Chapter Text
The old building creaked and groaned, standing tall against the chilly autumn wind that buffered it. Fallen leaves were scattered around, crunching obnoxiously under the feet of the three teenagers sneaking closer to the condemned structure.
"C'mon, guys, I don't want to do this. Mom wants me back for dinner in an hour! Everyone knows this place is haunted." David, the youngest of the three pleaded with his two friends. His short blond hair was squished underneath his beanie, fingers tugging anxiously at the strings of his old blue jacket.
"Oh, come on. We're just gonna go inside! Unless you're too chicken?" The oldest, Harley, mocked him. His black leather jacket, studded with spikes stood out strangely with his bright yellow scarf. He swore it wasn't just a phase, and his mother insisted on the scarf so he wouldn't get cold...
The last child snorted, finally speaking up after his silence the whole trip up the steep hill that separated the town from the creepy building. His hands were shoved in his hoodie pockets. "Yeah, right. I didn't hike all the way up here just to turn back now. Besides, if it was really haunted the town would have torn it down ages ago. We're just gonna see what's inside. Who knows, maybe we can take something home."
David scowled. "Come on, Archie. We're not the first ones to come up here. I'm sure looters have gotten to this place first." He sighed. They were already at the door. It was too late to go back now anyways...
The three paused to observe the building. It was two storied, but the roof was pitched in. A faded sign was hung limply on the balcony, snapped down the middle like a broken arm. The door was boarded shut, and the windows were all either shattered or blacked out. Boards covered them too.
Stepping onto the staircase leading to the door had it creaking ominously under Harley's feet. "...are you sure we can even go in there?" Archie pointed out, staring at the sagging planks of wood.
"I'm sure it's better inside. Come on, chickens." Harley scoffed, continuing forward with more careful steps. David, muttering about not being scared, followed after. Archie followed more hesitantly.
The boards nearly crumbled underneath their hands as they moved to pull them off the door. The doorknob, grimy and nearly unable to turn from the rust built up on it, thankfully held on enough to allow the group inside.
The opening allowed wind to kick up old fliers and lots of dust. Harley took out his phone, using the flashlight to view the dark hallway. Decaying posters lined the walls, the light slowly roaming to each one. It was nearly impossible to distinguish what they might've once been.
They continued forwards. Harley confidently walked forwards, knowing that the other two were watching. The floor groaned under his boots, but he only scoffed. "See? It's fine."
Emboldened, they walked forwards. "Man, this place is creepy." David muttered, shining his own phone to illuminate the desks covered in tarps and cobwebs. Pens and bottles were scattered on the floor, like whoever was here last had left in a hurry.
The teens split up to check out the abandoned workshop. Archie wandered down a hallway, idly looking at the faded posters on the wall. He nearly tripped over the thick pipe on the ground. Turning to glare at it, he nearly growled. "'Watch your step'. Haha, very funny." The room it led to was boarded up. Something black and thick was covering the gaps in the wood, and a black smear was on the floor right in front of it. Archie paused to take in the odd scene.
A shrill scream echoed from where he left his friends behind. It nearly made the teen jump out of his skin. "Harley?! David?! What happened?" He called out, hopping over the pipe as he hurried back to the main room. He stumbled into the workshop around the same time David came sprinting around the corner like the devil himself was on his heels. "R-!" He was cut off as the floor under him buckled. Archie gasped, darting forward to try to pull his friend out from where his leg was engulfed by the rotting floorboards. The blond-haired boy was sobbing, "I-I told you we shouldn't have come! Get me out of here, p-please!" He suddenly went quiet with a shaky inhale, eyes darting to where he ran from.
"Archie. Archie, run." He murmured. The boy snorted, tugging on his arms in an attempt to pull the other boy up. He told himself the cold chill crawling up his spine was just his imagination. "HARLEY! HARLEY COME HELP!" He shouted into the studio. Heavy footsteps came from the way David had ran. They were too loud, even for Harley's heavy boots. His heartbeat pounded in his ears in his futile struggle to lift David out of the hole. "Harley! This isn't funny!" Archie wouldn't leave his friend. Even then, his legs were so stiff he didn't even think he could. So, despite David's quiet requests for him to flee, he squared his shoulders, turning to face the looming darkness.
He waved his phone camera like a weapon, camera at the ready to flash Harley in the face for his 'prank'. "Come on jerk! I'm not afraid!" Archie yelled, fury rising like a flame.
"𐌙Ꝋ𐌵 𐌔𐋅Ꝋ𐌵𐌋𐌃 𐌁𐌄."
Snuff.
A distorted voice echoed from the hallway. The teenager froze, fear flooding his body and making him tremble.
Snap.
The camera went off, illuminating the figure looming over him. A grin stretched over its face. Teeth pulled back, before snapping forward.
The phone clattered to the floor, splattered in the warm liquid that had once resided in the boy's neck. Grisly crunches rang out as the rest of the body met a similar fate to his head. The figure paused, dropping what little remained of its meal. It turned to look at the petrified child stuck in the floor.
"Ꮤ𐌀𐌍𐌕 𐌔Ꝋ𐌌𐌄?"
David whimpered.
"𐌙Ꝋ𐌵𐌐 𐌋Ꝋ𐌔𐌔, 𐌊𐌉𐌃."
He could hardly even see it through the dark as it moved to the discarded phone, snorting at it. Its claws almost delicately tapped against the cracked screen. A gurgling hum escaped from it as it regarded the device. It tossed it carelessly to David.
His gaze snapped to the phone from where it had been stuck on the broken remains of his friend on the floor. His numb fingers clumsily caught it, arms shaking as he tucked the phone close to his chest. He tried to ignore the stains it was surely leaving on his coat. He needed to get out. The monster's body gave a twitchy jerk, before it disappeared into the gloom of the studio. Its hooves were disturbingly silent on the creaky floor. It had wanted to be heard earlier. Cold shivers ran down David's back.
Twisted hope bloomed in the boy's chest. It was gone. M-maybe if he called for help, he could tell the adults, and they'd come and get rid of this monster. Maybe Harley had survived and was just hiding! The boy's petrified mind clung to the idea. He'd save his friend.
He ignored how the monster's teeth had already been stained in blood, before...
But first, he needed to get out of here. If he called now, he might risk luring it back. The image of its mouth closing around Archies's head made him shudder. He ripped at the floorboards trapping his leg, uncaring of how bloodied his fingers got as his nails cracked. It didn't matter. He needed out.
With a hollow snap, the board pinning him dropped free. Deep gashes crisscrossed his thigh. They bleed freely, leaving a crimson trail as he scrambled to his feet. It took his legs a moment to remember how to work, but after that, David bolted. He hardly felt the pain in his leg as he flew out the door, not daring to look back. This had been a terrible idea.
They never should have come here.