Chapter 1: The Trip to Mount Massive (Waylon POV)
Our car moved slowly along the lonely, winding country roads. We had been in this car for nearly seven hours, stopping only for the occasional bathroom or food breaks. Even after all this time, we were still in the middle of nowhere. I watched the passing trees and grass outside the window, playing some music through my headphones. I sighed, looking at my phone and opening the map app installed on it. Zooming out, I noticed we were in the middle of Colorado, heading west. I remembered where we were going: a small town called Mount Massive in Lake County of Colorado. It was southwest of Leadville and near the mountain Mount Massive, which was where the town got its name from. The mountain range and thick forests were the only thing around the small town. It was also built on the land where an old asylum was. According to rumors, the asylum was not only haunted, but the inmates were abused by the owners, the Murkoff Corporation. Now, the Murkoff Corporation was shut down but apparently some people who worked for them still live in Mount Massive. I've done my research on this place.
I was fine, and honestly pretty happy, with moving to Mount Massive. As long as there was an internet connection and a computer for me to work on my hobby of programming, I would probably be happy anywhere. Also, I preferred the quiet and peaceful forest setting. I was never really a social person and I spent most of my time at home, on some form of technology or doing some other quiet activity. My brother Miles, however, was a different story.
"Why do we have to move to this stupid town in the middle of nowhere?" Miles shouted at my parents, who were both in the front seat. Miles was my opposite, and you probably wouldn't even be able to tell we were brothers. I had blonde hair and dark brown eyes (usually covered by my glasses) while Miles had brown hair and light brown eyes. I was a lot more introverted and quiet, while Miles was definitely more extroverted and active. He was a high school senior while I was only a junior. He got in trouble many times for sneaking out in the middle of the night to go somewhere (he never said anything about what he does during this time). He's also very sarcastic and cynical.
"Because, Miles, your father has a business opportunity in Lake County. Besides, it'll do you good to spend some time away from big cities and all the excitement that comes with one," Our mother stated. Miles rolled his eyes. "Why can't you be respectful like your brother?" She added.
Hearing my name, I knew I would get dragged into this sooner or later. "Yeah well, Waylon didn't have any friends back in New York either," Miles responded. I knew he didn't really mean to insult me, it was just something he said to annoy our mother. Then again, Miles never really cared about other people's feelings.
"That's enough, Miles!" Our father nearly yelled from the driver's seat. He was always the first to get annoyed by the constant bickering. "If I hear one more argument in this car, you'll be walking to Mount Massive!" With that, the ninth (I kept track) argument of the day was over.
"That'd be better than being stuck with you guys," Miles muttered under his breath. Thankfully, the news was playing loud enough from the radio, our parents couldn't hear him from the back seat. If they did, I'm sure my father wouldn't have lied about his threat.
Wanting to lighten the mood, I decided to tell some random facts I'd learned about Mount Massive and its surrounding area. "Hey, did you know they say the town is haunted by a creature called the Walrider?" I asked. Miles' eyes snapped towards me, shining with curiosity.
"Really?" I could tell he was excited by his voice alone.
"Yeah. It's apparently from German folklore, known more commonly as the Alp. It sits on your stomach while you sleep and when you wake up, you can't move. Oh, and it also drinks blood from the nippes of men and-"
"Enough, Waylon! I don't need you telling Miles any of your fairy tales. I hope you don't believe that crap either," my father muttered. I decided to not say anything else. Miles, however, still seemed interested. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and I saw out of the corner of my eye Miles typing "Walrider" into Google. I turned away and looked at the scenery out the window. A few raindrops fell onto the windows and thunder rumbled in the distance, probably making everyone's mood even more tense than it was now.
After another half hour, we passed a sign. "Welcome to Mount Massive!" was written in fading paint on the wooden surface. The area along the road now became more wooded, with less and less of the faint sunlight shining down every minute. Eventually, the road opened into the town. Our speed slowed a bit as we passed old looking houses and other buildings. It seemed like a nice town to me, but there was only one thing that bothered me: I couldn't see anyone. It wasn't exactly strange to not see anyone outside when a storm was coming, but to see no one inside either? I couldn't get it out of my mind. I guess I've always been kind of paranoid, though.
"Must not be a lot of people here," my father noted, turning left at an intersection. We went down another road, which I could see led further into the forest ahead. I could barely see the peak of Mount Massive itself poking above the seemingly endless rows of trees. As we went further along the road, and I actually managed to see someone walking down the street. A bit of a strange sight here. We continued into the first line of trees, going up a slight incline, now in the forested section of the town. Upon reaching another turn, we saw a sign with the street's name on it.
"Asylum Road? Nice," Miles commented sarcastically. My mother shot him a disapproving glance. On Asylum Road, the houses were much more spread out. They were also much larger and nicer looking. I swear I saw someone looking at us from a window, but it was probably my imagination. Or maybe someone was looking at us, simply unfamiliar with seeing a new car on the road.
After a few more minutes, we turned and went up a long, dirt driveway. Then, I saw it, our new house. It was made of white colored wood and stood at three stories tall. With a large yard and forest surrounding it, I knew we wouldn't be bothered much. What I didn't know now was the hell our lives would descend into.