Chapter Five – Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Clara ran down the stairs as fast as her heeled boots would allow her. Hitting the final step she stopped to compose herself and opened the door.
Jacob wore a tight-fitting pair of black jeans, a dark green hued buttoned shirt, and a darker leaf green jacket over the top of it. His hair was slicked back emphasizing his deep blue eyes. He looked Clara up and down and placed a hand to his chest gasping sharply. “Wow! I er… Sorry I erm…One moment please”. He turned and shook himself out to compose himself.
Clara giggled.
Jacob began deep breathing in and out dramatically. “Get it together Jacob. Woo sah, wooooo saaahh”. He turned back to Clara, a huge smile on his face. “Okay, back with you”.
Clara couldn’t help but grin childishly at him. “Bad Boys reference, good choice”.
Jacob laughed. “Yeah, glad you got that and didn’t think I was some weirdo”.
Clara shook her head. “Oh no definitely a normal thing to do at the start of a date, totally, completely normal and makes a great first impression”. Clara gestured sarcastically as she gave him two thumbs up.
Jacob grinned at her. “Ha ha, very funny, can you blame me though, I mean you look…you look…well your just…” He gestured up and down at her. “Just perfect, I’m going to be having hot flushes all night at this rate”.
Clara blushed brightly. “I have a lovely burlesque fan upstairs you can borrow if you’d like”. Clara winked.
Jacobs eyes grew wide in excitement. “Burlesq… you do burlesque too?”
Clara tittered playfully. “Oh yeah me and Danielle used to do classes together, our wardrobe’s full of corsets, short skirts, feathered boa’s and…”.
Jacob put a hand up to stop her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down”. He bent over resting on his elbows, breathing dramatically. “We’ve not even walked away from your apartment yet and you’ve already nearly caused me heart failure multiple times”.
Clara stepped towards him to pat his back. “Sorry, no more sexual conversation from now on, I promise, cross my heart”. She crossed her finger over her chest.
Jacob stood up suddenly. “Well, let’s not rule it out completely just yet, I am still a man after all”. He winked slyly at her and bowed, took her hand, and kissed it gently.
Clara flushed in surprise. “Oh, a true gent aren’t we?” She began fanning herself with her hand.
Jacob looped his arm through hers. “Shall we? M’lady”.
Clara replied with a graceful curtsey. “My good sir, lead the way”.

As they made their way into the town they chatted about their lives and interests, jobs and hobbies. Soon enough they arrived in the center of the town and Clara realized she still was not aware of where they were headed.
She waited for a pause in their talk and asked. “So where exactly are we going for dinner anyway I completely forgot to ask you when we arranged it?”
Jacob smiled. “Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but you likely know this town better than I do so you’ll probably know it before we get there”. He let out a slightly nervous laugh.
Clara simply nodded as she allowed Jacob to continue leading the way.
They passed by all the usual restaurants that Clara would have assumed they were headed to, one after another until they reached the end of the food district and continued further still towards the outskirts of town.
Clara grew slightly worried at this point, she was wondering if Jacob knew where he was going. She looked around, barely recognizing the town in the diminishing light. She didn’t normally come down to this side of town as there was nothing but housing and industrial buildings.
Clara finally grasped the courage to voice her concerns. “Are you sure we’re going the right way? All the food places were back there along that street”.
Jacob turned to her. “Yeah, a lady at the place I’m staying at recommended it to me, she said it was completely unique, it made me think about how unique your bookstore is, so I thought you might like it”.
Clara smiled at the thought that had gone into his planning. This was turning out to be even more special than she had hoped.

They continued walking for another few minutes in silence before Jacob exclaimed excitedly. “We’re here, that’s the building she mentioned”.
Clara looked around, all she could see were houses and factories in the far-off distance. She grew more nervous. “Not to be rude, but are you sure?” Her heart was pounding.
He turned to look at her, a great smile on his face. “Yeah come on, over there”. He pointed to a single large home that looked out of place amongst the rest. It looked much older and was the only detached building nestled amongst the rows of fully attached homes.
It was as if it had been transported back in time from many centuries before and just dropped on top of where a previous building once stood, the grey stonework was aged, and the mortar was crumbling. Standing a floor higher than the rest of the buildings, a large wooden sign swung loosely in the wind.

Clara stood in awe as she stared up at the building. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place before, how long has it been here? It looks ancient! Surely this is a historical landmark, not a restaurant”.
Jacob turned to Clara. “Yeah she said it looks a little run down, but I wouldn’t be disappointed”. He pulled a small sheet of paper out of his back pocket and read it aloud. “The old looking building with the large sign at the back end of town, which should be called…” He looked up at Clara smiling. “The Don’t Come Inn”. He snickered waiting for her reaction.
Clara looked at him smirking. “You can’t be serious”.
Jacob was still laughing as he approached the large oak door pointing up to the sign.
Clara followed behind and looked up at the sign. “Who the hell came up with a name like that?”
Jacob’s hand was on the door as he shrugged and stepped inside. He began chuckling again as he pointed at another sign on the wall while he held the door open for her.
“Entry is Forbidinn”. Clara sighed. “I hope these awful puns don’t continue ‘inn’ side”.
Jacob laughed. “Oh come inn, they’re just tavern a laugh”.
Clara shook her head as she attempted to hide her amusement.

The interior was completely different from the exterior, the walls were of old wood with a large staircase in the corner. Beside it a long bar protruded, stretching from one end of the wall to the other, behind it various bottles and glasses lined the walls. Tables and benches were littered around the room with no apparent order or organization.
Jacob strolled straight to the bar and called out.
Clara followed behind, admiring the architecture of the bar. “It feels like we’re going to be harassed by a bosomy barmaid and have an ol’ timey sailor with a hook for a hand tell us a story of his great adventures”.
Jacob continued calling as he made his way around the bar.
Clara rushed to stop him. “Hey, you can’t go back there, look at the sign”.
Jacob looked up at the sign. “Thou shalt not pass, ‘oh for crying out loud”. He circled back around and gestured towards the stairs. “Well, there’s no punny signs on the stairs, how about we go see if there’s a forest up there or something?”
Clara giggled. “That’d be a re-leaf, maybe we can get to the root of what’s going on”.
Jacob laughed. “Aren’t you getting a little ahedge of yourself there, this place is starting to grow on me to be honest. It’d be a shame to leaf”. Jacob held his hands wide for applause.
Clara shook her head as she pushed him towards the stairs. “Alright enough barking more asoiling those stairs…”
Jacob winced.
Clara shook her head. “Yeah I agree, that just sounded gross”.
They both continued laughing as they raced upstairs.

Jacob reached the top of the stairs. “I don’t beleaf it!”
The room expanded out into a lush forest, at its center a giant pond was surrounded by various flowers and large stones. Huge tree trunks soared towards the ceiling, covering it in thick foliage, woven chairs and thick sturdy benches were scattered throughout the room just like the tavern below. Vines climbed the walls and trunks and weaved around the banister to the next set of stairs leading up to yet another floor.

Clara gasped as she reached the top. “I don’t beleaf it!”
Jacob turned to her. “Hey, that was my one”.
Clara walked towards the water, gazing around the room and admiring the beauty of the lush forest all around her. “How do you think they made this?” She brushed her fingers through the grass and the flowers. “It’s all real”. She caressed the surface of the pond sending ripples through the waters. “But how? It feels like we’re in a fantasy world or something, it’s impossible”.
Jacob kneeled beside her. “There’s no one here either, shall we go up again and see what other wonders await us?”
Clara nodded. “Maybe we’ll end up in a cave surrounded by riches and treasures guarded by a huge sleeping dragon”.
Jacob shook his head in amusement. “I’ll take the treasures but let’s not jinx ourselves to having to fight a dragon, I imagine if we end up destroying this place they won’t accept a cheque”.

As they ascended to the next floor the air around them grew restless and cold, gusts of wind seemed to assail them from nowhere.
“Looks like someone forgot to pay the heating bill”. Clara shivered as she rubbed her arms vigorously.
Jacob turned back to her. “Do you want my jacket?” He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Better?”
Clara smiled at him. “Much better. Thank you”.
Jacob smiled at her and continued ascending the stairs. As he turned back Clara spotted a large tribal tattoo up his arm.
“Nice tattoo, I always wanted to get one, but I always chicken out before I get to the point of actually booking it”. She shuddered again. “The thought of needles makes me squeamish”.
Jacob lifted his arm and looked over his tattoo. “Thanks, it’s something I got when I was younger, sort of like a pact amongst me and my brothers”. He held his arm for her to see it easily.
Clara looked more closely. “A hyena?” She asked questioningly.
Jacob smiled. “Yeah, it basically a sign of when the pack is together we are unstoppable, strength in numbers and all that”.
Clara nodded. “Makes sense, so by your brothers you mean by blood or…”
Jacob interrupted before she could finish. “Loyalty is stronger than blood”.
Clara was taken aback by aggression in his tone. “O…kay, so that do the words below it mean?”
Jacob took her hand in his. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that, sorry”.
Clara smiled though she still felt uneasy. “No worries, everyone has their past”.
Jacob gave her a half smile. “And to answer your other question, it means trust in the pack”.
Clara nodded again. “Neat, so shall we continue our climb of Everest?” She gestured back up the stairs.
Jacob chuckled. “Yeah, lets hope the climbs not as taxing as the mountain itself.

The further they climbed the colder it got and the fiercer the gusts blew.
Clara shielded her face from the harsh wind. “How bloody high is this building? And what the hell is with this wind?”
Jacob was further ahead, he moved as if the conditions affected him in no way.
“Jacob”. She called out to him. “Is this come kind of funhouse or something?”
Jacob continued, unreactive to Clara’s calls.
“JACOB!” She shouted behind him.
“We’re here”. He stopped a few steps in front of her.
Clara struggled to see through the storm all around her as she stepped up beside him.
As she reached the final few steps the storms that had assaulted them disappeared. Clara dropped her arm and looked back. The stair seemed to go on forever, the forest floor below completely indistinguishable. She turned back to Jacob who stood blankly in front of a large stone wall.
Clara sighed. “Great, we reach the top of Mt Everest and a stone wall blocks our path”. Jacob did not react, he simply stared at the wall, running his palms across its face.
“Maybe if we speak friend we’ll be allowed to enter”. Clara laughed as she continued to watch Jacob. “Then all we need is an old man to throw off a bridge”.
Jacob continued to run his hands over the stone wall, ignoring Clara’s comments.
“Okay well this has been fun and all but I’m actually getting really hungry and as much as this has been quite possibly the most interesting date I’ve ever had in my life, I’m a little creeped out by the lack of people around here so could we leave, maybe go somewhere else?”
Jacob continued to ignore her plea’s.
“Jacob, come on, this is getting weird now”. She pleaded with him again. “JACOB, PLEASE!”

Clara felt the ground shake beneath her feet. “What was that?” She turned and looked back down the stairs.
Suddenly she felt Jacobs hand lock around her arm. “We have to leave, now!” He immediately began pulling her back down the stairs into the fierce winds that spawned out of nowhere.
“WHATS GOING ON?” She had to scream to be heard over the fierce gales.
Jacob ignored her and continued dragging her down the steps almost, causing her to fall.
“JACOB, STOP!”. Clara plead as she repeatedly tried to stop herself falling.
She struggled and fought against him the whole way as they descended. “Jacob, you’re hurting me, let me go, now!”. She managed to rip free of his grip as they reached the last few steps before the forest floor.
Jacob turned to her fury in his eyes. He reached for her, but she pulled away. “Clara, you have to come with me, we’re not safe here”. He reached for her again, but she slapped his hand away.
“NO! You need to tell me what’s going on. Why did you bring me here? Who the hell are you?” Clara balled her hands into fists as she scowled at him.
“Clara, you have to trust me, you’re not safe here”. Jacob calmly pleaded. The floor shook beneath them again. “Come on, something’s wrong, we have to move”. He grabbed her arm and attempted to drag her again.
She pulled away again. “No, not until you tell me what’s go…”
Jacob struck her across the face, sending her tumbling down the steps before rolling onto the soft grass of the forest floor. She got to her knees and looked up the steps towards Jacob as he proceeded towards her.
A thick mist dropped over her causing the forest to disappear all around her.
“CLARA, CLARA WHERE ARE YOU?” Jacob shouted from somewhere above.
Clara looked all around her, the mist was too thick to see anything. She got to her feet and began to stumble away from the sound of Jacobs voice.
The mists ahead of her seemed to break away as she moved, leaving her a clear path. She could hear him enclosing on her, she turned but the density of the mist continued to block her view.
As she turned again, she collided with one of the trees and was sent flying into the freezing pond. The water blocked out all light as she plummeted deeper into the icy cold.
She flailed helplessly as she attempted to resurface, a vice like grip on her chest as her body begged for oxygen. She gasped, allowing the freezing waters to pour into her lungs, her eyes shot open as she continued to struggle, the water ripping away the remaining oxygen in her lungs. Her eyes flickered open and shut as her mind began to shut down, the embrace of death granting her a moment of warmth, as slimy tendrils gripped at her wrists, she tried to pull away with the last of her strength.

As the darkness overwhelmed her a piercing scream reverberated in her mind, then silence.