I'm sorry if you were expecting a continuation for UC but that's not what this is. As the chapter name states, it's a taste of an original novel I've been working on. Most of my readers follow this fic so I figured I would put it here. I wanted to share it with you because you're the reason it's alive. If you're not interested, I understand and I'm sorry for wasting your time.

This is kind of nerve wracking... after a few years of being a proud member of this site, I've grown used to posting fanfictions and it's made me very happy. I have all of you, my friends, to thank for that. You have given me the courage to continue what I love and hopefully I'll be able to make something of myself once this is finished. I've always wanted to be an author but I was put down a lot for it early on. I started writing when I was very little so everyone figured it was just a child's dream... some tried to take that dream away but I always found a way through it. Even when I gave in and believed nothing would ever come from it, I still wrote. I couldn't help myself, it was the only thing I had to get me through the hardships I faced so young. It was my passion, my driving force, the thing that kept me trudging through every day. I was fourteen when I shared something I had wrote for the very first time. I never expected the following I've gained here. I mean I try my best to talk to every one of you and so many of you treat me like I'm some sort of celebrity, it's very strange to me. Seriously, someone messaged me saying they created their account just to tell me that their sister read my stories to them and they wanted to say that they really enjoyed my stories and that I had encouraged them to start writing. I'm not at all used to the attention and I don't think I ever will be, it's always so bewildering that I have so many people standing behind me. I've had so many people encouraging me to go on, made so many wonderful friends, and read so many of your amazing works. You guys have been there for me every step I took on this long and continuous journey of mine. And without all of you guys, I never would have made it. Thank you.

I want you all to remember something. I'm nothing special, I'm not better than you, and I'm not a celebrity. I practiced my whole life and I'll spend the rest of it still practicing and still learning more. You can be as great as you want to be and then better just as long as you have passion for what you're doing. You may think someone else is better or that you're not good enough but remember, everyone has to start somewhere.

Now to draw this long (sorry about that) speak to a close, I ask to to once again stand behind me and continue to encourage me on my next big adventure. I said that I got used to sharing my fanfictions, well those are just hobbies I don't have to hesitate with, but this... this is a working entirely of my own creation. This... is something I'm not used to. I know I don't have to tell you to be gentle with it but I will ask that you don't be too nice, this is something I need construction on. This is for myself but more than that, it's for you, my readers. If there's something you find wrong with it or that you do or don't like, please let me know so that I may better it for you. This is just a small teaser and hopefully soon, we'll have the full book released and out your shelves.

Above everything, I want you to enjoy reading this.

~Aston

P.S - Please forgive any small mistakes I may have made, my fantastic proofreader hasn't made it into the fifth chapter yet.

Chapter 5

~*Emmet Kings*~

There was an odd sound somewhere, almost like a distant ticking in the back of my mind. I opened my eyes to search for its source but my eyelids were so heavy and refused to open. It took a surprising effort to force them to obey my commands only to be met with darkness. Now that I was waking up a bit more, I noticed that it wasn't just my eyes but everything was heavy and stiff as if I hadn't moved for a long time. Part of me didn't really want to change that since I still felt so tired. The ticking in my head like a clock counting the seconds was persistent but my aching body didn't want to move and the darkness was a calling comfort… I had only wanted things to fade to black and be simple as of late so this was like a greeting. I allowed my eyes to slip closed again, intent on going back to sleep and ignoring the annoying clock in my head urging me to get up.

Unfortunately for me, the back and forth tick of a pendulum wouldn't go away and I could almost see a grandfather clock in my head thanks to it. But now that I thought about it, my neck hurt like it was bruised… and the floor I was on was really uncomfortable even for how tired I was. I slowly got my eyes open again and gave them time to adjust to the darkness. I saw the rough outlines of an old couch, the base of a tall lamp, and some sort of small table. I sighed and brought my arms under my chest to lift myself up enough to get my knees under me which was difficult work, my bones seeming to creak and pop with every movement. I stretched to try to get the stiffness from my joints and groaned at the aching pain before looking around again, adjusting my crooked glasses to get a better look at where I was.

My eyes widened with horror when recollection hit me, the interior of the old abandoned house we got trapped in jogging my memory. My head spun around, searching the ground for the others but I couldn't find a trace of anyone else having even been here with me.

"Anna?" I shouted as I jumped to my feet, ignoring the lightheadedness that crashed into me. I wouldn't allow it to send me back to the ground but I did stumble on my feet for the first few steps I took. How long had I been here and where were the others? "Anna? Peyton?" I called louder but there wasn't a single sound as a response… just an eerie silence. Seriously, no place could be this quiet… it made me nervous and put me on high alert. What was the last thing I remembered… that thing… our shadows got us but then tossed us to the floor and left. So where the hell were my friends? "You guys!" I yelled as I started into the next room. This one was completely empty and had a few shaky looking areas in the floor that I didn't trust. "Hey!" I called as loud as I could before shutting up and listening for a response.

I spun around when I heard someone giggling. I was about to sprint in its direction when I stopped to process it a bit more. The mocking voice was odd as if it had been put through some sort of filter that made it sound like nothing more than an electronic echo. The thought crossed my mind that it could be a recording or something, though I don't know why it would be of a giggle, and this was a trap but… I had to find someone. I couldn't take this guessing of what happened or this terrible loneliness. I had to follow this sound even if I was walking straight into a trap. With that in mind, I hurried to chase after the retreating laughter that seemed to taunt me at every corner.

I don't know how many doors I ran through only to find the same room on the other side but I was beginning to wonder if this was even real. There's no way that small house we entered was actually this huge. I was almost tempted to give up on this mysterious giggler to investigate what the hell was up with this house but I was still driven to find another living person.

"Stop!" I yelled to the humanoid figure that peeked out at me from behind the next door. I couldn't make anything of it out, it was too dark, but whoever it was slammed the door on me before I could reach it. That pushed me to make my legs move faster in order to stop them before they left that room. In case they had locked the door, I slammed my body into it only for it to swing open so easily and I found myself falling. There was no floor under my feet, it was a trap after all. With just enough time to push off from my last step, I vaulted myself as far and high as I could and managed to grab onto a stray piece of wood that had bent down from a hole in the floor above. I ignored the pain of wooden bits splintering into the skin of my hands and looked down to where I was supposed to crash. Wooden spikes had been messily arranged in the room below this one. There were no punctured corpses lying about nor was there blood on any of them so I guess it was safe to assume I was the first person this had been used on. I was grateful for that, I'm not sure if the others would have been able to avoid it like I had.

Not seeing any other platforms to land on or a way to swing myself back to the door I came through, I pulled myself up through the hole above my head though I had to punch out more of the flooring in order to fit through it. Once I was completely on the next level I crawled over to a more solid feeling area before looking over my bloodied hands. I carefully pulled out each splinter and cleaned each wound the best I could with the bottom of my shirt which I had wettened with my saliva. I had the feeling I would be needing my hands throughout whatever the hell this experience was so I needed them in top condition.

Finally I looked around the room I was currently in to find it much like the one I woke up in. With only a single door to go through, I stood and made my way toward it, suspiciously eyeing the dim light shining through the missing doorknob. I raised a hand and slowly pushed it open and peered in to see a torn and withered old fashioned armchair sitting in front of a fireplace housing a dying flame.

"Hey." I called as I cautiously approached the back of the chair, knowing someone was in it.

"It's about time you woke up Emmet, we've been waiting so long for you." that same edited voice from earlier spoke from in the chair. Now that it was actually talking rather than just giggling it… it almost sounded like Peyton. Hopefully, I walked around the chair, eager to see my best friend but what was set before my eyes was not my best friend- I mean it was but… there's no way that thing was Peyton! Its skin looked sickly deprived of everything, its left arm was nothing but a string of flesh and bone, and it had a snake tail. Peyton was deathly afraid of snakes. He would rather cut it off and suffer in pain than have that thing anywhere near him. It stared up at me with blue snake eyes, an amused expression, and a crooked grin. "It's good to see you again."

"What are you?" I demanded, refusing to dwell upon all the worst case scenarios going through my head. With everything swimming through my mind, it was hard to remember what my shadow looked like but it was like a demented version of me, right? Maybe this was the same thing, just a shadow that took on Peyton's form. It had to be an imposter.

"Aw, Emmet, I'm hurt that you don't recognize me. I get that I don't look the same as I used to but I'm not that far gone." though its eyebrows pulled together to mock offense though the sadistic amusement was still there. "It's me, Peyton." pain shot through my heart at the confirmation of my worst fears- no, it was just an imposter. This wasn't the real Peyton!

"Lair." I growled as my hands clenched into tight fists.

"What would you, who's been asleep this whole time, know about the truth?" it shook its head as if disappointed before using its good arm to push off of the chair though I couldn't understand how it was able to move so well given the condition it was in. "You don't know-" I stopped it there with my foot on its neck, pushing it back down into the chair.

"You're the one that set that trap for me, aren't you?" I questioned with a forced glare. It was right, I didn't know anything that was going on so until I did I would rely on my instincts to guide me and my gut told me this thing was bad news.

"Oh yeah." it confirmed proudly, gaining an evilly satisfied smile. "But you never were very good at falling for my pranks, were you Emmet?" I pressed my foot harder against its throat, hating the way it said my name with that twisted voice. "Okay, okay." it wheezed so I let up slightly. "It was only a prank, who knew you would get so worked up over it." Peyton loved pulling pranks on people but he knew how to stay on the safe side of everyone's boundaries and this was far beyond crossing the line. He would never put anyone's life in danger, especially not that of his friends. This wasn't Peyton.

"What happened while I was out?" I willed authority into my voice to make it come out stronger and was pleased that it sounded just as dangerous as I had wanted though the thing before me didn't appear phased in the slightest.

"All work and no play, huh? Fine." it relaxed into the cushioning behind it as if preparing for a long story. "After we woke up from being attacked by our shadows, we tried to wake you as well but you wouldn't even stir. We tried to figure out what happened and make a plan but nothing we did worked. We kept moving but since we were under constant attack by our shadows, carrying your body around became too much of a danger to and we were eventually forced to leave you behind in order to save ourselves." I bit my lip as I listened, saddened that they would actually leave me to die but at the same time I was glad they did if it was for their survival. "Then we got separated by the madness the impossible situation brought upon us because of you." the intentional dig at me worked and I flinched at his words. "Do you know what became of us once that happened? Our shadows beat us and we became a part of them instead of them becoming a part of us." I faltered at hearing this and Peyton- the thing took the chance to attempt getting up but I forced it down again.

"Then why… why didn't I wake up sooner?" I cursed at the shakiness in my voice.

"Who knows." it shrugged before the menacing smile returned to its lips. "Annabelle was most upset by your absence though, always going on about how you would wake up and make everything better like you always did. Like some kind of hero." it jabbed again as if knowing just what to say to strike every painfully deep chord in me. "Be grateful that it was me that found you and not her. Now that she's, well… different, she wants nothing but your blood raining down her body." my entire body shook at the terrible images of a distorted Annabelle tearing me apart that flashed through my mind.

I backed off of Peyton, holding my throbbing head as it tried to wrap itself around all this new information. How could I have been asleep when my friends needed me? How could I have let Annabelle down like that when she believed in me? How could I have let this happen? Why didn't I just wake up and save them? I knew that if I was to face Anna I wouldn't fight back, I would let her kill me in whatever horrible ways she's been planning… because I deserved it.

"Now that you're awake he'll be coming for you." my head shot to Peyton, my eyes wide and slightly fearful when visions of my hateful shadow crossed my mind. "Your shadow is still lurking about so if I were you, I'd watch my step though being like this isn't so bad." he giggled playfully though he still wore that damn smile that said the thing he wanted to play with were my innards. "You should really just hurry and embrace it." his painful voice whispered next to my ear and my head whirled to see him as he was suddenly standing behind me though I didn't move away from the bloody hand he placed on my shoulder. I was too confused and disoriented to care at this point. "Because you're the only one left." my eyes widened and I stared at nothing as those words sunk in. I was shut out from the rest of the world and my friends had been turned into gruesome disfigurements of themselves… I was alone now. "Don't be too boring though, I want to see how long you'll last." he laughed before the weight of his hand left my shoulder and when I turned to see him again, he was gone.

"Wait!" I screamed pleadingly as I ran through the door that he must have left from but just like before, he alluded me. "Peyton don't leave me here!" even if he wasn't himself anymore, I still needed him by my side. I needed someone. I couldn't be alone… I couldn't do this alone.

I slowed and finally came to a stop when I could no longer hear my friend's mocking laughter. I was truly alone. I got them into this and I was the only one that wasn't transformed into some monster, no wonder they wanted me dead. I was supposed to be there for them through everything and I let them down when they needed me the most… they must hate me so much.

"Peyton… Annabelle… I'm so sorry." I muttered, staring down at the ground as I tried to will away the wetness in my eyes though I'm not sure how much of a will I had anymore. The weight on me was so overwhelming and the silence in the darkness around me was suffocating. I couldn't do this alone. I just wanted my friends back. "Forgive me."

~*Annabelle Averell*~

My eyes flickered open for a moment, closing quickly again when dust fell into one of them. I slowly slid my elbows under me as I rubbed my eye free of whatever particles had gotten into it, turning over onto my hands and knees to prevent more from getting in. I looked around my darkened surroundings, ignoring the stinging pain in my eye as I climbed to my feet. I remember… our shadows moving and taking us hostage before transforming and scampering off. I held my aching head as I tried to think, turning over and over looking for the others. I know we were dropped next to each other so where were they? If they woke up before me, they wouldn't have left me here so something had to have happened. Upon further inspection, I observed that the struggle we had put up earlier was corrected, no that wasn't quite right… I was in a different room. The changes were subtle but I took notice. So were we all transported into different rooms? Perhaps. Either way, my friends weren't here so I needed to get out and find them.

Entering the next room proved to be of no difficulty however I had to move slowly and listen carefully to each step I took as the old floorboards creaked loudly under my weight. I kept my breathing steady and prayed that my support wouldn't fall. Perhaps, in hindsight, it would have been more favorable to stay to the edges of the room where there would be more support below rather than walking in the center of the room where the floor was most likely caving in. Real smart Annabelle.

I froze and held my breath when the floor really began to make a lot of noise and I was afraid that it would break. Slowly the creaks grew quiet and I was still standing though I knew better than to think that meant I was safe. I took a cautious step and though the flooring creaked, it stayed together but as I placed my whole weight onto that foot... I wasn't so lucky. With loud snaps the floor under me gave out and I started to go down. I threw myself forward as much as I could without the use of my legs and managed to catch onto a section that wasn't collapsing though my lower half had already fallen through. I tried not to panic as I rushed to pull myself up, ignoring the pain of fractured wood cutting into my legs. I scurried over to the nearest wall, hoping I wouldn't fall again in my eagerness for safety. I panted wildly and once my back met the wall I cradled my legs to my chest, trying to calm down before I looked over the damage to them.

I waited until the adrenaline seeped out of my system and the pain set in before I steadied my breathing and examined the small tears in my jeans to check how badly I was hurt. My porcelain skin was scraped and bruised, wooden fragments burrowed into my flesh, and a single gash spread down the front of my right leg. It wasn't too bad or anything but it would be quite troublesome to walk on. I sighed and lay my head against the wall behind me, contemplating my next move. I wanted to wait here and rest a while longer but I knew it wasn't safe, I had to keep moving. I spit on my hand to rub over my abused skin, praying to find some water soon to actually clean this but for now this would have to do. I tore a piece of fabric off the bottom of my skirt to wrap around the wound, making a mental note to find something I could use as a walking stick. I used the wall as support to slowly rise to my feet, wary of placing too much pressure on my injured leg just yet. I clung to the wall as I slowly limped over to the next door.

… … …

Room by room I searched for the others, supplies, and a way out but there just wasn't anything. Each room I passed through was the same with little variation and I was starting to think I was going in circles regardless that I was walking a straight line through the doors. I was honestly feeling a little hopeless of going anywhere but laying down and doing nothing just wasn't an option. Although… maybe taking a little break for my aching leg wouldn't hurt.

I sat in a dusty old armchair, it's rusted springs jabbing uncomfortably into me but I didn't particularly care. I set the walking stick I had made from a tall lamp at my side and at the ready in case I needed to grab it in a hurry. I sighed in relief, happy to be off my leg but I wouldn't allow myself to dwell here too long lest I get caught by something unpleasant.

Now that all the shock of the situation had faded, I was handling this rather well as this sort of thing was up my alley. I was intrigued and wanted to piece together what exactly was happening here and to us but my desire to get my friends and myself out of this dangerous place outweighed my twisted little curiosity. I wondered about the others' safety and mental well being, hoping they were alright wherever they were.

Peyton was most definitely going through an array of emotions from fear for all of us to excitement of uncovering the mystery here. A small smile spread on my lips at the thought of finding him and discussing all the silly theories he's surely thought up, I was willing to listen to any suggestion no matter how ridiculous it seemed. Knowing him though he was probably searching restlessly for us, shouting me making a scene. I just hoped for his sake that he wasn't attracting anything bad to himself.

Emmet… Emmet was looking for us and blaming himself. There's no doubt that he believes all of this is his fault, even the things that were out of his control. He takes all the weight of fault instead of letting those who love him share the burden. He's always been like that, never letting anyone in. We needed to regroup and work as a team to get through this. I just hope we can get through to him that we were here for him and he needed to rely on us too.

I stopped and listened when I heard footsteps in the room I had just come from. I grabbed my walking stick, holding it up as a weapon in case it was something that wanted to do me harm. Instead of entering the room I was currently resting in, the footsteps stopped only to be followed by a shifting sound like someone sliding down a wall. I quietly stood and contemplated whether I should approach who or what it was or get as far away as possible. What if it was one of our transformed shadows? What if it was one of my friends? It was the sound of very faint whimpering like someone was crying that made me decide to investigate.

I carefully crept toward the door, ceasing when the floorboards creaked and all sound in the room I was trying to get into died. Whatever was in there had obviously heard me and was suspicious or even preparing for me. I had to act now. I threw myself forward, kicking the door open as I charged into the room with my weapon held in front of me. My offense was caught by a damaged hand while I was faced with the other which was balled into a tight fist though it stopped just before it made contact with my jaw.

"Annabelle?" a hopeful voice uttered in surprise. I looked to teary framed green eyes and blonde hair for confirmation that the voice I so easily recognized was real. It was Emmet.

"Oh my god, Emmet!" I cried with joy as we both threw down our weapons in favor of holding each other as if the world depended on it, so happy to be in each other's presence.

"How? You're supposed to be…" he pushed me away and held onto my shoulders as he looked me over as if something wasn't right. "But he said…" his eyes shot back up to mine just before he released me to start backing up. "This is a trick, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about, did something happen? Who's 'he'?" I questioned, taking a step toward my brother but he only took another step back.

"I'm so sorry Anna…" he repeated over and over with a guilty tone, his voice low and barely controlled; I feared he may be in the middle of a breakdown. I could tell from his aura that this was really Emmet but this desperate boy in front of me was not my brother. I've never seen him behave this way, he was in worse condition than I thought. What happened to him while he was on his own? Something was wrong and it was obvious he believed the flaw was with me. Just who was this 'he' and what did he do to my brother?

"Shhh, it's okay Em. Calm down." I held up my hands and approached him cautiously, trying to show that I wasn't going to do anything. I ignored the way he tensed when I reached him and slowly put my arms around him, one hand playing with his hair just as he liked. "I'm here Emmet, everything will be okay." I soothingly spoke to him. His shaking hands grasped at my shoulders as if to push me away but instead moved to wrap around my back as his head rested at the nape of my neck. "Rest for a bit then tell me what happened while we search for Peyton." he said nothing and made no move to announce that he had even heard me. I really needed to know what happened to him so I could help him but first he had to calm down.

Oh so slowly we lowered to the ground and I got Emmet to put his head on my lap so I could run my hands softly through his hair. Though his breathing had steadied, I knew he wasn't asleep but I didn't push him to talk; he would do so on his own when he was ready. I watched the doors and listened for a hint that anything was coming for us, just hoping that we had the time my brother needed.

"I thought I found him…" he started so my eyes met his to pay attention. "He lied, right?" I steeled myself for what he was about to tell me.

~*Peyton Wilmer*~

I think I was dreaming… at least I hoped I was. There was a haunted house and transforming shadows and strange voices- I didn't even know a voice could sound so much like an old distorted echo but apparently it could.

For the third time since I first woke up, I sat up and looked around hoping to find my own bedroom. But of course I still found the same room I woke up in- the same room I was trapped in, my friends were still missing, and I was still on my own. Great, I was still dreaming this horrible nightmare. I laid back down, pressing my forehead to the hard ground as I closed my eyes and counted to one hundred before trying again. I faced the same results. Alright, fine, I get it. I'm not dreaming. But what do I do now? Go running around the haunted house, screaming my friends' names? Whatever was keeping us here obviously didn't want me to find the others if it had separated us to begin with and I already knew it was no use trying to get out so what was the point? Then again, what was the point of staying here doing nothing? I needed to at least try to find the others, who knew what they were going through while I was sitting here doing absolutely nothing.

With that in mind, I jumped to my feet and took off into the next room.

… … …

Just as I thought, I wasn't making any progress. I could run, I could yell, I could hide and wait but it was all useless. I was a mere unarmed mortal up against whatever phantom resided here. This entire situation was damn impossible. What did I ever think I could accomplish on my own? We were stuck here to be the playthings of this thing and that was that.

I sat down in a corner, pulling my legs up to my chest and staring down at the floor. I decided that there was nothing to do and walking around aimlessly wasn't going to do anything to benefit us. And put simply… I just didn't know what else to do and I was quickly losing hope. What did we do against something that had the power to lock us here and turn our shadows against us especially when we didn't even know what it really was? How did we beat it or even begin to learn about it? I knew what needed to be done but I had no idea how to do it or even where to start.

Today started out ordinary enough… how did it turn into this? We went from normal people to contestants pinned up against powerful entities. I looked below myself to see that I had no shadow even though there was enough light that I should see it clearly. Our own shadows were turned against us and who knew what intent or powers they had but if they all took a form like mine did… I wouldn't count on them being friendly. This was so messed up- everything was so messed up! How could this be real?

My arms wrapped around my legs and my face rested on my knees, the fabric under my eyes slowly growing more wet. I wept at the thought that we were all going to die here alone and afraid. I wasn't usually this morbid, I was actually rather optimistic but has anyone ever been in this kind of situation and made it out unchanged? I was just so overwhelmed and felt like a newbie gamer at level one suddenly pinned against the boss with no weapon, there was no hope in that scenario and that was just a fact. Even if I had a weapon, what would I do with it? Wave it around in its face and slash blindly at it? It's not like I knew anything about the boss or how to kill it or if that weapon would even work against it. It was hopeless to even try because we had no way of getting information. If this were a game there would at least be a chance because there would be a way to find out everything we needed to know but this was real… too real.

I wanted to see my friends, I wanted to make sure they were okay. But I was scared to even move, so sure something was waiting just around the corner. I wanted them but I just didn't want to put in the effort to find them. It was a childish argument, I know. They've always been there for me… and here I was not even trying to be there for them. Knowing the two of them, they were hard at work trying to get everything figured out… and here I was already saying we've lost. They probably already found each other through a joint effort and I was all on my own because I gave up. They probably wanted to know that I was safe- for now. I should at least find them to tell them that, they deserved at least that much from me for everything they've done for me. The only thing that mattered was showing my friends that I was okay. I was the peacekeeper between those two knuckleheads so what would they do without me? That's right, all that mattered was my friends; once I found them and we were all together again everything would be fine. Nothing about this house would matter because I would have them.

I dragged myself up, using the rotten wall as support to get to my feet. I sniffled and wiped my eyes on my sleeve as I walked into the next room, trying to forget about the treat all around me and how helpless I was to it all.

I faced a simple room that seemed to be a dining room. The table was small with only three chairs around it as the fourth was tipped over and broken. The ceiling was rotted with mold and I briefly wondered if it would collapse on me but ultimately decided it was safe because I didn't hear it creaking with pressure. I was surprised to be in a room other than the same living room I'd been looped through since I woke up. Maybe I actually was getting somewhere. Maybe this place wasn't as doomed as I originally thought. I was about to rush through to the next room with a newfound determination but stopped just as my hand touched the doorknob. The question of how long we would be here crossed my mind. We would need to eat. I was in the dining room, normally I would suggest the kitchen would be connected however with a place such as this, I would only allow myself to be hope enough that it would be nearby. I turned around and started searching the dining room, hoping there would be some food here though I doubted there would be. It wasn't like people just kept food laying around the dining room unless they were eating but the fact that the whole town had just up and left made me remain hopeful that maybe these people were in the middle of eating or something when they left. The only real question about it was whether any of it would still be good with how old everything else was… why would the food be any newer? There wasn't really much space to look around so the room was easy to get through quickly and there wasn't even a can to speak of. I wasn't really expecting anything but it was still disappointing. I turned back to the door I was making my way to earlier and left through it. I had to find the kitchen.

The room I walked into was another living room and I felt my shoulders instantly drop as I lost my determination. Another living room. You've gotta be kidding me. I slumped forward, my feet dragging miserably on the ground as I continued on. I stopped only when the hairs on my neck rose and I felt something watching me. I didn't just stop- I froze. My widened eyes stared ahead and a cold sweat slowly began to bead on my skin. I wasn't alone anymore… but suddenly I wished I was. I listened intently for something to make some sort of sound but there was nothing.

I was just building the courage to make my legs move again to get out of here when something dripped onto the floor. I slowly turned toward the bubbling hiss behind me, my head tilting up to meet the pooling blackness on the ceiling. It looked like thick black water that dripped noisily to the floor in the silent room. Something emerged from the ball of darkness- no, it was taking shape from it. Before it could fully form itself the thing fell from the ceiling and splattered at my feet, soaking the bottom of my pants. Though it looked like my pants were wet I didn't feel any weight from it, they were just… darker- really dark like it was paint. Slowly I noticed it spreading, inching its way up my legs. I screamed and tried to kick it off, falling back on my ass in my flailing and using my hands to swat away the gooey substance that flew right off. When I had gotten enough of it off, the rest left on its own to make a second attempt at reforming.

The being before me was distorted and disproportion, almost resembling a small human or maybe a child but it was too horribly disfigured to describe it as such. Its glowing eyes wandered freely around its head and it made such an awful squeal when it took a step as if just moving its body was as painful as it looked. If I wasn't so scared, I might feel bad for it. The shadow monster held its arms out for me like it really was a child looking for comfort from the pain. It was so familiar… Abby did this to me a lot when she was hurting, scared, or just sad and wanted someone to be near her.

"Abby…" I muttered as I found myself faced with a sobbing little girl with caramel colored hair.

"Pey…" she sniffled and rubbed at her reddened, puffy eyes. "Where's my mommy? Is she coming back?" tears overwhelmed my eyes and spilled over as I looked at her, slowly wobbling toward me with her arms up pleadingly.

"Abby…" she reached me and her arms wrapped around my legs like she often did but her body wasn't warm… it was cold. She must be freezing. "Yes." I knelled with the girl I considered my little sister and returned her embrace, ignoring the way the water from my eyes evaporated when it made contact with her wispy hair. "Yes your mom will be here very soon, okay?" my voice shook with fear. She wasn't supposed to be here… my mind screamed at me to get away from her but I couldn't just leave her here by herself. I had to help her.

"Oh Peyton…" her voice suddenly sounded distorted like an echo in my ear. My lungs expelled a scream of pain when razor teeth suddenly dug into my shoulder where Abby's head had been resting. I shoved the girl off of me and held my bleeding shoulder, gazing upon the horrifying sight of my Abby covered in that gooey darkness, her eyes glowed in the dark room, and her mouth stained in the red of my blood. "Peyton?" she still managed to sound so innocent and frightened through that tormenting voice. I just sat there staring at her in shock and fear as she walked closer to me again with her arms held out for me. How could this be happening? It wasn't real. She wasn't real. My Abby was at home, safe in bed. She had to be! My Abby couldn't be in this hell!

Forcing my eyes away from the disturbed creature, I jumped to my feet and fled the room with tears trailing from my skin. I ran as fast and as far as I could, smashing through each door that was in my way. I had to get away. I had to get away from this place. Abby… I'm sorry.