Realistic or Modern We August Few

[Allion]

You have been informed of your grandfather's passing and in his will, he had given his estate to you. His estate is a moderately large home built upon a massive stretch of property on the far outskirts of Ashland Oregon. The home is fully paid for as is the land and even the bills seem strangely taken care of. It is essentially a free home with the only problem being its a small distance from the nearest town or city. All you mainly have to do is make money to buy food and enjoy a lovely home in the country side. However, also in his will was a strange message addressed to you, assuming you chose to move into the home. The message read: "Beware the favor yet to be collected." No one in your family knew what this meant. Your grandfather suffered from mild to severe stages of dementia in his twilight years and was often known for telling rich and fanciful stories of strange monsters or creatures. There were days where he was unable to remember his own name, yet he would still be able to perfectly recall these unusual individuals. Growing up, your father never cared much for these stories, so your grandfather would often tell them to you though they were hard to follow and often did not make much sense. You're family assumed he was just going mad. It was a large shock to much of your family when he said that he was now giving his ancient home to you...

 

[Allion]

The Miller Estate, an ancient home built several years ago on a massive stretch of forested land. By day in the summer, it is a beautiful, scenic area with its lush tress, clean fresh air, and even the occasional wildlife here and there. By night however, it becomes a rather spooky and unsettling location. The vast forest around it stretches for miles from the nearest town, making it a terrifying place to get lost in. There is still a road not too far away from the house and a beaten path that acts as a very long driveway all the way to it. Mailmen and delivery services are the most common form of individuals who actually know of the place and come by from time to time to deliver mail.

The building itself is in rather rough condition, yet still structurally sound despite going back nearly 200 years. Time has had a good run at the old home which is visible by the ancient peeling paint and the few splintering planks in the porch. Still, even with being out of its prime, the house is a marvel to be seen. The old architecture tells of a time from long ago, giving it a rustic classical feeling. Its almost as if looking at a piece of art in a museum. Internally, the house looks more 'newer' than the outside, possibly a recent refurbishing by the previous resident. The flooring within is composed of hardwood floors, albeit rather dusty. The walls are standard drywall though much of it is covered somewhat peeling wallpaper. Pictures are still hung up from the previous man who lived here along with much of his furniture.

The manor itself is composed of two floors, an attic and a basement. From the entrance, one will enter a lovely foyer with an attached staircase leading to the second floor. It also contains a grand living room, a kitchen with connected dining room with a bay window, a study, a large bedroom and a bathroom. On the second floor, one will have four surprisingly large empty rooms and two additional bathrooms. Strangely, despite the size of this house, its only really had one or two residents living in it at once, leaving an immense amount of empty and unused space within. A cord hangs from the ceiling of the second floor which marks the entrance to a dark and dusty attic.

In the back, a solid wood deck allows for simple viewing of the surrounding nature. A glass double door marks the backdoor of the home which appears to be more recent than much of the house. Simple wooden lawn chairs lay scattered about though they too are affected by age. Currently, it is within the Autumn months and many of the trees in the area have begun to change color, some even losing their leaves. This has dyed the area surrounding the manor a rich golden brown and adding to its beauty, at least doing the day. During windy nights however, the leaves howl through the air as the decaying trees rustle against one another, as if screaming of the inevitable winter.

In the will, it was described that the house itself was fully paid for, as was the many acres of land in which it was built upon. Financially, much of the place is taken care of and even much of the bills are strangely paid for in advance. How your grandfather managed to do that, he did not say. This means that much of the residence's finances would primarily go into maintaining food as well as maintenance for the home. This made the place almost perfect for anyone to move into or even have it just be a vacation home. However, at the very bottom of the will, a final message still lingered. "Prepare to answer the old favor." This phrase was spoke only a few times by your grandfather, and often it was during one of his rambling stories of monsters or strange creatures. Its possible that he heard this from his father, and was merely trying to pass it down. Or, maybe he was just completely losing his mind in his final moments. Either way, it has now become part of the inheritance to you...

 

[DracotheStern]

It was a long ride to get to the Miller Estate. I remember visiting this place in the past when I was young. But my father had stopped me from coming in my teen years, mostly because he thought Grandfather’s stories would poison my mind a little bit. This was not so, instead these stories inspired me to not only be an author myself. But also inspired me to write my first book. When Grandfather died, I mourned for a few days before realizing exactly what was left for me.

At first my father had tried to forbid me going there. My mother seemed more supportive than him and managed to convince dad to allow me to go. That led to where I was currently. I parked the car just outside and stared up for a moment before a few things came to mind. The warm wind blew against my curly hair, it was a warm summer day and the trees were a bright green. The sky bright blue. But I was not thinking about these beauties now. No, instead all my thoughts came back to one single thing.

Prepare to answer and old favour.

“Just who did you make deals with grandpa..?” The words rolled off of my tongue despite no one being there to hear me. After taking a few breaths, I would unpack some of my bags and moving them into the main foyer, it would take a while to unpack all my bags and move them to my new bedroom. Before I did that however, I would go exploring, just to see what I was working with.

After exploring the first two floors, I would pull the cord for the trapdoor leading to the attic. When the door opened and foldable ladder came down. I would climb up it to see what was up there.

 

[Allion]

The old dust inside swirled about as the door opened, as if it hadn't been disturbed in some time. Opening that door was like bringing life back into a dying creature, allowing the home to breathe once more. As Daniel enters, there's a strange disconnect for a moment, as if the old structure itself cant believe its old master is gone and this is the new inhabitant. The moment is quick to pass however, as the house recognizes its new master, one who had not been here in a long time. Daniel returning to this place was like him continuing a cycle, one that kept this ancient place alive and well.

Taking his look around, Daniel could discover the large spacious rooms and underused space. Obviously this home was not meant for only one person yet was not known for having more than that. Searching around a bit, he would probably discover the few rats that had managed to move in which scurried away to the far corners of the home upon his discovery. Besides them, the place had a very empty feel and that of loneliness.

Daniels exploration of the home would yield some interesting discoveries. The kitchen was well equipped with a working oven, refrigerator, sink, spice rack, pantry, large bar, and strangely, a locked liquor cabinet. It contained a hefty bolt lock, the key of which was no where to be found. The other containers were completely emptied before Daniels arrival, leaving him in desperate need of restocking.

The dinning room was large and spacious, coming with a grand lengthy table capable of sitting roughly nine guests comfortably. An old chandelier hangs from the ceiling, its various arms once shinned with a gilded sheen, now tarnished with time and cobwebs. Just beyond the dinning room was a set of glass double doors which led to the wooded deck outside.

Branching off from the dinning room would be a beautiful living room. Two sets of old fashion cloth couches would sit on either side of a quant coffee table with a large elaborate rug sitting below. An old, ornate rocking chair rested in the corner, grandfathers personal seat which he often told stories from. Against the far wall was an old fireplace, well stained with soot and ash from the countless winters it had helped warm. Other small rooms were also available from the first floor such as a guest restroom and grandpa's personal study. The door was locked, as it always was even when Daniel was a small boy so what lied beyond the door was a mystery. Conveniently, Daniel had received the key for the room in the will.

Departing from the study door to the attic, the old creaky ladder would slowly descend from the ceiling, unfolding neatly before resting against the ground below. Up above, Daniel would be greeted by a poorly lit and dusty room. A single small circular window at the front end of the attic would supply the only bit of sunlight for this room to receive. Several old boxes would mainly occupy the place, all of which were tossed and scattered about. Many of them would contain aged knickknacks and decorations for various seasons, mainly for Christmas or Easter. Strings of lights, a collapsible tree, ornaments (many of which were long shattered) could be found here. Aside from those, there were also other little house decorations or even pieces of furniture, most of which were broken or well worn with age.

However, if Daniel did some digging through the old storage boxes, he just might find something especially odd. Hidden in the bottom of one of these unlabeled boxes was jar. It was tightly sealed but has transparent glass, allowing him to peer inside. Within, he would see what looked like countless long white thorns of some kind. They had a slight curve to them and were nearly needle thin, each one also being an inch and a half long. They were all bone white and very few of them were broken, despite looking fragile. Upon closer examination would reveal them to actually be needle thin teeth, belonging so some kind of creature.

 

[DracotheStern]

A curious old place. The strange feelings could come and go with each room he entered. Of course the front entrance had the strongest feeling of oddity but that past pretty quickly. Still Daniel felt the hairs stand on the back of his head. Still, he was to live in this childhood mansion. This childhood, creepy, mansion. Ah yes this was going to be very fun. The young man thought of all the horror movie jokes he could make living here. Maybe even invite some friends over and mess around.

You know…if he had any friends.

Now feeling a little lonelier then before. The newest owner of this house explored the different rooms. Making note that this place seemed surprisingly well kept. Well for an old mansion anyway. Sure, there were cobwebs here and there. But he had always expected it to be a hell of a lot worse than it was. Some cleaning was needed though which was a bit of a pain. The young man would shake his head as he entered the kitchen to find the locked liquor cabinet. The Author was not huge fan of alcohol, but he still found it strange that there was no key for it. After a shrug, he would move to the next room.

After going through the living room where memories flooded back to Daniel in waves, it made him miss his grandpa even more. He could even envision the older man sitting in his chair with a younger Daniel on his lap and just reading to him. The young man had to wipe away tears before gathering himself and continuing through the rooms. Most of which were par for the course.

Then they came across that room. The one that always made a younger Daniel curious. The one he was never allowed in but now…now things were different! After exploring the rest of the house, he was for sure going to take a look in that study!

After looking through all the rooms, he would make his way up into the attic. “Whelp, if anything spooky was going to happen then it’d be here haha-“ He joked to himself as he ascended the ladder and peeked into said attic. It was about what he expected though. Going through some of the boxes yielded boring results but then he came across one of the storage boxes, he would lick up the jar and take a closer look before jumping up, startled, and nearly dropping it! After taking a deep breath, he placed the jar back.

“What the hell was that?!”

Not wanting to see anymore teeth, he left the attic and climbed back down before closing the door behind him. So yes, spooky thing was in the attic, and if that was up there then he dreaded going into the basement…though he might have to in the future.

The author shivered before heading back down to the first floor. Though he paused as he saw that study. After looking both ways, as if on reflex, he made his way over and took out some of the keys he was given for the estate. Now was the time!

He unlocked the Study’s door and went inside…

 

[Allion]

The Study

That door would give a small *click* as the key was inserted and turned. With an old creek from the tarnished hinges, that door would slowly swing open and reveal the secrets of the study. Usually this room remained locked during visits, but now it was free to explore. This was by far the cleanest room in the house and was not especially large. It seemed only large enough for one to two people to work in here comfortably without feeling cramped. There was a large ornate wooden desk at its center with lavish ornate carvings along its base. A grand leather study chair sat behind it and the left and right walls of the room were lined from top to bottom with books. They were mainly classical literature and was indeed an impressive collection ranging from old bibliographies and evolutionary theories to ancient tales and legends.

Behind the chair resting upon the wall was a massive oil painting with unusual subject matter and nearly took up the entire wall. The center consisted of a remarkably tall man with long lanky limbs and a golden mane for hair. On his shoulder rested a white cat with a large toothy grin and by his side was a massive black dog with a pair of curved ram horns protruding out of its head. It was unknown who this painting was suppose to be of as that man was definitely not Daniel's grandfather.

The painting itself was quite old but maybe not as old as the house itself. Much of it was faded to an extent and the paint was showing tiny cracks upon closer examination, though this was from what time often does to classic works of art. Much of the art piece consisted of darker colors, giving a very moody feeling to the study. The frame of the painting was composed of lightly tarnished bronze and was firmly bolted to the wall, probably because of how large the piece was and to insure it did not fall onto any unsuspecting victims who might have been working late at night.

The gentlemen in the center stood with the utmost posture which best showed off the unsettling lengths of his body. Perhaps the artist wasn't the greatest at proportions as everything about the man looked to be stretched out. Much of his body consisted of a long set of legs wearing loose fitting dark red slacks. His elongated torso wore a matching vest with an undershirt and a tie tucked into the vest itself. His unsettling arms looked bony and thin, almost like some kind of skeletal limb, and each hand was equipped with five long bony fingers. A large coat covered much of these creepy arms and the end of the coat would run all the way down to the base of his long legs. Even with all this, his head was the most unsettling. Sitting atop a stretched neck was a ghoulish looking face. His expression was gaunt, like the skin of his head was painted too tightly to his skull. His eye sockets looked deep and dark, with little dime sized circles of gold to mark his pupils. This gave the man an intense, harsh stare as though judging Daniel's every move. Behind his head was a brilliant golden mane of chaotic hair. It contrasted heavily to the dark background and made him almost look as though his head was on fire.

Resting on the shoulders of this lanky individual was some sort of feline. Similar to the man, the proportions of the cat seemed off. No matter how one looked at it, there was an 'uncanny valley' vibe about it, like it was suppose to be a cat but at the same time, was not. It had sparkling white fur which stuck out strongly against the many dark colors of painting, and a long white tail trailed down the right shoulder of the man. Its paws looked like a mix between actual animal paws and human fingers, as if this creature was able to grab onto things. Each claw the feline possessed was tipped with the brightest of reds and ended with a sharpened tip. Its face also gave out this uncanny vibe to it as it had a lot of strange humanoid elements added into it. There was no pink little nose and instead merely had two black slits for nostrils. Its ears would curl down from the top to the sides of its head before curling outwards and ending in a small fluff of fur. Its eyes were strikingly odd and mismatched. Both were large and intense as they gazed down at little Daniel but one was a brilliant silver in color while the other eye was a bloody crimson. Finally, the creature wore a grin from ear to ear, a massively wide and unsettling smile that was absolutely filled with numerous needle like teeth which interlocked with one another. This gave it an expression full of taunting zeal, as though it took great pleasure in mocking another person's mistakes.

Lastly came the hound, a large black beast with sat beside the right leg of the tall gentleman. Much like the cat, it too had that unnatural look about it, like it was merely masquerading as a dog and not something... else. Similar to the feline it also has no nose, the artist choosing to give it two little slits where such a thing should be. A set of pointy ears sat along its head, each tipped with bits of red fluff. Going down its head, small bits of its black fur were also tipped with that dark crimson, though as one looked down towards its main body some of its fur was instead tipped in silver or ashen grey. Its hind legs were hidden as it sat on its haunches but its fore arms were visible. Also like the cat, it had those strange paw/finger-like hands, the only difference being that each 'finger' was instead a curved, hooked bone. Back up to its head, it had a pair of expressive eyes, each being rather small but painted with striking sanguine red. A little smirk sat along the canine's lips, showing off a tiny window of sharp interlocking teeth. The most striking aspect of the hound however was the two massive ram horns which protruded out from its head. They were a bone white in color and were large enough to curl around the beast's ears before coming to a sharp forward facing point.

Sitting below the painted was a glass case, also bolted to the wall. Inside the case rested an unique, sawed-off double barreled shotgun. The stock and barrel of gun were a sparking ivory with bits of tarnish here and there from disuse. It looked to be beautifully crafted with long intricate patterns flowing throughout its length. The case did not seem to be locked, though it had also not been opened in quite some time. It is unknown if the gun is actually loaded or not. Going through the desk would reveal a small warn box of shotgun shells. Only 4 shells remained.

 

[DracotheStern]

As Daniel entered the Study as looked around. He was a littls surprised once more. It was expected that there would be books here but this many? The inner writer inside the young man was doing loops! This would be a great place to not only read but also get some materials together to maybe write his own book! Perfect! Maybe this one would be a success! As Daniel took a deep breath to try and calm himself down from going full book crazy he would notice the large painting.

Perfect...a creepy painting.

The Author looked at it closely and was taken aback. Not only were the figures in said painting strange, but at the same time they seemed familiar. They were some of the characters that Grandpa had spoke of in his stories! However even though Daniel rattled his brain to try and remember names, he could not. A shame. Still why was there a painting of them in grandpa's study? More and more questions shot through his head. Speaking of 'shot'. The young man noticed the unloaded gun in a case similar to the Teeth were in the attic. Was that Grandpa's too? No it couldn't be right? As for as the author knew, grandfather never had a gun like this. And with four shots left. Something about this seemed off and the young man did not feel comfortable, with both the gun and the painting. He was not going to touch the weapon but for his own paranoia. He took the ammo with him as he left.

Though he did forget to lock the door after closing it.

It seems as though this place had been completely explored. Well all except one place, the basement. Daniel shivered as he took some time to move his personal baggage to the main bedroom and placing the Shotgun's Ammo on the table next to the bed, then he got the flashlight and headed down there.

Spooky basement time? Spooky basement time!

 

[Allion]

The Basement

The descent down a set of squeaky wooden stairs would lean down to a dark, box of a room. Bits of sunlight would shine in through a small basement window on one of the walls, casting dark spindly shadows along the dusty floor. Due to the angling of the window its difficult to make out much of anything in the basement. Fortunately for Daniel, there is a wall switch right at the bottom of the stairs. Flicking the switch would turn on a single bulb in the center of the room, illuminating the area in a light florescent glow. The basement itself was not all that large and was essentially a concrete box. The floor was smooth and unpainted and the walls were simply mortared cinderblocks. At the corner of the room was an old boiler for when the house grew cold as well as the water heater. Overall, the basement actually seemed rather boring.

In the center of the room were four sets of standing shelves with a variety of random boxes, containers and plastic bins. Many of them contained small parts or broken pieces of machinery, possibly from or for the boiler in case it ever broke down. There was also a simple workstation against the far wall of the area which was a wooden table, a clamp, and some simple tools on a tool rack hanging on the wall. Several of the bins also had many old board games or little activities that one could do for entertainment. Grandpa use to bring out such things for the kids whenever there were large family gatherings held at his home. Monopoly, Sorry!, a deck of Uno cards, a full chess board with silver and bronze pieces, Risk, you name it! Sebastian apparently liked to collect these things for the children, though as fewer and fewer of them came to see him, these old games mostly became forgotten.

The basement also contained the entrance to the crawlspace of the house, which was a small wooden door against the eastern wall. It was painted grey to match the concrete around it and was held in place by a simple latch. Often found in older homes, this little door basically led to a small tight maintenance tunnel below the home which contained much of the house's piping. These areas were known for being rarely used or maintained, causing them to become filled with grime and filth.

Overall, the basement was pretty simple and straight forward. Much of the stuff down here though was long forgotten or discarded, making it kind of like a junk graveyard. The occasional rat would scurry about from time to time before disappearing into some dank corner.

 

[DracotheStern]

Ah the basement. It was not as creepy as I thought it would be. In fact it was rather homely. It helped that Daniel remembered all those board games that were held in storage. They brought back memories. He remembered playing these games with his siblings, when they weren't being rude towards him anyway. Those were good memories and the young man would spend some time going through said boardgames as if to relive those better days. As such it took him a few minutes longer to explore the basement then it really should have. After spending all that time down there, the young man would do one quick look around before heading back upstairs.

Once he was up and out of the basement, he would close the door that led there and look around for a moment, trying to think of what to do next and where to go. This was a large place and he knew he had to do a little cleaning as well. Which seemed to be a big pain. But someone had to do it. First off I would spend a few hours just unpacking the car and setting everything up, making sure to avoid the Study for now. Once everything was unpack and ready. I would check to see if there was a garden. I did not remember whether or not Grandpa even had one. It's likely he did but while som memories were as broad as daylight, other memories were not.

 

[Allion]

The Garden

In the back yard of the estate, just beyond the deck, was a small patch of cleared land. A crumbling wooden fence enclosure partially lined the parameter of this area and several dead bushes and old rotted plants would be scattered about in. It would seem that at some point, an attempt was made to begin a garden here and such a thing might have been apparent several months ago. Now however, the garden of the Miller Estate was little more than a hallow husk of what might have been here. Severe lack of maintenance has left the garden soil hardened and rocky, with very little protruding from the ground other than the hardiest of weeds. Any plants that once might have growing here have been well choked by the invasive weeds or smashed beneath the overbearing might of winter which was not too far away. It was late September currently and soon the colder months will be upon them. The trees have already begun to change color and small dots of fallen leaves would litter the ground.

One Week Later

Daniel would have one week to adjust to his new home. In that time, the place was quiet and calm aside from the occasional rat scurrying about. Only once in that time had any mail been delivered, much of it being junk however or little ads for small appliances. He could do what he wanted in that time, decorate how he saw fit and maybe even make some possible repairs that were definitely needed. It was an old home after all and was in desperate need of some proper cleaning as well. Any of the unused rooms upstairs had collected quite a lot of dust and several of the windows around the house were layered over in hefty amounts of grime or dirt. Thankfully, the manor was sturdier than one would expect and many of the needed repairs were only superficial. Some broken or decaying boards along the deck or patio were the worse he would need to deal with, at least for the moment, along with some rusty door hinges.

It wasn't until the end of that week did something eventful happen. In the middle of the night, around 1 in the morning, came a tiny, gentle knock to the front door. It was quiet at first and barely noticeable, like the knock of someone shy. The knock would come three times, and then pause for a few seconds. As no answer came, the knock would come again, louder this time.

Knock
Knock
Knock

Again it would pause, patiently waiting for a reply to come. If Daniel was still unable to notice it or perhaps taking his time to answer, the knocking would continue, eventually growing increasingly rapid as the person on the other side became more impatient or maybe... more urgent.

 

[DracotheStern]

It was a long week, mostly to Daniel it was busy cleaning up the house. It was hard work, hence why it took about a week to do and even then there was still a lot of cleaning left to do. But the young man had enough of this and was taking a good long break. Having stayed up late one night to get some writing down. It was a horror story Daniel had been working on. Ironic concidering where he lived now. But the young man had since gotten used to the Mansion.

It was still extremely lonely though, sometimes he would take some time wto walk into the nearby town during the week but at the moment it was not practical with it being so late. He could hear the pitter patter of rain on the house's roof. This was surprisingly comforting for him as he got into his Pyjamas. Some nice silk pants and shirt. He was about to get some much needed rest when he heard it.

Knock Knock

It was quiet at first so he might not have picked up on it. Butthen the knocking became slightly louder. That's what stirred him awake and he would fumble a bit before grabbing his flashlight and heading down the stairs and towards the door, opening it.

 

[Allion]

Daniel actually did not see anyone at first when he initially opens the door open. Light was just barely shining out from the house itself, casting very weak illumination onto the porch outside. It was only when Daniel looked directly down did he notice the person who was knocking. At the base of the door, standing roughly a foot and a half tall, was a squirrel. More specifically, a very large red squirrel. It's fur was an unkempt reddish-brown with a creamy white underbelly ending just beneath it's jaw and just before it's tail. It's fur was littered with large white swirls, most notably on it's shoulders, thighs, and cheeks. Much of its fur was matted down at the moment from the light rain that was rinsing through the area and it appeared to be shivering. It had two long, striped white pointed ears that appear to twitch quite often, giving the creature a sense of nervousness or caution. It's size was also notably larger than a normal squirrel and its eyes here a bright hazel color, resembling that of a human and containing a spark of intelligence.

Spoiler: Squirrel

The little critter looked up at Daniel with its sparkling eyes, jumping back a bit unexpectedly after seeing who answered the door. For a moment, it would just stand there, staring up awkwardly at man for a good few moments. "Oh! U-Uh, um... H-Hello there." The creature finally greets him, gently waving one of its paws his way in a shy manner. It had a surprisingly young sounding feminine voice, like that of an adolescent teen. "S-Sorry to have to stop by... so late. This is the... Uh, M-Miller Estate, right? W-We're looking for Mr. Sebastian. I was... told that he lives here. D-Do you know were he is?" The little creature would ask. The entire time she had a very twitchy and nervous look about her and would often look back over her shoulder at the wall of darkness which concealed the driveway of the estate, almost like she was trying to watch out for something. Or someone.

 

[DracotheStern]

As the Author opened the door, he would look both sides then sigh. Maybe pranksters were found even out here. Silly kids. He was about to close the door when he noticed some hair out of the corner of his eye and looked down before jumping a little in surprise. That was a very large and very unnatural Squirrel! Were these kinds of animals native to this area? No it couldn't be that...could it? He was not a dumb young man but he could be a little off when his trian of thought sometimes. Must be some kind of experiment maybe? Or that could just be the Science Fiction books he was reading earlier talking. As he pondered all of this he heard something then looked down at the animal once more and blinked in surprise when he realized exactly what he had heard.

It...no...she had spoken.

A talking Squirrel? A talking freaking Squirrel?! That was it. He must be dreaming! Daniel pinched himself hard to try and wake up but nothing happened. Ok this was not a dream, this was all real! Does that mean that this place...this place actually was haunted? Something to think about in the future but right now he could not be rude to his new....guest? Sure a talking animal was insane but he was also feeling quiet lonely being in this mansion all alone.

Squirrel or not, company was company.

"Yes this is the Miller Estate. Unfortunately Sebastion can't speak to you. He past away a few weeks ago." Daniel paused for a moment to let the little critter sink her teeth into that news before continuing. "Fortunately I am the new owner of the Estate. My name is Daniel Miller. How might I be of service to you?"

 

[Allion]

The little squirrel would twitch her wet ears from side to side, tilting her head towards him cautiously as she awaited his response. She seemed... uncertain of her actions, and overall nervous or anxious. Her soaking tail would jerk a bit behind her, dripping small droplets of water onto his porch. She struggled to maintain some semblance of a smile on her face and it was obvious that she was only doing so to be polite in front of a new stranger. However, whatever false face she tries to put up before Daniel completely shatters the moment he reveals the truth of his grandfather's passing. Immediately, her ears go flat to her head, her tail jerks upwards going stiff and her eyes become wide and fearful. Her mouth drops open a small bit, her little furry lip trembling as though she was desperately trying to find the proper words.

"N-No... No no no no no! Th-That can't be true!" She suddenly exclaims, her words tumbling out her mouth in a shaky mess. She didn't look sad though about the news. In fact, if anything she looked like she was scared. "H-He can't be gone... I-If he's gone then... This is bad. Really, really bad!" Her breathing elevates, coming out in small rapid breaths. She stares up at him with those large frightened eyes and she looked almost like she was about to break down. "Y-You don't understand. W-Without him... You're going to die." There was a chilling absolution in those words, as though this abnormally large squirrel knew something terrible. "You... You need to get inside... H-Hide somewhere and--"

Her voice stops mid sentence as the sound of a snapping branch could be heard over the light pitter patter of the rain. Immediately, she spins around and faces the darkness beyond the porch, her little body backing up against Daniels leg. She was full on hyperventilating now, her body staking like a leaf. She doesn't say a word. Within the darkness of the front yard, something could be seen in the shadows. Light reflections from the moon on droplets of water would reveal the faint silhouette of a figure standing in the drive way. They were strangely short, maybe three feet tall or so with a humanoid body. Any other features however were difficult to make out under the guise of darkness and rain.

"Oi, wats all dis den? Did I just hear roight dat da ol' dust bucket's finally gone tits up?" Another feminine voice speaks out, this one much more confident than the squirrel and with a thick cockney Britch accent. "Ya know wat dat means... Ehehehehe!" A shrill cackle of high pitch laughter rings out over the falling rain as the silhouette moves, revealing the outline of a set of hands. In one hand, Daniel makes out the shiny edge of a large kitchen knife. In the other, he sees the glint of five long needle-like claws extend into the air.

"No! She's already here!" The squirrel shrieks out in a panic. The little critter rams its small body right against Daniel's leg, desperately trying to push him into the house. "Get inside! Lock the door!" She cries, trying to get herself inside with him. At that moment the figure in the driveway lets out an unholy screech before suddenly bursting off in a sprint, surging at Daniel on all fours!

 

[DracotheStern]

"Calm down, calm down please! What do you mean?!" He was going to die? Damn it. What did his grandpa do?! The fact that the Squirrel was talking seemed to not be such a big deal anymore. Her sporadic behaviour seemed to trigger his own fear, if not her words doing the same. But before the young man could do anything. He heard the branches snap and looked up like a deer in headlights at the small figure. Sure they might be small but a creepy little creature in his driveway.

"W-Who are you?!" He cried out in panic as he heard her reference his Grandpa...seriously, Daniel had to get to the bottom of this! It was all becoming ridiculous...ridiculous and dangerous! The young man noticed the claw and more importantly the kinfe! Oh God! She was going to kill him! As the strange woman...thing...rushed towards him. The Author would scoop the Squirrel up and slam the door in the creature's face then lock it. After that he rushed upstairs with the animal and closed the bedroom door, locking it too.

Afterwards he put the squirrel down and started panting. He had not expected any of this. Damn he needed to excercise a little more. After regaining his breath he would look down at the critter. "What the fuck was that?! Who are you? What's going on?!"

 

[Allion]

Daniel slams that door shut just as that figure leaps through the air to go stab at him. He gets a small flash of white and red which was the only thing he saw of the creature before hearing its small body slam full force against the door. A rage filled screech follows after along with multiple loud banging sounds against the door and the rapid jiggling of the door knob as the thing tries to get inside, to no success.

"Fackin' damn it, Hyzenthlay! We talked about dis!" The creature outside curses out in anger at missing her target. The front door visible shakes as that creature rams itself against it multiple times, attempting to break down the door. Fortunately, that old door still held firm, its structure being quite solid, despite its age. "Da fack is dis? Mahogany?!" The creatures voice would yell further, though it would seem she ceases her attempts to breach through the door, at least for now...

Meanwhile upstairs, that little squirrel had curled herself up into a tight little ball of nerves and panic. She doesnt even seem to notice that shes been dragged upstairs and placed onto his bed until a few moments pass and she hears Daniel demanding answers. Slowly, she peeks her head up, her damp body still trembling to all hell, though she seems to somewhat calm down once she sees that shes away from whatever that was downstairs. She sits herself up, her eyes scanning around the room as her panic attack begins to subside and she turns towards the man.

"Th-That... That was Lucy." She says, letting out a long sigh and trying to wipe away a bit of moisture from her face. "A-And, um... H-Hi. I'm Hyzenthlay. I'm... kind of a friend of... Lucy. Well, not really. I mean, she likes t-to torment me a lot s-so... I dont really know if we're friend but, th-that's not really important right now. You p-probably have a lot of questions and... we don't have a lot of time. Lucy's going to g-get inside... any second." There was a drop of dread in every word Hyzenthlay spoke, as though this whole situation was inevitable. From outside, the sound of buckling windows could be heard as that devious monster crawled around the outside of the house, searching for an entrance. It was only a matter of time before she found a way to get in. "S-So... Basically, I w-was told to go greet the, uh... owner, I guess? The owner of the house w-who's suppose to be an old man n-named Sebastian. h-He's suppose to be like an ally to us, I think? I don't know! I can't remember what Ludwig told me... All I really know was that he owed us a favor... or something." She tries to explain, though her panicked state seems to be making it hard for her to recall. She looked like she was about to go on when the sound of a door slamming open from downstairs echoes through the house. Her eyes immediately go wide again, her wet fur standing on end. "And now shes inside... Thats not good. Very not good..."

From downstairs, a shrill voice yells out through the house. "Aloight... Come out, come out! Dontcha know it ain't noice ta lock out ya dear friend, Lucy? Someone aught ta teach you some manners..."

 

[DracotheStern]

Daniels stared at the small creature for one second, then two. He had heard what she said but it all seemed like madness to him. Just what the hell had Grandpa Sebastian been messing with? Who's Ludwig? This all seemed surreal and yet here he was, talking to a little Squrriel named Hyzenthlay. Wasn't that a tongue twister of a name? Still he could not wait any longer. For he too heard that other creature, Lucy, entere the building and in shock he leaned down enough for Hysenthlay to get on his shoulder.

"So that's your friend? Can't you talk her down?!" Daniel asked as he searched the room for anything that could help them. Damn it. If only he had brought the Shotgun. Granted it only had 4 shots but still, that was better then nothing! In essense the young man was beginning to panic a little bit. Really who wouldn't? Lucy might be short but that did not mean she wasn't deadly, those claws and that knife seemed to indicate that this was not the first time she has hunted someone.

"O-Or at least tell me how to beat her! Can we wait her out?!" his speech and searching became frantic as he heard the monster wander around downstairs. Checking all the rooms and slowly getting closer to the two of them. Wait...her height! I doubted she could reach the Attic's trap door. Ahh yes! The attic! They could hide up there maybe?

"...actually I have an idea! Apologies little ms, but I'm going to have to run!" Daniel gave the squrriel time to adjust herself on his shoulders before he slowly opened the door and crept quietly to the trapdoor. Struggling to open it but when he did. He would climb up into the attic and close it behind him.

 

[Allion]

Hyzenthlay's ears were alive with movement as she spastically tried to pinpoint how close Lucy was getting to them. Again though, her overall panic made such precise processes difficult. All she really knew was that Lucy was still downstairs at least but not much more than that. Daniel's questions make her shrink a bit on the spot, the large squirrel ducking her head into her shoulders and drooping her face into her paws. She shook her head to his question.

"D-Definitely not... Lucy barely listens to Ludwig and he was the one who told her to do this! There's no way... she'd ever listen to me." She looked rather saddened saying this out loud. Its like admitting how useless she really is in this situation. "Lucy loves s-stuff like this. Theres... no way we'd be able to wait her out. She'll find us way before she gets bored! As for beating her..." Hyzenthlay's voice trails off, the little ball of fluff and nerves trying desperately to think of something, anything, useful that could help save Daniel. The harder she thought about it however, the more hopeless she appeared. "L-Lucy's a monster. I mean... Ludwig has been able to beat her when she's gotten rowdy with him but... L-Ludwig's on a whole other level. We'd have to h-hit her with something really strong to even hope to knock her out." The sheer gravity of the situation was crushing to the little critter as she desperately didn't want to see Daniel killed. But there just wasn't anything they could do! Her body shakes and trembles all the more and she begins to sniffle as the stress starts to take its toll on her.

Before she can fully breakdown though, the young man leaned himself down and offered a shoulder for her to climb on, stating he had an idea. Not knowing what to expect she climbs herself onto his shoulder, clinging onto the side of his head as he quickly made his way out, creeping outside before heading towards the trapdoor that led to the attic. Hyzenthlay's eyes would go wide as she began to see his plan and her heart would flicker with the slightest bit of hope.

Unfortunately, this would be where this old house would betray its owner. That trapdoor was well aged, its hinges rusty and its wood creaky. When Daniel pulls down that door, it makes an awful racket, its metal parts screeching before its wooden feet loudly slam into the floor with a bang. The squirrel goes fully stiff on Daniel's shoulder as he quickly scrambles up the ladder, pulling it closed with that same awful noise.

The attic was jet black right now with it being this late at night with the only bit of light coming from the occasional bolt of lightning through the little circular window. The air was stuffy and hot from the rain outside, making it hard to relax in this sort of situation. Hyzenthlay would be shaking like a leaf atop his shoulder, her paws over her mouth as she dared not utter a sound. After a few suspiciously silent moments had passed however, she would slowly scamper herself down his arm and onto the floor below. Her vision was not the greatest in such darkness and Daniel would hear the very soft noises of the little creature carefully moving along the floor of the attic. She would press her head against the wooden floor and listen, focusing herself to try and see if they were actually safe or not.

A few minutes would actually go by and still it was silent. No other sounds aside from the pitter patter of rain on the roof and the occasional rumble of thunder. She lifts her head up and turns herself towards where she believed Daniel was. "I... I d-don't hear anything. I think she--" Hyzenthlay would go silent mid sentence. With what little light was available, Daniel could make out the absolutely terrified expression etched along her small furry face. She was facing towards the window that was behind him, just in time to see the black silhouette of Lucy climbing up and pressing herself right against the opening. The sheen of the knife could be seen as Lucy pulls back her arm and takes aim at Daniel.

"LOOK OUT!" The squirrel screams, launching herself at Daniel just as that window shatters and that blade goes twirling recklessly through the air. Hyzenthlay manages to knock Daniel over to the side, moving him just enough for that knife to graze along his cheek instead of imbedding itself in his head. It stabs into the floor, sticking deeply into the wood. The tinkling of glass could be heard next as that shadow of a creature pushes itself through the broken window, Lucy's small body stepping into the darkness of the attic.

"Bahaha! Ya think yerself cleva, dontcha? Ya can't hide from me though. Not so long as that lil dove be there with ya. Even in this rain, I can smell lil Hyzenthlay from ova an entire mile way." Lucy taunts out, her sinister laugh filling the room.

 

[DracotheStern]

Ludwig, there was that name again! He seemed pretty important and if he was as strong as Hyzenthlay seems to think he is. I best tread carefully. Still that could wait for another time. They had to survive Lucy tonight. The lightning sounded behind him and flashed as he realize, finally, just what they might have to do. Would the shotgun work? He did not want to waste any ammo just in case more creatures like this showed up later on but there might not be a 'later' if they weren't careful.

After a moment of thinking, Daniel was snapped out of it by the Squirrel called out to him. Damn it...the creature was right behind him, wasn't she? Spinning on his heels, Daniel came face to face with Lucy as the window broke and his new friend, the critter, pushed him to the side and out of harm's way just in time! "Thanks-" He would say before getting up and realizing that he had made a huge mistake and boxed them inside the inclosed attic. This was a terrible idea!

"Hyzenthlay." He hissed. "Find something." He wanted a weapon but his eyes were focused on the other little creature. He could kick her out the window but she had jumped inside before he could do anything. However he prepared himself to dodge if she came swinging.

"You, Lucy! Why do you want to kill me?!"

 

[Allion]

Hyzenthlay gives a nervous shiver as she hears Daniel's direct command, telling her to find something to use as a weapon. Well, they were in an attic full of random items and holiday decorations... and she was a squirrel. There wasn't all that much she had for options here! Wait-- The little critter blinks, as though a hint of an idea popped itself into her head. Without a word, she scurries off and gets herself out of the way of Lucy, scampering among the various boxes.

Speaking of Lucy, the strange creature could be seen tilting her head to one side as she hears Daniel's direct question. Her body was still mostly engulfed in shadow, making it difficult to really make out exactly what he was going up against. However, with that broken window behind her and the faint light from the lightning and moon, he could make out a bit more of the figure in front of him. Her body looked fluffy, as though covered in a fine coat of fur and she looked to be wearing a sort of leather hat atop her head. There would also be the the waving movement of a long feline tail whipping about behind her. The shine of countless needle-like teeth would be apparent as well as Lucy gives a wide unnerving grin along her face.

"Why? Well, many reasons really." She says, humoring his question for a moment and holding up one of her hands into the air. "One, I got me orders." A long claw deploys from her hand and extending to several inches She takes a step towards Daniel. "If ya ain't da old man, then I get ta slaughter ya. Second," Another long claw slides out of her hand, matching the first, along with another step forwards. "Ya already saw us. Can't be havin' that hehehe." A devious chuckle comes from her as she seems to be taking far too much joy in this. "And third..."

"Daniel, RUN!" The small voice of Hyzenlay suddenly screams out, cutting Lucy off just as she seemed to prepare to pounce at him. At that moment, a circular object goes soaring through the air, a very familiar looking object which gleams in the low moonlight from the broken window. It was a Christmas ornament, one of the overly decorated ones that are covered in layers upon layers of sticky glitter and gaudy holiday cheer. A sharp *POP!* rings out through the attic as the little bauble smashes against Lucy's distracted form and shatters upon her face, covering her in that shinny dust and countless little shards of thin broken glass.

"FAAACK! Glass in da eyes!" Lucy screeches out, instinctively rearing back and attempting to rub the shards from her eyes. Hyzenthlay is standing near one of the open boxes of decorations, frantically motioning for Daniel to escape through the attic door. She's about to yell out something to him when a hand suddenly curls around her little throat, cutting off her air way. Lucy angrily yanks the little squirrel away from the box and into the air, seemingly managing to clear up one of her eyes. "Ya know, lil dove, you be makin' it real hard to do ma job, n' I'm not appreciatin' it too much." The creature growls out, obviously very annoyed at getting her face covered in glitter and glass. Hyzenthlay desperately flails in her grasp, her paws trying to grip Lucy's hands to try and open her airway again. That monster merely smirks once more with a devious grin. "Ya remember when ya asked us what it be like ta be a flyin' squirrel? Well how about we find out!" She yells, turning towards the open window and rearing back her arm. In a fit of shocking strength, Lucy full on flings Hyzenthlay straight out the broken window and into the falling rain. A little *THUD!* is heard a moment later and Lucy casually clears the rest of the glitter from her eyes before turning back towards Daniel, assuming he had not escaped while the creature was busy.

 

[DracotheStern]

The closer he looked at Lucy the more he came to realize what she actually might be! Still she was threatening him and that was a huge problem for obvious reasons. Daniel was about to accept his fate when he heard his new Squirrel friend called out to him. Everything seemed to happen at once so he didn't have time to think about who ordered this, what the third reason was...and why the hell grandpa was going around and making deals with creatures like this! No those questions could wait until later. As soon as Hyzenlay called out to him, did the young man duck and allow the glass orb to fly over his head, then he crawled towards the trap door!

It seems the feline creature was distracted, so he was able to open the door and drop down! Going into a sidewards roll as to not break any bones. he then looked up to see if the Squirrel was following him. Then he heard it. He heard the creature's mocking tone when suddenly THUD! That...that was, was she going to be ok?! Daniel doubted it, but she was the only one here who didn't try to kill him...that damn Cat. The new owner was going to hobble towards the Study to see if he could pick up the shotgun.

 

[Allion]

Of course, just as Lucy turns to go after Daniel once more she finds him to be gone and the attic door open. Her head twitches in an annoyed way, her lips beginning to curl into a snarl, only to stretch into a large grin. This was beginning to turn into quite the fun hunt and now that Hyzenthlay was out of the way, there was nothing stopping her from completing her job in the most enjoyable way possible. She grips the knife embedded in the floor and yanks it free before jumping her little body down the trapdoor of the attic.

The Study door was left unlocked of course, allowing Daniel to have easy access to it and the shotgun still held safely inside the glass case. It was a unique design, its barrel being completely smooth and fine, despite the small bits of ware and tare its sustained through time. It had a double trigger system, meaning each barrel could be shot individually for more than one target, or together for devastating damage. He had already pocketed the shells a week ago, though where he put them is the question. Fortunately for the young man, there was still one shell inside the left barrel.

From outside the study, Daniel could hear the amused chuckling of that devious little feline, the sound of her claws clacking along the hard floors as she stalks down the stairs. "C'mon now, sweet-y. Ya can't run from me. I'm gonna lop off dat pretty lil head o' yers n' cuddle with ya corpse! Don't that just sound... Delightful? EHEHEHEH!" A wave of cackling laughter echoes through the house as she wasn't even trying to keep herself hidden at this point. Those footsteps were growing closer and closer now, coming directly towards the Study.

 

[DracotheStern]

Daniel rushed into the study and pulled the Shotgun put from the glass case. Thankfully it was already loaded. Damn it he almost regreted seperating the gun from the ammo. Hopefully only one shot was needed to kill or knock out Lucy. At this point he was aware that she seemed to be a cat or at least a cat like creature. It would have been amusing had she not been trying to murder me. Thankfully she was also quite loud so the author knew where she was.

This gave the young man time to plan something. So he hid just behind the door of the study and waited. As soon as she entered, he would round the corner and shoot her straight in the chest! A simple but hopefully effective plan. So to that end Daniel waited and watched as she crept closer and closer. As soon as she stepped through the still open door. he would whirl around, aim really quickly, something that would be easier if she just charged through, then...


BANG!

 

[Allion]

Oh Lucy was savoring this moment, like a hunter cornering its prey. She knew he was in the study, and she knew there were no exits from that room. She was going to slaughter him in there and there was nothing he could do about it but scream as the life drains from his eyes. Her clawed feet clack along the tile floor, growing ever closer as the sheer thought of what she was about to do to him filled her with such wild zeal. Her hand gripped that knife grew tighter, its blade reflecting the twisted smile along that devious creature's face. As she approached the study door, she didn't see her target, but she could smell him. Her nose was powerful and at this range, she could even pin point where he was. Hiding from her simply was not an option and he was going to find out very soon. The devious little critter would creep right up to the doorframe and rest her hands in the left and right side, her claws digging into the wood.

"Hehehe, this be ma faaaavorite part. Heeeeeeres... LUCY!"

Spoiler: Jump Scare

That was the face that Daniel would see upon whirling around from behind that door. She was fully believing that she had him dead there in that study. Of course, what she did not know, was that Daniel had in his possession. Instead of the face of a terrified human, she was looking down the barrel of a double barreled shotgun. In an instant her confidence waivers, her brain registering for the first time that she was actually in danger. She had to dodge, to move, get out of the way or--

*BANG!*

There just wasn't any time. Her confidence had gotten the best of hers and as a result, she fell right into his little trap. She had barely begun to move herself out of the way before the blast went off, a bright flash filling the room followed by the thick smell of used gunpowder. Lucy was unable to evade fully, the shot nailing her right in the upper right section of her torso and blasting her small body several feet backwards. She slide along the tile floor until her form thumped against the wall, a thin streak of blood in her wake. She laid there now, her body motionless and allowing Daniel to see exactly what the frightening monster really looked like.

What he sees is some sort of feline with a very crouched, anthropomorphic figure that somewhat resembles a cat. She has wiry white fur dotted with big dark red spots, most notably on her chest and the right side of her body. She has two fluffy ears that curl at the tips, the right being red and the left being white. Not too far away from the body is a red leather hat that she probably wore to conceal her messy thin white hair which drapes over her eyes and trails down the back of her torso to fray out as a mane would. A diamond shaped spot of red is splotched over her left eye, which is curiously different than the right due to its lack of red sclera (eyeball). Her mouth hangs open and is lined with hundreds of tiny needle-sharp teeth, heavily resembling the ones Daniel found in the jar in the attic. Her lips are the brightest of reds which heavily contrast with her snowy white fur, giving her the appearance that she is smiling.

Spoiler: Lucy

Lucy's upper right section of her torso was a mangled mess, her shoulder having taken much of the impact with the remaining buckshot having been scattered throughout that part of her chest. Thick red blood would be slowly drooling out of the injured area, slowly staining the white parts of her fur into a deeper red. She did not move from her spot, her body now laying there still and motionless.

 

[DracotheStern]

"SHIT!" As that thing jumped at him, when he turned the corner. Daniel paniced and almost dropped the gun he was holding, but managed to recover quick enough to pull the trigger. The force pushed him back a bit and he fell on his ass, but at least she got Lucy with it. After taking a second to recover. He got back up and stared at the creature.

That was no cat...at least not a normal one. He gripped the Shotgun closer to himself, even though he knew that it was not loaded. Should she somehow have survived that, then he can smack her with it. That thing was not normal so at this point the Author wasn't going to treat it as a normal cat. He had just met a talking Squirrel for crying out loud! Normality had gone out the Window....wait out the Window...

Hyzenlay

He had an idea as to whereher body could be. But first he dragged Lucy's body into the Study and shut the door behind him, locking it. Assuming she was still dead, he would bury her body later. Right now he had to make sure his little friend was alright! With the shotgun gripped in his hand, he rushed outside and around the house, towards the garden, to see if he could find Hyzenlay.