The Twelve Chimes of Maligna Manor

Hide and Seek in the Bedroom

As the third and final chime echoed through the hallway, a now familiar creaking sound could be heard from the upper floor.

Ben stayed close to his sister as they entered the room. Meek skulked behind them with his strange lurching gait. It was unendingly surreal. Ben had a hard time convincing himself that he should not be running from that creature. That any second, meek would snap his neck in his direction and scurry after them. In the film, Meek would be the monster that you either escaped from or your scream would echo out over the fade to black.

It was the image that stayed firmly in Ben's mind despite the fact that Meek was not chasing him. He was just hanging around as if their presence was entirely normal.

He looked down at his bandaged leg. Part of him felt ungrateful. Surely, he should consider the creature a friend for saving him from the serpent. It had been more than Sara had done. How many times had been told not to judge a book by its cover? Then again, this might not have been what they had in mind.

But who was he? Maligna always seemed in control, and yet here was this strange creature who just kind of existed in his Manor. Was he one of his monsters turned against him? Or a worse thought, was he someone who had been trapped here?

That really gave Ben the shivers.

Ben's feelings of unease were not helped by the room they had entered. It was a bedroom, but like so much of the Manor, it was not like any Ben had ever seen in real life. The room was quite big, but you would be forgiven for not realising that on account of the sheer volume of assorted oddities that filled it.

Beyond the Bed, there were several wardrobes, footlockers and chests of varying sizes but with even the smallest being large enough for Ben to squeeze into. Beyond that, the place was full of strange knick-knacks. There were a few musty taxidermies of ravens that lined the wall, posed forever at the moment of landing on their prey. There was a vanity that was covered in play jewellery, all tangled in a chaotic jumble. Then, most prominently of all, was a small silver box that sat on the bedside table.

"Look, here's the key," said Sara.

Ben had noticed it, too, but he was not nearly as excited. It had not been long enough ago they had so easily found the key in the bathroom, and it had only been the start of the game then.

"Be careful," he said, "Just maybe leave it for a minute."

"For what?" asked Sara.

"Well, something's going to happen when you touch the key," Said Ben, "We should try and prepare for it."

"I know something's going to happen when I turn the key," Said Sara, "I'm not stupid. But how can we prepare when we don't know what's going to happen."

"Well, maybe there's a clue," Said Ben, "If we look around the room a bit, then Maybe we'll find something."

"Sara's Right," Croaked Meek, "We have wasted enough time already."

Ben was about to argue, but Sara turned away and continued towards the small box. He said something. What it was, Ben could not have been sure even at the time. It had not been thought through and was only half out of his mouth when Sara touched the key.

I'm coming to get you. Ready or not?

A cold sensation spread through Ben's body like ice water. Those words had been in his head, but they had not been his thoughts. It was someone else, something else, that had for a brief second taken over his mind and thought with it. Ben felt sick, and from the expressions on the other's faces, he had not been the only one to feel it.