Chapter Text
Rocky drove down the streets of Elmore in his beat-up car, listening to heavy metal. He drummed his hands onto the steering wheel as he bobbed his head rhythmically. He slowed down the car before stopping in front of his parents' house. Rocky parked the car and turned it off, still drumming his hands. He stepped out of the car and walked up the path that led to the front door. He looked at the lawn to see cut up flowers. His mom must have cut them up again.
He stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. Rocky drummed his hands against his stomach, slowly looking up at the sky. He saw a bluebird, happily soaring through the sky. Rocky smiled at the sight of it. It looked pretty and free.
"Rocky!" A voice exclaimed, making Rocky look to the door. His father stood there with a grumpy look on his face, his hands firmly on his hips. "You need to pay attention more often!" Mr. Robinson exclaimed, flailing his arms in the air. Rocky let out a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sorry, dad." Rocky apologized. Mr. Robinson rolled his eyes and walked inside. Rocky followed his dad into the house. He looked around the living room. He hadn't been to his parent's house in a couple of months. Everything looked different from how he remembered it. His parents must have rearranged recently. Rocky walked over to the couch and flopped down on it, kicking his feet up on the table. Margaret walked past Rocky, dragging an overpacked suitcase towards the front door. Gaylord walked back into the room, holding his suitcase. He turned to face his son.
"We'll be gone for a week, don't mess anything up. Make sure no one robs the place." Gaylord stated sternly. Rocky nodded his head in understanding. "And don't leave any food out, I think we have a rat problem." He said. Gaylord turned around and walked out of the front door without saying another word to his son. Rocky looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what he should do. He hadn't had his parent's house to himself since he was a teenager. The last time he was home alone, he invited some friends over for a party that got way out of hand. He was grounded for months after that. Rocky let out a chuckle.
"Those were the days," Rocky said with a satisfied sigh. He would love to have a party like that again, but he couldn't. He was an adult now, he had to be responsible.
Rocky slid down the hallway, only wearing socks and underwear. Heavy metal music blared on the speaker his parents had. They only used it to play classical music, which was a waste to Rocky. What was the point of getting speakers if you were only going to play boring music? Rocky used one hand to pretend he was playing the drums and the other to eat his sandwich. He mumbled the lyrics under his breath between bites of his sandwich.
"Woo!" Rocky exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air. The sandwich flew out of his hand and landed on the wall with a loud splat. Rocky looked behind him and gave a sheepish grin."Whoops." Rocky said with a chuckle. He watched as the pickle juice, mayo, mustard, and ketchup dripped from the sandwich and onto the expensive wallpaper. Rocky's eyes widened. "Oh dang! I need to get something to clean that off!" Rocky exclaimed, running down the hallway. His parents paid a fortune for that wallpaper and they'd have his head if they saw he had messed it up.
Rocky ran into the kitchen and went under the sink, grabbing a sponge and a spray bottle. He spun around on his heels and ran back down the hallway. He entered the hallway he was dancing in, only to see that the sandwich was gone. Rocky blinked in surprise. The stain was still there but the sandwich was straight up gone. His dad wasn't kidding about those rats, they took a whole sandwich! Rocky shook his head and sprayed the wall, cleaning it.
Even though the music was still blaring, Rocky could hear a faint banging from the vents. How big were those rats? It sounded like there was a person in the vents. Rocky reached to the remote that connected to the speakers and turned it down. He listened closely to the thumping. That couldn't have been one rat, it had to be a whole hoard of them. Rocky stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"Done!" Rocky said, looking proudly at the clean spot. The wallpaper still had a large wet stain on it but it would dry up in a few hours. Rocky stood up straight and put his hands on his hips. He turned the music back up and continued to jam out, already forgetting about the rats.
Rocky sat on his parents' couch, eating a bowl of popcorn. On the tv, an old scary movie played. There was nothing better than watching a scary movie in your parents' creepy old house while home alone at night.
"Oh no! My bones are melting!" The lady in the movie exclaimed, melting to the ground. Rocky chattered his teeth in fear.
"This is terrifying..." Rocky muttered to himself. He nervously munched on his popcorn. Rocky found it in his parent's attic. It seemed like to was made in the '50s. Rocky didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. It was a ridiculous concept, but scary none the less.
"I think someone is in the kitchen!" The man in the movie said, pointing somewhere offscreen. A thump came from the kitchen, making Rocky stiffen up. Was the bone melter in the house? He couldn't be, he was just a made-up monster from the '50s! A groan came from the kitchen, making Rocky's eyes widen. It was the bone melter!
Rocky reached over to a metal cane that was next to the couch. His dad used the cane when his knees hurt. He stood up, holding the cane tightly in his hands. He shakily walked towards the kitchen, trembling with each step. The floor creaked with each step, sending chills up Rocky's spine. He approached the kitchen, slowing down.
Rocky peaked his head into the dark kitchen. In the dark, he could make out the faint outline of someone sitting on the floor. Light came from the figures arms, legs, and head. That didn't look like the bone melter, but it definitely looked like an intruder. Rocky tiptoed towards the lightswitch, now holding the cane with one hand. He flicked on the light and lifted the cane over his head.
"My bones are mine!" Rocky shouted, swinging around the cane. To his surprise, there was no bone melter, only a child. Rocky blinked in surprise. Why was there a kid in his parents house? The kid looked more scared than him. He was huddled up in a corner with his arms wrapped around his torso. He looked petrified. Rocky placed the cane on the floor. Rocky took a step towards the kid, reaching his hand out.
In one swift movement, the kid hopped onto the counter, climbed on top of the cabinet, and crawled through the vent that was on the ceiling. He slammed the vent behind him. Rocky gaped in surprise. That explained the thumping and his sandwich going missing.
"So that's how he got in..." Rocky muttered to himself. His brows furrowed. He needed to deal with this.