|| CHAPTER ONE: INTRO ||
|| GLOVERSVILLE, NY ||
|| 2014 ||
Heavy breathing. Sweaty palms. A beating heart that feels like it'll escape out of its chest at any moment.
A young man, barely out of high school, is walking back in terror as he stares at the writing scrawled across the grimy walls. It wasn't there the last time he looked, yet he's the only person in the house. He has to be. Nobody else ever comes here, nor has anybody entered since he arrived.
Behind him, he hears somebody move, followed by a menacing laughter. He turns, glancing around nervously whilst trembling.
"W-who's there?" He calls, wanting an answer but not expecting one.
And his expectations are correct. No response, just another laugh and a lone honk of a horn. The lack of a reply merely makes him more nervous, and he takes a step forwards, the floorboards creeping under his weight.
He's not sure, but the sound of something scratching the wall is becoming increasingly noticeable and louder. The laugh returns once more, as does the horn, with no real explanation as to where it's coming from.
The only way the young man knows he can find the answer to his question is by actually going into the next room. Taking a step forwards, he places his clammy hands onto the door handle and opens the door. Deep down inside he knows what he's expecting to see, even though he hopes that he's somehow wrong.
It couldn't be. It can't be. Not after what happened all those years ago.
"I-It's a miracle…" He mutters, although it certainly isn't a good one.
Right in front of him stands-
"Care to join us, Karkat?"
"Uh?" Immediately I snap out of my thoughts and return to the world of algebra and the sanctuary of the classroom. The teacher's staring at me, his arms folded and a general look of distaste in his eyes. "Uh... Sorry sir." I mutter, unable to find the motivation to argue back, although I want to scream at him for being a blithering shithole.
"I should think so, Vantas. I'd hate to think there was something much more interesting than this lesson." His tone is snide and sarcastic, as per usual, and somebody sniggers at the front of the class. I scowl, trying to return to my work and away from the attention of everybody else.
Behind me, Sollux prods my back with his chewed up pencil. "You alright, KK?"
"Yeah, just... Thinking about stuff again."
"You're not your usual self today." He mutters, turning over the page in the workbook and scribbling down another answer. "You're not as... Crabby."
"I'm not in the fucking mood, Sollux."
"Ah, never mind then. Seems that you are your usual crabby self after all."
I grunt again; even though I don't want to think about the whole house thing again, part of me wanted to know what happened next, or why I even had that thought - weird ass horror isn't my usual cup of tea, nor is it the kind of stuff I write about usually.
Still, if it's all in my head, then I can surely think of it again later.
The rest of the lesson passes without much difference to normal - Sollux finishes before everybody else, I'm confused as per usual and we get a massively large amount of homework that nobody will even bother to do. As we file out of the lesson, Terezi bounces over to me, grinning.
"Are you ok, pal?" she says, looking as if she's just come off a bouncy castle instead of an algebra lesson. "You seem kind of down."
"Yeah, I'm fine. For god's sake, why is everybody asking whether there's something wrong with me?"
"Well, you were kinda muttering to yourself and panicking a bit..."
"I was?" By this time, Sollux's caught up with us and is walking with his back hunched and his hands in pockets, attempting to look cool. He doesn't but the little shitsponge does look vaguely amusing as he tries to blend in.
"You talking about KK's mythical mutterings?" He asks, turning to Terezi. "He sounded like he was praying to Satan or something." She laughs loudly at his comment and people begin to stare at us as they walk past.
"Karkat the satanic worshipper!" She cries. "I didn't know you were secretly a Makara!"
"I'm not." I hiss, not finding it funny at all. "I don't even remember talking. I just saw a house... There was some kid with glasses getting all freaked out because there was honking and stuff. And writing scrawled across the walls."
"Sounds like you've been watching too many horror programs." Sollux mutters. "Looks like your poems are going to be all dark and satanic now instead of that romantic crap, which isn't exactly a bad thing if I'm honest."
"Whatever." I mutter; I'm used to them taking the piss out of my poems. Besides from Kanaya, nobody really got them and thought that it was weird that somebody like me wrote about romance. "Anyway, I'm going home now. You want to come round to my place?"
Sollux and Terezi glance at each other, as if they're trying to think of something to say, then turn back to me.
"Sorry pal, but the parents want us to help out in the shop." Terezi mutters, shrugging her shoulders. "Unless you want to come and help us?"
"I'm cool thanks." Although Terezi and Sollux have the some of the coolest parents I knew, they're always off doing crazy skater things. Sometimes they don't even turn up to school because they're halfway across the country at a video game convention or at a skateboarding event, and their parents always come into school to back them up because of it.
"Oh, alright then, but smell you later, Karkat!" Terezi yells as she runs towards her parents' car with Sollux following her at a slower pace. "Later KK." He calls, trying to catch up with his step-sister but at the same time not really bothering to do so.
Walking past the school gates, I begin to make my way home, staring at the people as I stroll past them and their daily lives. As time goes by, darkness is slowly arriving, but I'm in no rush; it's rather peaceful being alone, and besides, Kankri would only just give me an ill-informed lecture about some social justice issue somewhere in the world.
Slowly the streets became empty, leaving me with more time to think about the daydream I had had before. I'd had strange daydreams before, but this one felt different from the others I've had. For a start, it's dark and unusual, but more worryingly, it feels familiar, as if it had somehow happened before to me.
I try to shake the feeling off, but by the time I get home, I'm still thinking about it. Kankri's loud nasal voice fills the hallway as I open the door, finding him in the middle of a rant on the phone to somebody.
"…And he told me to pay attention when I tried to point out an error. Pay attention. That is an ableist comment and potentially triggering to those who suffer from the conditions ADD and ADHD. I tried to notify him of this, but he would not listen and said that I was wrong. Well, I was only trying to educate him…" He turns to me and pulls a face to let me know that he'll speak to me at the end of his phone conversation. Whatever, I think, walking away. He'll be at least another damn hour.
I begrudgingly head up the stairs and into my room, almost falling onto my bed with relief; my head's cloudy and confusing, and the day has just been long and tiring. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I check for any messages. Sollux's sent me snapchats, and Kanaya's texted me about homework, but I can't be bothered to send a reply. Instead, I reach for my laptop, opening it up and loading a Word document due a sudden wave of writing inspiration.
However, it's not like the other waves I usually have – Sollux seems to have been right, since the first thing I write isn't an opening line to a romantic poem, but a single word.
HONK.
I stare at the screen, trying to think of something else to add to the desolate page, yet I'm failing to. The word screams back at me as if it's demanding I type something else, but I cannot think – I know nothing about the place in my head, yet it seems so familiar. The blood rushing through my veins feels warmer and angrier, and I have no idea why. Clicking the button at the bottom of my page, Google comes up on the screen, and I type the word into the search bar. Nothing comes up, except something about a dumb musical about ducks and some webpage about diabetic comas. Sighing, I switch back to the Word document, tapping my fingers in frustration against the keyboard as I try and think of something else to add.
Suddenly, there's a tap at my door and it opens, revealing Kankri. He stands there for a moment, his arms folded and his eyes resting on me.
"What do you want?" I ask, not looking up from the screen.
"Since you have only just come in, I came upstairs to see if you were alright, and also to see what you were up to." His tone is monotonous yet judging like it always is, which just makes me feel annoyed. He's always made it clear that he doesn't like paternal terms since they propose a hierarchy, yet treats me like I'm inferior and pathetic compared to him.
"Nothing." I don't have time to listen to one of his incomprehendable garbage, but it looks like I don't have a choice.
"I'm guessing that you have been with Terezi and Sollux for the last few hours. As you may know by now, I do not fully approve of your friendship due to their parents, and the irresponsible actions and attitudes they have towards school and the general education system. Of course, the way you are currently taught goes against my basic principles, yet their lack of a positive attitude towards learning is…"
"I don't care." I snap, finally looking up and wishing that the boring pustule will leave me alone. "Unless you're going to say something useful, I don't give a fuck."
Kankri takes a step closer, frowning, and glances at the Word document on my screen. When he sees the word, his facial expression changes briefly into one of shock, but he quickly hides it and tuts.
"What form of poem are you intending to write now?" For once he's not giving a big speech, which gives me a sense of relief even though I still don't want his questions.
"Dunno."
"And the word honk… What do you mean by it?"
"I don't know."
"I cannot fathom how a poem on romance could start with the word honk, but…"
"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW." I shout, annoyed by his presence. "Just leave me alone, alright?"
He looks as if he's going to try and argue with me, but then sighs, shaking his head, and finally leaves me alone and away from his annoying moods. Even though I'm tired and could fall asleep any time soon, something about Kankri's expression leaves me wondering. He looked scared and vaguely nervous, which isn't normal for him. Even though he's an annoying douchebag, I still feel a small bit of concern.
Before I can do anything else though, I'm interrupted as my phone suddenly rings. It's Terezi.
As I hit the answer button, her voice sounds different than usual.
"Hey, Karkat. Something really weird just happened. Like, really weird."
