She paused for a moment and took in the sight before carefully moving closer. The dark shape was somewhat imposing in the low light but Mari was too curious to turn away just yet. Whatever it was, it added to the mystery of the strange markers she followed and the small trail. It had to be a building of some kind. Nothing else could be that big… But what kind of building, she had to find out.
The sun had already set half way, but the silhouette was still a little bit visible in the distance; as she got closer to it, lightning briefly illuminated its dark shape, as if to help her remain on track and not go a different direction. The water droplets suddenly picked up, turning into actual rain, that could no longer be ignored as easy and it showed no signs of stopping any time soon. In fact, it threatened to become even worse.
After what seemed like long slow minutes, she found herself at the edge of a clearing and ahead of her lay the large structure she'd been looking at his whole time. Another dash or lightning lit up the sky and the structure, revealing it to be some kind of mansion, long forgotten by time. The once grand main gate was now broken and covered in tall weeds and vines, one of the metal bar doors hanging loose off its hinges. What was once a well maintained and symmetrical garden was now a ruined mess, over grown and partially reclaimed by nature.
Mari pulled her hood over her head as the rain started to come down harder. It wasn't much protection but it would help. The lightning made her jump before she picked up her pace and squeezed through the gate. A part of her knew she was being… not very smart about this situation. It almost could have passed for the opening scene of a horror movie. She frowned at the thought. She hated horror movies for two reasons. One, horror was just not her thing. Two, all the characters were complete idiots and made the absolute worst decisions possible. If this was an actual horror movie, Mari would be yelling at the screen for the character to turn back and just go home. The worst thing that could happen that way was she might get a cold but at least she’d live.
Despite these thoughts in her head, her feet continued to move her closer to the semi dilapidated house. It could provide some shelter until the rain lightened up again, then she could go home. Besides monsters didn't exist. No one in their right mind would be living in this kind of place… Unless they were homeless.
The gate was completely immobilized by the vines that had climbed up on it, the leaves shaking in the wind and dripping from the rain. Walking on the old path through the garden was also a slightly complicated task, as the destroyed pavement was covered in moss and was thus very slippery from the water. By the time she reached the main door of the mansion, it was pouring from above, rendering Mari pretty much half soaked.
The door itself was tall and old, looking nothing like the current buildings she had seen so far - guess this building was one of those old traditional ones that people used to make a long while back, but were long gone by this point in time. Maybe this one here had been overlooked and forgotten about, reason why it lasted so long.
Despite the rust laid by time, she was eventually able to open one of the doors of the mansion, pulling by the large metal ring attached to it, opening it enough to be able to slide inside.
In the extra quiet ambiance of the old house, Mari’s music seemed even louder in her ears. At least that meant her phone wasn't damaged. She let out a soft sigh as she turned off the song, to save her battery if she got into any trouble, and tucked her headphones in her pocket.
Even her breathing was echoing in the main entrance. It was all too eerie. With the storm outside and the near silence inside… Mari shook her head and tried to dry off. It was probably just being cold and wet that was giving her goosebumps.
Considering how old the house was, it wouldn't be surprising if there was a fireplace somewhere nearby. But she wasn't sure about exploring any more of the house until her eyes had adjusted.
Once inside and her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see the room she found herself in, now noticing just how large it actually was. The main lobby of the mansion was grand and pretty empty, with ruined furniture here and there, pillars with long cobwebs dangling off of it. Straight ahead, there was a big stone staircase, that led to two different sides of the building. The ceiling was way above her, two of the once five chandeliers still holding on to their rusty chains. The largest of them had fallen to the ground, smashing into millions of pieces once it hit the floor, bits of it still lying in the place they'd landed on, covered in cobwebs.
Outside, rain had started pouring, with small lightning flashes lighting up the room every few minutes, casting long shadows of the few metal decorations left standing.
”Wow…” she whispered as she took in her surroundings, finding herself drawn into the building. The staircase alone looked like something out of Gone with the Wind. And the chandeliers were still beautiful… in a way. Still a little eerie with the lighting and the cobwebs, but she couldn't help smiling a little as she thought about what this place might have looked like before it was abandoned.
Without thinking about it, she started walking around the room, not really watching her step.
Most of the remaining furniture in the room had been destroyed or at the very least was no longer usable to some degree. Perhaps the former owners had not left from natural causes. Or maybe they just did not age well at all.
After some exploring, the stairway was the last one left to check. While some of the railing looked delapidated and in peril of breaking at the slightest touch, the steps themselves were thankfully still somewhat intact. Once at the top and going left, the rooms were mostly empty, each frozen in time since the day the owners had left. The kitchen still had its utensils still on the shelf, the library was still full of books, the living room was completely untouched, all of these covered in thick dust and some cobwebs here and there.
Progressing through rooms, there seemed to be a slight change somewhere as in, the dust wasnt as thick as before, and the furniture was not destroyed. Had this part preserved better than the rest? But why?
Soon enough, there were no more rooms left that had not been explored. Which meant it was time to head to the other way of the staircase. That side of the building was even more damaged than the other, with holes in the floor and stains on the walls, painting a more grief version of the other side of the mansion.
Most parts were blocked by rubble and whatever else there was, so it seemed to be a dead end. The only place left unexplored was a small and simple wooden door underneath the staircase, which would normally lead to the maid's room
(Sorry, it's taking so long to get to your boy.)
The house possed more and more of a mystery as Mari explored. The fact that everything was still in the kitchen was suspicious and a little concerning. The varying degrees of dust in some areas made her think that someone at least visited the house… possibly recently too. But why was one half of the building in much better condition than the other? She sighed a little as she made her way back downstairs after exploring as much of the house as she could. With the storm still raging outside, she leaned against the side of the stairs for a moment before noticing the door next to her. Fairly confident by now that there was no one else around, she knocked on the door, testing the strength of it, and started to push it open.
(aaa, dw dw, he's a bit hard to get to, i'll try to bring him out soon yvy)
The small door led to a modest corridor, with a few doors on the left and big windows to the right. All the rooms were empty, aside from the one at the very end, which led to a small spiraling staircase which ended in another simple wooden door.
This time, the result was different. The room that had been discovered was fairly well maintained, with a clean bookcase to the right as one came in, and long windows on the left. Walking along the bookcase there was a short ladder that led to the main platform of the room, where there was a table, some chairs, bits of furniture probably picked up from the other parts of the manor, a small simple bed that had been neatly made, a comfortable armchair and a fireplace, with the fire still burning.
With the heavy rain outside pouring against the windows and the occasional lighting, this room was rather warm and welcoming, very different than the rest of the abandoned manor. But where was the person living here?
Mari’s jaw dropped when she looked around the little room. Someone actually lived here? She certainly felt like she was trespassing now… but the sight of the roaring fire reminded her of how cold she really was, at least she was mostly dry by now. ”Umm, hello? Is anyone there?” she called out softly as she took a few tentative steps toward the fireplace and held her hands out to the heat. She kept her ears peeled for any sound that would tell her where the other person might be if they were home.
There was no answer to her call, only the crack of thunder outside and the rain hitting the large glass windows behind her. The room itself was relatively empty, just some decent looking furniture, but no person in sight with the only sound being the crackling of the wood in the fireplace. Judging by the size of the flames, they would only last for about fifteen more minutes before going out, and the tray next to it was empty. Any normal person would have gone to get more wood, so was that where the mystery tennant had gone?
A small floorboard creek was a probable sign the person was coming back. Or it could have been just the old mansion creaking under the strong wind. It was a freakin old place after all, so anything was possible.
There was a long period of silence after that initial creak, interrupted only by the sound of the storm and the crackling of the burning wood. Just when it was starting to get painfully boring, the door downstairs opened and closed silently, and light footsteps were heard walking up the few steps
(the room itself is pretty much similar to the main lobby in Identity V, except its furnished differently and the fireplace is a bit to the right from your POV. this aint my screenshot, my room is much more different)
(Wow! Never actually heard of that game before but the graphics look real good.)
When met with silence, Mari relaxed a little and went back to staying warm by the fire. Though she wondered if this mysterious owner was just getting some more firewood, where were they getting it from? Was there a storeroom she missed when she was exploring? Maybe a shed just outside? Going outside in this weather didn't seem like a very good idea to her. Which reminded her, she should probably text her parents that she was safe and found somewhere to wait out the storm.
After finishing the message and hoping it went through is when she heard the house creak loudly, startling her. She turned towards the door, clutching her phone tightly, and all but holding her breath she waited for a very long couple of minutes before realizing that it was nothing. No one was here yet and it was just the age of the house.
Once again surrounded by the quiet and finally warm, she walked over to the little collection of books, only looking at the covers of them to see if she recognized any. If someone did live here, she wasn't going to disturb whatever kind of system they had. Though she had to figure out what she was going to do when they came back before she left. It was awkward enough when you walked in on someone in their own room, but what do you do when you're in a stranger’s room and they walk in and see you trespassing?
(its a game similar to Dead by Daylight, but a bit cuter, if u will. I personally love the skins they have :"D Also ya, good graphics indeed uwu)
The footsteps were so faint one could assume they were just figments of their own imagination, after all, it was pouring outside. Who was to say this place wasn't probably haunted by some ghosts, making noises in the night?
The train of thought came to a screeching halt as the door opposite to the fireplace opened up slightly and a small figure crept in. As he was climbing the three tiny steps onto the platform and headed to the fireplace, their face was obscured by the relatively tall pile of wood they were carrying, leaving the only visible things to be their relatively baggy sweater hanging loose on what seemed to be a skinny body and the dark pants underneath the sweater.
Taking small careful steps towards the tray, the stranger seemed blissfully unaware that there was someone else in the room, their vision obscured by the tall wood pile they held. Once reached their destination, the person knelt down slowly and lowered their arms so that the wood pile would fall into the tray.
With the obstacle gone, the person could finally see clearly and jerked violently backwards once they noticed Mari standing there, so sudden that they fell to the floor, with a scared squeak. It was a boy, pretty young looking, with a dark bob haircut obscuring one eye.
Mari turned to the door when it squeaked open and watched silently as the other person walked in. Seeing that the woodpile they were carrying was taller than they were, she wanted to help carry some of the load so they could see. But she didn't move, practically frozen as the silly thought of ”if I don't move, maybe they won't see me” bounced around her head. Once the young boy saw her, well Mari didn't blame him for being scared of her. After all, they didn't know each other and she was intruding. Though that did seem like a slight overreaction.
”A-are you alright?” she asked softly. She was really going to feel bad if the kid hurt himself because of her. ”I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just got caught in the storm and found this house. I didn't know anyone lived here.” she explained.
The boy had tried to crawl backwards away from her in a panicked frenzy, but in doing so, he bumped his head on the railing. With another squeak he grabbed his head, curling up in a shaking ball, sniffling and seemingly crying. After what felt like an eternity in which they just stood there, with the boy shaking near the guardrail, clutching his head, he finally raised his face to look at Mari.
A big and tearful green eye looked at her fearfully, measuring her from head to toe before looking at her face once more.
"I'm… i'm okay…….." his voice was soft and faint, barely audible.
Mari took an instinctive step towards the boy when he bumped his head but didn't move any closer when she saw how terrified he was. He probably had lived alone for a long time for him to be so scared of her since she wasn't that intimidating of a person… unless she was very ticked off about something.
”You sure?” she asked again, keeping her voice kind as she slowly took another step towards him. ”I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you're not hurt.” she told him before biting her lip briefly. ”Umm, what’s your name? I’m Marissa but my friends call me Mari.”
Still down on the ground, the boy retreated a few steps when Mari approached him - he was still scared of her apparently - enough that his whole back was leaning against the railing.
"Mhm.. im- im fine" he responded shyly, still holding on to his head. Despite his response, he'd fallen pretty bad on his back and his head was also really painful, but the adrenaline in his system had dulled the pain.
He remained in his little shaking ball for a few seconds, looking at her with his sparkling green eye, various emotions mixed in as he examined her before answering.
"Damien…. My name is Damien"
”Careful…” The warning came out a little louder than the soft quiet tones they had been using a moment ago and Mari felt a little embarrassed by it a second later. ”I… I don't want you to fall.” she pointed out going back to speaking softly as she referenced how he was pressed against the railing. He honestly didn't seem like he weighed much, even if he was soaking wet, but she didn't know how old the house was and wasn't sure how sturdy that old banister was.
”Damien. That's a nice name.” she smiled a little at him and knelt down on the floor so she could be closer to his level. ”I’m really not going to hurt you.”
The slight raise in her tone seemed to scare him even more, to the point he was curled up in a vertical ball next to the guard rails. Thankfully he was in no danger of falling down the stairs, as they were to his left and he was leaning in the banister's placement direction, perpendicular to the wall.
Despite the other showing concern in his position, he still did not want to approach her just yet. After all, the scare he had earlier hadnt worn off just yet, and his heart was still pounding out of his chest.
Her little reassurances were starting to calm him down a little bit, enough to stop shaking so violently
"Really? You're not…?" he murmured, knees held to his chest. "P… Promise?"
”I promise. Cross my heart.” she smiled a little more as she completed the vow with the accompanying action. She felt pretty terrible for upsetting the boy so badly, though. ”I’m sorry for just kinda barging in and scaring you.” Mari apologized again. ”I really didn't mean to. I didn't even know this place was out here.”
Now Damien simply remained leaned against the guard rail, not shaking anymore, but the fire's light did betray the shine of some tears still dripping down his face. Sniffling, he raised an arm and wiped his tears, slightly starting to calm down.
"Mm,, no, its okay" he said, his voice a little more stable. "It's alright, really. I've been too used to loneliness in all this time, i forgot what it's like to see someone else around."
”How long have you been alone?” she asked curiously and a little concerned. He didn't look like he could be any older than she was… unless he was extremely short for his age, but she wasn't sure about that. ”And if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?”
"Uh- ever since Mother died. Not my real mom, the woman who used to live here." he replied, sinking into his own clothes. "Can't remember when that was tho, it was a long time ago"
He sniffled again, hands around his knees and his only visible eye was gazing to the side, avoiding Mari.
"Don't know that either, sorry…. i lost count"
”It’s ok.” she assured him, biting her lip again as she glanced around the room. She wasn't sure how long it had been before this house had been abandoned but she would have suspected it was before she was born… at least until she met Damien. If he was as young as she thought he was then that threw a wrench in that timeline. Maybe him and his adoptive mother moved in after? ”How did your… Mother know about this place? It looks like it's pretty old and there’s nothing but woods around it.” she said gently.