[It's the most hysterical Ash has ever sounded, at least in front of Quentin. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get the door to budge, not even an inch. He doesn't give up, continuing to hammer on it with his fists and pull on the ancient metal handle like his life — and Quentin's — depends on it.
Hunched on the ground several feet away with her back to Quentin, Cheryl's thin frame shivers uncontrollably. Her head is tucked down, chin touching her collarbone as she rocks back and forth, almost in tune to Ash's pounding and the flickering of the single lightbulb acting as the cellar's sole source of illumination. It casts the cavernous room in a dirty orange light, spreading long shadows against the soggy earthen floor and the gourds hanging from the walls in the back, swaying gently in the dark.
"Please..." she whines and shudders, keeping the worst of her sobbing at bay. "Don't let him hurt me..."
She's still vibrating even when the pounding eventually stops as Ash pulls himself away from the door, getting to his feet on autopilot. He drags his hands down his face, digging his nails into his jaw as his heart hammers in his ears, loud enough to drown out whatever incoherent noises are coming from downstairs.]
no subject
[It's the most hysterical Ash has ever sounded, at least in front of Quentin. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get the door to budge, not even an inch. He doesn't give up, continuing to hammer on it with his fists and pull on the ancient metal handle like his life — and Quentin's — depends on it.
Hunched on the ground several feet away with her back to Quentin, Cheryl's thin frame shivers uncontrollably. Her head is tucked down, chin touching her collarbone as she rocks back and forth, almost in tune to Ash's pounding and the flickering of the single lightbulb acting as the cellar's sole source of illumination. It casts the cavernous room in a dirty orange light, spreading long shadows against the soggy earthen floor and the gourds hanging from the walls in the back, swaying gently in the dark.
"Please..." she whines and shudders, keeping the worst of her sobbing at bay. "Don't let him hurt me..."
She's still vibrating even when the pounding eventually stops as Ash pulls himself away from the door, getting to his feet on autopilot. He drags his hands down his face, digging his nails into his jaw as his heart hammers in his ears, loud enough to drown out whatever incoherent noises are coming from downstairs.]