Kima carefully climbed the basement stairs, each step creaking in protest under the girl's weight. She could feel herself holding her breath with every sound that the stairs emitted, not wanting to disturb whatever it was that terrified Penny so much. Within minutes she reached the top and stared up at the wooden door trying to will herself to open it. Panic was finally beginning to set into her mind and she found she needed to force the feeling away before it over took hold of her mind causing her to flee back down the stairs to the safety of Penny's hiding place, the thought of Penny made Kima glanced down to see the girl still waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Kima forced herself to smile at the girl, and then she wiped her sweating palmed against the legs of her pyjama before she took hold of the doorknob. She sucked in a deep breath and held it, unsure if she really wanted to know what was beyond that door. Summoning every ounce of courage she could muster she cautiously gave the knob a test turn. It made a slight squeak, however Kima felt if she turned it quick enough it would not make too much noise. Still holding her breath she place both hands upon the knob and quickly gave the knob a quick jerk then pushed the door open. As she suspected it only gave the slightly of sounds and opened smoothly The light from a slightly ajar refrigerator door told Kima that she must be in a kitchen. She crept though the door and felt along the wall in search of a light switch when something quickly slammed the refrigerator door and scurried across the floor. Quickly Kima backed away from the shadowy thing and ducked low behind a counter in an attempt to hide from whatever was in the room. She cautiously scanned the room in search of who ever could be with her when she spotted something moving in the corner of her eye. The small amount of light from a window over the sick did not prove to be enough for Kima's eyes to focus and she needed to squint in the darkness to see anything. Then she saw it again, this time closer, it was making its way towards Kima and she was sure that it would be upon her soon enough. It was small, whatever it was, and could not have been over knee height. Kima nervously searched for the creature when she noticed one of the lower cupboard doors slowly creaking on its hinges. She slowly turned to face the cupboard, not willing to let this creature get the jump on her or slip passed after Penny. A pair of burning red eyes peered out from within the dark recess of the cupboard, staring directly at Kima. She shuddered in fear as those beady eyes glared at her through the darkness. She could feel them burning through her skin. It felt as if the creature was examining her soul, she clenched at her chest in an attempt to conceal her soul from those eyes. She was certain that the creature was licking its lips wanted to tear its claws through her flesh and feed upon her core. "I see you." Kima muttered under her breath, "You are not going to get a taste of me without a fight." She spotted a broom hanging on the wall near the counter. Slowly she moved to grab the broom, careful not to attract the creature's attention too much. She wrapped her fingers around the pole when the creature suddenly dashed across the kitchen floor at the redhead. Kima quickly freed the broom from its hook and brought it down hard on the beast's head. The blow only seemed to stun the creature slightly as it shook it's head and prepared for another attack. It shrugged the broom off of its back and rushed at Kima again. This time Kima punched out at the creature with her fist, tossing the creature high in the air. Kim was almost certain the creature felt soft and fuzzy, not like any animal she had ever felt before. The creature careened through the air and land in the sink. Hastily Kima was to her feet and flipped on the lights to discover a grey teddy bear laying face down in the sink, its limbs flailing about as it struggled to right itself. "Huh?" Kima watched the bear carefully as she approached it. Now that she got a better look at the creature she realized that it was not an ordinary stuffed animal. There appeared to be something moving under the fur. Like the creature was wearing the teddy bear's skin for clothes. Flaps of torn fabric could be seen hanging around long sharp claws. It reminded Kim of the teddy bear that attacked Kai in Penny's room earlier that same day, but much nastier. She held the broom firmly between her hands like rapier and prepared for the critter to move. Suddenly the bear lifted its head and glared at Kima. It hissed at the girl, the muzzle of the toy partly falling off revealing hairless grey features beneath its skin and jagged teeth. Teeth that Kima was sure would sink into her skin if she gave it a chance. Without hesitation Kima shoved the tip of the broom at the teddy with enough force to stab it directly through the chest. Green fluid burst forth from the wound down the sink's drain. The bear screamed out in pain as it struggled to free itself of the broom handle, which Kima held firmly against the bear not allowing it to escape. She glanced around the room to find a block of knives on the counter nearby. She pulled the biggest knife from the bunch and smiled sinisterly at the stuffed animal. The bear stopped fighting with the broom to stare at the gleaming blade in the girl's hand and the grin that broadened across her face. One would almost think that there was a flitter of fear in the creature's beady eyes as Kima brought the knife down upon it, repeatedly stabbed the thing, sending greenish blood flying across the room. Globs of goo covering the curtains that hung over the sink and splattering Kima's clothes as she furiously hacked the creature to bits. Only when Kima was sure it finally stop twitching did she discontinued her assault. Her mind cleared of the haze and examined the scene before her. There was bits of stuffing and tattered remains of the bears fur mixed with thick green blood all over the counter. Kima shakily wiped at the blood from her face as she tried to catch her breath. Terrified of what she had just done she dropped the knife to the floor and backed up to the basement door, "It was only a bugbear." She muttered to herself, "It's not the same as before." She tried to convince herself but she did not feel her words sinking in. "K... kima..." Penny's voice softly drifted up the stairs, "Are you alright?" She anxiously inquired. "Penny!!" She called out down the stairs, "We need to hurry." She ordered, not taking her eyes off the gory mess. Penny nervously stepped upon the first stair then took a step back, "I... I can't..." She cried up at Kima. Kima held her hand out through the door, "You need to." She commanded, she was almost sure that there were more of those creatures coming and she would not be able to fight them all, "Please." She added in a gentler tone. Penny glanced around the basement then up at Kima. She took a deep breath then charged at the stairs, taking them two at a time. Kima watched in astonishment, the girl's age reversed with every step she took and by the time she reached the top step she was ten years old. Penny ran into Kima's arms that hugged her tightly. "Good girl." Kima soothed as she stroked the back of the girl's hair. She figured what ever it was that lived up here must have a great amount of power to cause Penny to become a child again. This fact alone filled Kima's heart with dread. She was not sure she was ready to face whatever nightmares held this girl in its grip, "We need to get out of here." Kima urgently stated, trying hard to hide her own fear. "But..." Penny glanced around the kitchen, "My belt..." "We'll find it later." Kima promised, taking the girl by the hand and pulling her across the kitchen until she found a light switch and hit it. The room was flooded by light and for the first time Kima could really see where she was. They stood within a old, run down kitchen with water stained walls that Kim's suspected might have once been white at a time. There were two exits out of the kitchen and Kima was considering which to take when Penny began to cry. "I... can't leave without it." She stammered vulnerably, trembling at the mere thought of leaving, "I can't..." Kima let out a sigh; she had no idea how she would find this belt or what it looked like for that matter. For all she knew it might not even look like a belt at all. It could be some odd symbolism that appears in dreams that never made any sense. She considered telling this too Penny when looked down into those frightened eyes as they stared at the dead bugbear. Kima ushered Penny's eyes away from the grotesque sight then glanced around the room Whatever this belt was it must be special and Kima finally gave in to the girl's wishes and nodded in agreement, "I'll help you find it." She agreed. Penny wrapped her small arms around Kima's waist and hugged her close, "I hope you can." She stated dismally, "No one else has." Kima let out a sigh of despair, "We'd better get moving." She stated and scanned the two exits, "You have any idea where we are or which way we should go?" Penny pointed to the larger opening that lead to a long dark hall. "Of course." Kima slouched, "It always has to be the darkest hallway." Pulling herself back to her full height she took the girl's hand and started across the kitchen towards the hall. ***** To be Continued . . .
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