"She comes with the house." That's what the realtor said when she handed Kevin the keys to his new place. He was confused. Who came with the house? Maybe they were renting and he'd forgotten about it. That seemed far fetched and he didn't really believe it even for a moment, but he wanted an explanation. His mother had bought the house for him as a surprise present when he got back from college. It was exactly like every other building on the street, except that it lacked any distinguishing features at all. Not the kind of place that Kevin would have picked, but he was broke and had to be grateful for what he could get.
"Who comes with the house?" He asked, shoving the keys into his already full pocket to mingle with the lint and loose change.
"Don't worry about it," The realtor smiled nervously. Her expression made Kevin even more worried, but he didn't want to be rude and ask more questions than necessary.
"Alright, well thank you," He dismissed the disconcerting realtor and watched her taxi speed away. He hoped nothing was wrong with the house, his mother was elderly and prone to swindling after all. Frowning at his new possession, he resolved to make a thorough examination. He strode up the stairs and unlocked the door. Bracing himself for the stench of fresh paint, Kevin entered his home.
To his mild surprise, the main floor appeared entirely ordinary. It was so generic it could've been the set of a low budget sitcom. He laughed slightly at how worked up he had gotten. The house was fine and 'she' was nowhere to be seen. Kevin collapsed onto the couch and checked his phone. As expected, there was nothing new. Kevin didn't have many friends, and the ones he did have were as introverted as he was. For the first time in years, Kevin felt lonely. He was on his own for the first time, and he would stay that way until classes resumed in the fall. Although he had a girlfriend, she lived in another town and they rarely met in person.
Kevin set down his phone, a thought creeping into his mind. What about the basement? He didn't want to, but felt obligated to check. Forcing himself to stand, Kevin marched over to the stairway and flicked on the light. He saw only the white walls and grey concrete floor that he was expecting. Still, he thought it would be best to go down anyway. Monsters aren't real, and even if they are they don't attack people at three in the afternoon. Kevin felt reasonably safe as he reached the bottom. He looked left, right, up and down and satisfied that his paranoia was unwarranted, Kevin turned around.
She was in the corner between the stairs and the wall, nearly obscured by shadows. Her body was limp as if every one of her bones were shattered. He thought she was dead, and half hoped it too. "Excuse me..?"
The creature snapped to attention, stiffening and turning her head to face him. Kevin froze, unable even to speak. She was hideous. Her skin was a patchwork of different colours. Pinks blended into browns that moved to creams and peaches and back to pinks again with little to no pattern or steady portion. Tones even changed from finger to talon-like finger. She couldn't have been more than eight years old, though it was difficult to tell through the perversion of childishness that was her form.
She stared at him with her mismatched eyes, not once blinking. Perhaps she had no reason to, or perhaps being unable to was a source of torment. Such a pitiful creature almost certainly suffered from her deformity. Breaking eye contact, Kevin turned his attention to the rest of her repulsive countenance. Her small button nose and rosy cheeks were dotted with painted on freckles. Beneath these were her lips. They were full and pink and set in a contented smile framed by attractive dimples. Her lips never parted and Kevin fancied there was nothing behind them at all.
The doll-like girl wore a filthy white dress and a plaid red and blue smock. Her stockings had sunk down from her knees and had many tears, exposing otherwise bare feet. Her hazelnut brown pigtails were dreadlocked like tangled strands of wool. Kevin could have sworn he saw the tail of a rat peeking out from one of the knots. In other circumstances a literal rat's nest would have made him laugh, but fear was the only emotion he could muster. Run! He screamed silently to himself. I have to run!
"Where's the girl?" The creature spoke, although her lips remained unmoved and smiling. "We were supposed to play today." Her voice was exactly as you'd expect from a girl her age, sweet, innocent and just a little impatient. Compared to the hellish whisper he had been bracing for, Kevin was almost relieved.
"There is no girl," Kevin choked, "It's only me... and you of course."
She pouted, or at least tried to. "But Mary promised we'd play every Tuesday. I've been counting," The creature demonstrated on her fingers, "One... two... three... four...five...six... and today is seven. Why won't she come and play?" Kevin could think of a few reasons. He noticed a peculiarity in the voice that puzzled him. Instead of one little girl, it sounded like several speaking in turn.
"Mary moved away. I live here now."
The girl nodded with some excitement. "I remember! Mary's mommy and daddy said that she couldn't play with me anymore. They yelled at her. I think they yelled a lot. I took their voices so they couldn't yell anymore, but I guess they still went away."
"Took their voices?" Kevin gulped. This thing acted like a child, but it clearly wasn't human. For all he knew it would kill him any minute.
"Mhm," The girl replied proudly. She reached over to her smock and removed it, revealing a hole that exposed her stomach. It was covered in mouths, mostly children's. A few older smiles also greeted him. One of the mouths moved to speak for the girl, "It's easy. I can talk so much better when I have new voices, and it's funny to use the grown up ones." The last words were spoken in the baritone of a middle-aged man, and each mouth broke into childish laughter.
"What do you do... when Mary isn't here?"
"I count down the days, and I play with her toys," The girl held up an old rag doll. "This one's my favourite because she's just like me. Mary doesn't look like me at all, but she's pretty..." The girl trailed off suddenly and looked up. "Do you know how to play dolls?" Kevin shook his head, compelled by terror to be honest. The girl seemed enamored with her latest idea. "I can teach you, and then you can play with me like Mary did."
Kevin saw his chance for escape. "How about we start with a tea party?" He suggested, doing his best to soften his voice and smile. "I'll just go upstairs and get some."
She looked delighted. "Yes please!" She squealed.
"I'll be right back, okay?" Kevin scurried upstairs as fast as his legs would carry him. Stumbling into the kitchen, he routed through the drawers looking for a knife. Finally he found a large, serrated blade that seemed like it would serve his purpose. He had to kill it, right? Of course he did. He thought of being torn apart by a hundred mouths, unable to speak as even his own teeth turned on him. Kevin didn't want to die like that. He didn't want to die at all. Could he escape? It was possible, but the new owners would still have to deal with the girl. He might get charged with kidnapping, and he might still lose his voice. Appalled by his certainty, Kevin shivered.
He caught his breath and once his hands stopped shaking he tiptoed back down as quietly as possible. Her back was to him, playing with her dolls like any little girl would. He raised the blade and readied himself. He closed his eyes and brought down the weapon. Stop. The blade ceased motion inches from her neck. He sighed and dropped the knife. He couldn't do it. I mean, could you? She was just a kid really. A supernatural, hideous kid who would probably maim him to death. Anyway, it was too late now and she didn't seem to really wish him harm. Suddenly she seemed just as lonely as he did.
She spun around and her mouths smiled like it was Christmas morning. "Do you have the tea?"
Kevin wearily smiled back and sat cross-legged next to her. "Never mind the tea, let's play dolls..."
