Grave Rock: Cemetery Stones

The Unknown House

The dream started like the others. This time it felt more tangible, more distinct. The strong scent of wet moss and the crunch of dried leaves as we entered a looming house stayed with me long after I woke up. Abandoned and lost to time, a worn home inhabited by creatures of the forest and spirits unseen. Their echoes whisper out as the five of use enter the structure.

We enter as adults but walk the skeletal halls of the wooden building as teenagers. Renee and Zoe had matching backpacks while Tye wore his favorite shirt. I remember him wearing it all the time when we were teens. It had the Ghostbusters logo and would glow in the dark. Benji was already up the broken staircase and calling from the second floor.

There was a sudden wind and tension that swept the room but only I seemed to notice it. I tried to follow the others but my feet were sunk into the wooden floorboards. It felt like tiny spiders were weaving thin threads across my legs. Shaking off the fear I moved further into the unknown house. Terence stopped halfway up the stairs. His dark skin caught the glow of the moonlight and he looked charming. 

He turned and called out to me. For a moment he looked like a prom date ready to lead me to the dance. Renee and Zoe were in the kitchen. I could hear them knocking over whatever remnants were left abandoned. Tye went up the stairs to be with Benji. I could move for a second but it suddenly felt like I was moving through icy water. Every movement slowed and heavy. The tiny spiders of fear crawled up my spine with their thin legs making me twitch.

There was a noise to my left. I wish I hadn't heard it. Once it knew I knew it was there it was too late. I could feel it slither across the floor like a freshly woken corpse releasing harsh gasps for air as it dug it's nails into the ground. Though it had no eyes, I could feel the undead glare look upon me. I had to look. A part of me knew not looking would only make the paranoia stronger.

The creature was a shadow of things people wished they could unsee. A rotted skeleton of a cursed soul forever left to unrest. The maggots that lived within the pieces of moldy meat twitched about as the thing looked up at me with the sad nothingness. It moved away from me. Slowly clicking and reaching towards where Zoe and Renee were.

I went upstairs. Tye and Benji were busy adding to the bits of graffiti in the largest room of the abandoned house. In a room in the farthest corner was a painting of two large eyes. They belonged to a demon who loomed over the house. Only I seemed to notice him and hear his whispers as we moved about the room. In the center of the floor were seven candles. They were melted and wasted into the floorboards, leaving multicolored wax streaks across the grain.

The eyes of the demon burned bright yellow in the dying moonlight. Part of the dream felt like a memory. Not this house. Not this room. Just those eyes looking at me deep within and demanding I remember that night. I joined Benji and Tye as they continued to use leftover spray cans to make their mark.

Benji had left a small tribute to his brother, a pair of wings, and a poorly made out cat. Tye only crossed out some hatred left by others. Hurtful words both he and I had heard all too often. For a moment the dream seemed to flash. Like my memory took a photo of this moment. Benji, Tye, and me waiting out the night. We weren't in the decayed home but a forgotten parking garage. The two coming to my rescue after a date had gone wrong.

If only for a single second we were back there and I remember how they comforted me. There was a scream that shook the building. We were back in the graffitied room. It was the girls. We raced downstairs to find Renee and Zoe screaming. There was a mutilated animal in the burned oven. Teeth and hair only added to the confusion and we decided to leave. Before we could, we all heard it.

Something was speaking deep within the words. I believed it to be the demon but would learn it to be the creature awoken. They spoke clearly and calmly as they said things that made no sense. I know we all heard it because Renee and the others began to panic. Benji wanted to go find the voice and Zoe looked for something to defend herself with.

The voice was deep and smooth while it called out our names. They even said Missy and Eden. The voice spoke other names but we clearly heard ours called out in the haunting shadows. One phrase after another than a string of names. The voice kept speaking. We decided to go together. The five of us ventured out of the home and into the withering forest.

The tops of the trees seemed to reach out like claws to the starless sky. As we followed the voice I felt someone watching. Soon it felt like hundreds of people were watching us from afar. Every step we took they took one closer. We moved to where the moonlight illuminated a clearing. There lay Missy and Eden. What was left of them.

They had been gutted, carved, and left for us to find. There was no voice and no one spoke. It was just the five of us with our two dead friends. Zoe ran for Eden and the dream began to static. Tye could not believe it and Benji went off to find the voice. Renee only stood there. 

When she turned to me her eyes began to bleed and her mouth foamed over with maggots. I woke up once again in a harsh and painful panic. It was once again just past three in the morning. Since the dreams began I slept with a light on and the television playing. It had shut off.

The voices on the television blocked out the whispers of the creature in the room. The one who I could not see but could see me. He rested in the corner and as the dreams got more detailed he began to speak. The same thing every night. Telling me to wake up. A harsh and monotone warning. If I drifted too deep into sleep he would speak louder.

The creature in the corner of the room stood quiet. He stared at me until I fell back asleep. I could feel his glare linger as I gave into rest and drifted back to the hazy memories. Things would only unravel faster as each day passed.