Damn! Damn! Dammit! If only I hadn’t accepted this request, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now!
As my feet run through the mansion’s endless corridor, I curse myself for being so foolish. This was my only hope, but that damned broker gave me one hell of a request. Now I’m running for my life.
———-
I was always close to my sister. Even when we were a child, she would always be by my side. She gave me her food, water, and toys. We were poor, but we were happy. City where I live doesn’t have mercy for poor people, especially homeless orphans like us. We have to do whatever it takes to survive like a normal 18th century lifestyle. So I learned how to steal food, purify water, and trade in the black market. All for my sister’s sake. Years of doing this made me agile and strong. Even for a girl, I can hold my fight with an adult just fine.
Fast forward to last year. My sister’s health is declining. She got this disease all over her feet, and it’s almost reaching her body. From what I know, this disease is still treatable. But it won’t be cheap. I had to think my way around. My “job” of stealing and trading in the black market won’t even be enough. I need more cash. And like a ship struck by a meteor, this man came to me.
Jack was a man that our mutual friend knows. He always wears this old black fedora, with a black trench coat. His fashion style aside, he carried a large revolver, which must cost a ton. Jack was a good broker, he finds me easy requests that pay enough for me to buy a shot of a cure. But last month, her disease suddenly became more aggressive. I can almost see her rotting flesh.
“I might have something for you,” Jack says when I told him her condition, “it’s an easy one, just in and out, and I’ll pay you four times your usual rate”. He must be crazy, four times will be more than enough to admit her to a good hospital!
“Tell me more about it”.
“Hoho, if you’re a dog I would have seen you wagging your tail, little kitten!” Jack’s laughing at my response. I never liked his laugh, it’s the kind of laugh that crawls under your skin. “You know what, meet me at the alley behind the pub tomorrow at dawn, I’ll brief you on-site”.
I didn’t sleep much last night, and it must be showing on my face. I arrived at the alley where Jack waited with his henchmen.
“Here’s our grumpy kitty! I almost thought you’d back off from this one haha!” Again, that laugh creeps me off. “Cut the bull, Jack. What’s the business?” I cut his laugh before I’m forced to claw his throat.
“You’ll take this fine gentleman, we’ll board you to the location, you get me my stuff, get back here, and I’ll pay you. Simple enough?” I know he’s hiding something behind that smirk. “What’s the stuff? Can’t you get it yourself?” I asked. “Oh, that would be a no-no, my dear.” He giggled. “We would need your agility to get it! You see, the location we’re heading is an old mansion. No one knows how old it is, so we can assume it’s in bad condition and such. You know my hip’s not young anymore, right?”
As we walked to the horse carriage, he handed me a piece of paper. “This is the floor plan of the mansion. You will get me a supposedly old chest, not bigger than my hat here” He taps on his hat. “Supposedly?? You don’t even know what it’s like?” This is the first time Jack gave me a mission that’s so vague.
Jack shrugged. “Hey, to be honest with you, this is not mine. I just carried the order, and you, my little kitten, are my best crew!” I laugh at my disbelief. “Anyway, we’re off now! Don’t forget to charge your energy, get something to eat beforehand, it’s quite a far journey ahead!” As I see the city getting smaller, my lack of sleep catches up.
I must’ve been sleeping like a rock when someone woke me up. My first reflex was to grab the hand that touched me, but then I remembered the mission. “We’re here” one of Jack’s henchmen, a man with a mohawk is standing beside me. I looked outside and I’m stunned to see a behemoth of a mansion, old enough for the vines to almost reach the top. “Well, we’re gonna have to drop you here-” My jaw dropped “WHAT?” I cut him before he finished. “- and we’re going to pick you up in 2 hours. Relax, kitty cat, I’m not going to dump you here. Remember I also have my neck in line!” Jack giggles.
As the carriage took off, I sighed the longest sigh of my life. “Let’s get this over already” I walked to the gate, approaching the main entrance. How to open this thing? Do I have to pick a lock or something? Jack’s henchmen with the mohawk open his bag. He pulled out a saw and started to make a hole on the door. Well, that’s one way to enter.
A few minutes later, a hole big enough for us to enter was opened. As we entered, a heavy air shrouded us. The pressure is higher inside than when we were outside. It’s making me nauseous.
It’s dark inside, so we flare up our oil lamps. Not that we need it though but it’s nice to have lights. We walked deeper by following the map to where supposedly the chest was stored. This mansion feels so much bigger than it seems outside.
Something about this mansion is getting on my nerves. I don’t know what, maybe it’s moldy walls, the damp environment, the slimy floor, or maybe just the fact that this mansion is just…. Different?
Finally, we reached the storage chamber. It was locked so we had to cut a hole again. As mohawk tried to cut the wall, I heard a rumbling noise. “Wait wait wait, stop the saw!” I said. My ears straightened as I got goosebumps. There it was, the rumbling noise got closer and suddenly it disappeared. What was that? I nodded to mohawk where he tried to cut the wall again. And the noise is back. But we have to continue as we already spent half of our time finding the storage chamber. The noise got louder and louder as the saw almost made a hole. I had to close my ears when suddenly the rumbling stopped as we could see a light from inside the storage chamber.
The hole was small enough for me to pass but not for him. So I left him to guard outside while I tried to enter. The storage was so dusty that I immediately sneezed upon entering. It was full of stuff like canned foods, spare parts, and other cargo. It didn’t take me long to find the chest. It’s practically glowing, with a weird pattern on its surface. The chest was warm and smaller than I thought. As I put it in my bag and walked to the hole, the rumbling came back and it got worse.
BOOM!
What the fuck? I hurried up and ran outside where I didn’t see anyone. “Hey mohawk, I got the stuff! Where are you?” My voice echoed in the corridor. Something is not right. I grabbed my oil lamp. “Let’s go back! It’s not funny!” Again, I only heard my echo and the distant rumbling noise.
SSSRRKKKK
Something moved behind me. I turned my back but no one’s there. My light only shines at an empty wall. My anxiety increased as I walked faster along the way we came earlier.
SSSSSRRRKKKKK
Fuck it. I ran to the entrance. Left, left, left, right, and straight. I’m sure it’s the right way, but it feels longer. Suddenly something dropped in front of me, tripping me off my balance. “Ouch, what the hell?” I muttered to myself. I shine my light at the object only to have my hair all standing. That hair is unmistakable that man’s. But under the hair, there were two holes where the eyes were supposed to sit. My stomach churned. I glanced at it again. Under the upper jaw, there was nothing.
My feet lost their will to stand as my eyes were glued to the horror. But I have to get out of here! I reached my lamp and stares at the darkness. This somehow gave me courage enough to pick me up and run.
Damn! Damn! Dammit meow! If only I hadn’t accepted this request, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now!
As my feet run through the mansion’s endless corridor, I curse myself for being so foolish. This was my only hope, but that damned broker gave me one hell of a mission. Now I’m running for my life.
SSSRRKKSSRRRKKKSSSRRKKKKK
That moving noise is chasing me! I speed up, occasionally leaping over holes or crates left since who knows when.
CRACK! BOOM!
The ceiling falls in front of me. I had to dodge into a chamber on my right. I’m doomed. Whatever was chasing me should’ve caught up by now. I’m hiding behind the door, praying. It must have been the longest 5 seconds of my life. I let out a sigh of relief when no sound was heard anymore. When I’m sure I am safe, I looked around. Wait, didn’t this chamber look familiar?
I’m doomed, I ran in circles! This is the storage chamber!
I fall on my butts. My only thought right now is my sister, the fear of not being able to see her anymore crippled me. As I sit there in silence, I can hear the rumbling noise. The rumbling happens every few seconds. Then it strikes me, this mansion is alive! The rumbling is the corridor moving! No wonder the path changes.
Fuck it. Jack would come and pick me up if I didn’t show up in time, after all, he said his neck was on the line too. So I pick myself up and exit the storage chamber, starting to explore this mansion. My initial observation was this mansion released a faint sound periodically, covered by the rumbling. Almost as if it was breathing. I walked deeper into the main hall, following the sound. The deeper I got, the louder the sound. Now it doesn’t look like breathing, more like a heart beating.
This house doesn’t feel like a normal mansion. Well duh, it’s alive. Even the structure doesn’t follow a normal mansion I know. For example, it has way too many corridors. The deeper I got, the more fascinated I am. The beating sound is hypnotizing me, making me intoxicated in its rhythm.
I don’t even realize when I stop thinking about my sister or even my own safety. I want more of this feeling. The feeling of caring, being loved, and soothing that the rhythm gives me. I can almost hear the beating as words inside my head. This calm, deep voice, speaking in language I don’t know over and over again.
I arrived at a large hall. But I don’t see anything, it’s empty. Instead, I see a weird statue in the center, no taller than I am with a cavity on its chest. As I walked closer, the voices inside my head got louder. Suddenly the chest inside my bag glows a faint green light. I picked the chest, it vibrates smoothly, resonating with the mansion’s beating. This must be the heart of the mansion! My hand is moving on its own, putting the chest inside the cavity. Suddenly a burst of white light exploded inside my head.
I find myself in space, just floating. But I feel at peace. My only thought was I wished my sister was with me right now, so we can do this together. The voices fades away as I lost my consciousness. The last thing I heard was a name,
“Morde…”
/Written for a short story contest in Sipher.xyz discord server/
Silverlance Empire 