YouTuber OneShots

Music Box

She walked up to the light slowly. The massive room was dark and nearly silent. The only thing to break the silence, aside from her own footsteps, was a music box. As she got closer to the light the music grew louder and the room grew brighter. She saw that she was nearing a stage, passing rows of delicate velvet seating. The building looked ancient. As if it had been left untouched for centuries and yet somehow still managed to stay standing and in fair condition.

The stairs to the stage were now visible and looked like they had just been recarpeted recently. She wondered who'd been here to have fixed certain parts of this building. Who was here now?  Who had started the music box? Why were they here? What was she doing here? The girl had so many questions. She only hoped to answer half of them now.

She ascended the stairs cautiously and stepped onto the stage. The lullaby of the music box seemed to echo even more now that she stood on stage. The sounds echoed off the wall and back to the rest of the empty theater. There was no one else here to listen to the beautiful music. The girl suddenly felt more alone now than ever before. Not to mention how unbelievably cold it was in the building. Which was odd to her. It was scorching hot outside and this building hadn't even been touched by air conditioning in its lifetime. Surely she should be melting right now but all she wanted at the moment was a jacket.

The wooden stage creaked beneath her feet as she neared the center of the stage. The light spread out more, losing its concentration to the center and flooding to the rest of the room. The torches and chandeliers lit themselves in the glow and washed the room over in a dull orange light.

Where the light had once been, lies a man, curled in a fetal position next to a music box. Instead of a ballerina, an angel spun elegantly at the center of the box. In its own, the box was simple. A wooden box with a shallow inside. There were no engravings in the wood anywhere that she could see. It was simply a box with a spinning angel. How it made any sound, she was unsure.

The man who watched the box had bright green hair that slumped against the floor, a shadow of its usual fluffy self. He had heterochromia. Or at least, that's what she thought it was. One of his eyes was a normal, bright blue color. The other had no white in it. Instead, his eye was green with a glowing blue iris and black pupil. They flicked back and forth, following the movements of the angel's wings as it spun.

He wore a simple gray hoodie and ripped black jeans. His skin was a pale, ghostly white color that contrasted everything in the room. His hands, however, were not so pale. They were a violent red color as if bloodied. His fingers looked mangled, almost like he was a monster. The girl wanted to leave. Wanted to run away. Wanted to get away from this man that seemed anything but human.

But she stayed. She drew closer to him. She even sat down on the other side of the music box. The figure blinked as if acknowledging her presence. She offered a small smile and lied down beside him. He was the first to break the silence. "Just Breathe." He said softly.

She realized she'd been holding her breath so she did as he said and took a deep breath. He looked up at her now. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"I heard your music." She felt the need to whisper. He could hear her anyway so what did it matter if she was quiet.

"I didn't think anyone could hear it. I thought I'd be here forever." He glanced down at his ankle, a chain now becoming more and more visible against his skin as if materializing before their eyes. He looked back at her and whispered something softly. "Please? Free me."

She wanted to shake her head; to leave; to forget this thing existed. But she only said: "Tell me who you are. Tell me why you're trapped."

The creature looked uncomfortable, forcing himself to sit up alongside her. "My name is Jack. I'm trapped here because I wasn't wanted by someone. They said I was a nuisance. They never wanted me around." He shook his head, playing with the string of his hoodie with his horrifying fingers.

"I'm so sorry. You don't seem all that bad to me." Jack's eyes lit up and he looked at her once more. "I'd be glad to help you. Here, let me see your ankle."

He shifted his ankle in front of her without a second's hesitation. She saw that there was a keyhole on the chains. After a moment of rummaging, she found a hairpin in her purse and set to work. Once freed, Jack rubbed his ankle for a while. She didn't blame him. That chain was tightly fitted to his ankle.

The music box stopped working altogether. The angel ceased to spin, the music cut off, and the box shut itself. Jack stood up now, seemingly unbothered by his ankle. She stood as well, curious as to what he was doing. His hand gripped her shoulder tightly and he drew her closer.

"Thank you, darling." He purred. "Though I'm not sure why you trust every story you hear. Jack's only my host. Anti's the name. Trust me, you're going to be so thankful that you were the one to let me go."

She gulps, terrified of the creature standing before her. What had she just freed? Her kindheartedness had gotten the best of her and she was mortified of what she'd done. He smirked at her, pulling her to his chest before disappearing with her to the kitchen of someone's home. Anti looked at the place with a sense of familiarity. He was probably at Jack's house, she guessed.

"What's your name, kitten?" Anti whispered, his breath by her ear twirling her hair.

"Y-Y/N. I'm Y/N." She gulped, trying to free herself. He held her tightly with a single hand over her torso. She was amazed by how strong he was.

"Well, Y/N, we're going to have a lot of fun. Aren't we?" Anti chuckled.