Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26366473-20150505172912

Jake was enjoying his evening on the couch, like he usually did. He wasn’t lazy at all, but it was his only means of relaxing after a busy day at work. Also, today he had good reasons to stay on the couch. He was on TV. He had always dreamed to be on TV. The concept of being transmitted on a squared plastic box was seemingly desired by anyone in this planet, and Jake was no exception. He jumped in excitement as the announcer started to talk about him, about all the work he had done. "Stuff to be proud of" thought Jake, turning up the volume to hear what the TV gods had to say about him.

A loud dong interrupted his special moment. The old victorian clock he had inherited from his grandparents struck midnight. "Better check on the kids" he said. Jake wan't married, and he didn't want to be stuck with only a woman for his entire life, but he adored kids and he had a house big enough to take care of six of them. So far he had adopted two. They were beautiful and calm, not giving any trouble to the man. They were probably grateful for the fact that Jake took the time to pick them up and make them stay in his house. Having passed two days, Jake had grown accostumed to them and always made sure to feed them properly and always keep an eye on them.

"All clear" said Jake returning from the room he had prepared from them. It was time to return to his glorification. He jumped on the couch, grabbed the remote and... "What the hell!?". The TV was stuck on a static screen. "No, no, no. Damn it!" said Jake as he launched himself out of the couch. He tried to touch the object but a very strong electric shock projected from it, sending him on the ground and cutting the house's power off. "You've got to be kidding me" said Jake as he pulled his lighter out. He didn't smoke, but he was a little afraid to be left alone in the dark.

"I should check on the kids before going to the fuse box," said Jake as he headed towards the room. His house was spacious and conforting at day, but it strangely turned menacing at night, like it had become a different house. He tried many times to rearrange the aspect of the place, but it never worked. "It's probably the layout" he often said to himself. Today it was more creepy than usual, something smelled rotten in the air and it didn't come from the house. "I hope the children are alright" said Jake clearly distressed. His fear of the dark wasn't helping him at all and paranoia was getting unbearable. He often turned around, having heard something creeping behind him, only to find absolutely nothing, at least in the range of vision the lighter gave him. "I need to hurry up" said Jake, who now started running, often bumping his feet on the furniture.

Jake arrived at the room. Nothing. The children were gone. "Impossible! They still must be here! They couldn't have gone far!" said Jake desperate. Suddently, the chilling feeling he had before was getting stronger. "IT" was getting closer. Jake first needed to get to the fuse box, and fast. He rushed out of the room and headed towards the basement. He was terrified. His mind rushed trying to explain to himself what had happened: How could someone have entered without him noticing? How did he open the children's locked door? He needed light before answers; the stalking feeling he had before was now accompanied by strange children whispering. The voices often said: "Don't run" or "It's your fault." He ignored them, knowing that it was just his imagination having the best on him.

He finally reached the basement stairs. He was one step closer to resolving this situation. "Are you sure?" said one of the voices. Jake froze. This wasn't coming from his head. It came from behind him. He tried to run to the stairs, but the door closed itself in front of him, leaving him no escape. The creature wanted him to confront it. He slowly turned around, squeezing his eyes like he knew that something was about to hit him. It was the children. Jake felt relieved, they were still here and not in the hand of that monster. "Isn't it too early to be relaxed mister? I think you are missing something here" said a child giving a unconfortable smile. The man panicked again. It all made sense now. Of course the children were missing, it was them who were stalking him. But how? He locked the door shut and no child should be able to lockpick a door.

"I think you picked the wrong children mister" said the other child, who until now remained silent. Thinking about it, it was too easy. They didn't scream, kick or bite, like the others did, and he never needed to apply his forced re-education to them. "Who are you?" said Jake paralized in fear. The children smiled.

"Are you sure miss?" said the cop, looking at the house.

"Yes, sir. Mister Covent hasn't come out of his house for days. Oh my, I never imagined he was the kidnapper." said the lady.

"He's just a suspect miss" said the Officer, trying to calm the woman down, "but I've received a warrant to inspect his house for any evidence related to the case, don't worry, I won't do anything to him unless he resists."

The lady smiled. "Thank you mister, you're very kind."

Officer Jackson entered the porch. It seemed to be abandoned for quite some time, maybe the lady was telling the truth. But the inspection had to be carried out anyways, those were the orders. He knocked on the door, no response. "Strange" though Jackson, has he reached for the handle. The door was open. Without hesitation the officer entered, only to find an incredible scene.

The house was in ruins: the windows were closed shut, leaving the house in an eerie penumbra, furniture destroyed and scattered all over the place and walls scratched by what seemed to be human nails.

"I need to find out what happened here" said Jackson, still shaken by what he was witnessing. He tried to lighten up the house, as the only thing that enabled him to see was his torch. Power was still out.

Jackson was unsure on what to do. The most logical decision was to call central and ask for back-up, but he had a better idea in mind. In his 4 years of service, he never had an opportunity like this to finally have a chance to get promoted. "It's an easy job, the place is surely abandoned, no idiot would stay in here for less than 2 seconds" thought the cop, while he was heading to the basement.

Jackson still had a bad feeling about this, it seemed like his inner self was trying to tell him that there was someone in the house, ''something. ''And he was starting to hear some voices, childish ones. "Maybe the guy left the children here, I better hurry!" Jackson rushed down the basement stairs and what he found made his guts turn.

<p class="MsoNormal">It was Jake. Or at least, what remained of him. His body was showing traits of a very long fall, having broken almost all of his bones. His face was still paralized in fear, like he had seen death himself walk towards him and he was missing an eye and some teeth. His skin was covered in scratches, similar to the ones he found on the walls.

<p class="MsoNormal">Still trying to cope with the horrific image, Jackson noticed two little kids, playing around with some objects that he couldn't see because of the dark. "It must be them" thought the officer "I better take them out of this place"

<p class="MsoNormal">Jackson advanced slowly, knowing that the two must have been traumatized "Hey there fellas, the good guys are here" said Jackson showing a big cheeky smile. The children turned around. Their eyes were glowing red and now the officer could make out the objects they were playing with. They were Jake's missing parts. Jackson's smile vanished, slowly trying to back up. The children smiled back at him. <ac_metadata title="Good work (Awaiting review)"> </ac_metadata>