The Horrors of Montwood Mansion

Chapter Three

"We ask only to be reassured
About the noises in the cellar
And the window that should not have been open."
~The Family Reunion (T.S. Eliot)

Julian Blackwood had always been mildly obsessed with books. Nothing else allured him, including soccer, baseball or video games, which were worshipped by his fellow mates. He remembered reading his first book as well as a Pope remembers his inauguration. Oliver Twist. He had received the book as a birthday present and it had gracefully succeeded in pioneering his fascination with Dickens. He related to Oliver in unspoken ways. Though he did have parents, unlike Oliver, he was almost non-existent to them. He knew being a middle child would be hard, but his sensitive self often seemed unable to take in the way he was disregarded.

He always felt like his sisters were the Sun; the centre of attention, and he was probably Pluto or some other insignificant planet. He wasn't the one to blame, though. They had proven his theory correct innumerable times. Last year, his parents had been so busy fulfilling Olivia's every command as she studied for her SATs, that they had forgotten his birthday. He sat all day in his room, waiting, only to reach the detonative point as he ran to the living room and cried his heart out. Another time, when they were in Switzerland for vacation, they accidentally left him at the bus station. He never blamed his sisters though. He loved them as a mother loves her newborn, however imperfect.
He just wished he could be treated more like a person.

More than often, he felt like air; invisible and taken for granted all the time.

Julian didn't have any friends. He used to. Alicia. They were friends back in kindergarten and annoyingly inseparable. They used to be together all the time, so much so that people often mistook them as one person. Julian and Ally. Ally and Julian. A shy smile used to fill his heart like cream, every time he heard her sweet voice calling out to him. His little heart was in love. Though in his childlike ways, he always seemed to display his fondness for Alicia. One evening, they were playing in the playground when they saw Matt, Julian's bully, approaching them. They quickly hid behind the bushes while Alicia kept reassuring him that he'd be safe there, with her.

Julian then did something which, to this day, he could not fathom. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Matt's attention was brought to the grizzly and tangled bushes by a scream, undoubtedly belonging to Alicia. You're a freak, she told Julian and ran away. That brought an end to their friendship and Julian never tried again; to be friends with anyone. Friendship wasn't the tip of the iceberg of Julian's matters of concern, though.

Ever since Julian was four, he had an unfaltering fear of the dark. He suffered from sleep paralysis and often had to see a therapist because the illusions were terrifying enough to petrify any human into insanity. Nothing else haunted his guts like Reb. Julian had never seen his face. His body was swirled in black and his long, tar-tinted arms always left behind a reddish black residue, every time he touched Julian. He was told time and again that Reb wasn't real but how would they know? It's him who had to plead him everyday to spare his life; spare his family's life. Run, run, kill, kill, he whispered in his ear as Julian laid immobile, unable to breathe, tears flowing down his cheeks like warm, oozy blood spurting out from a gun wound.

********

Olivia rolled on her back, frowning, as she gawked at her phone. Larry hadn't replied to her texts since the night before and that alarmed her a little. Friday nights were their nights. She missed locking her room and talking with Larry for hours every Friday. Annoyed, she threw her phone on her unmade bed and descended down the stairs.

"Sweetheart, can you go and check up on Lucy? She's down in the basement,"said Jonathan, unpacking his shoes.

"Do it yourself, i'm busy."

She made her way into the lifeless garden. She shivered as cold gusts of wind hit her like balls of snow in a snow-fighting competition. She roamed about until she stood face to face with an old mango tree. It's trunk had been infected with termites, deeming it unfit for further growth. She stood on her toes as she gazed at what seemed like a nest on a lower branch.

Awning her nose with her handkerchief, she vigilantly pulled at the nest, making it tumble over her head, along with its contents. She stumbled down as she coughed, looking down in horror as she saw remains of an animal, most likely a cat, stuck to the nest; dry blood marking its territory along its edges. She whimpered and kicked the nest away from her, panting heavily like a mountaineer fighting for oxygen in the cold reign of the Himalayas.

She frantically ran her hands over her hair, trying to get rid of any filth that might have accumulated there. As she glanced towards the nest again, she saw a pair of shoes. On looking up, she saw that devilish smile again.

"W-what do you think you're doing here, Mr. Reznikov?"

"I saw you strolling away in your garden so I just thought I'd come by and say hello."

"Stop it. You can fool my parents but not me. I know you're up to something and I am going to find out what it is. Besides, I know you're the one who put this in our garden," she pointed at the nest, her hand shaking.

"Don't be ridiculous, child. I have nothing to do with this."

"GET OUT, GET OUT OF HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

********

Julian glanced up from his book, startled by his sister's screaming. He walked across his room, peering out to find his sister on the ground, crying. He sighed and went back to his book. His tranquil book-reading session was interrupted again as Lucy came running into his room. She carried an old, battered notebook.

"Julian, look, mom found this notebook full of my baby pictures that you made when I was little. She found it in her closet while packing. Look, I'm drooling in this photograph!," Lucy giggled.

Julian took the notebook from her, bemused. He remembered wanting to make a photo album for his newly born sister but he didn't get enough pocket money to buy one, so he had improvised.

He opened the notebook as Lucy left the room. The first page contained a title reading "Lucy's Happy Memories" scrawled across in Julian's neat, cursive handwriting. He turned the pages to find countless baby pictures of her sister, one in her little crib, one in Olivia's arms, one in the bath and multitudinous others. He kept on turning pages until he came across his favourite picture. It was taken on Lucy's first birthday. She had spilled fruit juice all over her fairy gown and was crying hysterically, until Julian had rocked her in his arms. She smiled lovingly as she looked at the camera and that's when the photograph was taken.

He beamed as he admired the photograph, reliving the moment. As he stared into Lucy's eyes looking up at him, it almost seemed as if she was trying to talk to him through the photograph. Julian froze in disbelief as Lucy's eyes turned into ovals of white, thick blood dripping down the sides of her eyes and her mouth like melted icing sliding down a freshly baked cake. He gasped as he shut the book loudly and threw it under his bed, his entire body covered in sweat and fear.

Julian fearfully shut his eyes as he slid down a hand under his bed, trying to get hold of the book, only to find it covered in a warm liquid. He moaned as he quickly whacked his hand away, which, to his horror, was dripping with blood. He tried to scream but he couldn't find his voice. The walls of his throat seemed to have intertwined, forbidding the escape of any vocal action. He sobbed harshly, tears streaming down his face.

After three failed attempts, he pulled himself out of his bed, trying his best to walk away from the horror that had painted his hands red, as he stumbled and his feet came in contact with the blood that seemed to be covering his bedroom floor like oil poured in a pan, making him slip, his head hitting a hard surface and then all was black.

Hiii, sooo, what did y'all think of this chapter? I've been pretty busy this week so sorry for the delay, which i'm sure won't happen again (i hope xD ). Also, once again, I wrote it all at 1 am so ignore any typos lol. Hope everyone has a good day. See ya! xx