himself at the woodsman like a crazed lunatic.

 

[Dip]

Horus and Rufus
Isospir

Horus would have been lying if he said he didn't want a full-on fight to ensue. It's just what that cocky asshole needed, but now surely wasn't the time for that. The shove that was well delivered wasn't well received, but the response nearly sent Rufus off of the edge. If it hadn't been for the younger woman stopping him, there would have been a duel to end all duels.

Well, atleast there would have been an ugly fight in the middle of a a random house dead center of nonewhere.

The older twin placed a hand on the shoulder of his brother and sent a glare the Vampire's way. If it hadn't been for Maddie, there would have been blood. The younger twin pulled apart after a tense moment and took a step back. No matter what anyone had to say, Rufus still blamed Bram for everything that had led up to this moment as some kind of sick and twisted joke.

It wasn't long before the tense aura of the situation only worsened. The door slowly creaked open, and with that, the twin's hearts fell into the pits of their stomach as they got their first look at the axe-wielding Woodsman.

The strange Woodsman telling them not to step foot outside of the cabin was incentive enough for the younger twin to split. He had no need to mess around with the likes of Woodsman in the woods, and he never wanted to in the first place.

Slowly, the two brothers faced eachother, and felt very guilty. Guilty for being inside the house and basically performing a misdemeanor of breaking and entering (... they did do that, right?) and going as far as stealing from the strange old man. Horus, at that time, held the rucksack behind his back to escape prosecution, while Rufus lay guilty with the bread and jam in front of himself.

The twins sent a look Bram's way as he dared to cuss at the man who held the bigger weapon. The two were certainly thankful when the older gentleman did nothing but shrug and gruff at the ill-worded phrase. The description fo the beast, while it was minimal, sent shivers down the twin's collective and personal spines.

This... well, it was within the realm of crazy talk, but there was always a hint of truth within the crazy.

The twins gently looked about, from Maddie to Bram, back to Maddie, and then back to each other. The duo had no idea what they were about to do, or what actions they were going to take. They were in the middle of the woods! Where the hell were they going to go?!

Well, that question was answered: Anywhere but there.

With a scream, the entire world stopped spinning, and Bram took matters into his own hands. The younger twin instantly lept forward after the other-- not to assist, but to defend. The twin grabbed the other by the scruff of the collar, and pulled him back sharply.

Rufus could hardly muster words to describe the moment. All he could think of was one phrase: Run.

The older twin took the chance to pick up the bread and jam that was previously dropped, and shoved it deep within his stolen pouch. With a now-free hand, he grabbed Maddie by the forearm, and gave her a look that said, "we're leaving, and now."

The younger twin did the same, grabbing the knife-weilding Vampire quite harshly, and dragging him away from the axe-whealding woodsman as fast as possible.
​

 

[Fox of Spades]

Bram tried to attack a man with a knife—with an honest-to-God knife. Not some Halloween prop he'd stashed in his pockets to scare the freshmen, but a real knife he'd grabbed from this very man's home. Maddie didn't quite know what to make of the situation, and she stood unmoving, disbelief written all over her face and her heart hammering in her chest. If it hadn't been for Horus, she would have remained there, staring blankly into space, muttering beneath her breath, and trying to make sense of such a ridiculous and frightening encounter.

If this was his house, was this man responsible for taking them here? What was he saying about some beast? Could he help them or was he just insane? Was he a criminal? Maddie's thoughts began to spiral and her knees shook visibly beneath her.

"We're leaving, and now."

Horus' voice snapped her out of her stupor and Maddie steeled herself. They could freak out later, now, they had to focus on getting out of this cabin alive. "Bram, forget the knife!" She practically screeched. God forbid he do something stupid. He was an idiot from time to time, but now was not the time!

Bram didn't argue. He was too stunned to argue.

At one moment he'd been charging toward the woodsman with a knife in hand, and at the next moment, Rufus had stopped him. They were in this as a team, but instead of banding together to neutralize the threat and hopefully get some answers out of him, they were now running like a gaggle of headless chicken.

He wrenched his hand free, and bolted alongside the younger twin.

All four of them running in a frenzy was enough to send the woodsman into a confusion. They ran past him with ease, charged out the door and disappeared into the ominous forest. The four of them ran and ran until the darkness swallowed them whole, until the cabin and the crazy woodsman disappeared - until they were surrounded by miles and miles of ancient-looking trees.

Only then did they stop, and only then did Maddie drop her calm facade.

"Rushing at someone with a knife? With a knife! What were you thinking Bram? We're you planning to stab him? What if you actually succeeded?"

Bram was honestly taken-aback. In this situation... she was scolding him? He had tried to save them. "We woke up in a cabin in the woods. He could have been a fucking psychopath. He was talking about a beast. He was crazy. If you're going to be pissed at anyone, it ought to be whoever kidnapped us." There was a hint of venom in his voice, and Maddie quieted down in response.

"We need to figure out where we are," Maddie spoke quietly. "Horus, Rufus, are you both okay?" She made a mental note to thank the older twin for saving her back there. "Is everyone okay?" Realizing that their situation was far from okay, she changed her phrasing. "I mean, no one's hurt? Does anyone need to sit down for a bit? I have plasters - does anyone have a signal?" She was starting to lose it, but the worst thing they could do was panic, she understood that. "We need to get help."