Kiri skipped along the worn dirt path that functioned as the town's road, greeting anyone who crossed her path. The huge present in her arms was starting to feel heavy, but it was okay, since she knew that the look of joy on Stitches face when he opened it would make everything worthwhile.
She had been saving up Bells for months, just to get him a present. Tom Nook had even helped her pick it out, and when he found out just yesterday that she was short 500 Bells, he was kind enough to give -not loan, give- the girl 500 bells, as long as she told the bear that Nook also wished him a happy birthday.
The trees surrounding the path started to grow sparse the further she went down it. Her pace quickened from excitement until her feet were flying, covering her freshly washed shoes in dust. Her surroundings were just a blur, barely visible out of the corners of her eyes.
"Oh! Kiri! Hiya!" A voice called, jolting Kiri out of her trace. She came to a stop, looking around in confusion. Arms wrapped behind her as she was pulled into a tight hug. Squeaking in shock, she turned around to see her best friend, Peanut.
"So, where ya going?" She asked happily, her fluffy pink tail swaying back and forth. "Wherever it is, it must be pretty important to run that fast!" Her eyes soon focused on the present in her arms. She ran a hand along the edge of the present, amazed at the size of the object. "Ooh, who's that for?"
"It's for Stitches!" Kiri announced happily, bouncing from foot to foot. "I've been saving up for months!"
Peanut's huge smile turned into a pout. "Aww... I don't like Stitches," she complained, kicking a small rock away. "He's annoying and lazy. Why are you going to give that to him?"
"Because I promised. Now I gotta cut this short Peanut, because if not I'll be late for his birthday party."
Peanut's face lost any and all hints of emotion; even her eyes had glazed over. "If I were you Kiri, I'd stay away from that party." Her voice was a dead monotone, sending chills down the girl's spine. Kiri started to back away from the squirrel, who showing no sign of noticing. She was like a statue, unfeeling and uncaring.
Peanut stayed in the same spot, not even noticing that Kiri was backing away. "Uhh...bye Peanut," she said nervously before turning around and sprinting back down the trail to get to Stitches' house.
She stopped in front of Stitches' door. She expected to hear music and his loud, squeaky voice bouncing off the walls, but the house was strangely quiet. She dismissed the lack of sound, thinking that she was simply early to the party. There was no music playing because the party hadn't started yet, right? Right?
The door swung open with a loud creak. She hadn't even raised her hand to knock on the door yet. She tried to calm herself down, trying to convince herself that he must have seen her coming from his windows or something. "Happy birthday Stitches!" She called out, fighting to keep the anxiousness she felt out of her voice.
She set the present on the table and looked around. His house looked exactly the same as it did yesterday; his usaly furniture was still up, and the boxes of decorations lay in an untouched stack off to the side. Maybe he was too lazy to decorate?
But Stitches had been planning this for months. He had even drawn out meticulous diagrams, showing where each decoration was going to go. Just a few days ago, she helped him move all the boxes into his house. He said that yesterday was going to be spent decorating, yet not a single decoration was up. Not even a simple "PARTY" sign on his front door.
"Stitches?" She called again. "Are you okay?" Her only response was areyouokay areyouokay bouncing off the walls.
She stood still, hearing something faint coming from his living room. As if she was going to spring a trap, she carefully maneuvered into his living room. Not a single decoration was set up in here, either. Instead, his usual nursery theme was up; strollers hiding in the corners, colorful wallpaper adorning the walls, and a huge elephant slide in the middle of the room.
A small radio was on the table. Kiri stood silently, listening to the 'music,' if it could even be called that. K.K. Slider's smooth, velvety voice was drawling out gibberish, slowed to nothing more than a deep rumble. Static played in the background, occasionally rising over K.K's stretched out words.
Greatly unnerved, she turned off the radio, enjoying the silence it provided. The peaceful silence didn't last long.
"K I R I."
Kiri jumped, heart racing and breath shaky. She looked around, trying to figure out where the noise came from. It sounded like Stitches, but...distorted and far away, like his voice had gone through a blender. "Stitches?" She choked out, her voice no more than a hoarse whisper.
"D O Y O U H A V E M Y P R E S E N T?"
There was the voice again. It seemed louder now, and slightly high-pitched, but still vaguely Stitches. She tried to say something, but the only thing that came out of her throat was a small squeak.
"P R E S E N T?"
"Stitches, where are you?" She managed to whisper. Her legs felt like blocks of steel, but through sheer willpower, she forced them to move. Each step was heavy and loud, echoing throughout the empty house.
"W H E R E 'S M Y P R E S E N T?" The voice was at an even higher pitch, this time stained with anger. Kiri bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from screaming and she slogged through the living room.
That's when she saw it. Stitches' arm was protruding straight out of the wall, wriggling around like some kind of worm. Kiri watched in horror, unable to move from her spot.
"K I R I, M Y P R E S E N T . . . I T 'S M Y B I R T H D A Y T O D A Y."
The arm stopped wriggling for a split second. It stretched out, brushing the side of Kiri's cheek. She froze, trying in vain to blink away tears. The arm reached out a final time, this time unable to reach the girl. With a high pitched squeal, like a pig being slaughtered, she heard static roar throughout the house. K.K.'s slow, distorted drawl screamed over the static, causing the arm to go into furious spasms. It stopped for a brief second only to start slamming itself into the wall, leaving huge dents in it.
"M Y P R E S E N T . . . I W A N T I T!" A scream resounded through the house, rising above the thumps and the static. Kiri wasn't sure if she or what was supposed to be Stitches made it, but it sent fear straight into her heart.
Blood and stuffing started to seep out of the arm, dripping down the wall and landing with a wet, sloppy squish on the floor. The scream was heard again, piercing the air and causing warm liquid to start dripping out of the girl's ears.
It was too much for her. She turned and bolted out of the house, not bothering to close the door behind her. The static rose to a mighty roar, spurring her to run even faster than she thought she could. She didn't think about stopping until she could no longer hear the static roar or the squealing.
Regardless, the girl kept running until she came face to face with a huge stone wall. Finally she stopped and sank to the ground, completely out of breath. Tears were streaming down her face, though she was running to fast to notice until now. She tucked her knees up against her body and held them tightly, sobbing loudly.
Stitches...
"K I R I, I S T I L L W A N T M Y P R E S E N T."
Eh, it's not as good as I would like it to be, but it's good enough. Horror AC story? How unoriginal! xD
Well, this odd little idea is based off of a glitch I ran into playing AC a few years ago...well, at least how I remember it. I went into Stitches's house (it might have been his birthday..I don't remember) but something was off. The music was all distorted, and it kept looping the same part over and over again. I couldn't talk to Stitches, because he walked into the wall and got stuck there. Occasionally his head or an arm would pop back out, but he was mostly stuck there. It scared me so badly, considering I was 11 or 12.
I hope you liked this odd little one-shot of mine. :3
