Hey, name's Aston. Probability is that a lot of you already know me so I won't go much into the formalities. I've been missing for a long time now and I apologize for that, I apologize even more that I can't promise regular updates on this story or really anything. I have a lot going on in the thing we call life and it kinda sucks. I just had a baby boy and we named him Roxle Leonyn S~~~ but he's been in the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) the past two weeks (all his life) and the doctors guess he can leave next week if he heals completely but if not we'll be there about another three weeks. On an up note: I have time to write now. On a down note: pretty much only until Roxle gets out because I'm getting a shit ton of work thrown on me. While Ryan's working I have to take care of all five of our kids, his elderly parents, and the house. So... yeah. Whatever free time I have will be going into sleeping.
Anyway let's get to what's actually important here: this fanfic! It's a Runaway! fic I've had sitting around forever and I work on it on and off. I was reformatting my stories when I realized I had enough for about three chapters so I decided to post them. I'll post the second next week and the third the week after that and post whenever I have another chapter done from then on. Alright? Alright.
I love all of you and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it!
Despite all the warnings I had gotten not to go in there, I was determined to find out what was going on in the old house on the wooded hills. It was quite the infamous place of death and mysterious disappearances though in my searches I found that no one actually knew anyone that supposedly disappeared from there. All the testimonials I heard were from questionable people claiming to have been attacked by a monster that was said to have been 'impossibly huge and strong' but no one bared a mark as proof. Not to mention that if this 'monster' was so terrifyingly amazing that killed everyone that stepped into its territory then why were there so many survivors left with no injuries and all the stories to boast about? I didn't believe a word of anything anyone said. Yes I believed in the supernatural world and most of its creatures but there were just too many claims I knew to be false that couldn't be ignored so I deemed all the stories to be the work of wild superstition and idiots looking to avoid being teased for chickening out on going in the 'haunted house'.
Normally I wouldn't waste my time on such a fake haunting and I wasn't one for playing detective but there was one thing that drove me into investigation and inspection… my best friend Jade went to the admittedly creepy house to study the birds that hovered around the place. Trouble is… she didn't come back after she sent me a text saying she was finished. It'd been three days now and no one's heard from her, odder yet her grandfather who took care of her went missing too. No one was at their house and both of their phones went straight to voicemail. Three days and this was the last place Jade was known to be so there had to be some sort of clue as to her whereabouts or at least what happened to her.
Still… looking up at the worn down mansion of a house covered in overgrowth was kind of intimidating even with all the daylight peeking through the tall trees. Though the lively birds that flew fearlessly around somehow gave the place an almost peaceful feeling that made it more beautiful. Jade probably only saw this side of it rather than its obvious creepy factor. Seriously she was the only person not to be even slightly afraid of a deserted mansion on a hill in the woods but that wasn't really a bad thing, she saw the life that this place teemed with rather than the superstitious lies that were always spread about places like these. I, and everyone the enthusiastic girl came into contact with, really envied that about her.
As if to help lift my spirits about this place, a wonderful tune began to play in my ears that came from inside. It was a lonely song that simultaneously made me feel free as it dragged me from my feet and taught me to fly. Though a bit suspicious about it, I couldn't help but to fall in love with the alluring whistle. The birds chirped along with it and even their wings seemed to follow its strange rhythm. I wondered if Jade too had heard this song and loved it as much as I did. I floated to the front door of the mansion and waltzed in without thinking to knock as if someone were there. Suddenly the song halted and even the birds stopped singing, bringing the dooming aura crashing back down onto me. I found himself not in the welcoming home of life I had a glimpse of but the dark interior of an old beat up house with too much space and not much to fill it with. I was fearful once again of what might be in here, no matter how much I told himself that all the things everyone had said about the place being haunted or being the residency of a demon were just a load of bullshit meant to scare everyone… although I had to admit that it served its purpose well. The outside may have its beauty but the inside was eerily dark and quiet, giving off a doomed feeling that placed a stone in my stomach. All the liveliness that I felt coming in didn't seem to carry over once I got in.
With my dear friend in mind, I braved my first step and nothing happened. Trying to act as if I wasn't scared, I took another and another until I was in the center of the large front room.
"Jade?" I called with a hand cupped over my mouth, hoping for any sort of a response but only my echo returned to me. "Is there anyone here?" I shouted, listening for any indication that there was something else here with me. If there was, I would rather know about it sooner than later. I was startled and spun to face a high window where a black bird landed, it's head tilting to stare at me as if to question my being there. At this point I was asking myself that same question but I knew I had to press on if I wanted to find Jade. The faster I got a move on to find her, the faster we could get out of there.
Ever so slowly I turned my back to the creepy bird that was still staring right at me and tiptoed into another room that seemed to be the kitchen and damn… it looked more like I was in the kitchen of a restaurant. Sure everything was outdated and covered in rust but it looked like it used to be really impressive. Whoever used to live here must have been the classy kind of rich. I found no trace of Jade but… there were a lot of empty bags of bird seed and even a few that were freshly opened. But that didn't make any sense… was someone still here? The next few rooms gave the same results regarding my friend and the fine choice of decor, withered as it was.
A loud scraping sound scratched at my ears, making chills sprint up and down my spine. My reaction time delayed out of fear as I whipped around, my eyes darting left and right in search of the creature that shot in and out of the corner of my vision. Always in the darkness, never making an appearance in full view for me to get an actual glance of. I could only make the guess that it was dangerous based on the sound of its talons scraping on the wooden frame work of the building.
"Who's there?" I yelled and for a moment there was a sudden suspicious quiet that I thought would have calmed my nerves but only seemed to make it worse. Where was it? I turned round and round searching for what could very well be the monster everyone talked about. I almost screamed when a chair behind me was mysteriously thrown over. Regardless of my fear I covered my mouth and took deep breaths, trying to tell myself whatever bullshit 'logical' explanation that popped into my head. Maybe it was just the wind or something, right? Very strong wind… that I couldn't feel. Now was not the time to get scared and run out, not when Jade was possibly here with this thing. I mustered the strength to uncover my mouth and call out again, hoping that I would get a real answer this time. "Hello?" more and more scratches on wood that seemed to be all around me, echoing in the large house which was probably to the benefit of whatever creature or creatures were making them. It was honestly really freaking me out, I had no idea if I was surrounded by dozens of vicious monsters, if it was just the birds outside scraping at the house as they came and went, or if it was all just in my head due to the scary factor of this abandoned house.
"I know someone's here." I shouted into the space around me, hoping that would make whatever it was just come out already but the moment of eerie silence and the feeling of piercing eyes locked on me… I got the feeling I had only woken something up. It was a bad feeling, a very bad feeling indeed. I felt as though I had walked knowingly into a lion's den, thinking that nothing would happen, before hearing its growl and feeling its breath on the back of my neck as it prepared to devour me. "Please…" my puny voice whispered desperately among the frightening noises around me. "I'm just trying to find my friend, Jade, she means the world to me." the skittering suddenly stopped and each suspenseful second that inched on without a sound was agonizing. Then a large, loud flapping spun the air around the house and whipped my hair around. With all the the dust blowing to and fro and all the fear of being killed cluttering my mind, I threw my arms over my head and squeezed my eyes shut as I waited for the pain of the thing's claws to tear into my flesh.
But I wasn't attacked… the flapping stopped and the air calmed; that would normally be a rather good sign but it only served to unsettle me further. Hesitantly I peeked out from the cover of my arms, my eyes widening in awe at the brief shadow I saw on the wall. It looked vaguely human but I also spotted what appeared to be wings before it was gone. Everything was quiet for a time as I looked around, trying to find some sort of clue as to where the creature was, wanting to see it to confirm what I thought I saw. I twisted and turned but I saw nothing so I dragged my feet toward the stairs, taking them up quicker than you would expect for a person that was just terrified out of their mind.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I was startled by a slamming door but rather than run away like I normally would have, I actually ran toward it and tried to yank it open only to find it locked. I banged on the door and called for someone to open it but there was no answer. Pressing my ear to the door I could hear some scratching that… almost sounded like footsteps. Was there really someone in there? I'd been in enough of these ancient houses to know that most of them had secret connections between rooms and hoped this was one was no exception. I darted into the next room and fortunately for him, there was a panel in the closet that was left slightly opened so it was easy to find. I got onto my hands and knees to crawl through the space when I heard a door open though there was no more scratching footsteps rather the large flapping from before returned. I hurried through the crawl space, pushing the panel in the room I desired to be in open with my fist and looked around but there was no one in there.
I was surprised to find that this room was well preserved unlike the rest of the house. Where the wallpaper had peeled away spots of mold could be found on the mildly decayed walls. Cracks spread here and there like webs and even a portion of the ceiling was missing though there was no rubble on the ground where it should have fallen. Perhaps the person had cleaned it up. All the wooden furniture in the room: the bed against the center wall, the dresser on one side, the end table on the other, and the small cabinet under the window were all polished and very well taken care of. They definitely weren't new but someone took great care to make sure age didn't touch them.
Unlike all the others this room's window was without a crack and it even seemed to have been recently washed as it was easy to see through to the outside. Even the pillows and blankets on the bed were clean, the tops of the furniture dusted, the floor swept, and the dirt beaten out of the rugs. Maybe this was the bedroom of whoever still lived here. There were a few old pictures hung above the wall and while age was able to get through to decay the photos, they were still intact enough to make out their stories.
I would have gone to inspect them but something else caught my eye… a skull. It looked like a giant bird skull with red tribal markings around the eyes and beak. Huge black feathers made to look like hair had been attached to the back and they hung quite low. Next to it were a pair of bone gauntlets with red feathers at the elbows and each finger was pointed into a sharp silver talon. Wait a minute… that wasn't just a skull- it was a mask. Curious, I stepped closer to examine them more when there was a loud thump close to the door. I flinched and spun to the door only to see a small paper hung on it. Hearing no other noises, I cautiously stepped toward the paper, it read: 'chek hospitil'. Check hospital?
"The hospital…" all the blood seemed to drain from my body, fearing for Jade's safety. Why would she be in the hospital? Surely nothing… nothing could have happened to her, right? With worry consuming my mind, I walked out of the room and looked around as if I would find whoever was here and left this strange note for me. "Was that meant for me? My friend Jade… is she really in the hospital?" the silence now was empty as if there was nothing and no one there anymore. I no longer felt the gaze that followed me everywhere since I'd entered the house. "Why is she…" tears swelled in my eyes as a dreaded feeling spread in my chest when I wasn't answered, knowing there was no one there to answer me. I wished for the thing to come back even if I had to deal with being scared, I just wanted someone to tell me what happened to my best friend. The lack of an explanation drove me mad and caused a great deal of concern and fear, with it coming more anger. "What did you do to her?" I screamed fearfully, grabbing onto the stair railing tightly as my tears spilled over.
Please… let Jade be okay.
… … …
I did find Jade in the hospital like the note said I would… with a broken leg. She was asleep now but she told the nurses that she had just fallen down the stairs like the clumsy girl she was. I knew that wasn't true as she wasn't a klutz so she must be hiding something. The nurses told also me that they found her lying in the front of the building by herself. They had no idea how she got there but they knew she didn't get there alone on her leg so whoever brought her must have left. She didn't tell them anything, not even where she was which meant that she saw enough in that house to cover it up… maybe she knew about the person there- maybe she saw them! Whoever was in that house knew where Jade was and if she did see them enough to cover for them… maybe they're the one that dropped her off. The only question is what really happened there? I wouldn't know until she woke up and told me all about it.
I muffled a slow yawn with my hand and hung my head, contemplating falling asleep myself for the tenth time but again decided against it in case Jade woke up while I was out. I wanted to know what had happened in that house before going back to investigate, hoping to confront whoever had left me that note. Though it was getting pretty late… maybe I would do it tomorrow because tonight I was going to stay here with Jade to make sure she had company until she leaves in the morning. After I made sure she was settled in bed in her own home, I would head back to my own to check in with my dad before trekking out to the abandoned house. At the very least I wanted to say thank you to the person for letting me know where Jade was.
"Hey John." my blue eyes shot to the girl laying on the bed in front of me to meet a tired green.
"Hey… how are you feeling?" I moved to sit on the edge of her bed, taking her hand in mind.
"Fine, they've been taking good care of me." she smiled gratefully at me, glad that her best friend was here. "How did you find me? Did my grandpa tell you?" I shook my head.
"That's actually what I want to talk to you about… I went to the abandoned house looking for you and... " I looked away from her nervously as if I was worried she wouldn't believe me though I knew she would. "There was someone in there and they left me a note telling me to check the hospital."
"Really?" surprisingly her eyes seemed rather excited. "That's crazy, I was going to tell you about the person!" so she did know something.
"What happened while you were there? Did you see them?" unknowingly my voice sped up in my excitement over the suspense of the mystery.
"Vaguely as I was falling down the stairs, everything was really blurry but I'm sure it was a boy." just like I was Jade started speaking faster, eager to reveal what she knew. Nodding at the new information, I planned what approach I would take to my confrontation tomorrow when suddenly a dark thought crossed my mind.
"Did he push you?"
"No, no, I fell." Jade reassured me, ignoring the angered tone my voice had taken. "I think he was trying to scare me off and when I heard something behind me I turned too fast and my foot slid off the stair. As I was tumbling down, I saw him standing at the top of the stairs. Next thing I know I'm laying here with this stupid thing." she explained, ending with an irritated gesture toward the white cast around her left leg. "Do you think he's the one that brought me here?" I shrugged, relieved to hear that the whole thing was an accident.
"That's what I was thinking." thoughts spun in my head, so many questions I hoped Jade had the answers to but didn't. I was disappointed that I didn't know much more about the mystery but at least I now knew that it really was just someone in there messing with everyone. As a fellow prankster, I felt I had to met with him.
"You should go home and get some rest John," my friend smiled softly, seeing the flurry of questions buzzing in my head that needed some rested thought.
"No, I'm staying here with you tonight." I told her as I sat back in my chair and got comfortable. "There's no way I'm letting you stay another second in this place alone and I already cleared it with my dad so he won't worry." she just smiled a little wider at me.
"Thank you." I returned her kind smile, reaching over to hold her hand again.
"You're welcome Jade."