inquinatum; chapter 06
Chapter 06;
R (15+), graphic violence, swearing, some content may trigger. Read at your own risk. :)
* * * * *
Sometimes human places,
create inhuman monsters.
- Stephen King, 'The Shining'
Drip, drip. Drip, drip.
I could have sworn it was always raining here. Never a moment of sunshine. The moment I neared the neighbourhood, the dark alleyways, the sun hid behind dark clouds that hung over the abandoned houses like a heavy cloak.
Why was I here when I swore to never come back? I was looking for my phone. At least, that was the main excuse that I gave myself. Secretly, I was curious to see whether the creature was still here or not, whether it lived here or not, and why. I felt like the stupid main character from a book, always poking his nose into things, thinking himself a hero but human curiosity is a powerful thing - yet one can only go poking about so far before it kills him.
The night was chilly, and the rain that drizzled down slashed at my face with its tiny icy drops. I cringed lightly, scrunched up my nose in distaste but continued to walk on. A turn here, a turn there, and I finally stopped in front of the same door I had once pounded on in fear, screaming to be let in.
Everything was so eerily quiet now. The abandoned houses loomed over me, blocking out the little bit of cloudy sky there was to be seen. I coughed a bit and pushed the door open, it opened with a creak and groan. Hesitating for a second more, I stepped inside.
It was musty, and smelled of air that had been in for too long. The window that I had escaped from was closed - someone had been here. Maybe the guy that owned these lots came around to check up on vandalism or kick out all the homeless people that nested here. I let it slide and reached for the switch to turn on the lights. It didn’t work.
I shuffled around the room, squinting in the poor light. At this rate I wasn’t going to find anything. A strange dark red blotch lingered on the wallpaper near the empty doorway and I shivered, trying to not my mind wander at thoughts of what it could be and why it was there. After a few minutes of searching, in the corner I spotted a candle and some matches beside it, and lit it up.
The cold room flooded with warmth and I relaxed slightly. Now that I wasn’t exactly rushing to get away from a thing on its way to kill me, I had time to stop and examine everything.
The plaster was cracking and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls. The wooden floor creaked and groaned with every step I took. Mould blossomed in corners, and strange stains decorated the old walls and ceiling.
After a further seven minutes of searching, I finally found my phone tucked in under some rubbish. Picking it up, I looked it over - it seemed to be in fine shape, save a few scratches here and there. Telling myself I had nothing to do here, I turned to go but froze when the floor creaked. It came in a sudden realisation that it wasn’t my step, and it wasn’t the floor either. My gaze slid up towards the ceiling.
Another creak. Someone was up there. I hesitated, debating whether I should continue leaving or go check it out. Both seemed valid options, and yet my mind screamed to run, that something wasn’t right (was it ever anymore?).
And against all gut feeling and reason, I turned towards the small hallway and the staircase at the end, approaching it with light steps, attempting to be as quiet as possible.
For a moment, there was nothing, then I heard voices.
One was deep and manly, the other two were raspy and croaky. I tested the stairs in front of me - they seemed to be safe. Quietly making my way up to the top of the staircase, I paused by the closed door and leaned my ear against it the crack, listening in.
“There have not been many reports, my Lord,” said one of the raspy voices. “We have heard little from her, but too much from him.”
“So you have nothing? No movement, no direction?” The deeper voice retorted sounding annoyed.
There was some scuffling about and the raspy voice returned, “No, my Lord. We are sorry.”
“Why the fuck do I keep you around then? To hear your pitiful reports everyday over and over again?” the deeper voice said sternly, “No my Lord this, no my Lord that. I don’t care about formalities. You just bring her to me, or at least use your brains to capture him and torture it from him! Perhaps I need to remind you who you work for?” The deep voice sneered.
A small sharp whimper pierced the brief moment of silence, “But my Lord, we-"
“I don’t care for your excuses! Once caught at least he’s in our possession, at least we can make him talk and-"
He didn’t finish as the door I was leaning on a bit too much suddenly fell open to the inside of the room. I tumbled forward and fell onto my knees. Looking up quickly, eyes wide, I took in the scene in a second.
The man had whirled away, his face hidden from me. He was wearing a dark cloak, hiding his body underneath it. Despite the cloak however, his shoulders were visibly tense, and his hand gripped the hood into place to cover his face. Beside him stood the creature I had both anticipated and feared to see again, except this time there were two of them. My blood ran cold, and I attempted to scramble up.
“Who is it?” the man in the middle asked, his voice agitated and low.
“A human, my Lord,” the creatures hissed in unison, stepping towards me, forked tongues flicking back and forth.
The man growled something, “Kill him then, don’t just stand there! We don’t need witnesses.”
The two creatures briefly looked at each other before lunging towards me. I jumped up and turned, dropping the candle and running down the stairs. Through the hallway and towards the door, not daring to try my luck with the window again. Better to leave through the door I knew was open, than the window that might be locked.
I ran outside, heart pounding inside. Behind me I heard a raging screech, and then something heavy landed onto the roof of the house, tiles spilling everywhere. I ran faster. Taking a wrong turn, I found myself at a dead end and scowled. Fuck!
Whipping around to face the two approaching creatures, both growling and snarling in their satisfaction of having caught me, I shook my head.
“Please, no,” I begged - but what for? I doubted they would spare me their lives.
And just like in the picture I had drawn, one raised its arms and hissed at me, ready to lunge. It crouched for a moment then sprang forward.
It never reached me however, because suddenly a bright white light flared from a nearby window, and a smooth voice that I have never heard before spoke,
"Look here, you fucking scum."
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A/N: YAHHHHH I'm back! :D
I realised when I posted this up that some images were a bit dark (like, when Micah is outside). I sincerely apologise! :( I'll make them a bit brighter next time, yes? c:
As for now, I hope you enjoy the horrible annoying cliffhanger I left you (it was meant to be one chapter but then I split it into two), and please - if you are interested, check out the link below! It's got where you can ask the characters (or the actors of them!) questions about various stuff (helps with my character development too if they are all deep and stuff!). Also includes a little paragraph where you can leave some feedback (in the case you want to leave feedback/suggestions anonymously, just put dashes in the required fields o.o) Fun part - anonymous! You don't have to be shy or be scared I'll find you *twitches*. I'd highly appreciate any comments you want to give there (or here too!) and yup. Hopefully you can check it out. And all the answers should be posted soon (once I get some questions) with the characters replying to them in a new post here. :)
So yes. I'm back, and...
Hope you enjoyed it all and thank you for reading!! :)
> > > LINK LINK LINK FOR AWESOME Qs and FEEDBACK! :D < < <
(Also, is it a bit weird that I think the demon with the silver horns has an attractive face? Anyone?? o.O)