Been a while since I uploaded a story. These BETA chapters are more like practice chapters. I'll revise these sometime later.
BETA Chapter 1
Alfred drove through the quiet neighborhood, excited to see the house that he had bought. He had wanted that house ever since he saw it. Now he has bought it and now he can finally move into the house that he dreamed of.
"Ah, there it is," Alfred said as he saw his dream house coming into view.
He turned the wheel and the car went smoothly onto the driveway. Turning off the engine and taking the key of the ignition, he quickly hopped out and looked with awe at his house.
There it was, a two-story house with it stylized like a European house, but with some modern look to it also. Ivy and other plants clung to the house. As he got out the key for the house, he could hear water running from behind the house.
"That must be the water garden in the backyard," he muttered as he entered into the house.
Alfred took a deep breath as he took in the sight inside of the house. The inside looked vast. Alfred smiled, but then frowned.
"Great, now I have to get all the boxes out of the car," he grumbled as marched out the front door. 'Looks like I'll have to see the water garden later.."
Little did he know as he exited out of the house, a pair of red eyes was watching him from a dark corner…
BETA Chapter 2
Alfred sat at his desk, staring at his laptop.
After a few days of moving in, and the difficulty of moving his stuff in and the truckers who carried his furniture in, Alfred felt that he should relax and write something, despite some boxes left unopened and some furniture not quite in the right place.
However as he sat on his desk with his laptop, his mind was suddenly blank. Groaning, he put his head down. He stayed like that for a few moments, but then stood up.
"Maybe I should take a walk instead," he muttered.
As he left, a shadowy figure slowly appeared next to his desk…
A breeze gusted through Alfred's hair as he stepped outside and locked the door. He put the key in his pocket and took a look the houses surrounding him. Like his house, they were stylized in a European way. As he walked down the sidewalk, he saw a man coming in his direction.
Alfred froze.
Almost instantly he could feel a strange aura coming from this man, who had now stopped before him. Alfred stared. The man was really tall. He gave a strange smile to Alfred, who shivered slightly.
"Hello," the man said. "You look new. I've never seen you before."
Alfred noted that the man had a thick accent as he spoke.
Russian probably, Alfred thought.
"H-hello. Y-yes, I just moved into that house."
Alfred pointed with a shaky finger. The man's eyes widened for a moment before returning to their normal size.
"Ah, I see. That house," the man said quietly.
He smiled that creepy smile again.
"So you're the one who now lives in that house. What's your name?"
"A-Afred."
"Alfred, has anyone told you about the stories of the house?"
'N-no."
"Ah, you poor thing."
Alfred frowned. Just where is this man going at?
"What about it?" Alfred demanded.
The man continued to smile.
"Well Alfred, there are stories that that house is haunted."
Alfred scoffed much to the man's surprise.
"Haunted? Yeah right," Alfred said.
He wasn't into that supernatural stuff anyways. All those stories and rumors about supernatural encounters made him roll his eyes.
"Alfred, surely you will be cursed if you stay long enough," the man said in a spooky voice. "The spirit doesn't like it when people settle in its house! It will haunt you and cause chaos! It will make you fall into fear and insanity! It will even drain you of energy! "
"Oh please!" Alfred scorned, "Like there's a spirit in there, that's just nonsense!"
Having had enough of the strange man already, Alfred gave the man an eye-roll and walked back to his house.
"Oh and by the way," the man called out," my name is Ivan. I'm one of your neighbors."
"What a weird neighbor I have," Alfred grumbled as he unlocked the door and went inside the house. "He ruined my morning walk!"
As if a feeling of cautious overcame him, he peeked out one of the windows that faced the sidewalk. The man was still there. Alfred frowned.
"Why is he…?"
The man then walked away. Alfred gave a sign of relief.
"Ivan…huh? What a weird man…"
And what a creepy aura he emits…
Alfred wondered if the other neighbors had strange encounters with Ivan and whether where they were frightened or not.
And what of this house?
He had just moved in and already there were rumors of a ghost haunting it!
Shaking his head in disbelief, he headed into his room where his laptop would be waiting for him, to be filled with stories and ideas.
As Alfred closed his bedroom door, he didn't notice a shadow hovering above him, watching him with hungry red eyes…
BETA Chapter 3
Alfred sat up in bed, panting as sweat ran down his face.
It seems like Ivan's words had gotten to him as he had a nightmare of a shadowy figure chasing him throughout the house. Alfred gave out a groan as he lay back in bed.
I don't even believe in that supernatural stuff and yet I had a nightmare of that! And above that this house! Why just why?
A sudden roar of thunder caused him to sit up again. Lightning followed afterward, illuminating the night sky. Then the rain came, drumming on the rooftop. Alfred put a hand to his face.
There's no way he can sleep through all that noise. Because he often stayed up at nights writing stories, he was now a light sleeper instead of the heavy sleeper he used to be.
As Alfred stared out the curtained window, another bolt of lightning flashed throughout the sky. As it lit the dark room, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared next to Alfred's bed. But Alfred didn't notice, as he was too busy staring out the window. The spirit smirked as it felt the energy coming out of Alfred. It hadn't had energy for a while and now this man just moved in its house. Licking its lips, it reached for Alfred's hand with a finger and touched it. Its red eyes gleamed in delight as it began draining Alfred's energy.
As the rain continued drumming down, Alfred suddenly felt weak. Thinking it was the nightmare and the rain depriving him of sleep, he closed his eyes, not noticing the spirit that was draining his energy. With its hunger satisfied, the spirit let go of Alfred's hand and gently slid its fingers through Alfred's hair. It continued touching Alfred's hair, until said person opened his eyes again, albeit weakly. The figure moved away as Alfred tried to get up. The spirit stared, as Alfred's blue eyes were seemingly looking straight at its red eyes. Outside, lightning flashed once again.
"I must be dreaming again, " Alfred said. "Why else I'm I seeing a man standing next to the bed?"
The red eyes widened.
"You can see me?" it asked in a hollow voice.
Alfred blinked and rubbed his eyes. He stared at it before suddenly hiding under the covers.
"No! This can't be-!" he cried out. "I don't believe in that!"
"But it is," the spirit said.
As if to demonstrate, the spirit reached out and grabbed the covers, which made Alfred yelp in surprise. Shaking, he slowly looked at the spirit. It hovered above the bed, holding the covers, a small smirk on its face.
"No…" Alfred whispered.
The figure dropped the covers back on the bed and floated towards Alfred. He tried to move, but fear paralyzed him.
"N-noo…"
The spirit reached out and gently brushed Alfred's cheek. To Alfred it felt like a cold breeze running down his cheek.
And those eyes!
Surely, you'll be cursed.
As Ivan's words rang in his head, Alfred shuddered.
"Y-you're going to curse me, aren't you?" Alfred whispered to the spirit.
The spirit frowned.
"I do not put curses on people," it said softly. "The only thing that I need is energy. That is all."
It was quiet with the exception of rain outside. Alfred was still staring at the spirit, who stared back. Then, he sighed.
"I-I don't believe in ghosts and the supernatural, and yet I'm living in house that has spirit residing in it and it's standing right next to me."
Oh boy, to think this actually happened to me…geez, this is overwhelming…
"So, did you drain my energy?"
"I did."
No wonder why I felt weak. I thought it was just sleep overtaking me…
Once again, Alfred took a look at the spirit. All of a sudden, he could see the spirit more clearly. Besides his gleaming red eyes, he had dark hair and wore a white robe.
Giving the spirit a faint smile, he reached out a hand. Outside the rain seemed to have faded away, leaving only lightning that appears once in a while
"My name is Alfred. What's yours?"
As the spirit reached and touched Alfred's hand he answered, "My name is Kiku."
BETA Chapter 4 (preview)
Kiku watched with interest as Alfred whirled away on his keyboard, typing out his story with fast pace.
"Alfred-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What're doing?"
Alfred swiveled in his chair and gave the spirit a smile.
"Ah, I'm writing a story."
"Oh? What about?"
"It's about two brothers traveling to look for their lost sister."
"Ah."
Kiku floated to Alfred and touched his hair. Alfred shuddered as he felt the cold hands of the spirit running through his hair.