Well, I'm back again, with a new story that a good friend of mine and I are working on. It's a Clock Tower crossover, sorta. So for those who know about the game know what to expect, for the most part. ;D
The story starts out pretty tame. But it WILL get pretty messed up later on, so I'm going to rate this M for later chapters. Hopefully I'll get to submit them here.
Happy reading!
The Clock Struck One
Chapter One
"You said he had walked all the way here from…?" The caretaker, a woman in her mid thirties, trailed off with a look of astonishment on her already aging face. The person in which she was asking, a tall and slender man dressed in a business suit, hardly seemed fazed as he stared out of a one-way window into the guest room. His hair was dark, which had only made the few strands of gray stand out even more.
"The Tusspot mansion. It's fairly strange, but perhaps the friend of the wealthiest man in town would like to do business here." Sitting alone in the guest room was the man in question, appearing as well dressed as one would expect from the Tusspot family friend. He sat comfortably with his legs crossed, watching the news channel being displayed on the television screen with a blank stare. "We don't want to keep him waiting."
"Right, sir." With that said, the caretaker moved out of the darkened office and nervously into the guest room. The overseer continued to watch, already seeing dollar signs in his steel gray eyes.
"Good evening, Mr. Niccals," greeted the caretaker as she stepped into the nearly vacant room. The dark-haired visitor faced the young woman once being addressed, quickly standing to shake her hand with a warm smile. "How are you?"
"Evening to you as well. I'm glad you came so fast. The news is such a dreadful thing to watch sometimes." At Mr. Niccals's statement, the caretaker glanced quickly over to the television, which was now covering an investigation on a string of murders that have occurred in the local area. She looked back to the visitor again, a slightly forced smile appearing on her face.
"I see. Well, Mr. Murdoc Niccals, welcome to the Granite Orphanage. Are you interested in adopting a child today?" At the woman's recited inquiry, Murdoc gave a short, deep chuckle, bringing his arms behind him.
"It is not I who is adopting, I'm afraid. I am here in place of Mr. David Tusspot, who wishes to make a generous donation in return for a few daughters." The caretaker faltered a bit at hearing the olive-skinned visitor's explanation, moving a lock of dark brown hair out of her face.
"H-how many daughters would Mr. Tusspot like?" She questioned once more, trying to remain professional. The woman led Murdoc into the hallway that would take them to the children's location. "Would he like infants? Or one or two young children?"
"David would like nine daughters that are already capable of caring for themselves. Preferably in the teenage range." As Murdoc had expected, the caretaker whirled around to face him as if she had been struck from behind.
"N-NINE?"
"Yes. Will that be a problem? I can always adopt from another orphanage…" Murdoc, who had looked away from the woman, placed his eyes back on her with a seemingly grave expression. He had known how money-hungry the overseer of this facility could be, and how he would have his employees suck up to wealthy clients to weasel a pretty penny out for the kids' adoptions. It was a despicable practice, but it appeared to work well for them.
"Oh, not at all, Mr. Niccals. I'll take you straight to the older children's play room." A satisfied nod was all the caretaker needed to proceed. She led the way down the long, narrow hallway, its walls dark brown from the wood it consisted of. The light fixtures on the ceiling flickered every now and then, revealing the aged carpet and walls. Murdoc inwardly snickered at the sight, wondering why the place was in such disarray if they were apparently given so much money from clients, even though he knew the answer.
As the two made their way toward the adoptable children, the caretaker made her own assessment of the visitor from the Tusspot mansion. Despite being known by name throughout the town, no one really knew much more about him other than him being an old friend of Mr. Tusspot. She had remembered first seeing him about a decade ago, when the town saw more of the family itself. Now, he was all she and the rest of the town saw of the Tusspot family.
Eventually, Murdoc and the caretaker arrived at the old wooden door, the white paint on it peeling and flaking off. The woman pushed on it with significant difficulty, the hinges emitting a shrill squeak when it finally relented.
They were greeted by a large room brightly lit up by the sun outside, filled with countless children of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some played, some lounged, and some conversed with groups of their friends. Seeing this brought a smile to Murdoc's lips.
"Most of the children here are within the correct age group Mr. Tusspot has requested. Are there any specifics that he would like as his daughters?" The caretaker asked, bringing out a clipboard to take the names of the ones he would choose. For a minute or so, Murdoc said nothing. The choking silence between them spurred the brunette to look back over to him, which was the apparent cue he was waiting for.
"He's looking for girls with… personality."
The caretaker appeared perplexed at Murdoc's answer, not entirely sure how to reply herself. Unfazed by her obvious confusion, the visitor inspected the room of children with a hand on his chin. In turn, many of the orphans kept on with their activities as if the two adults were not there.
"All of the children have personalities, sir…" The caretaker said lowly, a slight frown on her face. Murdoc glanced at her with a small smirk, his thick black fringe hiding his eyes partially.
"I'll know wot to look for when I see them." Murdoc began walking after he had spoke, the woman immediately following him. She was still unsure of the man's methods, but did not question him any further.
The black-haired visitor moved to a small room separate from the much larger play area. It had no door, so the inside was there for everyone to see. In the center, alone, kneeled a dark skinned teenaged girl wearing a simple summer dress. Her back was facing the two adults, but they could easily see that she was praying, as she is surrounded by numerous religious artifacts.
Without a word, Murdoc pointed to her and continued walking. The woman quickly jotted down the name Elsie on the first line and followed him.
The duo then walked farther into the play room, where the olive-skinned visitor spotted a group of girls out of the meager crowd in what appeared to be the kitchen area. There were four in total; three relatively thin girls appeared to be picking on the fourth, more rotund, girl.
The girl that stood in the middle of the three bullies was the obvious leader of them, with long black hair framing her pale face. Her protruding buck teeth ruins what possibly attractive features she might have had, but that did not stop her aggressive attitude. If anything, that may have been the main factor of her behavior.
To the left of the bucktoothed teen was an even thinner girl, with similarly colored hair to the leader, though it was much shorter. She was Asian in appearance, and her stance struck Murdoc as one of those who felt they were better than everyone else, which would explain her reason for being in this particular group.
The third aggressor differed vastly from the other two, with her long, straight blonde hair and very colorful makeup piled on her face. She stood slightly farther back than her companions, choosing simply to speak hurtful words than to have physical contact with their victim.
On the receiving end of this assault was the chubby brown haired girl. She wore square shaped glasses, and tied her medium length hair into a simple ponytail. Despite the three bullies teasing her, the overweight teen girl simply ignored their insults and continued to eat her sandwich, apparently used to such verbal abuse.
Seemingly satisfied with what he was seeing, Murdoc pointed to the group and told the caretaker he wanted all four of them. She held an uncertain look for a moment or two, but wrote down Paula, Maria, Lisa, and Rosie's names on the list. With five children claimed, the Tusspot family friend briskly moved on to find more.
Coming upon what was easily distinguishable as the television room, Murdoc peered in to see what kids currently resided inside. At first, he saw nothing that stood out or interested him, but just as he was about to continue on, he spotted two girls sitting in front of a TV in the far right corner.
One of them, a teen girl with wavy dirty-blonde shoulder-length hair, faced the other teen and began speaking to her in sign language. Her facial features shown excitement for whatever program they were watching. Her lime green eyes almost appeared to twinkle in emotion.
The other, her hair a light brown and braided into pigtails, watched the hand motions carefully. She too smiled, and answered back in the visual language. The freckles on her face seemed to add depth to her grin, her own dark blue eyes giving off the same twinkle as her companion.
Murdoc appeared overcome by this display of friendship, and eagerly told the caretaker that they were to be adopted as well. She heartily agreed on his decision, and happily scribed the names Karen and Imogene on the quickly growing list. With seven chosen, the dark-haired man carried on in his search for the final two girls that would be taken.
"Only two left to go now…" Murdoc mumbled as he and his brown-haired companion meandered through the play area. The caretaker said nothing in response, looking over the names on the page with some degree of uncertainty. Each of these girls had very conflicting personalities, and if they were to be lumped together in the same home…
"HEY! No fair! You're cheating!" A loud voice easily overpowered all of the other voices in the room, catching the adults' attention immediately. Following the source of the shout like a sailor would to a siren's deadly call, they were led to the game room. "No way! You can't DO that, you asshole!"
"Gwen Summers! How many times have I told you NOT to use profanity in this orphanage!" The caretaker scolded to a young redheaded teenager, no older than fourteen, who was playing a video game with another orphan. Surprised at having been caught, Gwen flinched and faced the brunette with a wince. "Where on earth did you even learn such language?"
"From youuu!" The redhead teased, turning back to the game. Not impressed with her response, the caretaker sighed and shook her head in both disbelief and disappointment.
"With behavior like that, you'll never be adopted." At this statement, Gwen visibly tensed and looked back at the caretaker with a menacing glare. The woman was not fazed by this, though, by now far too used to such looks from her. She then turned to Murdoc, who had kept quiet and observed the conversation. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. She is the only one who is this obnoxious."
"I'll take her."
"W-what?" The caretaker was not the only one surprised by Murdoc's simple reply. Gwen, still looking at the two adults, held a shocked look of her own. She did not get up from her spot, not even believing what she had heard.
"I said I'll take her. She's just wot I'm looking for." Having said that, the visitor took one last look over the play area he had combed through. Nothing more jumped out at him, much to his dismay.
Ever baffled at Mr. Niccals's mannerisms and orphans of choice, the caretaker woman wrote down Gwen's name on the eighth line on the list. At the same time, however, she was almost overjoyed to see the troublesome redhead go. They're in for a hell of a time, looks like.
"Well? Why are you just sitting there? Come, come!" Growing impatient at the lack of response from Gwen, the snippy brunette waltzed over to her and practically dragged her over to where Murdoc currently stood, staring out over the large area. The young redhead almost resisted in the woman's grip, her feelings mixed on the situation. It was all happening much too fast for her to comprehend. "Is there any more you would like, Mr. Niccals?"
"… No. I'm afraid that will be all." A blanket of dread fell over Gwen at hearing Murdoc's answer. She immediately thought of the friends she had managed to make in the orphanage. She did not want to give that up, even if that meant refusing a new family and home.
"NO! I don't wanna go with you!" The young teen shouted, backing away several steps from the two adults. The Tusspot family friend hardly reacted to her outburst, but the caretaker quickly grew annoyed with the behavior.
"Hush now! You're acting like a child!" The woman scolded bitterly, lowering her clipboard to her stomach. Gwen stared her down with a glare, but did not get a chance to shout back before the caretaker began again. "Would you rather leave Rosie with no friends to help her adjust?"
"Rosie…? She's getting…?" The brunette turned to Murdoc before Gwen could finish, wishing not to keep the visitor waiting. Time is money, after all.
"I'll go get the others, Mr. Niccals. Excuse me."
"Right then." Nodding at the dismissal, the caretaker sauntered off to gather the chosen girls. This left Murdoc and Gwen alone in an atmosphere of strained and awkward silence. Gwen, still unsure of the situation, looked up at the dark-haired man with an uncertain expression.
"Hey… what about Eve? Is she coming too?"
"Eve…?" Murdoc appeared perplexed, but in truth was not sure if he had picked her or not, and went to answer accordingly. Before he could, however, a soft, gentle voice called out from a short distance away.
"Gwen? Gwen, I couldn't find the game you wanted…" Turning to the source of the voice, both of them spotted an older teenage girl walking down a short flight of stairs toward them. She stopped midway once seeing Gwen standing next to a man not familiar to her, quickly noting the troubled look on the redhead's face. "Gwen… what's going on?"