Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
The only sound escaping into the halls was the echo of her feet pounding into the hard stone floor. It was cold and smooth, polished over but old and starting to deteriorate. There was silence all around her, yet in her ears her own heartbeat thudded loudly. Banging to the point her head began to hurt. It blocked out all other sounds, leaving her deaf to the outside world. Her eyes had focused on the door, the way out. The only hope of freedom. Freedom from what? She didn't know. The girl was sore, tired from walking all night. She did not remember walking all night, she did not know the reason why she would have been walking through the entire night. Where was she, and where had she come from? Her mind drew only blanks to the questions she offered to it. There was one thing to focus on and that was to run, and the only reason she ran was because she knew that silence outside of the pounding of her heart would be broken. Broken by who and what did not matter, only that it would be. That soon she would have no hope of escape.
The small legs that carried her, they seemed foreign, as if not part of her body. They caused the blood to pump through her veins harder as they kept moving, pushing black bile called fear through the veins as well. It clouded her brain even further. The small figure, delicate like a flower slammed jarringly into a metal door. The footsteps stopped and was replaced by the door being banged upon by tiny hands. These hands that she did not remember. The too small, skin too white and too breakable to be her own. The black hair that swayed and danced about her as she slammed again and again into the door could not be hers. It served only to pull at her scalp and worsen her pain, an annoyance that she simply wished to cut off.
"Open!" She yelled at the door with a soft sweet voice, it was glazed over with honey. It was not the voice that belonged in her own throat. She knew this voice, where had it come from though? She couldn't bother with the name of the voice's owner. "Open, just please open! Open! Why won't you open?" She begged in a sobbing breath as she slammed into the door one last time, pushing it open and with a gasp of surprise the girl fell on her hands and knees. Looking behind her she stood again, just in time to see the door on the other end of the hall disappear in a rain of wooden shivers. The sound of a chainsaw roaring now added into the silence, erasing it even further.
"Aya," the man cooed sweetly stepping into the hall she had just left. Aya? That was not her name. She did know that name though, but the face of the owner escaped her. He was speaking to her though, and she knew that. He was calling her by that name, the wrong name. The girl shook her head and began running once again. What is my name? She drew only another blank as she raced down the second hallway. "Aya, come here now darling." No, she replied in her mind. Her own throat to sore to reply out loud, my name is not Aya! This she was certain of, but the man was certain it was otherwise. Who was he anyway? She couldn't recall, even though that voice he called out to her with so sweetly was so very familiar. It broke into her thoughts like a knife, and it caused her to loose track of who she was, who he was, what was going on. Surely this could not be her reality. How could she just forget everything?
Before the girl could reach the next door, her tired legs gave out. She would never have been able to run forever as it was. She was so very tired, even her breath no longer stayed with her. Her body met the cold ground without grace. It woke her senses back up, pain spiking up along her body. Surely her face was bleeding for now it was warm and sticky. The smell of metal entering the air. " Aya now look what you have done to your pretty face." The man said sadly as he descended on her like a ravenous dog. "Oh well I have you now." He smiled a gruesome smile and hatred seemed to build in her gut. Why was that though? She was sure she loved this man, had she been mistaken?
"No please Father!" She begged before she knew what she was even saying. "I don't want to be a doll!" Tears pricked from behind her eyes in silent protest as the revving chainsaw was brought down upon her, and she woke up. Much larger hands than Aya's slammed into a wooden desk, forcing the owner backwards as she sat up in her cushioned chair. The young woman's bangs jolted this and that way, as the back just protested from their spiked position. The hazel eyes that belonged in her skull sat wide open as she stared over the top of the laptop screen. She stared out into the forest that sat far below outside. The moon was high in the sky, sitting half-full somewhere. The stars glittered in twinkling laughter as they say prettily up in the sky. The room she was in was silent, other than a sad eerie song gliding up from her laptop. Her nightmare had left her in a soft bewilderment so that it took a moment to recognize the song. It was from Mad Father, yes she must have fallen asleep while playing. She fluttered her eyelashes in half-sleep as she looked down on Aya. The girl who stood in the middle of her screen, trying to decide weather or not to jump into the portal. How many times had she seen this scene before? With a heavy sigh she shook her head. Nightmares? No this wasn't normal at all now was it? Perhaps though it was what she had coming, playing all these games. What else was she to do now though, so far from all her friends. She rubbed her rough hands against each other as she turned to look around her room.
The room was dark, the only light being from her laptop which barely lit up where she sat. It was a battle to see into the darkness, but if she waited she could make out the objects well enough to see they were in order. Her desk which sat diagonal from the bedroom door, sat in front of the room's large window. Next to her desk was what appeared a large closest, but was really a hidden bed set into the wall, bordered by two large bookcases that sat indented into the wall on either side. The bookcases were filled with various alchemy books, history books, and other types of things. On one shelf two female dolls sat comfortably next to each other. A pair of steps attached to the wall led up to the doors into her hidden bed, the doors were slated as to allow a small amount of light in. On the other side of her was a straight shot to the bathroom, and like the path to the bedroom door it was clear. The door was closed tight to prevent late night paranoia, but the light that seeped out from underneath was a comforting sight. Next to the bathroom was a large red maple wardrobe, which inside hid many clothes and shoes as well as another small doll. Left to her bedroom door was a large cat jungle gym, where the spoiled black cat Jynx now slept. Next to that was a short table with the cat's food and water. The litter box was hidden in the bathroom, but that was of no matter to the cat right now. Jynx had his back turned to her, and his chest was slowly rising and falling. Other than him, she was all alone in the almost empty room. She swiveled around in her velvet cushioned chair. Hadn't she felt eyes upon her back? Was that not what had woken her up? It would have been nobody but Jynx who would be watching her at these hours. Than again with her mother being around, strange things always happened. "Don't be a fucking dumbass Viviana." She hissed to herself.
The dream had reminded her of her own father who was working down below in the basement, in his workshop. Her father was a doll maker, and such a thought made her laugh to herself. Viviana's Father did not make dolls from people, unlike Aya's. Her father built them from resin and clay. He was an artist, she was the scientist, but she was always taught from a young age that a human's life is not something to play with. Her father was always very dedicated to his work, he often stayed up late nights working to perfect his dolls. The similarity sometimes made the young woman question why she enjoyed this game so much. It left an eerie feeling in the air, and a strange taste in her mouth. Even now the smell of metal from in her dream was still in her nose. That sticky smell of iron, blood. Running her tanned, olive colored fingers through her pixie-cut hair, Viviana stood up onto the hard wood floor of her bedroom. She made it her goal to walk over to the door without awaking her snooty cat Jynx. As she walked she pulled her tank top up, and than down again, and repeated this as she tried to get it to sit over her breast and her chubby belly at the same time.
The door closed with a click as she left and in the hall of the manor the gleaming eyes of her mother's cat shined. The long-haired black cat trotted over and tipped her head to the side. "Evelina told me hours ago you would be asleep." With that bit of information she knew her mother was up as well dealing with some concoction. That was, to simply put it, her strange family for you. Viviana bent down to scratch the cat behind the ears. She had been looking for company, and found it in the form of her mother's cat. Still she wished to venture down the stairs and into the basement to find her father who must be up late working as always.
Viviana was still getting used to her new large house. The long stairs seemed to take much too long to walk down, and than was the large entrance hall that was decorated with strange paintings that she would never understand. She never really did get why artist did what they did, never got the meaning of the brush strokes and never understood what they should make her feel. They all just made her feel empty. Like they sucked out the life from her, all the emotions she had ever known. They left her cold, and empty like a shell with no soul to speak of. What was it her mother loved about them? What was it that brought appreciation to her father's eyes? Viviana would never know.
You see, her father was German but her mother was from America. She had been raised there but after the death of her great grandmother she was whisked off into the magic of rural North Germany. The old woman had little family left, and Viviana's father was the one to receive the full will. This included the plot of land that the old woman bought recently. The land of an old house that once burned down due to unknown causes. It was a long time ago though, and the basement that had barely survived had to be fixed. So you could say that now her family had hit a real jackpot now that they were rich and living a comfy life. Her father now helping to run the family business while he also made his dolls.
When Viviana reached the bottom of the stairs she walked over to the painting on the other side of the entrance, forgetting the goal of her Father's workroom. This was one of the ones that did not bother her as much as the others. A painting of a man, seemingly sleeping or dead, holding a blue rose. There were vines that encircled the picture and one red rose petal hidden within the painting. Evelina's cat jumped up on the small table in front of the painted and began to purr loudly. Viviana looked down at the cat to meet it's brown eyes. "Will you shush." She mumbled. Her mother's cat would do no such thing though, and the purring echoed through the deserted entrance hall. Viviana looked around, on the other side near the stairs was the door that would go down to the basement. The basement left behind from the old house. Her father had made a workshop in the first room, and a storage room for the stuff across the hall. Further deep in was the family's extra stuff, they hadn't gone further down though than the first basement floor. In fact the lower levels had been blocked off after it was made sure the floor wouldn't break. They didn't need such a large basement, and from what Viviana knew it went down about four floors.
Viviana left the cat on the table, but it quickly followed after. A witch's cat was a peculiar thing. It would speak like a human, and act like a human, and use small amounts of magic along with it's natural demonic powers. Yet it was still just a cat really. Evelina, Viviana's mother, had told her that a witches cat was always half demon. Jynx was half demon as well, but he was not a witches cat. As much human characteristics that cat had, he was still a cat half-demon and no more really. He couldn't use magic like Chyrsa, her mother's cat, and he couldn't speak. Yet Jynx and Viviana seemed to understand each other pretty well. He would even help her with her alchemy, if she needed an ingredient she had forgotten all she had to do was send the cat for it. Of course cat's were not the only creatures in the house.
Her father, Kalle, had two large German Shepherds that served as guard dogs. She guessed at this hour they might be asleep in the kitchen, but they walked around a lot at night. Outside in a stable they had horses, three to be exact. One for each of them, Her mother had a Paint and her father a Hanoverian horse. Both very pretty horses, and both females. The only male horse was Viviana's, and to her, was the most beautiful out of the three. A grey Andalusian horse, whose hair grew long and wild. His mane was always soft though, and that is why she let it stay so long.
Viviana opened the door to the dining room just a crack, a large red door next to the corner away from the stairs and near the hall to the other part of the house that wrapped around to hug the house in a C-shape. Her and the black Maine Coon half-demon slipped in through the crack into the red decorated dining hall. The pair walked into the kitchen where the young woman grabbed a glass of water, and set down a bowl of it for the cat. In a large pile of fur across the room a head lifted up to peer over his companion at the two. The dogs shifted about before curling back up to sleep. "Lazy dogs," Chyrsa hissed and shook her head. Viviana gave a soft laugh and pet the cat's back in long, slow strokes.
It wasn't like the dogs really had to be all that careful, the artificial spirit attached to the house by Evelina would keep the house safe. It told Evelina all there was to know about what was going on and what had happened while she was gone. It allowed her to control things even far away from her. There wasn't much Viviana could do to get away with things, but there was always Jynx whose demonic powers shielded himself from the all seeing eyes of the artificial spirit, and his powers could also hide her if she pleased. As a half-witch, even one useless with magic, she had a connection to her cat that gave him enhanced intelligence beyond a half-demon, and allowed her to use his small amount of powers.
Viviana looked out over the kitchen, the black and red tiles gleaming in faint moonlight. She stretched her legs out in front of her and blinked out into the darkness. Her mind was leaving her slowly at this point. The kitchen was one of calmer parts of her large home. So much of the house was just to strange. It made shivers run down her spine, causing her back to hurt if she did not calm herself. This house that was so very strange, even Evelina had once said that even though she could trust the house, she could not trust the basement. The basement? It had been here long before the house itself, nobody really knew when the house here had burned down. They didn't even know why. She almost asked Chyrsa why her mother had said that, but remembered the walls had ears.
Tap, tap, tap.
Viviana jumped up with a start. She had heard a noise and as she looked around she found no answer. She blinked her Hazel eyes hard before running back out to the entrance hall. Feet landing almost silent against the cold tiles as she pushed out into the hardwood entrance hall. Still no sign of anybody, nothing. Chyrsa pushed between her legs, her brown eyes searching in the darkness what Viviana could not see. The cat had heard it as well. Viviana picked up Chyrsa and with a determined stride pushed up the stairs and down the hall to the right. She pushed open her door and closed it behind her again. Viviana set Chyrsa down on the floor and ignored the glare of her black Japanese Bobtail.
She opened the red maple wardrobe and threw out an outfit as well as a pair of riding boots. She pulled on the black skinny jeans over her long socks and black underwear. A deep red tank top over her red bra, with the bright straps poking out underneath. She pulled on her dark pink, baggy sweater. One shoulder falling off as she pulled on and laced up her boots, tucking the strings into the knee high boots. She raised her head to look around the room once again, Jynx now sitting up and watching her with his mismatched eyes. He could now smell the strange emotions coming off of his friend, and Chyrsa sat beneath him on the floor attempting to get him down. The cat was deaf to other half-demon and soon raced over to his friend. Viviana picked him up carefully, his blue and green eyes meeting her hazel pair.
Viviana grabbed her brown messenger bag and once again exited the bedroom door, the laptop left on and abandoned. Jynx followed close behind her, dogging her heels and Chyrsa watched curiously. Viviana walked down the stairs as if fire was hot on her tail, shaking her head to clear the strange feeling of being watched. A feeling that always seemed to follow her through this house, and not the feeling of being watched by the house itself. It was a feeling that she had known since she first came to this place, as if many eyes followed her every movement. Never allowing her to stay alone for long.
Instead of stopping by the painting, and instead of going through the door to the dining room, she ghosted down the hall in a silence that had begun to swallow all her movements. She was listening as she walking, listening for the tapping. She was listening as she skirted the corner and to the red door that led out to one of the patios. As she pulled on the handle, it refused to move. The house would not let her leave, Viviana grew frustrated with the night's occurrences. "Is Mommy telling you to not let me out?" She asked the house, even though she knew it could not reply. "Tell her I'm only going out for a ride on Ciro, I can't sleep." Viviana would get her answer from Evelina in a few moments and she took a step back. She held her breath as finally the door opened itself. She was allowed to leave.
Jynx slipped out the door first and made for a dead run at the fence to the horses' pasture. He slipped under the fence as Viviana moved out the door shutting it behind her. Following her cats actions she ran to the fence, careful not to slip in the lightly frosted grass. She should have worn warmer clothing, but figured she would be fine. There wasn't any turning back anyhow. When she reached the fence she wrapped her fingers around the top wood beam and heaved herself up and over. She landed on the other side in a crouch, looking to the stables to meet her cat's glowing eyes. From here the glow made them both look green but she knew better. Only his left was green, the right one was an icy blue.
Viviana breathed deep, slightly calmer now that she was outside of the house, but she wouldn't feel the eyes leave her until she was off the property completely. As she walked over to the stables she looked over her shoulder at an illuminated window on the third floor. From here she could see her mother watching her actions. Her fair skin that contrasted her daughter's so much was glowing in the harsh light of her work room. Her midnight blue hair was dark, and looked black from so far away. Even though she couldn't see her mother's eyes from here she knew they were such a pale blue that they appeared lifeless. Evelina's eyes were always cold, frozen seemingly. No matter the love in her words or smile, her mother's eyes seemed to have died long ago.
With a heavy sigh Viviana slipped into the stables, Jynx weaving between her legs and stalking over to Ciro's stall where the horse was sleeping. Viviana grabbed the saddle along with the saddle pad, and the bridle along with the reins. She dropped these things beside the stall as she went in to quietly awake her horse from its sleep, and after placed these things on the horse. She nodded happy that she was a step closer to leaving. She turned to Jynx who peered up at her from right outside the stall, and she rolled her pretty hazel eyes at him. She led her horse out of the stables, and out into the pasture. On through the fence, and skirted around the house to the gate leading to the dirt road out into the woods. "Meow." The noise broke the silence around her house and she peered down at Jynx.
"No stay here, I can't take you." She told him softly and opened the gate to lead the horse outside of it. Tap, tap,tap. Viviana blinked to look up at the window she had just heard being tapped. Maybe Jynx could come with her after all? The half-demon hissed and jumped up onto his alchemist's shoulder. Viviana closed the gate behind her and held the cat on her shoulder. She placed Jynx on Ciro's rear and climbed up onto the horse. Jynx climbed around to shift into her lap, and Viviana kicked the horse into motion. A quick run that caused the cat's claws to dig sharp into her thighs, but as she leaned forward allowing the cold wind to cut at her face, and push her long bangs back, she found she didn't care. The horse bolted down the road leading to the nearby village. She had no other wish but to get distance between her and this place now, ignoring the fact she would need to come back in time. Maybe I will just fall off the face of the earth?
The soft glow of the village's street lamps glowed in the distance and Viviana raced on towards them, only slowing Ciro to a walk as she entered the village at last. She didn't stop though and let Ciro walk on through the village's main road to the other side. Viviana kept going even after that, Jynx now relaxing at the slower pace and watching the fields on either side of them. The grass climbing high and swaying slightly in the nighttime wind. Viviana kept her eyes out for anything they could find and they eventually landed on a small path that cut out into the grass, old and faded. She was already rather far from the village, and wondered what it could have been for. She blinked, looking into the distance, far away was what appeared tree tops.
She chewed her lip as she decided weather or not to go, but soon she had Ciro walking in the dirt to the forest. The trees met her and the path became littered. It had not been walked in a long time. That same feeling appeared around her, that feeling of being watched. This forest was much like her home, but instead of becoming scared she followed the path deeper in. The eyes here did not feel accusing on her back, they didn't burn. They seemed to welcome, they seemed to beg. What was this place? She pushed on deeper, until the path turned and came onto and abandoned road that she began to follow. She did not stop until she found a house, old and in need of repair. It was falling apart, and seemed not the best place to go, but Viviana ignored such common sense and pushed on to the house. Jynx jumping off her lap to race ahead to the porch where Viviana tied up her horse and walked inside. She was met with what must have at once been a rather warm home. She pushed on deeper down a hall where she saw two dolls sitting, leaning against each other. They could hardly be called dolls, as beams of perfection sitting among suck a wreck. She moved down the hall and looked to find a desk, upon it a book. It's cover was red, and black letters were laid out across the top. It was German, which caused her to scowl. She wasn't very good at reading German yet.
Viviana glanced around, Jynx as pawing at one of the dolls. He tilted his head side to side, purring as he played with it. She turned her gaze back to the book and grabbed it, stuffing it into her bag. She left the room and walked to the main room, where she found a door. She entered it, peering in she found nothing of interest. This place once belonged to a doctor, which was all she could learn from here, as other than the bed and medicine the room was empty. Save for the feeling of eyes watching her curiously. She turned again to go down the hall with the dolls, and this time turned down the hall branching off of it. This room was rather empty, except for a hole with a ladder. It would have to be a basement.
"Jynx I need some light!" She called out, flinching at how loud her voice seemed when it broke the silence. Even the presence of others around her seemed to back off. As her cat came barreling in she looked out the window where a small shack stood in as much disrepair as the house. She returned her attention to her cat, who was now covered in a bright blue flame that left the floor frosted. She nodded to the basement and he leaped down without hesitation. With the light she was able to look down to see the metal ladder was safe to go down, or at least appeared to be so. Viviana climbed down and landed on the floor safely. She smiled with a huff, but as she turned around her body quickly slammed into the metal ladder and let it bite into her bare shoulder and hands.
Placed neatly around the room on benches were people. Their eyes staring blankly ahead at nothing. There was one who sat in the middle on a grand chair of velvet, a young man with blonde hair and bandages wrapped around the burned half of his face. His one visible hazel eye staring into her own. His face blank as he kept his gaze on her. Viviana began to look harder, they were not people but dolls. They were so realistic that it was hard to tell, but as she walked closer and wrapped her warm hands around his colds ones, he was sure enough a doll. His body still, not a breath stirring his body. Which was sad, much too sad as he was very beautiful. Viviana slid her fingers down the side of his face, cold and smooth. He did not smell of resin, like dolls should. She picked up a piece of wood next to him. On it was a thin piece of metal, carved into it were the contributors.
Contributors:
Daniel-Eyes and hands
Jacob-legs and chest
She stopped reading and began to shiver, the room was very cold and fear gripped at her. What did contributors mean exactly? She turned back to the ladder and quickly climbed up, leaving the room for the front door. Jynx quickly met the young woman at the door where she was shaking her head and shivering.
She was quiet for a second, leaning on the wood door that seemed it could break at any moment. Viviana stood straight and with a viscous look in her eyes turned to walk around the house to the shack, which as she entered turned out to be a bedroom. Who on earth keeps their bedroom separate from their house? Viviana was met with a few more dolls in here. They seemed to watch her as she moved past the bed where a desk sat, and upon it another book. Picking it up she found a old diary written in German, she placed this one in her bag as well and returned to Ciro. The sun was starting to rise, and Viviana knew she must return home.
Jynx sat waiting for her on Ciro's butt, and was happy to climb in her lap after she was seated in the saddle. She was ready to leave these eyes behind as well, they followed her though until she was back onto the path in the field. She made her way to the side of the road, and rode home.