Demon House

The Party

After two days of unpacking, Madeleine has established one thing;

This house was not normal.

She kept the note she found in her black and gold memo box she made as a momento for what she referred to as "The first day of living in Hell." Every time she left her room, she felt eyes on her, and double the amount when she was with Lilly. She had explored every room in the house except one; The basement. Madeleine felt that she could trust her gut feelings, and her gut told her the minute she opened the basement door for her mother, that something was not right.

There was only one room in the entire house, other than her own bedroom, she could feel calm in, and that was the room two doors down from hers. From time to time, Madeleine would go into the fully furnished and clean room to calm her senses when her room wasn't good enough. She felt safe. Sometimes, when Madeleine needed the comfort, she would climb into the soft bed and let a soft, masculine scent invade her senses. From time to time, she would fall asleep; and on a rare occasion, she would feel someone sit on the bed, or lay down with her. Tonight was one of those rare occasions.

Madeleine drifted into sleep, and could barely feel the presence of a tall, masculine figure cuddle into her side. Unconsciously, she turned and wrapped her arms around the figure, running her fingers through the soft, shaggy hair. As she did this, the figure emitted a low whimper that graced her ears, and so she continued to do this, still half asleep. Slowly, sleep started to drag her away..

"MADDIE!"

Just before Madeleine could open her eyes, the figure jolted away and the presence disappeared. She opened her eyes and looked around, though the room was void of anyone else but her. "What?" She called down as she sat up, lazily getting out of the bed and making it. "The first guests are here!"

"Shit..! OK Mom, I'll be down in just a sec!" Feeling rushed, she quickly put on her shoes, fixed her hair, and flattened out her shirt. Just before Madeleine left the room, she stopped and thought for a moment. Was someone really there? If so, who? There were no men in her life anymore, so who could they possibly be? More for herself than anyone else, Madeleine grabbed a nearby piece of paper and pen and started writing.

"Dear Stranger, Thank you for accompanying me these past two days while I nap. This room calms me greatly, and even more so when you're around. Tonight has had to be the most blissful rest I've had in a long while, and I'll make note to hold you and run my fingers through your hair while you're with me. Til' next time, Madeleine"

She chuckled to herself and set the note on the pillow before running out of the room and down the stairs, each step creaking below her feet. The wide stairway opened to a large foyer, which already had some people standing in groups, talking. Smiling, introductions; everything she was already tired of by the time she reached the third person. When she got to the living room, Madeleine already saw sights that were all too familiar to her. To her left, Her sister Taylor was surrounded by all the teen boys on her block, and to the front of her, Alice already had her third glass of wine. As Madeleine stood in the middle of the crowd, loud music blaring and people laughing, she heard a faint "Be careful" in her ear. Her head whipped around, frantically searching for the unknown voice. As she searched and got closer the the basement, which was in her kitchen, Madeleine heard a scream. Not one of joy, nor of joke; it was a real, pain filled scream.

Closer, she had to get closer.

She heard another scream, this time it was cut off with a sort of squishing sound. Madeleine's pace quickened, and eventually she rounded the corner to the room she feared most; the basement. But this time, it was unlike any other time she'd seen it.