Shadow Bound

Change of Events

I decided to explore the room. There wasn't much to it besides a bed and a lamp. There were a couple cabinets that contained towels, but the rest was bare. Then I found a closet that contained only one thing: A seemingly ancient piano. I glanced at it for a second, hoping that it would turn to dust by my eye contact. I walked up to it, pressing a key lightly. It seemed tuned. I gleamed at the sound, missing the old piano back at my house that my mom used to play. I touched my fingers to the delicate ivory. I pressed a few of the keys in a basic scale, and jumped for joy. I sat down on the embroidered bench, and played the song "Secrets," by OneRepublic. The notes played beautifully, flowing like a symphony. Though I didn't know the song very well, I just kept playing all I knew. I could feel the notes, embrace the tune and the uniqueness of the piece. I always loved playing this song when my mother was away. I wasn't allowed to touch the piano normally, but when she was gone, I would learn song after song.
After I had exhausted the piano, I looked around for something else to do. The rest of the room was boring compared to that room, but I wasn't sure that the piano could take anymore. Great, so nothing to do, nowhere to go. Maybe I could sneak out of here and meet some of the people out there. Yes! Great idea. I made sure that I looked halfway decent, which was a little difficult with the hideous bruise on my forehead and throat, but wasn't terrible. I opened the door slowly and silently so that Damien wouldn't hear it, and walked back down the stairs. The first room was filled with people, all of which quieted down to a whisper when I walked in. I sat down at the nearest table.
"I'm Erin, nice to meet you guys." I greeted. They turned their nose away in disgust, getting up and walking to another side of the room. Confused, I did the same to the next table, only to receive the same reaction. None of them were willing to talk.
"They're just being anxious. You were touched by one of them, you almost turned. They see the darkness still looming in you. Don't worry about them though, they're all idiots, if you ask me." A young female voice rang out from behind me. I looked back, and a girl stared back at me with deep brown eyes. She looked to be about 15 or 16, her small frame pushed against a window. She wore black jeans and a Fallout Boy band t shirt. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun. I approached her, looking back at the others, who had huddled in a corner, watching and pointing intently.
"You a Fallout Boy fan?" I asked, making light conversation. She nodded. "What's your favorite song?"
"Centuries, the new one. Or Dance, Dance. That one's cool too. What about you?"
"Sugar, we're going down. I've always liked that song." I replied, shrugging.
"That's a pretty good song. What's your name? Why are you here?" She asked, leaning forward as I sat on the window seat in front of her. She was interesting, I liked her.
"I'm Erin, Matt was my best friend when we were younger. I know about the things because of him. My family was murdered when I was younger I've been on the run until I guess a week ago. When I first came here, I was unconscious, so it's my first day to me. What about you?"
"I'm Alysa, but most people call me Alice. I didn't learn about these things until a jerk at my school decided to tell it as a horror story at a sleepover. The others are already dead. Matt found me hiding in a corner as the Troubled were destroying my home. My mom made it, she's over there." She pointed to a person in the huddled group. "My dad, not so much," She looked down between her legs, studying the ground under it.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I stated bluntly. I didn't really know what else to say.
"Don't be, it happened. It's over. I'm safe because of Matt. He's trained me. I'm the best dual wielder in this mansion. Pour copper sulfate on the blades, light them, and I'm unstoppable." She perked up at the brag, taking a pocket knife out of her pocket, twirling it.
"Nice, so I suspect you'll be one of the qualified people to join us on the hunt for the cave?" I leaned in a little closer, remembering how no one was really supposed to hear about that. She nodded.
"So far, It'll be Edmund and I over there. He's an archer. He's been training in that ever since he was a 'wee little boy' as he explains every single day." She mocked his voice. He must've had an Irish accent.
"What's he like? Is he as chill as you are?"
"He's spastic, but a blast to be around. Catch him off guard though, and he'll talk your ear off. He usually spouts the same random garbage all day, but he means well most of the time. I don't know who the other three people are. I hear that he's only looked at four so far, but no one's willing to talk," She chuckled, continuing to spin her knife between her hands.
So, you're like the con artist of the bunch here, aren't ya. You gather the intel, you're the whisperer, the gossiper. Yes?" I asked, smirking. She seemed to like the titles, the recognition.
"Yeah, I guess so. No one else seems to care enough to."
"What do you mean, no one else cares enough to?" I wondered, sitting a little closer.
"Well, the rest are just worried about when the things are going to attack. They don't care about anyone else but their loved ones and themselves. They're dead set on protecting their kin, even if it means getting someone else into trouble to do that."
"Okay, Anyone I should look out for?" I peered back at the group, who had kind of dispersed, separating back into their original groups.
"Well, Gertrude over there has been here for years, and she got her granddaughters involved just so she wouldn't be alone in the fight. She told the story of The Troubled to them as a bedtime story, waiting until the Shadows had enough courage to fight them. The little girls' parents were murdered and little Bella and her sister have been here for a couple months. Help them if you can, they're only five. Let's see..." She bit her bottom lip, deep in thought. "Also, avoid Bob over there. He's nuts. He throws violent fits, thinking that the Troubled are attacking him, which they never are. Since I've been here, no Troubled have had the nerves to attack. So when he's on one of his rages, I would just stay in my room if I were you." She liked spreading the word, I could see it in her eyes.
I liked the fact that she trusted me enough to confide this information to me. "What about the people I should befriend pretty quickly?" There's a good topic. She jumped a little bit.
"It seems like you're on a good track so far. I'm one of them, for this exact reason," She started, lifting her chest up a little in confidence. "And it seems like you and Matt are already pretty tight. Besides us, Edmund, and Beckett would be top priority. Edmund's a little overwhelming, but he definitely makes my day. He's the archer of the group. The guy has a killer shot. Also, Beckett. He's kind of shy, but talking to him early should get him warmed up to you. He's the healer of the group. Ever play WoW?" She asked, her eyes beaming. I shook my head. "Well, think of whoever Matt picks as the other fighter and I to be DPS, they do all of the little kills. Whoever is the strongest of the group would be considered the tank, and Beckett's the healer. We work like a functioning group, getting things done fast and efficiently."
"Awesome. So before I talk to them, what do you think of this mission we might be taking? Think it's worth the risk?" I asked. It was a valid question. I had my doubts.
She thought for a minute, gazing out the window. "I think it's definitely a huge risk. I don't want to be one of the people dying there. But if I have to, then I have to. I think we need to take them out if we want to live a semi normal life. But we need to get more people if we really want to do much damage. Who knows how many things are in there," She explained, refusing to make eye contact. She was sensitive about the topic.
"Do you trust Matt? Do you think he'll do the job well?"
"I'm not sure. Lately, he's seem especially off his rocker, more than usual. He's stressed, panicked, constantly worrying. I'm just concerned that it'll cloud his judgement when we need it most,"
"Thanks. I think I'll go have a small talk with those people. Get the opinions of what they have to say about all of this. Thanks for the help, you saved me a lot of embarrassment, Alice," I shot a smile at her. She plugged her music, and looked out the window after nodding goodbye at me.
I approached Edmund, who seemed eager, yet reluctant to talk to me. I offered a polite wave to let him know that I wanted to talk, and he approached me. Instantly, a scent of whiskey and various alcohols filled my nose, almost causing me to cough.
"Welcome, pretty lady! What brings ya to talking to little ol' Edmund?" He spoke with not an Irish accent, but an overwhelmingly strong Scottish. I liked it, it was different.
"I hear you're pretty good at archery? I'm pretty new, and don't have much talent in the way of fighting. Do you mind teaching me sometime? I think it'd come in handy," I asked, knowing it was a good conversation starter. I knew by the way he stood up straighter that he was proud of his talent.
"Yes, of course! Best in me family! I haven't met anyone else who can hit targets as well as I can! Of course I'll teach you! Just say the word and I'll take you out to the range sometime!" He bounced at the idea, his stubby legs throwing him a surprising distance in the air.
"Great, thank you! I'm gonna go mingle a little more, thank you for talking with me!" I jumped away, trying to seem a little more enthusiastic than I felt at that moment.
My next trip was to Beckett, who sat in the corner, observing the other people in the room. His short gingerish blond hair made him look about 14, but I knew he had to be about my age, if not about a year younger. He was shy, huddling a little bit, safe in his own little ball. His eyes flickered to life when I approached, then shook with a little fear. I held my hands up, smiling lightly to prove to him that I was safe. He uncurled from his ball, his face completely straight until I spoke. His blue eyes wandered between me and the group behind me.
"Hey Beckett, how's your day going?" I started with small talk, knowing that it'll take a little more effort to have him confide in me that Mr. Giggles over there. He stuttered, clearing his throat.
"It's going well. Uneventful, I guess. How about yours?" His voice was as quiet as a mouse. I had to strain my ears just to understand him. I sat next to him.
"Mine's going well. You know, I hear you're pretty good with helping people with injuries? First aid? I wouldn't mind learning something sometime, just so that if I'm on the road and I get hurt, I know what to do. But I need you to be a little louder. I listen to music a little too loud, so I have hard hearing. Is that alright?" I smiled again. He nodded, his confidence seeming to boost. He sat up straighter. His reddish blond hair was spiked up at the front. He had braces. How he kept up with them, I had no clue. This place didn't seem like it had the best resources.
"Yeah, I'd love to teach you some stuff sometime. Just uh, let me know. I saw you talking to Alice over there. What'd she have to say about the group? I've observed some stuff myself." He remarked, glancing behind me again to check on the people in the room.
"She said to avoid Bob and Gertrude? Agree with her?" I asked, hoping that Alice wasn't just messing with me. He immediately nodded.
"Oh yeah, Gertrudes a wretched old witch, and Bob has mental issues," He smirked.
"That's a way to put it, I guess. Anyone else?" He glanced around, then nodded his head in the direction of a young boy that tormented a stray cat.
"That little boy is horrid. He will tear you to shreds, trust me, I've witnessed it. I feel bad for the cat, I feel like in a couple seconds it's pelt will end up on the wall," and right as he said that, the poor kitty hissed and screamed at the little boy, only eliciting a loud screech of joy and laughter from him.
"Well caught. Well, thanks for the heads up! I'm going to go and relax for a little bit," I started to leave, but he stopped me.
"What did it feel like? When you were touched by one of them? My family was taken by them, and they turned. I just wanted to know if they suffered at all." His eyes pleaded for an answer. I knew I couldn't tell the truth. To be honest, it was grueling, a slow and painful slip that made you remember every little petty thing you've done wrong, every little bad feeling that swelled inside of you.
"It was completely painless, your parents didn't feel anything," I reassured. This white lie wouldn't do much. I just needed to let him think that his parents are okay.
Just then, a crash was heard upstairs. I stopped, shook off all of the fear that had surged inside of me, and rushed to check on Damien. I skipped two steps on the staircase, practically flying through it. His door was slammed open, hanging only by the top hinge. No. I bounded in, only to see the place smashed and Damien missing. The window was broken, bashed in by a large rock that laid in the center of the room, surrounded by broken glass. The bed was broken, the cabinets were torn from the wall, and towels lay everywhere.
He was taken.