NIGHTMARE HOUSE 2
A/N: And here it is, my viewers! The novelization of Nightmare House 2, the famous mod designed by WeCreateStuff!
Now, allow me to explain what's going to happen. In case you don't know, Nightmare House 2 is a modification for Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Hence the name, it is a survival-horror mod with a pretty good storyline, original characters, and the like. If you have played Nightmare House 2 before, that's great! But, for the people that haven't, I will warn you that if you want to play it, there will be spoilers all throughout the story. For the people who don't mind, feel free to step in and start reading.
For this chapter, this will be the prologue to the prologue that actually happens in-game. It will explain information about the protagonist concerning things that are not revealed in the game. It will even give the silent protagonist a personality and voice! Because honestly, I find it a bit boring that he remains a blank slate throughout the entire series. It will also fill in the blanks for other characters and events that weren't explained well enough, as well. Hopefully, I won't go too overboard with the new material and stay within a logical state.
That being said, I hope you enjoy this introduction and what is to come!
The night was a thick blanket that swept over the forest. Nature's orchestra had come out of the woodwork in order to quell the insomniacs and please the stargazers with its music, with the crickets serving as the main source of attraction. Fireflies wavered through the sheet of darkness with their green lanterns as a means of visual aid and delight. The moonlight was the only true source of brilliance, its white glow shining down upon the earth. Other than the presence of the orchestra, there was no activity, no signs of human life that had infected the cities beyond. The only thing that told the tale of human existence was a lone road laced with chalk lines.
As of this moment, a lone, white pick-up truck was rumbling down the road, headlights cutting through the black clouds. The noise of the engines and mechanics pumping the vehicle forward rudely disintegrated the orchestra with a careless air. Within its confined space, a white-skinned man could be seen gripping the steering wheel with slender fingers, onyx eyes peering down to the path paved in front of him. His black, shoulder-length hair reached downwards, not a single strand sticking out of place. He was dressed in a formal attire; he was dressed in a black, buttoned shirt with a plaid short-sleeve underneath. His dress pants and shoes matched the color of his shirt, giving him the appearance of someone who had went to or was currently heading to a funeral. Such was obviously not the case; such events would only make things more depressing and gloomy when in the presence of darkness.
This was Abel Lamb, a man 24 years of age. He was many things, given titles that truly did not matter to most. However, before the night was through, he would be tested by the fates themselves in order to become something that he never would've thought himself to be, experiencing events beyond human knowledge. He would ascend beyond the earth and be thrown into the depths of Hell itself, before he would finally be in the heaven that he deserved. On this night, he would start his journey to becoming a god among the men.
This is his story.
"Hello! This is the part where I kill you!"
Abel's body immediately jumped at his seat, and he almost put his foot on the brake to force the car to a screeching halt. However, within a millisecond, his mind registered what had said the words; his ringtone. He scowled, curling up his lip and lowering one hand from off the steering wheel in order to access the cellphone within his pocket. He flipped it open, lifting it to his ear. "Hello?" He asked gruffly.
However, when he heard the voice speak at the other end of the phone, his expression of annoyance faded lightly. A grin slowly came across his face. "Oh, it's you, Abigail!" He commented. "Listen, sorry I'm late getting home. Tonight's sport was a bit tougher than we would've liked, so me and the boys were really getting into it. I'm heading back as we speak." He paused for a moment, cocking an eyebrow as he listened to the response. "No, no, I'm not taking any sudden detours. It's too dark to go anywhere..."
He peered at the road, grimacing. He might as well have been staring at a black curtain. He could barely see anything aside from the road in front of him. "I'm serious!" He complained to the person on the other end, frowning. "I could practically miss an intersection with the way this is going, or maybe another car! I'm heading straight home, promise." He paused once again for a moment, before adding jokingly, "Are you sure you don't want me to come home because you can't cook?"
Apparently, the response was somewhat humorous, because he started laughing. "Relax, relax!" He chided, still laughter within his voice. "I was just kidding, kid, no need to give yourself a heart attack. I'll be there soon to prepare dinner... all right. Love you too, sweetie." He lifted the phone away from his ear and in his direct vision in order to identify the "End Call" button. He pressed the button, lowering the phone to place back in his pocket. "Seventeen years of age and she's still acting like a nut." He shifted his gaze back to the road, putting both hands onto the steering wheel.
He was just in time to see a deer suddenly run in the road and freeze upon the headlights shining on it.
Those onyx eyes widened.
"OH, F-"
Every muscle in his hands and feet was taken over by shock. In reaction, they twisted, turning the steering wheel and allowing the vehicle to swerve off, barely missing what he would've crashed into. However, this only allowed for the wheels to swerve off of the road and barrel through the glass. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Abel could only stare as he found himself driving straight towards a telephone pole. With the idea of death overtaking him, he shut his eyes tightly and bent his head down, praying that it would come painlessly.
He slammed into the pole, and his forehead connected with the wheel with considerable force. His vision collapsed, his mind swallowed in darkness.
"Nnnnngh..."
In the moment Abel's mind had arisen from consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes. However, he had to blink a few times and groan due to a sudden pain shoot up in his head. Taking one hand, he rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe the ache. With his eyes half-lidded, he took a look around. As his vision slowly re-gained clearness, he saw that his truck was now off-road, resting right where it had crashed. Off to his right side, there was a natural clearing, creating a path that led straight to somewhere else. He let out an aggravated sigh, reaching over to grab his cell phone again in his pocket. However, when his palm reached the fabric, he discovered that it was vacant from its spot. Figuring it to have dislodged itself, he turned his eyes towards the space between the passenger and driver seats.
Sure enough, it was laying right there.
However, it was now broken into pieces thanks to the impact.
He was stranded out in the woods – and there was no one to reach him.
"GOD...DAMN IT!"
Raising a hand, he struck the steering wheel angrily before forcing his head down, forehead landing on the hard material. "Why..." He continued to mutter, his tone filled with despair and frustration. "Why, why, why, why, why did this have to happen to me of all people? This is..." He cut himself off in order to lay a vicious kick to the underside of the steering wheel. Then, he grabbed the door handle and forced it open, stepping out and slamming the door behind him. Who could blame him? After all, he was now stuck without any help, stuck without any way to get back to his own home. There was no one around to blame him. However, there was no one in turn to fault...
...aside from the deer, who had taken off once the vehicle had swerved out of the way.
Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps back from the truck and inspected it. Strangely, it had taken the impact very well. Aside from the obvious vertical dent at the hood, it was virtually unscathed. It was a fortunate circumstance for him. However, he wasn't trusting it to run as smoothly if he just jumped back in and started the engine. He needed to make sure that anything wasn't too damaged before he managed to leave. His eyes once again drifted to the grass path that led away from his truck, and his feet carried him around the vehicle in order to see it fully.
What he saw both relieved him and made him wary of what was to come.
There was a four story housing building several steps away, along with what looked like a gardening shed. Both of the buildings looked neglected and abandoned, and there was no sign of human activity within. Hesitantly, Abel walked the path, his feet crunching the grass. "It's like I'm staring into a horror movie..." He muttered, unnerved by the atmosphere. "I really hope that there's someone in here..." Soon enough, he managed to walk up onto the porch, raise his fist, and rap on the door loudly. "Hello? Excuse me, I need some roadside assistance, hello?" He lowered his arm, perking up his ears to listen closely.
There was only silence on the other end.
Then it hit him. The crash would've certainly caused a noise loud enough to wake the residents within. There was the giveaway that there was no activity within the house. His eyes searched around the porch itself. The paint was peeling off, and the material had a rusted and industrial color to it. There was no question about it; no one lived here, at least not anymore. But if he didn't get help soon, he would most likely have to spend the night sleeping in his truck. There had to be something that he could use!
Maybe he could find something within the house itself...
He took in a deep breath to let out a sigh. "I really hope no one thinks I'm breaking and entering..." He said to himself, turning away from the doors and briskly walking towards the garden shed. He was hurrying himself, the thought of leaving his predicament behind fueling his movements. When he reached the door, he promptly opened it and stepped inside. The first thing he saw was an axe in the table – perfect for smashing through barriers. There was also a flashlight – perfect for exploring dark areas. He grinned, approaching it in an eager manner.
Whumpf.
He nearly jumped at the sound, and his head jerked to see a piece of wood lying beside him. "...this place is giving me the creeps, and I only just arrived..." Deciding not to stick around, he grabbed the axe from the table and sprinted out of the shed, not bothering to close the door behind him. His eyes landed onto the house once more, and he slowed his gait to a walk, looking around. It would be too tedious to break in through the front door, was there another way?
Yes! His eyes caught sight of what appeared to be the entrance to a cellar. His expression brightened up, and he ran to stand in front of it, axe gripped in both hands. He raised it over his head, swinging down to smash the lock holding the hatch open. With a satisfying crunch, the wood splintered, revealing a hallway. Grabbing the edge of the opening, he boosted himself and jumped down.
CRUNCH!
However, what he didn't count on was the floor snapping underneath him.
WHUMPF!
He let out a yell as he stumbled to the ground, momentarily dropping his axe. However, he kept his grip on his flashlight. Picking his axe up and turning it back on, he searched around. It appeared as if he was in the basement. He looked up. There would be no going out the way he had came in. He would have to find the entrance of the house himself and leave. If he was lucky, he could find a computer or phone that was still working and contact Abigail in order to inform her of his plight. She would know what to do...
"Today is just not my day..." He said bitterly, walking over towards the door and pushing it open.
As he stepped into the next room, a cold and wet feeling hit his ankles. He looked down, seeing that there was water covering the entire floor. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, he continued to move through the room, keeping his eyes open. There was a washer and dryer on the wall, indicating that this was the laundry room. There was also an open locker with a gas-can and a medical kit. Deciding to pay no regard to it, he left them alone and continued to walk up the stairs, turning his flash-light off.
KLOOMPF.
They crumbled underneath his feet, much to his dismay.
"Oh, for the love of..!" He snapped, his feet once again landing on the water-drenched floor. "Sure, you piece of crap building, fall apart on me at the worse times!" He was lucky he hadn't sprained an ankle upon landing the first time. Wielding his flashlight in his other hand, he snapped it on and scanned the area for a way out.
And then he saw it.
There was a red mist seeping into the water, staining the wall. Its source was that of a corpse, decaying and reeking with a rotten odor. The clothes were recognizable as a blue shirt and pants. However, visible features of the body were completely unrecognizable as a human beings, skin being completely rotted off and showing off parts of dead muscle and bone. Abel looked horrified at the sight, his mouth agape and unable to look away at the thing. "What in the hell...?" He could only manage to bring himself to say. It was all too apparent what had happened to the residents of the household...
He wanted to get out of there.
Stepping away from the corpse, his eyes managed to catch a door right beside it that led back to where he had been. Stood-up planks were blocking it from his side. At the feet of the corpse, there was a pistol, an M1911 to be exact. Slowly, he leaned over to put down the axe and pick it up. He brought the side up to his face in inspection, then looked up at the corpse. Then, he sheathed the pistol within his pants pocket, stooping down to pick the axe back up once again. Whatever the cause of death was, he certainly wasn't going to allow the same thing to happen to him. Hopefully, there would be nothing to worry about...
Off to his side, he found a pair of boxes stacked up beside each other. He looked at the hole in the stairwell for a moment, before slowly nodding in realization. Propping his ax up against the wall, he grabbed one box and placed it underneath the hole. Then, he took the second box and propped it up on that one. In that manner, he could simply use the box as a filler to climb up the steps! If he hadn't noticed the corpse beforehand, he would've smiled in pride.
Raising his axe up, he swung down and broke the wooden planks, then opened the door. He ran back over to the stairwell, jumping on the box to climb the rest of the way up to a door waiting for him at the top. Sheathing his flashlight within his other pocket, he reached up to grasp the door handle and turn it.
It didn't budge.
His efforts had proved to be for nothing.
With an irritated groan, he stepped away from the door and caught himself staring at the wall to the right of him. With his free hand, he placed a hand on it and felt the brick material. Pushing it on a little, he was surprised to find that it moved under his pressure. Lowering his hand, he raised his leg and kicked the wall with all of his might. In turn, it crumbled underneath the power he exerted on it, the brick breaking and falling to clear the way to a bathroom.
Another gruesome sight overcame his vision.
This time, there was a bloodied and mutilated corpse that had been cut in half through the waist, with the upper half facing him and the bottom half sitting on the toilet seat. The face was frozen in a silent scream, eyes having rolled up in the back of its head. The hands were stretched out and elongated, giving the appearance of claw-like appendages more than anything else. The two were "linked" by a wide trail of blood on the floor. A shudder went down his spine, and he violently shook his head in an attempt to clear himself of the repulsion he was feeling. "Ok, just... calm down..." He told himself weakly. "It's nothing more than a dead corpse. Can't hurt you... just made to look scary... it's not going to hurt you..." As he spoke the words, he slunk past the corpse and grasped the door knob in order to turn it, eyes averting themselves away from it.
All of the blood within his body froze upon hearing a growling moan behind him...
...then, without warning, he felt a tearing sensation within his ankle as those very same claw-like appendages betrayed his expectations.
"AAAAH!"
Immediately, he leaped onto the bathtub just in time to see the upper half crawling towards him, uttering a steady stream of growling, moaning, and incomprehensible words. There was nothing controlling it, no living brain to keep it moving... and yet, here it was trying to climb up to where he was in order to inflict more damage to him. For a moment, Abel could only look on as the creature continued to swipe at him, unable to reach him because of their positions. He couldn't bring himself to speak.
Instinct kicked in.
Raising his injured foot up, he brought it down and onto the creature's face. The pain that shot through his leg was evident to him. But it barely registered his mind when he heard the crunch of the fragile skull. Shutting his eyes tight and clenching his teeth, he raised his foot and stomped the thing again and again and again, until the pain became unbearable. Then, he allowed himself to pant heavily, leaning against the wall with his back pressed against it. The creature lay unmoving, rendered immobile by the vicious stomping that Abel had delivered to it. But his frantic heart was pressuring him not to move until it could be confirmed that it would not attack him again.
There was nothing that could be said to describe the situation.
Therefore, he allowed himself to remain in silent shock as he limped back down towards the bottom level, his bleeding ankle staining the water. It seemed as if he would need that health kit after all...
It was with minor difficulty that Abel managed to patch himself up before moving through the bathroom.
Here, he stumbled across another short hallway, splitting into two paths. When he came to the focal point, there was a blocked off storage room to his left, and a bunch of drawers and chairs blocking his way to a set of doors on the right. Grimacing at the pain in his ankle, Abel moved himself over to the drawer and climbed over it.
CRASH!
He was thrown back into the drawer by himself as the ceiling within that area collapsed in front of him. Yet another decaying corpse fell onto the ground, and it took Abel all of his willpower to stand back up and walk past it. "Just... corpses..." He continued to repeat to himself, his voice clearly showing the effects of what the events were having onto him. Doing his best not to look at it, he opened the door to the next room, stumbling inside and shutting the door behind him.
It was a bedroom, with three beds lined up beside each other, each one being stripped of its sheets. On the opposite side, there was a dresser drawer with what looked like bandages. Limping over to them, he grasped the bandages and stuffed them into his pocket with his flashlight. Then, holding his ax in two hands, he walked over to the exit and grasped the handle.
BANG!
He spun around to see the mattress farthest to him fly up in the air before crashing back down to the ground.
BANG!
Then the middle one followed suit.
BANG!
Then the third.
And the flickering light within the room broke, leaving him trapped in darkness.
He didn't waste any time, shoving the door open and running through, slamming it behind him. He leaned against the wall for support, sweat falling down his face at a good rate. "Not even a kid could believe in this..." He managed to state meekly. "This can't be real..." He limped down the angled hallway, trying to ignore the bloody footsteps that were heading down his path.
He nearly snapped his head when he looked up just in time to see the flash of something standing right in front of him.
But it was was only there in the blink of an eye. The next moment, it had disappeared from his vision, leaving him momentarily stunned. However, remembering his plight, he quickly shook his head and continued to walk unsteadily into the next room. It appeared to be a living room, with the TV still on and a chair positioned right in front of it. The screen was displaying nothing but static – a sign that there was still power present within the home. If he could get to a phone and contact someone, it would allow him to-
He snapped out of his thoughts, his blood turning to ice at the agonized moan behind him.
He spun around, and was met with a sight that would've burned his eyes out if it were possible.
Another human corpse was stumbling towards him, its gait slow and unstable. Its face was etched in the same silent scream that the halved one had retained. Though this one was whole, its chest had been ripped open to expose the decaying innards underneath. The sight, as well as the smell almost caused Abel to lose face and throw up right then and there, but somehow, he held firm. Once again, he raised his arms, the axe handle held tightly within his hands. Then, once the zombie was close enough, he brought the blade down with all of his strength. The blade ripped cleanly through the fragile flesh and blood, spraying him with the red fluid. The creature was cut into two pieces, collapsing with its organs falling out of the halves.
Abel stared at it for a moment more, light-lost eyes taking in the disgusting sight. His heart was beating with fear, and his mind was racing from a mixture of disgust and terror. Slowly, he backed away, averted eyes turning away to face what looked like a supply closet. He stepped through, the lack of light prompting him to grab his flash-light from his pocket and turn it on. From the looks of things, there was nothing in here worth value. However, he managed to spot what looked like a case of pistol ammunition. Almost unconsciously, he allowed himself to toss the axe away and grab the box, pocketing it before walking back out.
Out of the corner of his eye, he managed to catch something flicker on the static-induced TV screen. He stopped in his tracks, slowly turning and crouching down to face the set. He raised a finger in order to turn it off...
TZZZT!
The image of an eye staring at him flashed on the screen, before it switched to what looked like a hallway in the house. Through the haze of static, he could see someone walking towards a door, stopping in front of it. Then, the person turned the knob and pushed the door open. At the same time, the corner of his eye caught the door to his room open and stop. Slowly, he stood up and stepped back just enough to peek through the hallway.
There was no one there, the hallway empty.
He turned to the TV.
The person was still standing there, unmoving and unresponsive. He blinked a few times, attempting to clear the person away from the TV. However, the situation was very much real. According to the TV, the stranger should have been standing in the doorway within his vision. But in reality, he was staring at nothing but an empty hallway. He could not tear his eyes away from the screen, his mind whirring. It almost seemed as if the person was watching him from a hidden spot, watching him... studying him... judging him...
Mocking him.
That thought was enough to turn the fear he held within him into a fury that he didn't know he had.
Ripping out his pistol, he unleashed a volley of shots into the TV, shattering the monitor and shutting off the image. He pointed the pistol at the ceiling in a holstering manner, his eyes glaring with quiet anger. He bared his teeth under his lips, the urge to shoot the television again strong. Then, he turned away from it, ignoring the corpse beside him as he walked briskly down the hallway to the other door. There was no doubt about it – even if it wasn't human, there was something watching him as he was attempting to escape. The thought made him feel like a caged mouse under watch by scientists for an experiment, and that was something that fueled the madness within him. For the moment, the fear had instantly shriveled up under his wrath's dominion – a temporary shield for the horrors he would face up ahead.
He was going to leave this place... one way, or another.