Author's Note: Und now, we are back with Lucy… in the sky with diamonds I'M SORRY I COULDN'T RESIST. Welp, here we go!
Chapter 9: Ghost Town
Enter Lucy:
"Ow…" I leaned against a tree, pulling out stuff stuck in my foot. "I think I prefer the sidewalk to this."
I had walked for at least an hour since that crazy GC jumped into a lake and vanished, and fortunately, I hadn't run into a single monster yet. I was really hoping to keep it that way until I found a way out of the forest and back home.
"Unless," I said to myself as I continued to walk, "of course, this is all just a crazy dream caused by stress."
I painfully stepped on another sharp branch.
"Alright, so it's not a dream," I said, wincing as I pulled the branch out and threw it behind my back. "So that means there was a real black dome that really sucked me and everyone else in."
This led me to believe that either two things were happening. One; Some dark force was working its way to the apocalypse and we were the first victims to be pulled into some sort of weird world full of monsters, or Two; The world was going bat-shit crazy.
Currently, I was leaning towards Two.
My hopes were raised when I saw a break in the trees up ahead, a light that actually shone through and wasn't tinted green by the leaves above. I ran to the opening, only to find myself…
…in an old, abandoned town.
It seemed like an old town, with lamps that were used to light the street at night. Carriages that were supposed to be drawn by horses sat abandoned in the street, the houses were all made of wood that were starting to rot due to years of sitting alone, exposed to the elements without anyone taking care of it… it felt like a town where everyone simultaneously decided that the best thing to do was vanish and make the town a perfect spot for a horror movie.
To their credit, if that was their goal, then Mission Fucking Accomplished.
"God…" I walked through the streets of the town quietly, looking around for any sign of life. There was none. Well, except the trees around where I entered the village from, but that doesn't count.
"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone here?"
"Here… here…" The echo of my own voice was the only reply. With a sigh, I walked forward silently, looking for any way out of the village.
Either that village was enchanted or it was a lot bigger than it looked, because after walking for fifteen minutes, there still was no sign of an exit. Every house looked the same, every street forked four ways, the lamps sat with the signs of no life passing through it for years…
Truth be told, I was starting to get a little unsettled. That said, it's perfectly understandable that I nearly jumped out of my fur when I heard a strange noise come from a large house to my right. Shaking a little bit, I took a step away from the house, watching it.
"…okay," I said, taking a breath, "on one hand, it's never a good idea to investigate sounds in a creepy abandoned town. On the other hand, this is the only sign of life I've found so far, and frankly, I think I'd rather be in the company of a monster than stay alone in this creep town."
I looked around for any kind of weapon I could take with me into the house. Seeing a chunk of wood, I picked it up and carried it in my hands as I carefully walked towards the house. I gently pushed on the door to find it was easy to open. I stepped into the house, the halls that kind of dark that comes from the only illumination being the dirty windows that let in only a little bit of light. With a gulp, I slowly walked down the hall, my footsteps making the floor creak beneath me.
Suddenly, a crashing sound from behind a door made me jump. I whirled around, holding my wooden weapon in front of me in self defense. The door stood there, as if daring me to open it and get my face eaten by what was on the other side.
"But then again," I muttered to myself, "it could be someone who could help me out here…"
I gulped, holding the wood in my right hand and reaching out slowly with my left hand. I gripped the doorknob, slowly turned it, and gently opened it. I peeked my head in to see…
…a REALLY small creature.
It was about the size of a Lego, so I almost looked over it. It was hiding under a desk, quivering in fear.
"Hey…" I said, opening the door wider and stepping in. "Who are you? What's wrong?"
The tiny creature stared up at me, wide eyed.
"You don't have to be afraid…" I stepped forward, bending down.
"GRAUGH!"
I spun around and screamed as a huge… SOMETHING jumped at me. I didn't get a good look at it, as I was too busy looking at the ground when I ducked. I heard the furniture behind me crash in a pile of wood as the monster crashed into it, grunting in more irritation than pain. At that moment, the only thing I was really thinking about was getting the hell out of that place.
I stumbled back to my feet, sliding a bit on the ground before I finally got my footing and ran to the front door. The grunting of the creature told me that he was following in hot pursuit. I made my way to the front door and reached for the doorknob. It sent a massive wave of pain through my body, making me pull it back with a scream. This scream seemed to encourage the monster behind me, which barked out a loud growl.
Thinking fast, I drove toward a closed door next to me. The rotten wood crashed and tumbled under me as I fell in the next room. I heard the creature behind me skid to a halt and hit the front door, screeching in horrible pain. I quickly stood up and ran through the room. I tried touching the window, but even that caused me pain. It dawned on me that there was no way to escape. That monster would just keep chasing me until one of us gave up.
That monster didn't look like one that would give up.
I pushed this pessimistic thought out of my head as I ran toward a door to another room, opening it and slamming it behind me as I heard the monster get up. I moved like this, from room to room, slamming the doors behind me to slow the monster down. From the sound of crashing wood behind me, I don't think it was really working.
Eventually, I found myself in a large room with only one door: The door I just entered from. The sound of crashing wood was getting louder as the Monster came closer. I looked around for any place to hide. There was a large window on the opposite wall, which I knew would hurt me if I touched it. There were curtains next to it, but they were too high to hide behind; My feet would be visible. However, they were tall enough to reach the ceiling, and hanging on it was a chandelier, the light from the dirty window glistening on the deliciously sharp crystals. An idea came to my head as I looked from the curtains to the chandelier.
As I ran to the curtains to execute my plan, I heard the door behind me crash. Knowing the Monster was gaining on me, I picked up speed, jumping and grabbing the curtain. Thank God it was firmly attached to the wall. It was difficult to climb, but I had practice climbing rope in Gym class and the incentive that if I failed, I'd be eaten alive by the monster that was growling at the bottom of the curtains, so I climbed that sucker as fast as possible.
I eventually reached the top and looked over at the Chandelier hanging away from me. It looked a lot closer to the curtains from ground level, but I could hear the monster snarling and pacing the bottom of the room, so I didn't really have much of a choice but to jump. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and kicked off from the wall, reaching forward as far as I could to get to the Chandelier.
I ALMOST missed. My hands reached the edge and clung for dear life. My added weight caused it to tilt, bringing me a little too close to slipping and falling. I grunted as I pulled myself up, grabbing onto different pieces and bits of the Chandelier as I pulled myself to it. I could hear the rope holding it to the ceiling groan already as I finally reached a safe spot on it. I peered over to see the monster in completeness for the first time.
It was a four legged creature, big and with grey flesh. The legs that came from the bottom seemed to be little stubs with long claws, at least six on each stub. The body was muscular, seeming to pulsate with veins and nerves. The head was the scariest: It was just a single mouth, split open like a clover with revolving teeth. Just looking at it from my distance made me almost faint. Gulping, I looked down to see it was still pacing around. I needed it to be under the Chandelier, so I pulled off a crystal from it and threw it down, smacking it hard on the head. It turned to me and growled.
"Hey ugly!" I called down to it. "Come and get me!"
It screeched a horrible screech, running directly under me and jumping to try to get to me. I looked to the rope and pulled as hard as I could, jumping on the Chandelier. It shook, shook, and suddenly, the rope snapped, making the Chandelier fall. I quickly kicked off it and grunted as I rolled to the ground a little bit away. There was a crash, a scream, and a whimper before all sound died. I could even hear an odd tone fade away outside. I slowly got up and turned to see the creature, sliced open and bleeding on the ground. With a sigh, I stood up and leaned against the window, only to find that it didn't hurt anymore.
"Okay… I can… I can get out now…" I panted, the adrenalin rush from the chase already fading. Before leaving, though, I walked slowly back to the room I saw the tiny creature in and looked. The creature was gone. I looked all around the house, but he was nowhere to be found there, either. I finally just gave up and walked out through the front door. The outside air seemed… different, somehow. As if more things moved in as I was in the house. Shuddering to myself, I continued to walk through the Ghost Town.
Little did I know that I was being watched…
Author's Note: Wow… I didn't even know I could write stuff like that! Well anyway, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!
