*I am currently revamping this story to rid it of spelling/grammar issues. If you reach a chapter that seems really bad in those issues, I haven't gotten to it yet.
The first thing I want to say is for those who read my other stories; I'm apologize profoundly about not finishing, or even updating, my preexisting stories before publishing a new one. But, I will say that in the years since I first joined this website, the plot bunnies in my head have pulled bunnies of different colors into the farm. Honestly, since I've lost my tablet with all my stories on it last year, most of my stories are for Labyrinth than Transformers. Another theory I've come up with to get myself back to updating my TF stories again is to put the stories I'm writing anyways up. So, whether I publish this or not, this is what I'm writing right now. Nevertheless, the series I began with 'The Fallen Scout' and continued with 'Abnormal Normalities' and 'Lies, or Just not the Whole Truth' is my baby series, and when it comes time to start the next installment, it will always take priority over other stories. Just a warning.
Now, for those of you that haven't encountered my TF stories, or don't really care for Transformers enough to read FF for it anyways; I give you my first Labyrinth Fanfiction. Most chapters I write are longer than this one, but since this is the first, I thought a short, introduction chapter would be suitable. I have a terrible habit of updating an awful lot in the beginning, but when I am forced to take a break from the story due to computer problems, I typically stop updating quite as often. But, I do hereby swear to finish every story I start. Also, as much as I love this story and any others I may post, my heart truly lies in one Transformers FF series I've posted. I have thus far refrained from entering the next part of it because I really wanted to finish my other stories first. So when it comes time for that story, this one might go on pause.
And for those of you who don't typically read Author's Notes; skip this, and keep doing what you do best. ;)
I don't own Labyrinth, any music therein, or really anything except a copy of the movie. So don't sue me!
My mother is claustrophobic. My father has a fear of heights. My brother screams any time he sees something small and wiggly. My best friend can't stand the sight of frogs.
And I fear the darkness.
At one point in their lives, most children do. The blackness of a room, the unknown all around you, the creepy sensation of having your eyes shut when you can't possibly open them any wider... I don't have a problem with any of this. But, there are other reasons that children fear the night. A common fear is of the boogy man hiding under your bed, or monsters in your closet. I laugh at such childish beliefs; for they only cry at the prospect of the unknown and the edges of their own made-up nightmares.
It's what is known that causes me to hide under the covers after everyone falls asleep, and before they all wake. I know exactly what goes bump in the night, and I know it only goes bump for me. Toby, oh young Toby, sleeps with a night light on at the age of four. He claims he hears things, creepy things, that come from beyond the door ways. But he doesn't really fear the dark because he knows there is nothing to fear in it. Irene taught him that.
I hear them too. I hear them louder, and I hear what they say. I see their red eyes, and I see their shrouded forms scampering about. Taunting me, testing me, they never leave in all the night. But they never come to the bed. I lay there every night, closing my eyes and praying that they'd leave. Please, just go away. Leave me alone, just leave me alone.
The never do. The instant I slip into the bed, with the sun set below the horizon and the last conscious thought of anyone else in the house already gone, they come out to play. They are not the monsters in my closet, nor the boogeyman under my bed; they are the creatures of the night that hide in the darkness and they will not hesitate to strike me down should I leave this bed. Stretch out an arm, and they'll pounce. Step down, and I'll fall. They are ruthless, evil creatures, who only come out in the darkness.
"Hhhmmm, mmh, hm." I hummed, watching the creatures crawl over each other towards me. Red, burning eyes staring at me. "Hmmm, hmmm, hhmmh." I clutched my eyes shut and pulled the covers up over my head.
Please just make it go away, please just go away. I heard them chitter in excitement as I shivered in fear. Sharp claws, ticking at the bed frame, scratching the headboard. I pulled down farther, for they never come into the bed. They don't just haunt my room, but it was my room that they came to haunt. Down the hall, they'd find any small toys or trinkets left laying around. I've watched them fight over and destroy one of Toby's favorite toys once, leaving the pieces in my room and in his, laying everywhere.
Sometimes, what they take is never found again.
"Hhhmmm, mmh hm." I shuddered, clutching at the bed sheets. All of the sudden, a weight fell onto the bed, and the covers shifted. Then, they thrashed and tore. I stifled a scream, sitting up and jumping away from the creatures in terror.
They climbed onto my bed.
I scooted away, trembling, as they stalked forward with sinister eyes. Sometimes, I wished I'd never tried to figure out what they were, or why they came. Knowing what I do now, makes me all the much more scared to turn out my light.
"Leave me alone." I whimpered, back hitting the wall about halfway between the infested headrest and the open floor beyond the foot of my bed. "Just leave me alone. Please."
Kackling was my only answer, as I knew it would. Tears were spilling down my cheeks.
"I wish you'd just leave me be." I buried my face in my arms, shaking uncontrollably.
Something strange happened then. I heard two slow footsteps, and then silence. Complete silence. The creatures were no longer chittering and laughing. Then, they started again. This time in an uproar.
There was a thump, and more footsteps coming closer. I sniffed, looking up just over my arms at a figure walking closer. Darker clothes than Dad would wear, and taller than Toby. It was a man, walking towards me completely silently. I looked up a bit farther, heart beating a million miles an hour. Who is this? What do they want? It was a man with blond hair. There was something off about him.
The first thought in my head was what Dad taught me; stranger danger. How did he get in here? Oh, no. Was this like what happened to that little girl on TV? When she got kidnapped for a week before they found her? Oh no! Like I don't have enough problems dealing with these night-creatures!
But the man wasn't paying any attention to me. He stopped just beside the bed, looking towards the headboard. He looked that direction with interest. I followed his gaze, but only found those terrifying creatures still there, creeping over the mattress towards me, hissing at the man.
He waved an arm towards them, and they were blown away, falling to the ground and whimpering. I trembled with more fear- what is this man? Surely he was not human!
I whimpered again, pushing myself back into the wall. Please, please, please...
He turned to me with interest. He didn't look angry, or threatening, or even surprised. He just stared at me for a moment, before sighing the same way Dad did when Irene made him go clean up after Toby. The man turned slightly, before leaning inwards and bending a leg so he sat just in front of me on the bed.
"You are the one who made this wish?" He addressed me. I blinked, unable to speak. He frowned at me, and I flinched back. "Speak now, child. I won't bite."
"W-w-what do you w-want?" I managed a whisper. I shot a glance to the terrible creatures crawling over the ground, hissing at the man and not daring to come any closer.
"I came to answer your wish. You did make one, did you not?" He stared at me unwaveringly. I shrank back. I made a wish? No I di- oh! I did!
"You're going to make them all go away?" I sat up a little bit, excited despite myself.
"That was not your wish." He denied. "You wished that they would leave you alone, and that is my only objective."
"Who are you?" I questioned. He tilted his head to one side. I shrank back again, disturbed by his eyes; they were two different colors. One was brown, and the other was blue.
He blinked, and then smiled. "I am a friend, Sarah. They won't scare you any longer."
My heart skipped a beat, before I fell forward in relief. Something about him, when his face softened with a smile and his voice warmed, made me trust him. What he promised, it was so enticing! I was hugging him before I realized what I was doing.
An arm fell around me after a moment, and I heard a chuckle. "Go to sleep, little one. They won't bother you any longer."
"Thank you." I was crying again, looking up at him. "You won't let them hurt me?"
"Never. Now lay down to rest. You will be safe for as long as I am here."
"Thank you." I yawned, relaxing for the first time all night. I slipped out of his lap and crawled back towards the pillow at the top of the bed. Under the suspiciously untorn covers, I was warm and comfortable. The weight near my ankle had shifted to the bottom of the bed now. I rolled over and looked about; the creatures were still scurrying about and glaring at me, but they came no closer than three feet now. At the bottom of my bed, I seen the figure of that man sitting, crouched over, and with his back to me.
I blinked with heavy eyelids, yawning once more. He looked back to me and the last thing I remember of the night was his reassuring smile.
I typically put an AN at the beginning and end of every chapter. Notes for before you read, and notes for after. Or, if you'd prefer, just a line to tell you where to start reading and where to stop.
This story already has the first 5 or 6 chapters written up. That isn't all of them, but it's probably the most interesting chapters. There will probably be around 7 chapters total. No promises.
And so... what do you think about my first published Labyrinth Fanfiction? Good enough to want to read the next chapter? Or, if you didn't like it, are you willing to try reading another story I will, undoubtedly, publish in the near future? I sure hope so...
R&R! I'm excited to hear what you guys think!