The Miscreants of Xiphoid Camp [NOT UPDATING CURRENTLY]

» 2130 « Chapter 6 - A peculiar discovery

Overhead, the sky was a brilliant, vivid shade of blue.

At least, Avior assumed it was. The trees provided such a thick and complete shade that the daylight was nearly entirely blocked out. When he held his arms out in front of him, he could hardly see his hands. Dense, cold fog rolled in through the trees and wound itself delicately around his ankles. Avior shivered. It was far too chilly for mid-August. The cold was suffocating. Where was this place? His stiff, new, slightly-too-large shoes made dull tapping sounds against the hard, stone path he and Marcus had been following.

Behind, he could just barely hear the angry roar of the river as it crashed repeatedly into the bridge, but when he looked back, there was nothing but the same stone path, stretching into nothing. The fog obscured everything far too well. If he and Marcus were being stalked by something (like a demon), they would have no idea until it was too late. He glanced over his shoulder. the thought that there might be something (or someone) else out there, watching, waiting, sent a thrill of nervous excitement and not fear through him.

He turned completely and walked backwards, pale eyes narrowed, straining to try and make out any suspicious shapes in the fog. There was a sharp gasp to his right, and when he turned to look, Marcus had frozen in place, eyes wide, staring at something behind Avior and up ahead on the path. He turned, and his jaw dropped.

Just up ahead, the black silhouette of something massive towered above, disrupting the morbid peace of the fog and nothingness. It was a house. An enormous one.

"I don't like this," Marcus whispered. Avior stepped closer to the house—no, the mansion. It was clearly a mansion.

"I am SO going to win the scavenger hunt!" he said, delighted with his discovery. "I'm getting a closer look,"

For the second time that day, he took off running down the path, leaving Marcus behind. He heard him whisper a certain four-letter word, and then the sound of a second pair of feet pounding against the stones joined Avior's. This was one of the things he loved most—the thrill of the chase, the wind rushing in his ears, the world all but gone except for Avior, the path ahead, and Marcus running behind him, stumbling every so often, cursing with great frequency, and never, never even coming close to catching up. He wanted to run away from Marcus a thousand times more. He would never tire of leaving him behind.

The mansion seemed to lurch out of the fog, and then it was suddenly and jarringly there and in front of him and real! An actual mansion! It was bigger than the entire Viator estate. He stood before it, gazing up at the many windows and the long set of stairs leading up to an impossibly tall, arched set of doors and a roof that was so high he could hardly see it and the—were those actual gargoyles? He was awestruck.

Marcus finally reached him, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "Let's go. come on," he said, fighting to keep a tremor out of his voice and trying to pull Avior away from the mansion. Avior stayed planted where he was. He would not leave until he got what he wanted. Marcus gave up and stopped pulling his arm. "You want to go inside," he sighed. It was not a question.

"Yes," Avior said, "I'm going to,"

Marcus walked to the first stair and sat down, casually crossing one leg over the over. "Go ahead. It's your funeral,"

"Okay. Bye," Avior said. He gathered all his resolve and started up the steps, and only a moment later he heard Marcus groan loudly and follow. "I'll likely be struck dead by demons the second I step inside," Avior said without looking back. He didn't really want Marcus to come with him and soil his perfect adventure.

"I know. I want to watch. I want to personally murder you for being so stupid." Marcus laced every word with venom.

Avior began skipping over every other step. "That's so sweet," he said.