Chapter Text
Quiet nothingness, longing for escape. Nothing was as it was and it never would be again.
The cold expanse of the home was as empty as it had been since the day the last owners had moved out, afraid of the shadows that crept through the halls and the sounds that echoed in the still passages.
They left nothing behind but the dust and the lone figure that had lived in its halls long before it had died. It remained, tethered there with no way out. All it craved was to be liberated from its prison. But that release never got any closer, always moving farther and farther out of reach.
The creature could never follow them, not for long, as was its curse.
But every now and then, something new came into the picture. Something that never lasted long but came and went as a distraction, the briefest of reprieves that left only more misery behind when it was gone.
People.
They appeared time and time again. Always a new person, or couple, or family, but none that were willing to give him company. The same faces never returned, no matter how polite they were towards their guide or how wide a smile they left the house with. There was never a good enough reason to stay.
He wished it weren’t the case. He wished someone could see him and the other monsters that called this place home. But it had been so long since Will had gotten anything he wanted.
* * *
“Well, this is it boys,” Tide remarked as he got out of the pickup truck. To Dakota the building looked ancient, too old to be still be standing. The stone looked brittle as if a simple kick could send the whole thing crumbling. It looked like a stereotypical evil lair like in one of his comics.
“It looks very…” Vyncent began to say.
“Evil? I bet this place is filled with ghouls, but don’t worry Vyn, I’ll keep you safe,” Dakota cut him off. It had only been a few weeks since Tide had taken him in and he was still nervous about so much. Dakota felt responsible as the more experienced of the two about undead creatures to protect him and make him feel safe.
“I was going to say unstable,” Vyncent replied as he eyed the supports for the porch.
“Yeah, but if it falls down I’ll just dig you out of the rubble,” Dakota assured him. The boy didn’t seem convinced but he stopped moping everywhere, so it was a win in Dakota's eyes.
“Now, now, the house isn’t going to fall on us. The realtor showed me how stable the house is and I can assure you it won’t fall,” Tide explained. He went up to one of the support beams on the porch and pet it to demonstrate. A few pieces of it crumbled off. “See it’s- oh. Well, it’s not that much. We’ll be alright,” he declared.
Vyncent got out of the car and stood beside Tide. He picked up one of the pieces that fell off and it turned to dust between his fingers. He looked down at Tide and asked him, “Where’d you find this place again?”
“Well that’s not important, but if you must know a man approached me in the alley behind Rusty's and gave me a good deal for the place. It was a very kind offer and I couldn’t refuse,” Tide explained. This house was definitely filled with evil monsters, then. Dakota swung the car door open and leapt the short distance over to them. He couldn’t wait to exorcise all the demons out of here.
“Alright! When’s the moving truck get here?” Dakota asked with a big grin.
“They should be here soon, Dakota. In the meantime how about you and Vyncent pick out your new rooms?” Tide suggested. Dakota began to bounce up and down.
“Yeah! I dibs the biggest one!” Dakota yelled and tried to run into the house but the door was locked. He struggled with it for a moment before going to the window and pulling it open with all his might. The inside lock was already broken and it opened easily. He dived through and saw Vyncent had gotten the keys to unlock the door. Dakota landed in a roll and sprung up instantly, running through the hall and checking all the doors and openings for bedrooms. He found none and raced up the stairs.
To the left was a door and to the right was an identical door. He ripped open the right door and saw a bed. He left it open and checked the other one to see that it was identical to the last. He'd found the bedrooms, but there were more doors on this floor.
He checked both the ones on the right first, finding the smallest bedroom so far, and a giant bathroom. The furthest door left from the stairs opened into a room filled with boxes and whatsits, but no bed. There was only one door left. He opened it just as Vyncent climbed to the top of the stairs and saw the master bedroom. The biggest and the best of all. Except. There wasn’t any bathroom suite. The first two had attached bathrooms, so why didn’t the master's? On second thought, Dakota would settle for one of the smaller bedrooms. Tide could have this one.
* * *
Will was awakened by movement in the house. More people already? The last person was only here a handful of days ago. A guy wearing an unbuttoned tropical shirt, boardshorts and flip-flops named Tide. He was a weird guy. He asked how much ‘Beef Stroganoff’ the kitchen could make.
He stuck his head through the second floor and saw a kid dive through the window and go door to door, frantically looking for something. He had cadmium red hair and looked to be maybe fifteen judging by his height. He wore a plaid jacket over a black Prime Force T-shirt. His eyes were a bright amber that seemed to burn into everything the kid looked at. When he’d finished he looked to the stairs and darted up them.
Simultaneously, as the redhead went through the window, a much taller figure stepped through the door. This one with deep purple hair and a pale grey tracksuit striped with violet. His pants were the same, but they were tucked into large lace-up boots that looked perfect for adventuring. The most interesting of his features, however, were his long, pointed ears. They were far beyond what William could consider human, and though Will knew many had physical aberrations because of their powers, he couldn’t see how his ears could play into a superpower unless he were a shapeshifter.
Along with his elongated ears were his posture and stature. Tall and lanky yet prim and proper, similar to what would commonly be depicted in fantasy as an elf. Will had learned of other realms and planets, worlds beyond their own and unlike theirs in countless ways. So it was not out of the realm of possibility that the tall man that currently walked up the stairs was actually an elf of fiction.
Will watched the elf walk towards the stairs before he shook his head and pulled it back up to the second floor. He floated up a bit and saw the redhead yank open the door to the master bedroom and celebrate for a second before his face fell and he began to grumble and walk towards the elf, who had now reached the top.
“Hey Vyn, the master bedroom sucks. There’s no bathroom! Why would you build a master bedroom with no bathroom?” the redhead yelled out to Vyn. The elf began to look puzzled.
“Should there be a bathroom there?” he asked.
The redhead nodded a few times and said, “Of course! These ones have ensuites, so it makes no sense that the master bedroom doesn’t.” He was much more animated than anyone Will could remember ever seeing outside of cartoons.
“Okay. Which one’s yours, then?” Vyn asked as if they were going to be staying there.
“Uh, that one!” the redhead pointed to the first door on the left when you were facing the stairs. He then jumped over the railing onto the stairs and jumped back up on the other side like it was nothing. Will stared in awe at the redhead's blatant disregard for his ankles. If he kept acting like that Will would be getting a permanent roommate soon. A familiar-sounding voice carried up the stairs from the front of the house.
“Dakota! Don’t jump around the stairs like that,” the voice scolded. His metaphorical stomach dropped. No one ever came here twice, even the real estate agent changed every time. Will fell through the floor and saw the man as Dakota’s voice confirmed his name.
“Sorry Tide!”
The stroganoff man came back and the real estate agent wasn’t there. He could see him holding three bags. One Mrs G backpack, one suitcase covered in DnD imagery, and one fish-patterned, blue suitcase.
They were moving in. Today.
William felt a surge of panic. This was everything he’d wanted since he died but he never expected to actually get it. He wasn’t prepared to be around living people.
The light closest to him began to flicker and he heard Tide take note of it. He quickly flew down and phased through the first floor. He fell into the basement, dark and damp after not being disturbed by life for years. He soaked in the silence, unable to hear anything through the thick walls and ceiling. He settled himself at the bottom, unable to see anything through the unrelenting darkness and waited.