Just Another Creepypasya Fanfiction

10. A New Housemate

        "Are you ready to go? Ben will be here soon." Alisper smiles and nods at me in confirmation. "Perfect. This shouldn't take too long. It's just a doctor appointment for you while Liu and I are packing up his room so he can come here."
"Is Smile coming too?"
"No, I'm afraid not. He'll come for visits with Clockwork, though."
She doesn't seem thrilled about the idea, but she doesn't appear disappointed by it either. I might consider getting us a dog in the future. It will give her someone to play with. It will have to wait until she's a little more independent though. So far, I've been the only one feeding Albert, who seems very happy in the aquarium I got for him. I'm not upset that she hasn't been helping with taking care of him, obviously she's just a kid, but I do want to get her used to responsibly before getting something so much bigger and more demanding.
The television turns on by itself and the noise of static fills the room. Alisper jumps off of the couch and runs over to me. I take her hand lightly. Ben crawls halfway out of the screen so we can see up to his waist. He asks us if we're ready to go and I confirm for the both of us. Alisper walks with me towards the set, clearly anxious. But when Ben asks her if she wants to go first with a nice smile and an outreached hand, she seems to trust him. She lets go of me as he helps her climb through the screen. I follow behind her.
As expected, climbing through a television set is headache-worthy. At first, it's really bright and insanely loud. So much so that it's physically painful and nauseating. Once you're behind the screen, it's all the opposite. There's no sound and it's pitch black. We can't see a thing, if there even is anything to see. Ben makes us all hold hands as he walks us through whatever tunnel we're in. Every once in a while, we'll pass a screen; some large, some small. It's the only time we get to see any light. Thankfully, behind here, it's dimmed down, so we aren't blinded by it. Ben orders Alisper to close her eyes while we walk past one of the screens. As we pass it, I see why: People having sex. I shudder at the knowledge that he has to ability to see what anyone is doing at almost any point in time. I've always suspected it, but I've always hoped it isn't true. I wonder if he ever feels uncomfortable with this gift of his? I would. I'm just grateful there isn't any sound. I also hope he's never spied on me. I feel the hair on my neck stand up.
It doesn't take too long for him to find a screen for us. It's the living room. E.J. and Liu are in there talking to each other and, I assume, waiting for us. Ben exits the screen first. After talking to them for a moment, he waves us through. I help Alisper out, following behind her again. I introduce Alisper and E.J. to each other in an attempt to make the visit for comfortable for her. He takes some time to talk with her while I catch up with Liu. After a while, I ask Alisper if she's comfortable going with E.J. alone. She thinks about it, then tells me yes. I let her know to yell or look for me if she changes her mind. She really seems okay though. He guides her through the dining room to the basement while the guys and I go upstairs.
"If you're uncomfortable with them being alone, you can go with her. Ben and I can pack up the rest of the stuff ourselves," Liu says.
I shake my head. "No, I trust him. If she gets too uncomfortable, he'll notify me."
"He also knows to notify you when it's time for the private exam," Ben chimes in. "I told him to let you know that way you or Clockwork can go in, make it feel safer for her."
"Thank you," I say.
"Also, Smile is down there. He heard that she was being examined and decided to lurk in the basement."
"He'll bite the doc's hand off if he does anything unseemly," Liu says in a half-joking manner.
We all kind of chuckle together. We pass a few housemates as we travel up the stairs. They all put a finger up to their lips, a silent way of letting me know that they won't say anything. I nod in confirmation at everyone we see. I appreciate that they're still looking out for me; no matter how they feel about this situation.
We get to Liu's room. As promised, a few of his things are already packed. Not enough that this will only take ten minutes, but just enough that it looks like he's been cleaning. No one would be able to tell the difference if not for his disappearance. Ben turns some music on the TV and takes the ready bags through them. Just thirty seconds later, he's returned. Within that time, he was able to take them to my house and dump them in the living room. I didn't realise that time moves quicker back there. That should work to our benefit. Even if Slender gets here before we're out, it will only take thirty-three seconds at most for all of us get in and be gone. Unless he knows we're here before we know he is. He'd be able to blow all of the screens out if that were the case, leaving us stranded.
I force myself to not think about the 'what if's and get to work. I never realised that Liu had so much stuff, he always seemed like a minimalist to me, but after filling two bags up, I realise I was mistaken. He has a lot; mostly keepsakes. I can't seem to stop myself from looking through some of them, like a photo album. I feel myself tear up at the sight of my mother. It's been so long since I've seen her. I should really pay her a visit. I quickly close the album and put it away. I never thought to ask him if he had any of this stuff. I never imagined that he would. That's a failure on my end, definitely.
Every time we have two bags closed and ready, Ben grabs them and transports them out. It never takes him longer than thirty seconds to return. Each trip, I feel more and more confident that we'll be able to get away with this unscathed. I'm able to relax enough that I can start joking around with him and Liu. It feels just as bittersweet as it did when I was the one leaving.
Liu and I came here together while running from the cops. They were catching onto me, and we needed to go somewhere to escape the threat. We were almost victims of Slender, but he saw the blood on me and reviewed our minds. He asked us if we were looking for protection from the law, then invited us here. There wasn't a reason for Liu to come along - he hadn't yet murdered anyone - but I like to think that Slender recognised our bond and decided to leave it untouched. He gave us both our own rooms and gave us a list of rules we were to abide to or else. Of course, we agreed. There wasn't a reason not to. It sounded perfect. At first, Liu was uncomfortable living with so many serial killers, but he grew to become less bothered by it. All concern had left him a year ago when he murdered a police officer. As with all of his hardships, that was also my fault. I have a lot to make up for when it comes to him.
Almost everything has been packed up and taken by Ben when my phone vibrates. I pull my phone out of my pocket. As I suspected, it's E.J. For convenience, he created a chat group so that he could message Liu, Ben, and Clockwork too. Both the guys let me know that it's time for me to go. I laugh and tell them I already saw. I start a message letting him know that I'm on my way down, but Clockwork beats me. Her message is very clear that she wants to be the only other person down there, so I delete everything I already wrote. I tell them to let me know if I'm needed.
"Why does she want you to stay up here? Alisper is your kid too," Ben says with a scoff.
Liu shakes his head. "You have to consider her background, kid. That kind of trauma will have you on eggshells for everybody else in all situations."
I agree with my brother. "Yeah, I'm sure it's not personal. Hell, it could even be unrelated to her own trauma. I know for a damn fact that if I had to get a prostate exam, I wouldn't want anybody in the room except the doctor; let alone a woman. It'd be even more awkward and uncomfortable. I'm sure a similar concept applies to women and their exams."
Ben seems to understand what we're saying perfectly after our explanations. I know that he wouldn't try to fight with her on it, let alone on my behalf when I don't have a problem with it, but it's still comforting to know for a fact that this won't cause any kind of drama between them.
After a few minutes, we're finally done gathering everything up. Ben takes the rest of the bags out. I lay down on the stripped bed and sigh. He copies me. It's quiet until Ben gets back. He makes some lame joke about us being in bed together, then puts on a song he thinks is fitting for the moment. It's really relaxing to listen to, but I'm really confused about what the relevance of it until the last line of the song. "We're like brothers on a hotel bed". I shake my head, but smile.
Just like the night I left, the three of us sit around talking and joking with one another until Clockwork comes into the room. Alisper is with her, looking well. Clockwork and I make eye contact and she smiles in a way that silently lets me know. Alisper is fine. They never harmed her like that. I smile back, signaling to her that I know.
"He decided to do a few tests to make sure she doesn't have any unknown diseases, but for now, she seems totally fine," Clockwork says. "He said that she appears to be a very healthy child and that he'll send over papers with all of the appointment information on it after all of the results are back."
"Awesome. Thank you," I respond. I direct my attention to the girl. "How are you doing? Was the doctor nice to you?"
She runs up to me, seemingly happy. "Yeah! Look, he gave me a candy!" She opens her palm to show me a small piece of chocolate.
"Oh, wow! That was nice of him!"
Ben jumps off of what used to be Liu's dresser to stand up. It's time to go. Liu and I exchange goodbyes with Clockwork. I'm careful to assure her that she can come over anytime that she wants to, that she's always invited over. She thanks me. Liu asks her to tell some of his in-house friends that they're allowed to visit him if they'd like to. She promises to let them know.
"Are you ready to go through again, Ali?" Ben asks while climbing into the TV. Alisper smiles at him and runs towards the screen. She jumps up as she nears it. For a moment, I worry, but Ben catches her before she can fall or hit the dresser. He pulls her into the screen with him. Liu and I follow after. Again with the bright lights and the loud noise. Again with the holding hands. It feels like it takes us longer to get through here than I did when we were waiting for Ben, but when we get out, the time is the same as it was at Slender's.
"How does that work?" I ask Ben, specifying that I mean the time jumps.
He shrugs. "I don't know. I'm just a traveler, not a time genius. It could be because we're moving at the speed of electricity. That's what I've always guessed." He smiles. "Something really cool for you: If you speed in there, people in the world outside hear it."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah! You know how sometimes you'll be in a room and you'll suddenly hear someone speak even though no one is there?"
"That happened to me last night," Liu says.
Ben's smile gets bigger. "Yeah, that was me."
Liu calls him a dick. Ben goes on to tell us that anyone can do it, not just him, and that's why he usually travels alone even though it'd be more convenient to take other people with him sometimes. More things I didn't know before, that I didn't really want to know ever. He does watch us sometimes. I shudder at the knowledge. He notices and laughs at me.
Liu grabs one of the bags and starts to drag it out of the room. Ben does the same. I grab one to follow them. As I'm turning the corner, I see Alisper trying her hardest to copy us. I smile. Liu already has the first bag open and Ben is about to exit the room. I push him back into it. I tell them about Alisper trying to be helpful. They both find it funny and cute. Liu promises to give her a task once she gets to the room. I thank him and walk out with Ben. She's still struggling to pull the bag out of the living room; although, she has made some progress.
"Do you want some help?" Ben asks her.
"No, I got it," she says.
I chuckle. "How about you let Ben take it? Liu said that he could use your help with something else."
"Leave it. I'll get it!" She shouts at us as she runs to Liu's room.
Ben laughs. "She sure is determined."
"Yes, she is."
"Do you think she'd noticed if we made it a little lighter?"
I think about it and smile. "No, probably not. Just don't make it too light. If she doesn't struggle a little, she'll catch on."
He agrees and opens up the bag. He takes a couple of the heaviest items now and puts them into a different one. I test the weight, then take out two more things. He tests the weight, then takes out one more thing. I test the weight, then add an item that I think would be heavy for a small child. He tests the weight and tells me that he thinks it's fine. I test the weight and agree. We high five each other.
We take more bags to the room. I was happy to see Liu going through with his word, actually giving Alisper something to do rather than asking her to keep him company or something. He has her folding his clean clothes and putting them away, with the exception of his shirts and jackets which she is instead putting on hangers and setting aside on the bed. When the pile gets as tall as her, he takes it and hangs them up in the closet. Ben and I continue to help him until all of the bags are out of the living room.
Ben comes up with the idea of us having fast food for dinner. He mentions this place in town that's designed to look like a really old diner. He tells me a little bit about their menu until I agree to try it. I tell Liu that we're going out for a while, then grab the keys. Ben is already in the passenger seat when I get outside. The moment I start the car, music starts to play even though I don't have my phone set up. I make a comment about how great it must be to always have control over what's playing and he laughs.
When we get into town, he's quick to point the diner out. There's no way I would have been able to miss it with how colourful it is, but I still thank him. I get into the line for the drive through and he turns down the music. It's our turn sooner than I expected it to be. I pull up and order six regular cheeseburgers, two kid cheeseburgers, four large fries, and four medium-sized chocolate shakes - no whipped topping and an extra cherry. Ben laughs at me and makes fun of how much food we're eating. Even though I know he's kidding, it's easy to demolish his statement by pointing out the nutritional value. When you do the math, it's really not that much different than what we'd be eating if we cooked something at home. He rolls his eyes at me.
Since he's the passenger, all of the food gets handed to me then placed on his lap. He has to hold all of the drinks and the bag of food so I can drive smoothly, safely, and distraction-free. For the first few minutes, I could swear that he's literally salivating over everyone's meal. By the time we get to the tree line, he's already eating his french fries. I can't blame him by any means – the smell is addicting.
There are only a few reasons you will ever see Ben running. One, if he pissed someone off and they're about to hurt him or his save file. Two, if he has to pee. Three, food. He will always run to the dinner table. He will always make the driver take the drinks so he can run the bag of food inside and pull out his meal so he can eat before everyone else. It's just Ben things. And yes, I always laugh at him for it.
I take his milkshake out of the drink holder before I get inside that way I hand it to him without risking physical injury. This pleases him. He quickly takes it, then plots himself on one of the bar chairs. I call out to Liu and Alisper, telling them to take a break from unpacking and eat something. Liu smiles wide when he sees that we got dinner from Old Paul's. He moves just as quickly as Ben did to his seat and starts eating. Alisper struggles her way onto her barstool. She isn't as excited as the guys are. She seems more intrigued by it than anything else. I remember my days from stalking her family. The girl probably hasn't ever had fast food, aside from pizza. Once she takes a bite, she's hooked.
I can't blame her. That first bite cleared up exactly why Ben and Liu were so fast to get some. This shit is good.
The four of us tell each other stories as we enjoy our dinner. Alisper doesn't have as many to share, so she mostly listens and asks questions. Not long after, things spiral and the guys and I start sharing embarrassing stories about one another. No one can seem to keep from smiling or laughing. It's just like last time they were here. We're having a great time hanging out, just being friends. Even after we're all done eating and all of the trash has been thrown away, we sit there just talking. We continue like that until Ben gets a message from the mansion letting him know that Slenderman got back from his meeting with Zalgo. He decides that it's best if he leaves. All of us boo him, but Liu and I clasp our hands with him to let him know we're not being serious. Alisper gets up and gives him a short hug. Before he leaves, I tell him that he can come back anytime for a visit. He promises to return.
After I close the door and turn around. Alisper is staring at me with her hands behind her back. "What's up?" I ask her.
"Can we watch a movie?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
We sit on the couch together and she tells me what she wants to see. As I put it on, she sees Liu heading back for his bedroom and she invites him to join us. He agrees. We're having a movie night.