By some miracle of your own weight, you wrestled the beast to the ground. Claws carving ragged tally marks down your arm, the thing thrashed like an alligator! It sprayed froth and screeched into the night, loud enough to wake the dead.
You shuddered a sigh. It was smaller than you’d assumed. On trembling arms, you held it against the cold cobblestone, an inch beyond where those snarling jaws were snapping at you!
While you were all focused, something latched onto your back. Shit- another one? Before you could realize what was going on, you were in the air, yanked to your feet and that- that thing was punted from your hands and through the air! Panting, your eyes fell to the scuffed up boot that delivered the kick.
“Ygor…?”
The protective grip on your collar loosened, then let go as the creature whimpered, scrambling off into the bushes. Catching your breath, you sputtered, “Why’d you help me?”
Silhouetted action hero style by the moon, he flashed a set of crooked teeth. “Ygor likes being manager.” Well, that made sense- He couldn't be a manager if his one employee got their larynx torn out by some wild animal. You found something oddly sweet in the pride he took in that.
Yanking your arm up to eye level, he watched the blood drip from your fingertips. “That…does not look good. Ah- Not to worry!” Patting you on the back, he assured. “Ygor will take you back to the manor to get fixed up!”
And he did. In that parlor, by the warm fire, there was some strange tenderness with which he dressed your wounds. From your seat on the couch, you watched as Ygor cleaned the scratches with meticulous attention, sitting on the floor before you.
Watching those surprisingly gentle hands wind gauze around your forearms, you mumbled. “I guess you were right about being out there at night…”
“Oh, not to worry!” Ygor waved a dismissive hand at your sheepish tone, his voice lowered. “You’re safe now, yes?” You nodded. “Well, that is what matters!” Tying off a piece of gauze, he pulled himself to his feet with a groan. “Now… You said your car was at the edge of town?”
While you still held hope Ygor could be your ticket out of here, you couldn't deny that sticking around was starting to sound pretty appealing…