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Previously on Listening For That Sweet Tune:
Trying not to trip over the rubble that
was in front of me, I rushed down the street hoping that Concord Manor would
show up soon before it was to late. Large steps hitting the ground crashed
behind me but I was sure that—could it be? Odious wasn't aware of where I was.
A larger black sign appeared in the distance, as I grew closer to it. When I
got in readable view I stopped and read the hold lettering frantically knowing
that my life depended on it.
'Concord Manor, the rest place for the
gods, on your next left'
Rest place for the gods? What is that
supposed to mean? Regardless I continued to rush forward knowing who or what
was behind me wasn't going to be kind to visitors. A few minutes passed then I
saw a brick pathway to my left with a large black metal gate in the distance.
Above the entrance to the main gate read Concord Manor. I pushed myself through
the opening of chained shut gate--enough room for me to get through but not
enough for Odious.
Even through the fog I could see the
bright green lawn and hedges that frames the house perfectly in front of me.
The building was covered in fine dark bricks and dark hardwood that
complemented the surroundings perfectly. Unlike the rest of the buildings,
Concord Manor wasn't boarded up except for the chained gate, I listened to hear
if Odious was in the distance but his steps only grew more muffled as he was
walking away from where I was presently at.
The front door was solid and rich in
grains of wood, a little steel knocker sat in the middle of the door as I
lifted it up I noticed the strike plate was a face—of what I could guess—of a demon
or some sort of ferocious animal. The artist’s detail to its fine teeth and
eyes was astonishing I felt guilty hitting the knocker against it. I hit it
three times then backed a few steps away from the door, not sure what I expected
but I was guessing that something was going t answer the door. It was quiet,
ever more quiet than before. I heard no stirring on the other side of the door
so I guess it was safe to assume that the boat captain’s son was in fact
dead.
I shuffled my feet for a few minutes as I
tried to figure out what to do but in the distance the noises of Odious grew
louder to the very sound. I broke out in a sweat wondering what to do then I
saw the silhouette of the creature in the distance, lurking from step to step
while swaying in the wind. He was taller than any building in town and he was
almost as thick as the street as he leaned up against all the buildings and
took pressure off his right leg. He was limping as he continued forward but
before he got any closer to me I ran towards the front door and tried to shove
myself inside. It was locked. I quickly regained my composure and ran around
the building into the back yard, if I were quiet he wouldn't know that I was
here. I jumped the wooden gate—which was locked as well—and pushed my self
against it on the other side.
I listened as Odious moaned and yelled as
he made his way down the street and passed me. I sighed in relief that he was
just walking around looking for something rather than looking for me. He was
more roaming though I'm not sure how much longer he could do that on the
account of his leg. Sounds of things being crushed sounded in the distance as I
thought that I was glad that I wasn't on the other end of his foot. I soon
began to roam myself in the backyard of Concord Manor. Like the front hedges
and green grass littered my view and a swimming pool sat in the middle of the
yard equipped with diving board and slides. Looking at the back of the building
I saw that the rear wall was almost made entirely of glass windows and glass
doors making my whole getting inside much easier. On my way over I grabbed a
loose paver that was on the ground with the intention of breaking the windows
if they weren't locked but much like the rest of the building it was
solid.
Shattering the glass door, I reached
through to the other side and unmatched the door so I could get inside but as
my arm receded from the opening of the window I rubbed it ever so slightly
against the edge cutting a portion of my forearm. I didn't notice this cut,
however, till it started to drip on my shoes. From the inside of the windows
was a set of white drapes that was hanging down and dragging against the floor.
I took a piece of glass from the broken door and cut a long strip of cloth so I
could wrap it around my arm to stop the bleeding, I'm sure the drapes wouldn't
be missed too much.
On the other side of the windows was the
dining hall. A long and wide table stretched the entire length of the room
leaving few feet between the walls and the table as along the walls were
several dressers full of china and nick-knacks allowing little to no room left
between the walls and table. I continued forward to walk through the
industrialized kitchen full of duplicates of appliances that were covered in
stainless steel. On the counter in the middle of the kitchen was a row of
cutlery, I wasn't sure what to expect so I grabbed one of the smallest knives I
could find, a pearling knife with a steel handle. I put it in my pocket then
continued out of the kitchen and into the front room. A desk was to my left as
a wall of photography's were to my right as directly in front of me was the
front door that I was trying to get through only moments earlier.
Walking up to the front desk I noticed
the little bell to ring for assistance and rung it twice hoping that someone
would come to help me—only silence followed. To the right of the desk was a set
of old elevators and to the left was an old staircase, both of which looked
unstable and unreliable but the stairs looked safer. Behind the desk were sets
of keys hanging on the wall and one in particular that held many; I grabbed it
thinking to myself 'these will come in handy.' Walking up the steps I could
hear a little creak with every step coming from the loose nails in the
floorboards. Each step was made cautiously from a fear of the ground collapsing
from underneath me but as the time came when I reached the second floor landing
I realized that nothing was to fear. As I headed down the hallway everything became
more improved; the black and white carpet was new the dark brown walls has no
dings or chips in them and the doors were solid and made out of hard wood. The
first door came up to my right and I positioned myself right in front of it and
twisted the knob—it was locked. Reaching into my back pocket for the large key
ring I placed the first key into the lock and with avail it was the right
one.
The carpets soon turned red but not from
blood, red swirls in a white background lined the floors and framed the walls
perfectly taking a few more steps in I saw two beds on the left wall as a sink
and a door led in the right—the place was empty. I walked out of the room to
head directly across the hall to the next door and to my surprise the first key
worked for this door as well but as I looked inside I realized that it was the
same as the room before. As I left this room I heard a noise above me as if
someone was running; I hurried into the hall and up the stairs hoping that I
could catch a glimpse of who was running. Tripping over some steps I still
hurried to the top of the staircase and when I could see down the hall I heard
a door towards the end of the hall slam shut.
I cautiously moved forward hoping that no one was going to attack me
from around any corners as I passed the first door I saw a reflection of an eye
on the other side of the door through the peep hole. I hurried to the door and
started knocking as hard as I could but there was no response, looking back
through the peephole the person had left to somewhere else in the room.
I took out my keys in a hurry hoping that
the first key would work for this door as well but regrettably it was not,
neither was any other key. A bright light shined from behind me and looking
towards the door across the hall a bright light was occurring from the other
side of the door. Trying all the keys again I was confronted with a still
locked door, I backed up a few steps and kicked the door and after a few blows
the door started cracking, after a few more the door was blown wide open.
No one was inside and whatever the light
was; it was gone now. I heard some childlike laughter behind me and as I turned
around I saw the bottom of someone’s feet pass the doorway and run down the
hall. When I got a chance to look out I saw the child run into the same room as
before. I took a glimpse to my right and noticed that the way I took up was now
walled off with bricks. I stood there in astonishment for a minute’s time
trying to comprehend what was going on but much like before, it was
unexplainable. A sound soon began through the walls of the halls, it was as if
I was standing right next to the player but nothing else stood in the hallway I
was quiet at first but increased in volume as the minutes went by it was candy
to my ears like some sweet tune.
Up next in Listening For That Sweet Tune:
Remember me
