It was your grumbling stomach that had you sitting up in the bed of your musty room. You were hungry. It didn't happen often that your hunger would actually wake you from sleep, but when it did, you knew you would spend hours trying to ignore it and go back to bed unless you took care of it. You let out a sigh and pushed your feet over the ledge of you bed and slid onto the cold stone floor. You curled your toes over the stone feeling the grit of the floor. Your room was the more lavish one on the floor. It looked like some kind of med-evil cathedral where the head priest may slept at some point. The only light came from a stained glass window covered in dust behind your bed that was too high for you to reach.
Letting your eyes adjust to the dark before you pulled open the heavy door to room to walk out into elaborate dirty hallway. The wallpaper had been peeling for what seemed like for ever, stains you couldn't get out mocked your cleaning ability's, and the overall dirge of the room left you with what felt like a haunted house. Despite all its musty smells and cobwebs you could only imagine just how amazing this place must have looked once it was built. It was the Victorian style that had drawn you to it.
You entered into the kitchen after you had passed your lavish lobby and began exploring the cabinets for food. The doors would creak upon opening and you already knew the fridge would be empty. You rarely went grocery shopping if you could help it. You hated the crowds with all the people pushing and shoving one another without so much as an apology. You didn't like the way they smiled as if there was nothing wrong with the world or how they used cheery voices to try and hide there distaste for one another. They were too fake to you.
Your stomach grumbled again before you managed to pull out a can of chicken noodle and dumped in unceremoniously in to a pot before lighting the stove with a match. The house was old not a t.v in sight even children would have hated it here. You liked it because it was away from the city.
You went over to the fridge and looked around on the shelf till you saw a little bottle with a purple top.
Insulin RX.
The contents of the bottle were pretty low. Luckily your chicken noodle soup wasn't high in carbs. The insulin should last you another day but along with your grocery's you would have to pick some up tomorrow. You shuffled around in a drawer before picking up the cardboard the bottle had been in originally and phoning it in for tomorrow. Just as you finished your soup was bubbling and was more than ready to be taken off the heat. You poured your soup into a bowl and set it at the table.
Before eating you pulled out a needle next to the silverware drawer and jabbed it into the bottle. Withdrawing half of what was left of the contents you pulled it out and prepped your arm. An alcohol swab and a pinch later you were pushing the tip of the needle into your arm. Trying to find balance so you didn't fall over and break the needle in your arm you pushed on the white top of the needle injecting your self with the clear fluid. Pulling out the needle you broke it in half.
The orange cap contained the sharp needle point and you placed it in the red bio-hazard container next to the fridge. The rest of the syringe you tossed into the garbage.
The sharp point of the needle was a bio-hazard and illegal to throw away. You managed to safe space and money by throwing out the rest of the needle.
One thing down, now for food.
"Meow"
You turned to see the mysterious cat that hung out on the property, ghost, licking the broth from your soup. You moved quickly shoeing the cat away from your soup.
"Dammit, cant you leave my food alone? There plenty of mice and what not for you to go hunt down." You picked her up and tossed her into the overrun garden by the kitchen door. The height of the grass made it look like a jungle. Wild flowers hung on ever side excluding the broken rocky path. You didn't mow the lawn even if you did own a lawn mower. It gave the place a creepy abandoned look that helped deter people away from the place.
You looked back at your tainted soup. Should you eat it anyway? You already took your medicine and you didn't want to waste the soup that was already there. It's not like ghost was suffering from any strange diseases. You manged to take her to a vet once. According to the vet it was surprising how healthy the cat was considering it was a wild outdoor cat.
Even though there was a possibility that Ghost could have picked up on something between then and now you had a doubt that this cat could ever get sick. Sometimes that cat just looked at you as if trying to tell you something.
You sat at the table and ate the soup.
It was bland and tasteless. You always brought the cheapest food. You were never sure how far your stipend would go for taking care of the old house and you needed the money to last. No point in wasting the food.
You slurped up the last of it before washing the bowl in the sink and putting it back in the cupboard. the cupboards were just as old as the house. The kitchen really showed the age of the house as it was in fact the least updated. Your aunt had tried to keep the family manor alive with what she had, but when your great grandparents had lost all the money there was nothing to fix it with. It didn't matter you liked the house despite it needing updates it looked like a wealthy ghost family lived here now. But, it was just you and Ghost.
Your brother had left you last year to become a normal well rounded citizen as you called it. You were proud though. You were worried he might become a recluse like you or worse become like your mom and dad, but he didn't. You had been the one to take care of him when he himself become a diabetic like your self. When ever you could afford the medicine you would use it on him. It was only when you desperately needed it that you even took a dose. After all you had to live to take care of him and going to long with out your medicine would kill you. Now, he managed to find a job and even get paid enough he could afford his own place, his own medicine, his own food. He could live a normal life. Him getting the job was the proudest moment of your life, especially seeing him so happy.
It was only when he came to visit he got a sad look on his face. You knew he wanted you to be able to do the same. Get a job be happy and healthy. Maybe, find a boyfriend.
You both knew that you woulnd't be able to be normal again, not like in the past, Not with all that happened to you. You got as much help as you could already, this...right here, being in this house alone was what happy was to you now. Even if it did become lonely. Only Ghost and walls would talk to you. Ghost meowing threw the halls leaving his little echos behind. The walls would creak and groan with every burst of wind from the mountains. On tougher nights a tree might brush the side of the side of the house leaving scratching noises as if something was trying to get in. These noises were normal to you. Had the house not made them... you weren't sure how you would be able to take living here anymore.
Perhaps you should get more cats and be a cat lady. Ghost probably would throw a fit and start peeing every where just for revenge.
You walked back into the foyer and began digging around in a small chest you had near the spiral staircase. The room made you think of how the old guest may have used to great there guest. Did they do it from the indoor balcony or on the staircase it self? It was filled with painted portraits of ancestors of old and dust to match the cobwebs from the chandelier. Your favorite piece being a piano over in the corner near the back.
Learning how to play was the hardest thing you probably did in the house. You had to even go into the city for weeks at time to learn under a teacher. It had been worth it. Not you could fill the house with something besides the sound of creaking floors and wind at the windows. Ghost even seemed to like it as he would curl up next to you on the piano bench. It seemed to give the whole house a different feeling when you played. Besides Ghost however and the nagy piano teacher, it was only your brother who had ever seen you play.
'Once upoun a December' had been your favorite.
You opened the chest, it was the only thing that stood out in the foyer. It was the only clean thing in that part of the house, also the only thing that wasn't over a hundred years old. You simply used it as a storage closet of sorts. You pulled out your mp 3 and a set of really old keys. If you needed to go into town tomorrow you had best try to get the car started today.
You opened the heavy wooden stain glass front doors easily. Trying to close them was the hard part. You gripped the Iron handle and using all your weight managed to get the door to close behind you slowly. You brushed your hands off before reaching the garage. The most rundown part of the house besides your basement.
'Omnia mors aequat' was wielded into the steel arch above your car. There was no rust from the arch designed to withstand time. Even with the dead vines that clung to it.
When you were younger you had gotten to meet your aunt once. She led you and your baby brother threw the gardens showing you the Latin that had been written there. It match the spooky features of the house, nothing satanic and yet all the saying held a dark vibe to them. Even to you they were a bit much. One more reason to stay out of the garden.
Half the garage wasn't even standing anymore and that why you left your 1960 Austin mini outside of it. Right under the arch to your overrun garden. Another thing left over by your aunt. It might have actually been worth money if it haden't been covered in rust spots and sported a ugly gray color to it. The seats had rips in them from when a raccoon had broken into it.
Ghost made a friend that day...
You would have been pissed if the raccoon had managed to get to the electrical but it seemed mostly untouched. You didn't bother to use the key on the door anymore, no body would have wanted to steal the hunk of junk anyway. Even if they did the property alone often scared them off. You slid in to the front seat and with a little difficulty managed to slid your key into the ignition. You had to turn your key a few times but kept getting met with dead silence. Shit.
You slammed your head into the steering wheel only to have it let out a loud honk before sputtering and dying. How the hell were you going to get your groceries and medicine tomorrow now?
A tapping at you window startled you and you turned to see older man with graying hair and 5'oclock shadow plastered on his face. Despite his age he was still a good looking man. Since you couldn't roll down your window and you recognized his steel gray eyes from any where you opted to just open the door instead.
"Hey, you'v been having problems there again, lamb chop."
"Shawn, this is a bit of a surprise. You don't normally visit me on such a nice day." You gritted your teeth. You hated it when he called you lamb chop. He knew you knew it too, but he seemed to enjoy teasing you with it all the same.
He looked a bit off guard that you caught him doing something different than the norm. His eyes looked away from you a sense of guilt and concern graced his features.
"Yeah, something came up. Uh, youv'e uh, havn't had no visitors lately ave you?"
"Visitors? Are you kidding?" You gestured to the massive terrifyingly spooky mansion behind him.
"Yea, i knows, i knows." He smiled briefly before the concerned look took over his face again.
"Look um, i know it's weird and all, but some crazy shits happened in town and i just wanted to make sure's you's was alright."
"Crazy shit like what?" You raised an eyebrow at him. Normally he only came to give you news about your property, bills, or your paycheck for babysitting the house.
"It's uh, gonna sound weird, but..." He looked nervous and began to scratch at his neck as if there was anything else he wanted to do in the world it was not be here. His eyes were constantly shifting behind you looking at the trees behind you in the woods near the mountain.
"I think maybe you's should stay with your brother fro a little while, safer and all that."
"Safer?" He was not suggesting you move in to the city was he? That wasn't gonna fly with you. He must have sensed your anger because he was already putting his hands up in a surrender.
"Are you saying I should move to the city? Like hell I am! Id rather be eaten alive!" You jabbed a finger at his chest and he backed up an embarrassed flush crossed over his face from your touch.
"Look, I knows what your thinkin, but i swear it for your own good. There's things out 'er now. In there." He pointed to the dense woods behind you.
"There's always been things in there, Shawn. Wolves, bears, maybe a big ass cat you don't want in the house. Look even the wild animals don't come near my house." You could hear the anger in your own voice but it didn't matter because it was true. The wild life avoided your place as if it was poisoned, excluding Ghost and smaller critters that he seemed to eat.
Shawn began to rub his fingers on the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Don't know how to tell ya this, but there be monsters in there. real ones."
"What?" Serial killers break out of some non-exsistan prison in town?"
"Naw, just the mountain."
"...the mountain has serial killers break out of it? Funny, next thing your gonna tell me is that i won the lottery." You were just getting angrier now. why did he have to beat around the bush about this type of thing. Nothing he threw at you could damage you anymore than what you already were. Your past trauma has made sure that you've become a rather angry cookie who would no longer lay down and take the beating but would now stand up and beat back. Didn't know if you knew how to fight back properly or not, you would go at it like an animal to protect yourself now. A few people realized that too late.
Not Shawn though, He knew you'd have him on the floor before he could even reach for his gun. Your eyes glanced at his side arm. Strange that he was even wearing one today. Normally he left it locked in the cars glove box or didn't even bother to bring it. What had him so spooked that he carried his gun with him?
You took a breath and allowed your self to relax. Clearly he was nervous already and didn't need you getting anger at him in the process. You just needed him to be blunt about what was going on.
"Shawn." Your voice was calmer but gruffer than before and it made Shawn jump a little. His attention back on you to see that despite your crossed arms your face was more relaxed waiting for a proper answer.
He pulled at his tie for a moment and closed his eyes as if thinking of what to say. He started to walk away from you and just as you were about to say something he held a finger up to wait. So you slumped back against your car with your arms still crossed and watched as he opened his own car door.
How had you not even noticed him coming up the driveway?
You watched as he pulled something from his backseat. It looked like a bunch of newspapers rolled up with a rubber band. He took the rubber band off and tossed it in his back seat. He unfolded the newspapers and did a quick glance over them. He made his way back over to you and hand the newspapers out to you.
You kept your arms crossed and glared at him again. You had never cared about what happened to the world unless your brother was involved with it, and even then your brother would tell you himself personally. Then again he was on a camping trip out state and had no way of contacting you for a while.
Reluctantly you took the papers from him. He remained quite and only indicating to the paper in front of you. You drooped your head annoyed that he apparently couldn't just tell you. You looked at the paper in your hand and your eyes fell onto the headline.
MONSTERS IN THE MOUNTAIN
"What? Is this a joke." He only shook his head and indicating back to the paper to get you to keep reading.
Once people thought they knew the world and how it worked but it was until recently that we have come to discover the unknown again. Not like aliens that we thought would once be the next leap for mankind, no. Something closer to our own homes. Right under the mountain. Monsters. All seem to be of different shapes and sizes have come from underneath the mountain. The monsters have claimed that they had been trapped down there for century's waiting to be able to escape. It was only till a human child (Frisk Flora) from the local orphanage fell down the hole and managed to help break a magical barrier, (according to our sources) that they were even able to escape.
The monsters with a monarch system have a queen who had this to say: "We don't wish to start a war with you humans. We want to be able to get back to our lives that we were suppose to live before the barrier trapped us in the mountain. But,...NYAH I UNDERSTAND IF YOU HUMANS ARE AFRAID OF US CAUSE WE ARE STRONGER THAN YOU.-" It was at this point a strange dinosaur creature interrupts the queen. The queen gathers herself before she continues her speech. "Right, Sorry, I...am not used to seeing so many human faces. I apologize. We don't wish to harm anybody." The government has yet to respond with any information on the subject.
The rest of the article continued on in sections.
Authorities are also unsure how to proceed and for now have taken to asking civilians to lock there doors night and day.
The monsters for now have been asked to stay outside the city for now till further notice.
Rations have been provided to the monsters as there apparently had been a lack of food in the mountain.
Psycho analyst advise keep one's distance till the monsters mental stability can be properly analyzed. see pg 13.
You might have doubted the rest of the article if it wasn't for the picture of the strange fish creature on the front of the paper standing at a podium, a crown on her head, and her clearly screaming at the crowd in fount of her. Behind in a blurry mush seemed to be other creatures not in focus of the camera and hard to make out. Besides the 'queen' you could only make out a lizard like creature standing next to her. It seemed as if insomnia was rotting away at this creature. Her lab coat had seen better days and skin clung to her loosely. Now that you noticed it on her it seemed to be on the queen a bit as well.
Clearly not getting enough food.
Just for a moment you remembered when you and your brother were younger. Diabetic and starving. You felt a pang of pity and remorse for these people. With the way humans are, they were probably in for a bad time.
...
What were you suppose to say to all of this?