I instantly left the chair next to the window to sprint down to my uncle. Flinging the door open so hard that it smacked the wall and left an imprint, I bolted into the corridor. My legs sped past each other as I went down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as I raced to the ground floor. I ended up nearly knocking a vase over in the process, and barely managed to catch it a few inches off the floor during my mad dash to the living room.

Bursting through the kitchen door, I saw my uncle pulling his chair back to get up, his fork still in his hand, a piece of cooked meat on his silver plate. He looked at me with a dazed expression as I practically threw myself into the room.

“Uncle, we have to go!” I yelled as I started running towards the front door, before he tugged on my shirt to stop me as I passed him.

“Settle down son,” he said, though his brow narrowed and I saw him bite his lip when he saw my expression. He placed me aside so he could walk to the window after he put his hand reassuringly on my shoulder. His eyes suddenly widened as he took in the situation, and his hand reached for the small dial next to the door, before stopping to turn around. I quickly moved around him to see what was happening for myself.

The wind gales made it kind of hard to see, and the natural dust storm kicking up didn’t really help, but the monster was big enough so that I could get what was going on regardless. It was throwing its ugly head all over the place; it had quickened its speed and was gaining on our field with great pace, it tongue lolling out of its mouth. “Get your cousins and go up,” he said, getting away from the window and pushing some furniture against it.

He reached into the cupboard and procured a little box. “Take this.” He opened the box up and handed me some matches. “You’re going to have to burn away the staircase,” he said, looking distraught.

“Uncle, have you gone mad? What are you going to do? You need to come with us.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m gonna figure something out. Don’t worry about me.”

“You can’t!” I reached for the wooden sword by the table. “I’ll stay here with you.”

“Trust me, this is the only way,” he pleaded, his eyes bloodshot.

“No, I’m not moving,” I insisted, my eyes tearing up as I clutched my sword.

“Please, take your cousins and go,” he said, his voice shaking.

I heard a loud noise outside, followed by barks from our dogs scattered around the farm, usually around the sheep and cows, and mud being flung about, then a very brief silence, before the scurrying began again.

“Now!” he screamed, and I panicked and ran up the stairs, taking my cousins by the hand. I had barely even looked back as the creature tried to enter the doorway, bashing its grotesque head against it until bits of the plaster started falling. “Light the match!” he said from a couple feet away from the door, backing away from the insane monster trying its hardest to infiltrate the doorway. He rushed behind one of the curtains and managed to pull a hose from the yard, placing it on the smashed glass of a nearby window.

“I’ll put it out so it doesn’t burn the whole house.”

“No,” I protested through dry lips, my vision blurry, but I had no other option, none that I could see at least. “Please uncle, you don’t have to do this.” The plaster fell away completely, and the Amrita scurried inside, its nightmarish face fully visible now, the teeth seeming like rows of bystanders in the capital, applauding for some macabre performance. It didn’t even flinch as my uncle smashed a porcelain sculpture right on the creature’s head, and rendered any other attempts obsolete as it spun around, thrashing with uncanny precision as it decimated everything around it.

I braved myself for what was to come, knowing my uncle was going to try to take down the monster and sacrifice himself for us. I was about to close my eyes, unable to take in the sight before me, and simply held my cousins perfectly tight, trying to console them.

In that moment, as if by magic, the creature completely ignored him and charged towards me. I stumbled backwards madly. I even let go of my cousins. Throwing the match and allowing the fire to spread forward, I started to swing my sword around and over it, trying to push it back. Despite the ferocious heat, it was still trying to get to me. Thankfully the fire at least prevented it from physically doing so, but it didn’t stop its tongue from lashing out and grabbing my sword, pulling it back and biting into it.

Hearing the wooden splitting apart, I rushed forward and hit it with a pure explosion of energy. The Amrita wailed so loudly I thought my eardrums would rupture, but it thrashed itself right over the burning staircase, and ended up falling over with a bang that resonated throughout the whole house.

Of course, given my lack of control, it threw me off balance as well, and I tumbled over the banister, falling about ten feet unto my back. I felt something crack, and could taste blood coming from my mouth.

I tried to move my hands, and found I could not even move my fingertips. “Fernando,” my uncle said, rushing over to me, not even caring that he’d gotten hit with the brunt of the damage from the Amrita’s crash into the kitchen. “I’m going to call the doctors. Just hang in there!”

He activated a small formation at the entrance, and a voice message triggered that promised that help was on the way. I heard rubble moving around behind me, and I just managed to turn around as something got out of the damaged room.

The fucking thing was still alive.