I wasn't sure if I was ever going to post this anywhere because I didn't know if I wanted people to know that I liked this movie and this character as much as I do. But I've managed to since get over my denial and now here we are. Heavily inspired by "Remain" by Nikkette which is amazing and everyone should read it.
Visit the UK for the summer, they said. It'll be fun, they said.
As Adalyn ran through the muddy forest in the pouring rain while being chased by three men who had made their desires very clear, she regretted ever setting foot on the plane at the terminal back in Maryland.
All she'd wanted was a ride to the castle where she'd booked a spot for a tour, but the cab driver had apparently had other plans. Unfamiliar with the country, she hadn't realized he had taken her completely off-course until he'd stopped the cab in the middle of nowhere, no castle in sight. That was when two other men had stepped out of the forest surrounding every inch of the road for miles.
One look at the perverted grins on all three of their faces, and Adalyn had wasted absolutely no time in booking it out of the cab and running for her life.
That was how she found herself in her current state, drenched from head to foot by the rain, legs aching, and lungs burning.
But she didn't dare stop.
Even amidst the sound of the falling rain, she could hear their pounding footsteps behind her along with taunts and jeers, shouting at her that she couldn't run forever.
And she knew they were right. Adrenaline could only keep her going for so long. But she'd be fine if she just outlasted them.
Just when she'd about given up hope and accepted her dark fate, Adalyn came across a very, very welcome if somewhat confusing sight.
Up ahead only about half a mile more, she could see a very large mansion. She didn't know why someone would build such a grand house like that so far from any kind of civilization, but right now, she blessed whoever had.
Having put a bit of distance between her and her pursuers, Adalyn raced in the direction of the mansion, praying and pleading that someone was there to let her inside.
It only took her a few minutes to make it to the house, bolt through the surrounding hedges, and run up to the massive front doors. Hearing the men catching up behind her, Adalyn pulled on the door handles, but they remained tightly locked. She frantically banged on the double doors. "Is someone there?! Please, help me! Let me inside, please!"
She could hear her pursuers testing the main gate at the road and then realizing they could just climb through the hedges like she had.
"PLEASE, HELP ME! ANYONE!"
The left door opened so suddenly that she fell to the floor of the entryway. She quickly spun around onto her back and kicked the door closed. Then she stood up and tried to lock the door again, but she found to her dismay that the door required a key to lock it.
She quickly scanned the entryway, searching for anything she could use to block the door so her pursuers couldn't follow her inside. In the parlor to her right, there was a large coffee table sitting in the middle of the room. Better than nothing, Adalyn rushed over to it and used all her strength to move it across the room and set it in front of the double doors. She winced when she saw that she had left scuff marks and scratches on the wooden floor, but she would offer to pay for it later.
She then turned around to see who had opened the door for her.
Strangely enough, there was no one in the hallway or in the adjoining rooms, and if she was being honest, the house felt very unlived in. Well, someone had to have opened the door.
"Hello?" she called, trying to catch her breath. "Is anyone here?"
Almost all of the lights were off and the floor looked like it hadn't been swept in a while. It was cold too. There must not have been any central heating. She recalled seeing chimneys on the roof, so she assumed that the owners of the house lit fires to stay warm. Standing in the middle of the entryway in completely drenched clothing, she started to shiver.
"Hello?" she called again. She didn't want to intrude in someone's house, but what was she supposed to do if the person who'd opened the door for her didn't answer or reveal themselves?
She briefly wondered if she'd set foot inside a haunted mansion.
Adalyn quickly took her wet phone out of her back pocket. All of her other possessions were still in the cab, but at least she had this. Her heart sank when she saw that there was no signal and therefore no way for her to make a call.
She made her way to the room on the left to look for a landline and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a boy sitting in one of the chairs. When her heart had calmed down, she saw that it wasn't a boy. It was a porcelain doll staring directly at her with its soulless eyes. The face was crackled in multiple places, like it had been shattered and then put back together. An unnerving sight, yes, but not worse than what was outside trying to find her.
The house was eerily silent. The only thing she could hear was the rain falling outside and her chattering teeth.
And the voices of her pursuers.
The closed doors and the coffee table wouldn't hold them off for long. She quickly tried to weigh her options. She couldn't just run out the back way. They would see her, and then she would be back where she'd started. Once the men burst inside, she assumed that they would search the bottom floor first. If that was the case, then maybe she could run up to the second or third floor and try to escape through a window while they were searching the first floor. Then while they searched the next level, she'd already be out of the house.
That would have to work.
She raced up the steps and disappeared into one of the rooms just as the double doors burst open. Trying her best to stay completely silent, she looked around the room she'd stumbled into. It was clearly a child's room with a small bed and various toys splayed all over the place. Keeping her footsteps soft, she went over to the window and tried to open it.
To her horror, she realized that the window was painted shut.
Of course she had chosen the room with the closed window.
She slowly went out the door, listening as the men's hurried steps sounded on the floor below her. Silently, she slipped into the room across the hall.
And she found that window painted shut too.
Heavy footsteps and loud laughter sounded from outside the room.
Too close. They were coming up the stairs.
Cornered, Adalyn rushed through another door inside the room and found herself in a closet full of women's clothing. Perhaps this was the master bedroom for whoever lived, or had lived, here.
Adalyn softly shut the closet door and put her hand to her mouth to stifle her frightened cries. If any one of them caught her in here, there would be nowhere for her to run.
And then…
Her breathing came in quick, frightened gasps as she could hear the men scouring the second level of the house. Then she could hear them in the bedroom.
She listened intently to see if she could hear them coming towards the closet. But why wouldn't they check in here?
She was trapped with no way out.
Suddenly, someone roughly clamped a hand over her mouth and began to aggressively drag her backwards. She tried to scream as she frantically kicked and struggled against whoever was holding her. Adalyn didn't know how someone had possibly come up behind her in the small closet without her seeing them until she realized that the person had somehow dragged her through the wall of the closet.
How on earth had her pursuers discovered these hidden passages behind the walls of the house? Had they been to this place before? Had it all been part of their plan for her to run here?
The person's hold on her was so tight that she couldn't breathe. Her struggling didn't seem to slow them down in the slightest. If anything, it only made the person cling onto her tighter. An overwhelming smell of dirt and sweat filled her senses.
Black spots began to dance across her vision.
Adalyn panicked, knowing that this was the absolute worst time to pass out, but the long run in the rain to get here and the current lack of oxygen weren't doing her any favors.
Exhausted and terrified, Adalyn stopped struggling and her body slumped down inside the person's hold.
Brahms stopped walking backwards when he realized the girl in his arms had ceased moving.
Had he killed her?
He knew that he'd been a little rough with her, but how else was he supposed to get her back behind the safety of the walls without alerting the other people who had invaded his home? He supposed he could've easily just disposed of them before they found her hiding in the closet, but then once she realized that the intruders were dead, she would have no reason to stay anymore. He wanted her to know who it was that saved her.
To his relief, he could feel her chest moving up and down beneath his arms.
Good, so she wasn't dead. That wouldn't do.
He turned her around and knelt down so that her body fell over his shoulder. Then he continued carrying her through the passages behind the walls until he came to the large open space where he lived. It was much easier to get her here when she wasn't moving. He might have to remember that for later.
Very gently, he took the girl off his shoulder and laid her down onto his empty bed. He looked around the living space in dismay. If he had known that company was coming, he would've tidied up a bit more.
Brahms gently ran a finger over her smooth pale cheek. Her skin reminded him of the porcelain doll of his younger self which he had spent the last few weeks painstakingly gluing back together.
Then he let his fingers brush through her wet, dark blonde hair.
She was young, he guessed not that much younger than him, and she was pretty. Somehow, even prettier than Greta. Not by much, but she admittedly was.
He wondered if she would be scared of him like the others. He'd have to make sure that he was very careful to show her that he wouldn't hurt her and that he would take care of her.
Maybe then, she would stay. If not, well…
Brahms could hear laughter and the sound of something breaking in one of the parlors, and his jaw clenched.
Rule #1: No Guests.
He would deal with the pretty girl later. For now, he had three 'guests' to take care of.