Adolph was the first to wake up, quickly waking up the others. He wanted to get moving as soon as possible. You never know what might attack in the open plains. Everyone was cranky waking up, expected considering they had nightmares. They washed their face with some bottled water and sat down for breakfast.
"I had such a great sleep last night. What about you guys? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You are the probably the only person who didn't have nightmares. I've had nightmares every day since I came here and it seems the same happened to your friends."
"Huh. Weird but I guess I'm just that lucky"
They had their breakfast and started moving again. The sun was very bright but oddly enough it wasn't hot at all. It was a very pleasant cool weather. After walking for 6 more hours, they could finally see another building. The boys ran towards the building, staying wary of any lurking danger. The building seemed to be some sort of apartment complex. It was right next to a cliff and the roof had some sort of bridge going above it.
As they approached the white colored building, the sunlight suddenly became less intense and less white as if at dawn but it was still clearly noon. The building was surrounded by a well-maintained grass lawn with a small fountain in front. The fountain was still pure white but it was not working. A small road seemingly appearing from nowhere went to the front entrance of the building. On the front of the building, in giant silver letter it said 'The Homerow Hotel'. The building and its surroundings were still in good shape almost as if it was still being maintained daily.
"You see that bridge up there? If we want to go forward, that's the only way. Now this might seem like a normal apartment building but it's far from it. This is another area inhabited by horrific entities. The only way to safely pass through here is to attract as much attention to yourself as you can"
The boys looked at him with a confused expression. "Wait wait, you just said that there are horrific monsters in there…."
"Yes, and?"
"And you just told us we need to attract attention to ourselves??? Shouldn't we, idk…., try to hide from these supposed horrific monsters?"
"Oh no. Those guys only look horrific. They're actually pretty chill. Look, they say don't judge a book by its cover for a reason. No matter how horrific and repulsive these guys look, you must not run away and hide if u want to survive. All we need to do is keep attention to ourselves and not do anything outright illegal since they will all just run away. The real danger lurks in the shadows, away from their eyes."
"It still don't make no sense. Why do we need attention from em? Why is their attention so important? We ain't attention hungry, bro"
"Hmmmm, its progressing faster than I thought. Anyway, I know this might sound strange to you, Jacob, but that's just how it is. If you don't believe me then go ahead and try to hide. See how that turns out. When it rips you apart and feeds on your organs while you can still feel everything, when you want to scream and beg for mercy but the pain won't let the words form, when your head is twisted off your body like a screw, when your skin is peeled like an orange, then we'll see who was right and who was wrong."
A chill ran down their spines. The boys had not seen Adolph act like this before. This made them realize that even if they were traveling together, they hardly knew anything about him. The boys just walked towards the entrance. Adolph opened his mouth to say something but decided not to and followed quietly behind.
As soon as the glass doors swung open, the boys were left completely shocked. The sight before them was nothing short of devastating. Or at least that's what they expected but instead they were greeted by a very normal looking reception area. Of course, this was out of place for this world based on what the boys had seen but back in the real world, this would've been just your everyday normal apartment complex. They all rushed in and pressed the bell on the reception counter.
"Coming! Just a minute!!" It was a beautiful voice, a voice that could only belong to the fairest of all maidens. Due to this normal and cozy environment, the boys had almost forgotten what Adolph had told them. That is until a door to the side labeled 'Employees only' opened and out stepped not a beautiful lady but instead a rotting, horrifying creature of pure fear. Words were unable to describe the utter repulse they felt from whatever that was. Suddenly, they were overwhelmed by a single thought, to escape. To somehow go far away from this thing and that is exactly what they tried to do. The boys turned and tried to run but as soon as they turned, Randy felt as if something was smiling at them. Instantly, his fear and repulsiveness were gone and he grabbed Jaiden and Drake. Adolph stepped in quickly and caught Jacob, hushing him as tears fell down his cheeks. The creature moved towards the reception desk.
"Sorry for the delay. How may I help you? Is everything ok?" It was that same sweet, angelic voice coming from the rotting husk of maggots and flesh. The boys were clearly very disturbed however the receptionist didn't seem to take notice of this. She just continued to look at them with a haunting blank face and fake smile, typical of any other receptionist. The boys managed to calm down a bit, just enough to not run for the hills.
Drake and Jaiden stood back up and started looking at the floor, avoiding looking at the receptionist. Jacob stood up and pushed off Adolph, then stood next to Randy. Adolph seemed a bit shocked but shrugged it off and went up to the reception.
"Well? Do you want a room or help with anything?"
"Oh yes. We would like access to the roof. We simply must get over this cliff. I traveled through here about 7 months ago too."
"Oh, that makes it a lot easier. Can we have your name so we can crosscheck the information?"
"Sure. It should be under the name 'Human' though I go by Adolph now"
"Give me just a second...ah yes, here you are. Last time you were alone it seems. Who are these kids with you?"
"Them? They're just some friends visiting. They're good people"
"Hmmmm, friends you say. Ssuuurree…everything seems to be in order. Safe travels!"
Adolph looked back and his heart sank. A dark mist was forming around the boys. One of Jacob's hands was in the dark mist. He ran up and grabbed the boys, dragging them away from the mist. The mist instantly cleared out as the receptionist looked at them with confusion. Before she could ask anything, Adolph yelled for a first aid kit. She instantly brought it and gave it to him. The boys looked at Jacob and were shocked. Two of his fingers were completely gone and his middle finger seemed badly injured, as if something was chewing on it. The pain hit Jacob in an instant. He yelled out, tears running down his face. The others tried to comfort him but they didn't know what to say. Jacob had practically lost 3 fingers just by standing there.
After quite a while, his hand was patched up. Jacob had calmed down a bit. Enduring the pain, he decided that getting out of this building took priority. The boys walked towards the hallway. Due to the little commotion caused by Jacob losing his fingers, they no longer needed to worry about being away from people's attention, at least for now. As they stepped into the hallway, they saw doors on both sides, nothing strange about that, and an elevator at the end. Walls were decorated with an off-white wallpaper filled with flowers and brown stripes. Residents were walking around the hallway, occasionally glancing at Jacob and co. They continued to the elevator and waited for it to arrive. The doors opened and a creature was standing inside. They stepped in, clearly disgusted and ready to run at any moment.
"To the top floor please"
The creature nodded and pressed a button. The doors closed and the elevator began moving upwards. The elevator had mirror walls so there was no need to actively seek attention. Bright off-white, yellowish lights illuminated the inside. The doors opened once more and an empty hallway greeted them. It was a bit darker than the other floors with only a few lights being on. The dim light made it difficult to make out what condition the carpet and wallpaper was in.
"Are there no residents on this floor?" asked Adolph.
"Nope. Business isn't what it used to be. Anyway, that door at the end opens to the roof. Now get off"
"Can you just wait here till we open that door?"
"I can but if someone calls the elevator, I'm going"
"Thank you"
The boys looked at each other and made a run for it. They ran like never before. They were about halfway there when a chill ran down their spines. It was a simple sound, the ding of an elevator. This harmless sound had doomed them. Suddenly, a dark mist filled the hallway. The boys didn't stop, why would they? This was life and death and fight wasn't an option. Jaiden screamed and fell, claw marks running down his leg. Blood rushed out and tears flowed like a river. His screams were deafening in this silent hallway but no one stopped to help him. Fear had too strong a hold on them and they all knew this, even Jaiden. Just as he had lost all hope, the door to the roof opened and one of the creatures came running in. The mist disappeared as soon as it formed.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!?!! OH MY GOD!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU???" the creature yelled this from the doorway. Blood was pooling near his legs. The creature ran up to him and picked him up like he was some cat. Its meaty limbs felt like dead meat being slammed on Jaiden's body, a putrid smell clawing into his nose. He wanted to push the thing away and run off but the pain in his leg left him almost unconscious. Then it turned around to look at the others.
"DID YOU ALL DO THIS? YOU BASTARDS!!" it yelled in a fit of rage.
"No no. You have it all wrong. We were being chased by some dogs outside and he suffered these injuries from them. Trying to run must've reopened those wounds."
"I-is that true little boy?" it asked Jaiden, still vary of the others.
"Y-yes. It's true. I shouldn't have tried running so soon."
"Well, if you say so. Now what are you guys doing here? Trying to get to the roof?"
"Yes, but how can you tell?"
"Hah, no one else comes up here unless they want roof access. Well, come with me. I'll take you up there and bandage this kid's leg"
They started to move towards the roof. As soon as they went through the door, a sense of relief washed over them. The creature put Jaiden down next to a wall.
"Well then let me just grab some disinfectant from the first-aid kit." The creature grabbed a small first-aid kid from a small metal cabinet fixed to a wall and took out some disinfectant and bandages. It came back to Jaiden and carefully cut off the tattered part of pants covering the wound, disinfected his leg and firmly bandaged it up.
"There, that should hold for now. Make sure you replace your bandages every week. Also don't go running again so soon. You need proper rest, young man. Take care now" saying this the resident went back inside. Randy helped Jaiden up and they safely crossed the bridge. Adolph pointed ahead towards a small building.
"There! That's my place. It has food, shelter and maps. It'll take me some time to find the exact location of the library so you can use that time to take a breather and heal that leg of yours."
The boys remained silent and still kept a bit of distance from him. Adolph stopped for a second and then said "So guys, I uh I'm sorry for my small outburst back there. I don't have pleasant memories of this place. I learned the hard way about what that place does and I just didn't want you to experience the same. I haven't had anyone to talk to in such a long time and I was kind of nervous. I just, sigh What I'm trying to say is that I'll make sure not to lash out like that and I hope this doesn't sour our friendship. Please forgive me"
The boys looked at him for a moment and smiled. "Don't worry man, it happens. I'm sure staying in this weird place all alone has taken a toll on you."
Saying this, the boys kept moving through the rocky terrain, being careful not to choose a path that would put stress on Jaiden's leg. Soon the house was in clear view. Then Drake suddenly stopped, a confused and slightly frightened look on his face.
"Adolph my good friend, you wouldn't happen to have some sort of strange pet, would you?"
"A pet? Not at all. Never found anything that fancied me. Why you ask?"
"Well, I don't want to put your horses in a bind but... t-there's something in your house."
"what… WHAT?!? ARE YOU SURE?? Deep breaths, deeeep breaths. What does this thing look like exactly? And what is it doing? Maybe it's just some harmless animal that wandered in."
"Well, it's walking around the place moving stuff around, almost as if it's looking for something. Its walking around on all fours but it seems to have no problem going bipedal either. And uhh" Drake hesitates for a moment.
"And what? Tell me and WHAT?"
"It almost looks human. It has a humanoid body indeed and I mistook it for a human at first too. That is until, it turned around and I saw its face. I-it has no face… no ears, mouth, nose or nothing. Just a single giant eye covering what should've been its face. That eye, it's not a normal eye either. No eyelids or eyebrows. It's almost completely spherical. And the colors, oh the colors. Such a colorful eye. Shades of red, blue, green and purple, almost makes me want to stare at it forever. I've never even heard of any eye like that. Almost like a rainbow with a single cat-like yellow glowing pupil."
Adolph's face loses all emotion. All except one, despair. A face of pure despair and then other emotions start to get mixed in, confusion, anxiety, worry and fear.
"Oh no, oh please no"
--Chapter 4 end—
---End of the Homeless arc---