The Groundskeeper

The Groundskeeper
You know about the Haunted House, right? The one that appears sometimes near October? I've heard stories, rumors really, about something lurking there. They call it 'The Groundskeeper'. It supposedly watches over the building, hunting down trespassers in a ghastly game of Hide-and-Seek. Some people who went in never did come out again. 'The Groundskeeper must've found them', people say. Perhaps you'd like to hear about my game?

Halloween is both a holiday that I have always loved and dreaded. I still remember the first time I went to the Haunted House that had appeared. I had adopted my first pet, a young Flame Nightmare Unus, only an hour prior and decided to go exploring.

At first things were fine and we spent the majority of the time watching some of the more interesting creatures walk about. It was fun for a while, but eventually we got bored and started going deeper and deeper into the structure. Sure, there were a few close calls here and there when some of the more aggressive creatures noticed us, but the real trouble started when we stumbled upon a hidden passageway. I never stopped to consider what might be lurking in the darkness and instead foolishly continued onward.

The shadows seemed to move by themselves and the cobwebs hanging everywhere were more than enough proof that no one had ventured this way in quite some time. My Unus began to grow nervous and tried to make me head back, but I paid no attention to his warnings.

A room awaited us at the end of the passage. It was dark, lit only by the moonlight filtering through a broken window and a horrible odor filled the area. I took a moment to look around at the dust covered furniture before noticing that my pet had yet to step into the room. He stood frozen, staring at the far corner where the scent seemed to be coming from.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the person that used to live in that house before it was taken over by such nightmarish creatures? You probably assumed that they were long gone having moved far, far away when things started to go wrong. The truth is that they never left.

My flashlight illuminated the body that sat propped up against the wall. The person, whoever they once were, had obviously been there for a while. Its flesh had rotted and was peeling allowing a few bones to show. Those unseeing eyes were a disgusting milky white that seemed to look into my very soul and it's throat was decorated with dried blood and small bite marks.

Recoiling in horror, a loose floorboard creak beneath me. The corpse reacted to the sound, turning it's blind eyes towards us. Its mouth opened and let out a blood-curdling noise that could be compared to the wails of a tortured prisoner. Slowly, this thing, this monster began pulling itself towards us.

My pet and I ran as fast as we could ignoring the rest of the house's occupants. I could hear its horrible shrieking no matter how far I traveled. We kept ducking through rooms and turning corners, but we never seemed to fool it. It always appeared, and on more than one occasion, it almost caught us.

We did this for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually the door leading out was within our view. My Unus made it outside while I kept watch for that thing, and then it was my turn. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see nothing, but I knew it was there. I had no choice but to take the chance.

Bolting out of my latest hiding place I pushed myself to go as fast as possible. My legs burned with the effort, but my goal was getting closer. Thirty feet, twenty, ten. I was so close, I could almost grasp the door when I felt myself falling. One of the floorboards had broken and sent me tumbling to the ground. I tried to pull myself up, but something grabbed my ankle and then... darkness.

I don't remember much after that, but I woke up on the grass outside with my pet watching me with concern. The mind-numbing terror I felt never left. Even now, when I'm alone, I swear that I can hear the corpse's screams or see it out of the corner of my eye. Now that it's seen me, I doubt it will ever truly leave me alone until my sanity dwindles and the game finally ends.

I just hope that anyone reading this will be smart enough to avoid making the same mistake I did. Stay out of the areas where dead pets dwell. They are not the only things that you might find lurking around. After all, not all nightmares exist only in your dreams.