Chibi Keeto
Quagsire
Name: Myvanwy (Beloved one or Rare One)
Age:Approx 6
Height:4'2
Build:Frail
The house is dusty, and with each step the floorboards creak under your weight. The paint on the walls has yellowed and scraped off with time. A bead of sweat starts to trickle down your face. It was probably just a broken light. After all, the house is abandoned, right?
Creak. Creak. Creak.
A spider suddenly drops down from above you and your eyes widen in horror. You stumble backwards, your mouth agape. You shouldn't have come inside. That was a mistake. You need to get out of here, you tell yourself. But the building is practically a mansion.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Your heart is beating rapidly, so fast you can almost hear it. You can feel it, though, almost as if it's trying to push its way out. Instinctively, you place hand on your chest.
You turn around and break out into a run, trying to retrace your steps from before. There are so many corridors, so many rooms, all looking exactly the same. No windows, you notice. Your legs are running as fast as they can take you, and it isn't long before you tire, ending up in a hallway that looks exactly same as the one you had been in earlier. Shaking, you hold back tears. Where do I go? Where is the exit?
"Hello."
You spin around in surprise as the voice of a girl reaches your ears. Your heartbeat slows down almost instantly as you realize it's a little girl with porcelain-like skin. She has large, glassy eyes and wears a lacy black dress. Her lips are parted in fascination. For a second there, you almost mistake her for a doll. A smile tugs on the corner of your lips. She's so cute.
"Hi!" you breathe out, panting from exhaustion. "What's your name? Why are you here?"
The little girl's eyes are filled with a mixture of interest and innocence. "I'm Van," she says shyly, her voice soft and gentle. "I live here alone."
You frown. "You live here?" The house is in terrible condition. You shudder at the thought of having to live here, but relief settles as you realize you had nothing to worry about after all. That would explain why the light was on. The house isn't haunted, you think, laughing at your previous thought. Your gaze flickers around the hall. "Then... where are your parents?"
Van blinks. "I don't know," she whimpers. You resist the urge to console her. "I have no where else to go so I stay here. But why are you here?"
"I...I'm sort of lost," you offer sheepishly. "I wandered in here by accident and I don't know how to get back out."
Something flashes in her eyes, but it's gone in an instant. "I can show you out." She smiles sweetly.
"Really?" you smile back widely. "Thank you! Would you mind leading the way?"
Van nods and turns around, you running to catch up with her. She walks and turns at every corner as if she knows every in and out of this place, and maybe she does. She doesn't seem fazed by the crawlers who skittle past her and merely gives them a glance before walking on. She continues to talk to you along the way, chatting to you animatedly about her dolls. "I collect dolls. A lot of them!" her eyes shine and you can't help but stifle a smile at how innocent she is. "I have a lot of different ones."
Before you know it, she comes to a halt in front of a door. Funny, you think. It looks nothing like the entrance you used to come in, but you brush off the thought. Maybe it's a shortcut or a back door. "This way!" she says. She pushes the door open and your eyebrows raise, expecting sunlight to stream in.
Instead, your eyes widen in terror as you realize what you're looking at.
"V-van... what is this?" you stutter.
Van looks up at you innocently. "What are you talking about? My dolls, of course."
The room is filled with people, but a breath hitches in your throat as you realize they are all dead. The corpses' skin have paled and they are slumped against a wall. As you look closer, you realize their eyes have been pulled out and replaced with buttons. You shake your head in horror.
Like dolls.
"Come join my family." You turn and try to run, but something sharp plunges into your back. You scream as a searing pain begins to grow. A substance spills out of your throat and your right hand reaches up to touch it.
Blood?
You can't bear the pain anymore. You fall to the ground, screaming as darkness clouds your vision. It hurts. It hurts
so
much.
"Beaten by a little girl..."
It's the last thing you hear before everything goes black
