Short Stories & Art for the Spookier Month 2022
1. Portrait
Evelynn stared at the house. It was a wreck of dilapidated wood and stone, held together by mold and rust. She could smell rot before she even arrived at the front door. A shrill wind blew through broken boards in the side of the house, but with the PALADINs on her trail, there weren’t any other options for her. The address had been hidden among her mother’s files and judging by the look of it, it didn’t look like anyone had been living in it for years. Evelynn was running out of places to hide, so she took a deep breath and headed inside.
Evelynn stood in the foyer of the house, looking to the dark room ahead of her. Mold slithered over the walls, and her nose was assaulted by an odor like rotting meat. She crept across the threshold and froze. Sunlight lanced in through gaps in the walls, illuminating a portion of the floor ahead of her. She spotted a few shards of broken glass near the corner and stepped gingerly around them. This was a place her mother had kept secret, a place that only she knew about. Maybe there was something here that would help her learn a bit more about her mother’s past. The decaying floor creaked under her feet, and she slowed down as she approached the larger room.
The room had probably been a dining room at some point. The table at the center of the room was large enough to fit at least twelve people, far more than she would’ve guessed considering how small the house was. The table had a white tablecloth spattered with wine, and when Evelynn took it in her hands, she saw that it was covered in dust and cobwebs. Four empty chairs were arranged around the table, their seats covered with dust darkened cushions. Peeking inside the glass cabinet on the far side of the room, she saw stacks of plates and teacups untouched by human hands. There were photographs as well, mostly of a man and a woman who were unfamiliar to her.
She carefully opened the cabinet door and pulled out a photo of her mother. Her mom was leaning against a red car, a wide smile on her face. Before the widespread availability of hovercar technology, Evelynn was a regular passenger in that car. Seeing her mother give the camera a carefree smile, she couldn't help but crack a grin herself. Just as she was about to put the picture back in the cabinet, her attention was drawn to another piece. It wasn't a photograph, like the others, but a meticulously painted portrait. Her mother’s eyes gazed back at her from the painting, along with the steely gaze of Lukius Rischer.
Evelynn sucked in a breath at the sight. The two of them were together? Evelynn had seen her mother having meetings with Crux Dynamico when she was in the government but had thought it was strictly business. She tried her best not to get curious about what business the two of them would be conducting. But now…now, she saw that here was a painting of the two of them. The thought that her mother had a personal relationship with Lukius was shocking to her. Were the two of them close? How did her mother know Lukius well enough to get a painting done of the two of them?
2. Vanish
Evelynn dropped the picture as a bright, white light suddenly shone through the window. She dropped to the ground, upsetting a thick layer of dust and dirt. She turned so her body was facing up towards the ceiling and watched the light track through the room. She shut her eyes, willing whoever or whatever was outside to leave.
Then, she heard the fizzling sound of a PALADIN’s jet engine circling the house, the light moving as it whirred.
Of course, they’d found where she was hiding; she figured that getting out of the city would be enough, but PALADINs were notorious for always following through. Whether they were asked to retrieve a criminal or locate a hostage, PALADINs never stopped until the job was done. The floor beneath her shook as the PALADIN landed and she heard the rumblings of a transport ship beginning its descent. A transport ship meant people and people meant Crux Dynamico. Evelynn inwardly cursed herself for what she had done to bring the company down on her, slamming her open palm against the floor beneath her.
With the blow, the floor groaned, and Evelynn only had a moment to register that the floorboards beneath her gave way. For a moment, there was a strange weightlessness as she hit open air. Her breath caught in her throat as she plummeted down, down, down….
Above her, the PALADIN unit breached the front door. It made its way into the dining room, only registering a faint puff of smoke; the anomaly it had detected within the building had vanished.
3. Abandoned
Evelynn took a few minutes to focus on her new surroundings. Her head hurt from the fall, but she hadn’t fallen on anything hard. The ground beneath her was made of dirt, bits of it sinking under her weight as she got up to examine her new surroundings. The area was pitch black and the lights coming from several feet above her from the PALADIN units couldn’t penetrate the darkness.
The best thing she could do was stay in one place for a bit, then move on once the PALADINs had left. So long as she didn’t make any sudden movements that would make her presence known, she’d be in the clear. Still, there weren’t any footholds she could see from where she sat. There had to be another way up to the surface.
She slowly stood up, checking herself to make sure that she hadn’t broken or twisted anything. Aside from the pain in the back of her head, nothing seemed damaged. “Time to come up with a plan,” she muttered.
As soon as she uttered those words, a soft glow illuminated the area around Evelynn. She blinked in confusion, hoping that she wasn’t just hallucinating the lights, but they remained. She held out her hand to try and touch the light’s source, watching as small particulates moved around her hands.
“Magic,” she whispered.
The glow around her grew brighter. Evelynn couldn’t think of a spell or charm that was voice activated, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exist. She watched as the glow slowly began to move, illuminating the space in front of her. In the darkness, she’d figured she had fallen into some sort of root cellar. The glow showed her that she was in a tunnel, carved out of the ground itself. The light began to fade as she stared in awe, then she realized she needed to speak again for the glow to continue.
"All right, so mom had a secret house with a tunnel beneath it. Both are abandoned; lovely. And now I get to figure out how to get out, solve the mystery of what this place is, and survive the process." The glow returned, this time illuminating the entire length of the corridor in front of her.
4. Enchant
Evelynn turned to look around the rest of the tunnel. It was so narrow that two people couldn't even pass through with their arms at their sides. She took a few steps forward, her gaze straying upward toward the only known escape. The blue light that had illuminated the tunnel when she spoke now gently suffused the tunnel's walls. She figured she could just keep talking and hope that someone heard her, but she was reasonably sure the only company she'd receive would be a few PALADINs.
Evelynn shook her head and continued down the tunnel, scanning the walls for any signs of an exit. She attempted to sidestep a particularly soft area of soil, but a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her, dropping her to her knees. She gritted her teeth and realized that going through the tunnel was not a viable option. She knew that the longer she waited, the greater the chance that the PALADINs would find something that would lead them to her. She forced herself to her feet and limped forth, unwilling to give up the fight for her life.
The further she walked, the heavier her steps seemed, as if she were wading through a deep pool of water, and she had a peculiar tingling sensation. She stared down in terror as she felt something thick and black adhere to her torso, like ink being absorbed by paper. She clawed at it, only succeeding in staining her fingers. Her eyes widened in response to the eerie blackness of the substance, and the magical light only served to emphasize the effect. She suspected, perhaps incorrectly, that removing the ink from her body would be fatal. She took a few deep breaths to settle her nerves and return her attention to the task at hand. She needed to find a way out of the tunnel and fast.
A shaft of sunlight opened ahead of Evelynn, and she paused to blink in the blinding glare. She put her palm over her face and inched closer to the source of the light. It was an opening, a small circle of sunlight expanding in a patch of dirt. A way out? She hurried forward, trying to keep her balance despite the ink-like substance that covered her body. The world sped by her as rushed to the surface, and when she reached the top, she discovered that the exit was a giant wooden circle in the tunnel's ceiling, covered by a thick, brown rug.
She hoped the PALADINs hadn't discovered her when she heard the transport ships flying overhead. She had almost reached the surface. With a push of her hands, she was able to roll the rug away from the opening in the ceiling. She prayed the ink would allow her enough energy to drag herself through the opening.
She took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and infused her legs with her remaining numen, allowing her to leap through the opening in the ceiling. She sank to the ground in a crouch, blinking blearily from exhaustion and confusion. When did she lose sight of the sun? It was completely dark, as though she had never left the tunnel.
As she peered about, icy fingers carved trenches down her spine as she realized she was in the exact position she had been when she fell into the tunnel. She stared down the tunnel, hoping to see the light. The magical illumination on the walls was fading, and she could hear the PALADIN's footfalls echoing faintly above her, too close for comfort. Her throat tightened, and the sunlight reappeared.
Evelynn almost cried out in relief, her throat constricted. Then a wave of tension smashed over her, goosebumps prickling, and she knew something was wrong. With dread, Evelynn realized that it was all an illusion. In truth, she had never even exited the tunnel. Some enchantment had her in its thrall, and the ink was rapidly immobilizing her.
5. Misfortune
Evelynn discovered that she was paralyzed. She opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was heavy and thick. The last of the light had faded, and a cold ran up her naked arms. She knew her life was in immediate danger. Who could have foreseen that a tunnel would be where I would meet my end? The PALADIN was loud. The sound of its steps was like thunder. She pondered whether it had been aware of her presence all along, or whether it was getting closer now that she had been so naïve as to alert it to her presence.
A blinding red light suddenly burned at the tunnel's opening. The light blinded her, and she had to close her eyes. There was a sudden explosion of high-pitched sound in the tunnel, and Evelynn's ears began to ring. She wanted to rub her ears, but her arms wouldn't move. As soon as Evelynn opened her eyes, the crimson glare subsided. She saw the dark wall of the tunnel and the light blue strips running across it. She steadied her breathing and tried to will the ink to heal her, but her eyesight was growing dim. She heard footsteps approaching and knew the PALADIN had located her.
"Evelynn," a voice echoed in the tunnel. "If you can hear this, use your voice to illuminate the tunnel." It was a man's voice, and it was soothing, but worried. Evelynn tried to speak, but her tongue was thick in her mouth. She opened her eyes to see what the PALADIN was going to do to her, clinched her teeth, and forced herself to speak. She blinked as the light appeared, but there was no one there.
"Evelynn," the voice from before said. "If you can hear this, use your voice to illuminate the tunnel." Evelynn watched the light fade, trying to focus on what the voice said. "If you can hear this," she repeated, and the light reappeared. It was the same voice as before, but this time it sounded mechanical, as if it had been played back from a recording device.
"Evelynn," the voice continued, "if you can hear this, use your voice to illuminate the tunnel. Understand that we are here to help you. Please respond. There is a way to remove the ink, but we can’t do it ourselves. You have to do it. The ink feeds on all your fears and insecurities; it uses your own flaws to exploit you." Her eyes rolling around in her head, something clicked in Evelynn’s mind. "My....own flaws?" she muttered.
"Yes-"
A rage swept through Evelynn. It invades my most private thoughts? NO. I aim for excellence in all that I do! Her blood simmered, and in her state, she did not have the wherewithal to deny her genetics and skills as a blood mage. Mirages danced in the air around her as she was unable to contain the explosive dark magic inherent in those with Shatar blood. She could almost hear the air pop and bubble, as if it were a pot of boiling water. Condensation dripped down her arms and sizzled when it touched the ink; she felt its grip on her slacken slightly, which only proved to make her angrier.
"Evelynn, good, but you must calm down. Your inhibitions are lowered, you can-" Evelynn let out a deep, gurgling groan that rose to a crescendo of shrieking rage. She felt the puppet strings tied to her blood and instantly grasped the reins as puppet master. Tendrils of thick, dark biological fluids shot from her, making her a multi-limbed beast of death. It slammed into the tunnel walls, making the entire structure shake and tremble, ready to collapse in on itself. "Evelynn! Calm down! You-"
"AH!" she screamed turning her anger to whatever the source was. She couldn’t register the sound of running footsteps trying to escape her wrath, and within seconds she felt contact with whoever – or whatever – reverberate through the extensions of herself and up her arms. She squeezed, as if her heart was constricting, and a sickening pop echoed throughout the tunnel, just as the last of the ink peeled away from her torso.
Evelynn was left gasping for breath, her blood retreating back into her body. She blinked, coming out of the fog of anger. She saw the body lying lifeless on the floor. "No.... No, no, no, no!" Her voice trembled as she ran over to whoever had been trying to help her. It was a young man, a half-breed, like herself, but she couldn’t determine of which species. Evelynn let out a strangling sob, silently cursing her ‘disease’. She felt for his pulse, and when she was met with none, she fell back and let the tears flow.
Several minutes passed until her body ached and she was left with no more left to give. She sniffled and wiped her face, looking around. Nothing else seemed changed, aside from the impact marks in the walls of the tunnel, stained by her dark fluid. There had been another way out of the tunnel, this man’s presence attested to that. Unfortunately, she’d never find it because she had just killed her only hope. To make matters worse, the commotion had alerted the PALADINs. She could hear their feet grouping at the top of hole she fell through.
6. Chasm
Evelynn knew she had limited time to escape. Biting her lower lip, she turned her attention to the dead man and started searching through his clothes. The weight of her guilt threatened to crush her. She discovered what appeared to be a communication device on his belt. This was followed by a vial of a dark liquid, which she immediately recognized as the substance that had been covering her.
Her thoughts were suddenly flooded with painful memories. She saw herself as a child, playing with others, and how happy they were. She saw her mother and felt a sense of belonging, but she felt a sense of alienation even more. Her thoughts returned to a more recent time, and she watched herself walking along the path, about to fall into the chasm. She felt her body hit the ground, and a wave of dizziness made her head spin. Blinking again and again, her gaze fixed on the ground, she tried to clear her head. She wiped away a drop of blood from the corner of her eye.
A loud bang startled her, and she looked up to see dirt falling from the ceiling. The PALADINs had made their way into the tunnel. She jumped to her feet and examined her body for any signs of ink. She was covered in her own blood, but no ink was visible on her. Still clutching the vial, she turned to face the man she killed.
The dead man's eyes were open, but blank, and nothing was visible behind them. Evelynn pressed her hand to her mouth, stifling a scream. She dropped the vial and ran deeper into the tunnel as her stomach lurched. Though she wasn't squeamish about death, seeing the man awakened was too much for her.
21. Shatter
28. Darkness
29. Hunt
Video description:
"A video I created for World Anvil's Spooktober 2022 event. With all the horror that exists in reality, especially lately, I felt no need to make something up. These nightmares are real."
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