Disclaimer I own nothing. Good for me.
It was almost funny. The day had started off so nice. School ended the Friday before and now it was winter break. This was the much needed break for all the teenagers.
The day started off nice enough for Erin. Then again waking up at noon is always a nice way to start the day.
Looking at the clock beside her bed Erin discovered it was indeed past noon. It took a while for this thought to reach her sleepy mind. When it did she stopped mid-stretch.
'Mom said she would wake me up early to go to church. She never lets me sleep in on Sundays.' Erin thought, a small smile slowly stretching across her face.
'Maybe she took pity on me and let me sleep in.'
With that thought in mind she sat up in bed and listened to the sounds of her house. Silence was the only thing to greet her ears. With six people living in that house it was never silent.
'Strange,' she thought distantly. 'Maybe they went without me.'
Erin climbed out of bed, almost tripping on her sheets in the process, and decided to get dressed. Since no one woke her up she'd just eat breakfast, err lunch. Stumbling toward her closet she grabbed her old white sneakers from the floor. Finding the most comfortable jeans and shirt in her closet Erin quickly got dressed, her tummy growling for food. She might as well go out to eat.
Heading toward her bedroom door she paused only to tie a sweater around her waist and to sling a small backpack on her shoulders. The old faded blue pack doubled as her purse. However, one look in the mirror halted her. Grumbling quietly to herself, she snatched a brush off the dresser and ran it in her waist-length hair. Giving up, she opted to tie it back with a rubber band. She headed to the door, intent on finding some food. Once she opened the bedroom door she nearly gagged. An offensive odor invaded her nose, as she stepped into the hallway.
'What the hell has my family been eating?!' was first her thought, as she covered her nose with her hand.
'I knew it was a mistake to let them eat those beans last night.'
Shaking her head Erin walked down the hall thinking of the horrible smells in her family's home. She didn't even notice the smashed window till she stepped on the broken glass. And then she froze.
"What the...?" she muttered half in shock.
The living room had been trashed. The sofas were torn apart. White stuffing was scattered across the floor. The pile of splintered wood on the floor was all that was left of the coffee table. The pictures that once hung on the wall lay trampled on the floor. The TV was beyond any kind of repair. The walls themselves had slashes and gashes in them, all of different sizes. Nothing else in the room could be recognized. Mud and some other rank filth were tracked across the beige carpet. The mud trail and destruction seemed to continue in to the next room.
Erin was still rooted to the floor in shock, and she was just confused. The sight before her didn't make any sense.
'This mess shouldn't be in my home', she thought franticly, 'what happened?!'
As she looked around the room again, her eyes were drawn to the window. Her mind finally started to catch up. The glass from the window was laying broken in front of her, not outside. Something must have broken the glass from the outside.
Panic almost choked her; whatever broke the window came in the house. They tracked in the mud from the flowerbed outside the window. Someone was in her house. A small bubble of fear welled up inside of her chest.
"Breathe, just breathe." Erin whispered to herself.
Her own words sounded deafening in the still quiet of her house. Again she was struck by the eeriness of this silence. A thought finally made it to her head.
'Where's my family? Is this some sort of sick joke?!' Erin mentally screamed.
Already in the back of her mind Erin knew. She knew that her family, ever the pranksters, would never wreck the house.
With some kind of horrible fixation, Erin moved across the wrecked area following the muddy tracks into the next room. The kitchen, she thought numbly, looked worse than the living room. Every thing was smashed. The cabinet doors were almost completely ripped off their hinges, save the one small door, that silently hung from one hinge.
Erin's mind was detached as she sniffed the air—the putrid air. It was still there, she thought dazedly. She didn't really take in the things she saw. Dread grew in her chest. She followed the trail of debris through her house trying to find the source. Every room she came across was much the same—destroyed.
By the time Erin made it to her parents' bedroom door she was shaking all over. There was no sign of her family. No sign of the person who broke into her home and wrecked it. This was the last room to check. It was at this time she finally woke from her mental stupor.
'This is crazy! My family isn't in the house. I should get the hell out of here. I'm lucky I didn't run into the person that did this. I'm outta here!' Erin thought.
Just as she turned to leave, the door creaked open. Instantly her hand reached up to cover her nose. The smell was unbearable. The stench that plagued her all this morning came from this room.
Looking down she saw more muck and glass on the floor. Slowly she stepped in to the room, eyes following the mud trail. A few feet into the room the mud mixed with dark liquid. The liquid and the mud formed a puddle in the center of the room. The longer Erin looked at the puddle the more she noticed about it. It was still wet, and the color almost looked like a black deep red. Something dripped into the puddle and made it ripple. Erin stared at it again. And again it rippled.
'What's dripping into the puddle?' Erin wondered dumbly.
Slowly she lifted her gaze for the first time since she entered the room. For the second time that day she was frozen in shock and revulsion. Her mouth dropped open to scream, but no noise escaped her lips.
Her eyes glazed over as her mind flung itself to a long ago memory.
When Erin was little her parents took her and her sisters to visit a friend of the family at his business. The kind old man owned a butcher shop, and he gave them a tour. It was all fun till he showed them how he stored the meat. On hooks. Where the blood dripped down and made a miniature river that flowed to a drain in the center of the floor. Erin never looked at meat the same again.
When Erin looked up that's what she thought she saw. Large chunks of meat and flesh hung from sharp pieces of metal, crude hooks on chains that came from holes punctured into the ceiling. Erin stared at it with a kind of morbid fascination.
Suddenly it dawned on her. These weren't animal carcasses; these rotting pieces of meat were the bodies of her family. What was left could hardly be called a body, only scraps were left. Of the five that hung there none had heads. The necks were ragged. The heads weren't cut off, they were torn off. The hooks went though the back, and stuck out the front of the chest. The arms and legs were missing. Muscle tissue clung to the joints in bloodied heaps. All that hung was the torso. In places skin had been ripped from the torso and the ribs were exposed to the air. All that was left of their clothes were pieces of tattered cloth. They were human corpses, that much could be seen.
Erin shook her head, trying to make these images disappear.
"It's not real. I...This can't be happening." She mumbled aloud. "This can't be REAL!!!" She screamed to the mangled flesh.
The bedroom door slammed shut. Erin jumped as she whipped around. It felt like the very light of the room was sucked out. The air became thick and oppressive. The smell of the room was stronger now, and it almost choked her. The room got colder and the hairs on the back of Erin's neck were standing on end. Someone was in the room with her.
"Sssso you're the one massster wantsss." A voice hissed from the corner.
'Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god.' Erin chanted in her head, as she slowly turned to the sound.
A black robed figure emerged from a shadowy corner. It was tall, and it easily dwarfed Erin. It wore a hood that left its face covered in shadow. The thing seemed to float across the floor. In its armored hand it held a bloodied sword. From behind the robed man came another creature different from the first. The creature was shorter, and almost looked like a badly deformed man. The skin was dark grey, almost black. The thing had red eyes. Sharp yellow teeth poked though blood-coated, deformed lips. It also wore crude armor covered in blood. The creature sneered at Erin and took a few steps toward her. The robe figure started to chant something in a hushed tone.
'Oh god oh god ohgodohgodohgodohGOD!!!' was all Erin could get though her head.
Erin started to step backwards, trying to keep as much distance between the monster and her. She stopped suddenly when her back hit something soft and wet. She knew now that she had backed herself against a bloody torso, and she found that she was now standing in a puddle of her family's blood. She wanted to scream, she wanted to hide, and she wanted to wake up, NOW!
The robed figure stopped chanting and turned toward Erin, letting out a long ear piercing shriek that made her blood run cold. The creature cringed as well. Erin held her hands over her ears, closed her eyes and prayed that this noise wouldn't cause her head to split open. It felt like she was falling down into darkness, and all she knew was fear.
Then she realized she was falling, sinking down into the puddle of blood, sinking through the floor. Erin panicked and tried desperately to keep her head above the blood. The monster-like creature was now beside the mini-pond of blood, kneeling down. It grabbed a handful of Erin's hair and gave a sharp yank. It brought its grey black face level with hers. It's foul unwanted breath caressing her face.
"Where you go, be sssssure to sssssurvive. I ssssshall have fun with you when the masssssssster is done, my pet..." With that the creature shoved Erin's head below the blood.
The world turned black, and her shriek faded into the background and Erin knew no more.
TBC???
Author's Ramblings: Well that's it for now. Next chapter Erin wakes up in, you've guessed it, Middle Earth. Might seem a bit Sue-ish at first, but I promise no real Sue. I'm trying to make the character as real as possible. Please review and tell me what you think, suggestions are welcome. That's all for now- Lady Bella
It was almost funny. The day had started off so nice. School ended the Friday before and now it was winter break. This was the much needed break for all the teenagers.
The day started off nice enough for Erin. Then again waking up at noon is always a nice way to start the day.
Looking at the clock beside her bed Erin discovered it was indeed past noon. It took a while for this thought to reach her sleepy mind. When it did she stopped mid-stretch.
'Mom said she would wake me up early to go to church. She never lets me sleep in on Sundays.' Erin thought, a small smile slowly stretching across her face.
'Maybe she took pity on me and let me sleep in.'
With that thought in mind she sat up in bed and listened to the sounds of her house. Silence was the only thing to greet her ears. With six people living in that house it was never silent.
'Strange,' she thought distantly. 'Maybe they went without me.'
Erin climbed out of bed, almost tripping on her sheets in the process, and decided to get dressed. Since no one woke her up she'd just eat breakfast, err lunch. Stumbling toward her closet she grabbed her old white sneakers from the floor. Finding the most comfortable jeans and shirt in her closet Erin quickly got dressed, her tummy growling for food. She might as well go out to eat.
Heading toward her bedroom door she paused only to tie a sweater around her waist and to sling a small backpack on her shoulders. The old faded blue pack doubled as her purse. However, one look in the mirror halted her. Grumbling quietly to herself, she snatched a brush off the dresser and ran it in her waist-length hair. Giving up, she opted to tie it back with a rubber band. She headed to the door, intent on finding some food. Once she opened the bedroom door she nearly gagged. An offensive odor invaded her nose, as she stepped into the hallway.
'What the hell has my family been eating?!' was first her thought, as she covered her nose with her hand.
'I knew it was a mistake to let them eat those beans last night.'
Shaking her head Erin walked down the hall thinking of the horrible smells in her family's home. She didn't even notice the smashed window till she stepped on the broken glass. And then she froze.
"What the...?" she muttered half in shock.
The living room had been trashed. The sofas were torn apart. White stuffing was scattered across the floor. The pile of splintered wood on the floor was all that was left of the coffee table. The pictures that once hung on the wall lay trampled on the floor. The TV was beyond any kind of repair. The walls themselves had slashes and gashes in them, all of different sizes. Nothing else in the room could be recognized. Mud and some other rank filth were tracked across the beige carpet. The mud trail and destruction seemed to continue in to the next room.
Erin was still rooted to the floor in shock, and she was just confused. The sight before her didn't make any sense.
'This mess shouldn't be in my home', she thought franticly, 'what happened?!'
As she looked around the room again, her eyes were drawn to the window. Her mind finally started to catch up. The glass from the window was laying broken in front of her, not outside. Something must have broken the glass from the outside.
Panic almost choked her; whatever broke the window came in the house. They tracked in the mud from the flowerbed outside the window. Someone was in her house. A small bubble of fear welled up inside of her chest.
"Breathe, just breathe." Erin whispered to herself.
Her own words sounded deafening in the still quiet of her house. Again she was struck by the eeriness of this silence. A thought finally made it to her head.
'Where's my family? Is this some sort of sick joke?!' Erin mentally screamed.
Already in the back of her mind Erin knew. She knew that her family, ever the pranksters, would never wreck the house.
With some kind of horrible fixation, Erin moved across the wrecked area following the muddy tracks into the next room. The kitchen, she thought numbly, looked worse than the living room. Every thing was smashed. The cabinet doors were almost completely ripped off their hinges, save the one small door, that silently hung from one hinge.
Erin's mind was detached as she sniffed the air—the putrid air. It was still there, she thought dazedly. She didn't really take in the things she saw. Dread grew in her chest. She followed the trail of debris through her house trying to find the source. Every room she came across was much the same—destroyed.
By the time Erin made it to her parents' bedroom door she was shaking all over. There was no sign of her family. No sign of the person who broke into her home and wrecked it. This was the last room to check. It was at this time she finally woke from her mental stupor.
'This is crazy! My family isn't in the house. I should get the hell out of here. I'm lucky I didn't run into the person that did this. I'm outta here!' Erin thought.
Just as she turned to leave, the door creaked open. Instantly her hand reached up to cover her nose. The smell was unbearable. The stench that plagued her all this morning came from this room.
Looking down she saw more muck and glass on the floor. Slowly she stepped in to the room, eyes following the mud trail. A few feet into the room the mud mixed with dark liquid. The liquid and the mud formed a puddle in the center of the room. The longer Erin looked at the puddle the more she noticed about it. It was still wet, and the color almost looked like a black deep red. Something dripped into the puddle and made it ripple. Erin stared at it again. And again it rippled.
'What's dripping into the puddle?' Erin wondered dumbly.
Slowly she lifted her gaze for the first time since she entered the room. For the second time that day she was frozen in shock and revulsion. Her mouth dropped open to scream, but no noise escaped her lips.
Her eyes glazed over as her mind flung itself to a long ago memory.
When Erin was little her parents took her and her sisters to visit a friend of the family at his business. The kind old man owned a butcher shop, and he gave them a tour. It was all fun till he showed them how he stored the meat. On hooks. Where the blood dripped down and made a miniature river that flowed to a drain in the center of the floor. Erin never looked at meat the same again.
When Erin looked up that's what she thought she saw. Large chunks of meat and flesh hung from sharp pieces of metal, crude hooks on chains that came from holes punctured into the ceiling. Erin stared at it with a kind of morbid fascination.
Suddenly it dawned on her. These weren't animal carcasses; these rotting pieces of meat were the bodies of her family. What was left could hardly be called a body, only scraps were left. Of the five that hung there none had heads. The necks were ragged. The heads weren't cut off, they were torn off. The hooks went though the back, and stuck out the front of the chest. The arms and legs were missing. Muscle tissue clung to the joints in bloodied heaps. All that hung was the torso. In places skin had been ripped from the torso and the ribs were exposed to the air. All that was left of their clothes were pieces of tattered cloth. They were human corpses, that much could be seen.
Erin shook her head, trying to make these images disappear.
"It's not real. I...This can't be happening." She mumbled aloud. "This can't be REAL!!!" She screamed to the mangled flesh.
The bedroom door slammed shut. Erin jumped as she whipped around. It felt like the very light of the room was sucked out. The air became thick and oppressive. The smell of the room was stronger now, and it almost choked her. The room got colder and the hairs on the back of Erin's neck were standing on end. Someone was in the room with her.
"Sssso you're the one massster wantsss." A voice hissed from the corner.
'Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god.' Erin chanted in her head, as she slowly turned to the sound.
A black robed figure emerged from a shadowy corner. It was tall, and it easily dwarfed Erin. It wore a hood that left its face covered in shadow. The thing seemed to float across the floor. In its armored hand it held a bloodied sword. From behind the robed man came another creature different from the first. The creature was shorter, and almost looked like a badly deformed man. The skin was dark grey, almost black. The thing had red eyes. Sharp yellow teeth poked though blood-coated, deformed lips. It also wore crude armor covered in blood. The creature sneered at Erin and took a few steps toward her. The robe figure started to chant something in a hushed tone.
'Oh god oh god ohgodohgodohgodohGOD!!!' was all Erin could get though her head.
Erin started to step backwards, trying to keep as much distance between the monster and her. She stopped suddenly when her back hit something soft and wet. She knew now that she had backed herself against a bloody torso, and she found that she was now standing in a puddle of her family's blood. She wanted to scream, she wanted to hide, and she wanted to wake up, NOW!
The robed figure stopped chanting and turned toward Erin, letting out a long ear piercing shriek that made her blood run cold. The creature cringed as well. Erin held her hands over her ears, closed her eyes and prayed that this noise wouldn't cause her head to split open. It felt like she was falling down into darkness, and all she knew was fear.
Then she realized she was falling, sinking down into the puddle of blood, sinking through the floor. Erin panicked and tried desperately to keep her head above the blood. The monster-like creature was now beside the mini-pond of blood, kneeling down. It grabbed a handful of Erin's hair and gave a sharp yank. It brought its grey black face level with hers. It's foul unwanted breath caressing her face.
"Where you go, be sssssure to sssssurvive. I ssssshall have fun with you when the masssssssster is done, my pet..." With that the creature shoved Erin's head below the blood.
The world turned black, and her shriek faded into the background and Erin knew no more.
TBC???
Author's Ramblings: Well that's it for now. Next chapter Erin wakes up in, you've guessed it, Middle Earth. Might seem a bit Sue-ish at first, but I promise no real Sue. I'm trying to make the character as real as possible. Please review and tell me what you think, suggestions are welcome. That's all for now- Lady Bella