As Harley would make his way upstairs, he would find that the mansion was decorated with pictures from places which looked unreal. They looked like they came from a different place, a different time, a different universe. Places like castles and palaces, halls and hotels, gardens and nightly skies, were on the walls of the place and were framed in gold. Towards the right end of the second floor was the library, however, it was currently locked.
The mansion itself consisted of two buildings; the old and main building, and the new building. Both with four floors and more than enough room for guests to stroll through. Between the buildings was a nifty garden with a white marbled fountain in the middle of it all.
Emerson frowned, reading through the letter and looking up when Harley left. They went through the letter again and simply sighed, they would go along with it. Maybe it was like a big escape room or something. Don't escape rooms have you sign forms? "Whatever." They mumbled, grabbing their bag and beginning to walk in the same direction the other had. Maybe they could catch up with the prickly looking fellow.
Harley had made it to the second floor and eventually found what he assumed to be the library— the door was locked. The man rattled it a few times, trying to get it open, but gave up and started looking around. No one was nearby but they could very well come for him now that they had heard him make such a racket.
Taking a deep breath, Harley found his way to the stairs and ran up to the next floor.
When Emerson left the room they had been in, a loud noise rang out through the building. Harley’s heart started racing; the game had begun! He swung himself into the closest room and, after making sure no one was in there, shut the door. He leaned his back against the door and covered his mouth to muffle his heavy breaths. ‘What happens if I’m caught? I don’t like this, I don’t like not knowing these things!’
An announcement rang out after the signal was given.
”Greetings fellow guests. This is ‘The Announcer’ speaking. I would like to explain the rules of this game one more time. A twenty-minute timer has started and the Hunted is currently being… well, hunted down by a handful of individuals who will work as the Hunter. There will no hurting, at least not fatally, in this first game but I cannot say the same for games later down the line. The person that wins this first game will gain an advantage in the next game, which will be explained after you have eaten lunch. Oh, one more thing. You are not allowed to leave this mansion until you both have finished all twenty four games we’ve made. If you do leave, please be happy that the afterlife will accept you quite willingly. That’s it for now! Good luck. Both of you,”
With the announcement done, another alam rang out as the sound of doors opening can be heard loudly around the mansion. They were the Hunters for the first round who are working alongside Emerson in an attempt to catch the prey that was Harley.
Emerson made a surprised noise at the announcement, it was more fucked up than they had originally thought. If I get through these… games, I'll get to go home. I'm sure as hell not going to try and escape, these bastards just threatened to kill me… Things along those lines ran through Emerson's head as their pace quickened. They would head towards the jumble of noises they heard, then start knocking and trying any other doors. They would be polite to any who talked to them, but they would win.
Walking out of the doors Emerson had knocked were humanoids, all of different structures, ages, genders, and body types. They all had a smiling white mask on their faces, their movements similar to that of puppets tied to strings. The some ten ‘Hunters’ had started to walk down the halls, exploring each floor in an attempt to find Harley, the only one Hunted.
Despite the chaos happening on the first floor, was a whistling sound from the halls of the second floor. It had came from a relatively tall man of black hair and a face which was hidden by a faceless brown mask. His burnt brown leather jacket swayed as he made his way towards the library, the hilt of his rusty sword by his side. Standing there in front of the library’s doors, the man got out a key and unlocked it, opening the doors wide open before he stepped inside. Once inside, while arranging the books, the Librarian had recited something.
”Jack and Jill…
Went up the hill…
To fetch a pail of water…
Jack fell down…
And broke his crown…
And Jill came tumbling after…
What meets the eyes…
Could be white lies…
You must see through their covers…
A smile they show…
A ‘Hunter’s’ role…
A secret you’ll discover.”
It wasn’t too long after the Hunters were out that the sound of a gunshot could be heard just outside the mansion. There had been no signs of any one of the two leaving the place. So perhaps it was someone else. Someone… like the Hunters themselves.
Emerson would find themself face-to-face with one of the Hunters, the Hunter’s mask looked as if it was their face. They tilted their head slightly, in their hand was a pistol. A real one. They fired once at the floor, causing the sound to echo through the halls. However, the other Hunters were completely unfazed by it.
”Your wish is our command,” the single Hunter had spoken. ”Give us an order, and we shall execute it,”
Harley would soon find himself in an uncomfortable situation. There were footsteps, just outside the room. There were no talking. No words were exchanged as silence fueled the ever dangerous atmosphere. The door was knocked on.
”London Bridge is falling down…”
The person outside started to recite, knocking. Knocking. Knocking once more as they continued to recite the song.
”London Bridge is falling down…
Falling down…
Falling down…
London Bridge is falling down…”
An audible smirk could be heard.
”My. Fair. Harley…”
Some seconds passed by before the sound of footsteps could be heard. The same knocking sounds could be heard from the door in the room next to the one Harley was in with the same recitation. This went on until the sound could not be heard anymore. Maybe… it was safe to leave the room now.
Emerson gave a barely noticeable flinch at the gunshot, hand tightening around their pepper spray that was in their pocket. They just had to imagine it was another client, they didn't spend years building up a thick skin to monster clients just to have it broken by this scary fellow… Who had a gun.
They cleared their throat and straightened their back, taking their hand out of their pocket and smiling politely. "If you would find Harley and bring him back to me, unharmed." They really hoped that the order was concrete enough that they could follow it without any problem. "Thank you." They tacked on at the end, to be polite.
While the voice had been outside the room Harley was hiding in, he had clamped his hands over his mouth and clenched his eyes shut. He hated nursery rhymes already, but including his name in one was the tip of the iceberg.
He waited for the footsteps and voice to pass completely, pressing his ear against the door until he heard complete silence, before shakily standing up and grabbing his suitcase and turning the door handle.
As soon as the door was open, Harley was out of that room like a trapped animal and made his way through the halls until he found the stairs down to the floor where he knew the library was. Nothing else was on his mind apart from getting to that location, and as the terrified tears pricked his eyes he found himself trying not to panic when hurriedly opening the library door.
The masked Hunter went silent for a long moment before they nodded and turned to the rest of the Hunters. As they turned around, the back of the Hunters was shown. They had what looked like the key of a wind-up toy attached to their neck which was slowly, but surely, turning.
The brown coated Librarian turned his head when he saw Harley coming into the library. He started making his way towards the man as the horde of mindless Hunters made their way up. At that time, though, the library door was already opened and meant that Harley could now slip inside.
The man, who was definitely panicking by now, entered the library and closed the door, leaning his back against it as he took a few deep breaths. What kind of place was this because it was definitely not a holiday.
Clamping his eyes shut for a moment, Harley gathered his thoughts before slowly opening them again. His eyes fell immediately on the person in the brown coat, and immediately he started internally panicking.
And although the outside Hunters had no voice, their breathings could be heard quite clearly. The Librarian forcefully pulled Harley out of the way as they turned to the mace on the shelf just beside the door before he unlocked the door and pulling it wide open to see the hungry mindless horde of Hunters waiting outside. The Librarian started to recite…
”Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A halfpenny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I'll find flour…”
The Librarian gave a pause. Not long after, the sound of something like porcelain breaking could be heard. From one, to many more, the sound of porcelain breaking was slowly growing louder and louder until silence broke it. There, on the ground, were the bloodless and headless bodies of the ‘Hunters’ that had scared the living day lights out of Harley. Within the seemingly silent atmosphere, the sudden maniacal laughter from the Librarian was easily heard, followed by the shaking recital of the last line of the rhyme as they turned back to Harley.
”…And we'll have a pudding in half an hour,”
…
The masked Hunter who was with Emerson turned back to them. ”A number of Hunters are being killed upstairs… we must both go up. Only you can end the game,” the Hunter claimed, extending his hand towards Emerson as if inviting him to take it.
Emerson hesitated, but took the hand. They were trying so hard not to panic as they took a deep breath and attempted to keep their composure. "Do you happen to have another gun, by chance?" They had a feeling that their small self defense items wouldn't be enough to defend themself from whatever was about to happen.
Harley froze up, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried—and failed—to avert his eyes from the corpses. He screamed at his mind to look away, but he just couldn’t. All colour seemed to drain from his face and his body started shaking before his eyes rolled back. His body fell limp, falling forwards towards the librarian.
The Hunter stopped completely before he reached behind his belt to pull out another pistol, handing it to Emerson. As they arrived at the second floor, in front of the library were the bodies of the Hunters who came first. Their porcelain heads were shattered like they were just bowls. However, the talking masked Hunter did not seemed fazed by this for they just turned to the library. ”He is in there. I cannot enter, but you can. The Librarian does not like loud noises. Please, do be careful,”
…
The Librarian had already closed the doors before he knelt down to pick Harley’s body up. He sat the man down under his working desk where no one entering would see unless they came around to where the Librarian was sitting. Once there, the Librarian started softly reciting something once more.
”Can you count the stars that brightly
twinkle in the midnight sky?
Can you count the clouds, so lightly
o'er the meadows floating by?
God, the Lord, doth mark their number,
with His eyes that never slumber;
He hath made them every one.
Can you count the wings now flashing
in the sunshine's golden light?
Can you count the fishes splashing
in the cooling waters bright?
God, the Lord, a name hath given,
to all creatures under Heaven;
He hath named them every one,”
The Librarian gently nudged Harley’s body in an attempt to wake him up while not looking down at him to cause much suspicion in case Emerson had decided to walk in. ”Wakey wakey…” he muttered softly, really trying to get Harley to wake up.
(I would just like to make a point that Reed has deleted their account)
