Hi! Alright then, for the formalities. There are many unfortunate scenes to be uncovered here. If reading a story that touches on the topic of murder doesn't shake you, then feel free to read and enjoy accordingly. Leave comments, questions, and any possible concerns in a review and I'll get to you as quick as can be. Enjoy. (Listening to the sounds of rain brings out a bit of personality while reading this. Highly recommended.)
"Quick! This way! The smoke was rising over here!" Sheik, a lady who wrapped herself in cloth, shouted over the roaring rains. She ran as fast as she could while she comforted a sobbing boy who was called Lucas. He was barely able to keep up with her and was only hanging on by her wrist. Behind them followed a man in a suit named Link, a tall and fit lady named Samus, a young and bright young man named Robin, a spry and ambitious guy named Marth, a fierce and business driven man named Ganon, a boy who was nearly out of his teens titled Mega (Mega Man), a formally dressed and frantic lady named Corrin, a rough and tumble bodyguard named Snake, and a blue feathered individual with an attitude named Falco. The rains fell harder by the moment and it was getting more difficult to see by the minute. Sheik had spotted a rise of smoke and assumed that it was from a chimney. A place with shelter. Somewhere safe…
"T-there it is! A mansion!" Corrin held up her hand to shield her eyes from the vicious drops. A large and dark mansion rose from the trees and loomed above them; reeking of an uncomfortable invitation. Sheik sprinted through the gates while practically dragging Lucas. Quickly, she twisted the handles of the front doors and pushed hard, almost ramming the doors open. They each poured into the mansion one by one. Entering last, Falco kicked the doors closed and each of the rambunctious visitors fell to the floor. All of them were formally dressed as if they were heading to a business party. The room was lit by a warm fireplace, of which wasn't being used by anyone at the time. The bodyguard, Snake, stood up and flicked his hair back, sending back a splash of rain.
"Alright, let's take a roll call." he turned around and counted. "Yeah, everybody is here safe. Let's just hold tight while I think about what to do-"
"You are trespassing!" a voice yelled. A little old lady in a cloak was in the corner of the room. She seemed almost ghostly and could even be said to slightly hover above the ground. "Please, listen to me, you shouldn't be here! Bad things will happen!" she cried out.
Link slowly rose to the ground. "Oh, we're so sorry ma'am, we didn't mean to come onto your land. The storm outside is rough and our van is no more. Could we possibly camp out here until the storm subsides?" he closed his eyes.
"You don't understand! A curse! An inescapable curse! Don't fall victim! You must leave, you must be honest and truthful or only your deaths awai-" the lady seemingly vanished as a crash of thunder and lightning hit outside. Lucas yelled in terror and nuzzled into Sheik.
"Where did she go? What did she mean by curse?" Samus looked around worriedly. Her long and blond hair sat comfortably on her shoulders, though soaking wet with water.
"Don't think about that hubbub. Curses don't exist. Everyone is just tired." Snake told as he attempted to light a cigarette.
"Hey, there's more room over here near the fire in case you guys want to warm up." Marth invited. His eyes shone a warmth almost equal to the fire. Corrin, Mega, Ganon, Falco, and Robin all went over to join him. Ganon grumbled and glanced to his left when he stood up.
"Hey. Sheik. Get that kid to shut the hell up would you? This situation is bad enough without his whining." he fussed. Sheik shot a dirty look above Lucas's head.
"He's a child, asshole. Leave him alone; he's terrified." she curtly replied. Ganon rolled his eyes and roughly sat down in the large blue chair. The room was wider than it was long and there were stairs going up and down on opposite sides of the room. In the middle was a coffee table with a couch, 2 chairs, and a rug surrounding it. A TV was mounted above the fireplace and there were large bookshelves on both sides. A vase and a large orange book rested on the top of it. The curious man, Robin was able to reach it after climbing up a bit.
Hey, guys, listen to this." Robin announced as he flipped through the book. "This book is printed with a date that hasn't happened yet. It's telling of events that are written in present tense but is 8 years ahead of ours. Is it just a misprint?" he looked at it questionably. Ganon slammed his fist down on the table.
"I don't care and neither does anyone else." he stood up and snatched the book from him. "I don't want to hear your voice and I don't want to hear the sounds of anybody else. We're lucky to be walking after that accident and your nerd shit isn't going to get me any quiet." he tossed the book into the open flames and slumped back into the chair. Robin looked defeated and sat against a wall. The book began to be torn and burned by the raging flames. It's pages flipped open and the words, "Your untimely deaths await." blackened and disappeared in the charred ashes. Mega grabbed the tablecloth off of the coffee table and wrapped himself in it. He glanced at Corrin who was shivering and offered to share. The two bundled up close together near the fire.
"So, what the hell is the plan now?" Falco blurted out. "Our transportation is wrecked, we are in somebody's house who hasn't even noticed we're here apparently, we all hallucinated a ghost lady, and the storm is showing no signs of letting up! And you guys are just sitting around like everything is okay?" he turned towards Snake. "The main reason we're in this mess is YOUR fault! We were supposed to get to our destination safely and you went and crashed the car! You need to figure something out NOW." he fussed. Samus tried to get him to calm down, but to no avail. Snake opened his eyes and looked at Falco.
"We were driving a defective vehicle. There is no mistake about that. But with the engine setting aflame, there's no way that we're going to be able to drive anymore. I have a phone; I can contact someone."
"What about the business party? You think we can just call for help when this is supposed to be discreet? Each and every one of us are important people! Why do you think we would need a lousy bodyguard like YOU!?" Falco yelled. Snake punched the wall.
"Enough of pinning this all on me! You should feel lucky that I spotted this building in the first place or we would still be in the freezing rain! I'm already thinking of what to do next so shut your damn trap!" Samus stepped in between the two of them.
"Hey, that's enough guys. Let's not point any fingers as to why we're here. The best thing we can do is act accordingly. So come on, let's wait near the fire until the storm is gone. That's our first bit of action. Let's just relax. Besides, Mansa Mario, or whatever he calls himself, can't be far from here. This is just a slight detour. Everything will be fine." Was she trying to convince everyone of this or just herself? Either way, Falco strutted to the fireplace and sat on the couch. Samus turned to Snake. "Sorry."
"For what?"
"All this pressure. This is a bit of a rough spot. We don't even have signs of a host yet." She smiled. "But that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy what hospitality this mansion has to offer." Snake nodded.
"I just don't see the point in complaining. Things could be worse. We could all be dead."
…
"You seem like you offer good company. How long will that last?" Snake asked before walking off. He sat by the fire and Samus joined. One by one did everyone slowly notice themselves inching closer to their new party members. Just the company of each other seemed to be comforting in it's own right. None of them suspected that it would be their last peaceful moment before the peace of death.
"Hey, uh…" Mega looked up after being lost in thought. "That lady from earlier...Where did she go?" the question floated in the air.
"There's no old lady. We're all just tired." Ganon grunted as he shifted positions. Falco shook his head.
"We all saw her. If everyone did then there is no way that we were just hallucinating. And we all heard what she said. Curses, bad things happening, being honest and our deaths awaiting? What kind of nut job would say that it's made up?" he scoffed. Corrin quickly undid the jewelry on her head and neck. She obviously wouldn't need them here.
"I don't know. It just sounds so...So…?"
"Far fetched?" Marth tried to fill in the gap.
"It should be obvious that there is no curse and never will be one." Snake snapped. "Look, let's not try to freak ourselves out while we're stuck here. That doesn't matter and neither does this house being seemingly empty. All that matters is that we are here; safe." The rain could be heard beating against the roof and light thunder echoed. "Better cursed than being in that mess. Let's make ourselves at home." The bodyguard stood up and walked to the lightswitch near the front doors. He flicked it and nothing seemed to change.
"Is there no power?" Samus stood up to try and help.
"Do you think the rain has put it out? Maybe that's why the fireplace was lit." Robin perked up. "A place like this oughtta have some form of generators to keep the power on. It would only make sense for how expensive this place looks." he glanced at the chandelier above the table. It slowly and softly rocked. Snake put his hand against his head.
"Not having power is only going to make things less secure around here." he sighed. Looking to his right, he noticed the stairs going down instead of up. "Everybody wait here. I'm going to see if there is a circuit breaker in the basement. That should light this place up." he started towards the stairs.
"I'll come with you. Two heads are better than one." Samus followed. Snake glanced at her and grunted; a sign of approval. The two marched into the basement when Sheik stood up and cradled Lucas.
"It's late. I'm going to find a room to put Luke to bed." she stated. The young boy had his arms around her neck. He couldn't have been older than ten, so what was the reason that he was with Sheik to see a man named Mario? Robin tapped a finger on his chin. Are they related in any way? What's the point of bringing some kid? He wasn't certain. Falco nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm probably going to do the same. Sleeping this craziness off sounds wonderful." he said.
"Yeah, that's probably an okay move." Robin brought himself to his feet and followed the three upstairs to look for bedding. Link looked at who was left and shrugged.
"Well, dunno about you guys, but I'm starving and I don't think that getting food would hurt. We're already trespassing. Might as well." He looked around. There was an opening that led further into the mansion behind the two sets of stairs.
"That sounds more interesting than sitting here next to the fire all night. I'm coming too." Mega said.
"Okay I guess." Corrin grabbed Mega's arm to pull herself up. "Let's go." they disappeared around the corner. Marth sighed and looked up. His eyes met Ganon's. Ganon rolled his and laid his head back.
"Nevermind talking. Jeez." Marth hopped out of the chair. "Wait for me! I don't want to sit here with this guy!" he ran around the corner to catch up.
The thunder boomed. It woke Ganon from his nap. He had dozed off in the chair but he wasn't sure how long he was out. The TV was flashing on and off.
"Did they get that damn power on or is life just messing with me again?" he asked himself. Words slowly began to spell a sentence on the TV with each flash.
"A. L. O."
"What in the world is…what's happening?" he rubbed his eyes and looked up. There was no mistaking it. The letters flashed faster.
"N. E. A. G. A. I. N."
"Alone again? What do you mean? I'm fine." Ganon realized that he did feel alone. But was that a loneliness he felt or just because there was no one else?
"WHY ALWAYS ALONE?"
"I don't need anyone else. I'm fine by myself." But was he really?
"DON'T LIE. YOU DESIRE COMPANY."
"Fuck off." he griped. Ganon was standing now and his eyes were narrowed at the screen.
"YOU'RE AFRAID. AFRAID OF OPENING UP AGAIN."
"I have to be going crazy. I'm just tired. I'm not talking to the television." he sat back down and sighed. "Don't let that curse thing get into your head Ganon."
"YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!" the TV displayed words written in orange. Ganon shut his eyes but he still couldn't get rid of the text he saw. "OPEN THEM BACK UP."
"What is happening to me? Who are you? What do you want?" he cried out. His voice grew shaky.
"I WANT TO HEAR YOU ADMIT IT. I WANT TO HEAR YOU TELL THE TRUTH."
"I am not lonely! There is no room for feelings in a world like this. Business comes first!"
"YOU'VE BEEN AFRAID EVER SINCE YOU LOST HER."
"Not another word." his fists were clenched.
"YOU WERE TO SCARED TO ADMIT IT EVER SINCE SHE WAS GONE."
"I told you to shut up!" he punched the table.
"YOU CHANGED FOREVER AFTER ZELDA LEFT THIS WORLD."
"DON'T SPEAK THAT NAME!" he grabbed the vase and flung it at the TV. Glass exploded in and out of it and the TV hit the floor. The man furiously put his hands on his head. "Please don't make me go through this again." He fell into the chair and took deep breaths. He had never felt so close to misery since the incident.
The TV flashed on for a split second and cut off. "LOOK UP, LIAR." There was a creaking sound of something breaking. Ganon glanced upward and shouted. He looked away and instinctively dove in a panic. The chandelier rushed down in no time and a loud boom echoed through the house.
New chapters out within the week of release. Enjoying so far? Any questions? Ideas for the ride? Leave all your concerns in the blank box below and all your worries will be tended to. Who do you think will survive the night? Who do you want to escape? Time will only tell. I'll see you again...