Leech House

Houses sometimes earn a nickname for themselves after time. Most of the time the name reflects what went on in the house or perhaps what happened there. Many people know the name but few know the horror inside Leech House.

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1952

"You know as well as I do that leeches don't cure anything!" exclaimed the doctor. This was their third time for such an argument and it wasn't getting any better by having the scientist, Prof. Lander, try and tell Bennings he was wrong. There was never a cure for the use of leeches and never will be. The only helpfulness they ever gave were to circulate blood in only certain cases but even that was minimal.

It's been over four years since they started their research for some kind of cure or even something that would at least give them enough money to live on. They lived under the same roof and barely had enough money to pay for it in the beginning. From then on, times for them got worse. They had to build their own study center in the basement and let guests rent out rooms to afford their food. Now though, nobody came by anymore. A hotel opened down the street two years ago and that was the last straw. Bennings and Lander worked hard together under the intense moisture and heat the basement produced. They were surprised to find out the basement could generate so much heat for being how huge it was.

It was dark and very eerie in it as well. Their leech vat they made to keep the leeches alive for extremely long times made only a low hum while the rest of the lab was more of a chemistry set. Test tubes and viles were strewn about the place and most were lost in the darkness of the floor from the sloping tables. The ground was uneven and the walls were a charcoal black. The only light sources were above the stairway and in the middle of the room but even that wasn't enough to see much of the floor.

"I'm telling you, if you give me only two more weeks I'll find some medical breakthrough!!" Lander said. "No! We can't survive two more weeks without food! It's hard enough to pay electricity bills for that damn vat in the basement and our water! We need to find some other jobs. We need to unplug that thing down there," explained Bennings. Lander only shook his head and looked at the floor. There was no use fighting it this time. He was right. They needed money but they'd get it if Bennings wasn't so uptight about everything! Lander grinned as an idea came into his head. He'd have time to work on his findings one way or another, and Bennings wouldn't be in his way to stop him. That night, Lander waited an hour until he knew Bennings had gone to bed and was well asleep. It was rather easy. Bennings had always been a heavy sleeper so he didn't even see Lander coming, much less, heard him. The extra pillow he slept with was on the floor making it that much easier and Lander took his time to savor the moment before smothering his fellow workman, his partner, his friend to death.

The next day brought new insight to Lander as he dragged the body to the basement and hoisted himself up the side of the vat with the limp Bennings over his shoulder. The ladder on the side of the vat was a good idea since they could check on the leeches whenever needed and since the leeches lived longer in it there was no need for a cover on the top. Lander grinned at the sight of his precious babies and with one heave, threw Bennings' body into the vat never to be seen again. "Eat up," Lander whispered. He knew he'd have to deal with the bones later but then again, that was later. Now he had to finish his research.

A week passed and Lander still found nothing. Time seemed like it wasn't there anymore. He had devoted himself fully to finding something groundbreaking in his work. Diagrams and anatomy charts of leeches cluttered his desk upstairs. He didn't want to admit it. There was nothing for him to find. There never has been. Sighing absently, he took the last swig of his whiskey and walked downstairs to the main hall then opened the door leading to the basement. Inside the basement was still the same old things he'd grown use to seeing. Over in the corner he saw the plug for the vat. Amazing how something as simple as a plug outlet could keep something so strange alive for longer than it was intended. Before walking to it he looked over at his disection of one of the poor critters he used yesterday. It didn't matter anymore. With a quick jerk he yankd the cord out of the wall causing a few sparks to spit out of the socket. In response, he spit back. He wondered why they never put a window in the side of the vat to make it easier for them study the things. It didn't matter anymore. He climbed the side of the twelve foot vat and peered inside. The leeches glistened in what little light there was. The eerieness of the basement became worse since the hum was no longer emitted. Lander took a deep breath and let gravity do the rest for him. Sure, many people might find it suspicious that neither have come outside for a while but it'll pass. It didn't matter anymore. During his last precious seconds among the living while his life was being drained out of his body, Lander thought he heard something. A sort of laugh that echoed in the metal walls of the vat. Before he knew what was going on a hand reached up from under the thousands of leeches and pulled Lander down. During the last few seconds of life, Lander was also too scared to know he was dying.

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Present Day

Lance couldn't help but laugh at Greg. He was acting like a fool like he did everyday but it was always funny to him. He never did the same joke twice unless it made it that much funnier. Many of them were crude but Lance learned to accept that since Greg wasn't one to hate anybody and just liked making people laugh.

Most of their days were spent hanging out with Peter and Stephany. Not much kept them entertained but each other. They've known each other since Junior High and were best friends since the day they met. Each one could say that didn't happen often, if at all.

"So where are we going to today?" asked Peter. Greg shrugged, knowing that Lance was always the person who picked their destinations. Stephany glanced at Greg waiting for an answer and jumped as Lance began talking. "I'm tired of going from place to place!" he exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement and began wondering what to do. It was the middle of October and only one of them had a car. Or at least, a car that ran. It was Lance's and that was the main reason he always picked the destinations for them to hang out or just chill for a while.

"I've got an idea," said Peter. Peter was like any other normal person with glasses except he never had a pimple in his life. The term "geek" never suited him since he was more of an outdoors person. He didn't mind being called a geek but everyone knew it made no sense. "What is it?" Lance asked. They were sitting in a few lawn chairs outside near Lance's car. Most of the time they were either in Greg's apartment or just out riding around in the town. "I think we should all pitch in and buy a house!" Peter said. Lance raised an eyebrow. "How do you suppose we do that? My car is the only one that runs and Stephany here doesn't even work." Peter shrugged it off and continued, "Well we could find a house that's real cheap and since we're all chipping in we could all live in it. Greg, you could get out of that nasty apartment of yours finally!" That caught Greg's attention. He'd been looking for someplace else ever since he moved into that rotting building. The only thing was that every other place was just too expensive. It'd be easier now though. Everyone would be helping out in paying off the house as much as possible.

"O.K." Greg finally agreed. Lance sighed and leaned back in the chair. Maybe this was going to be better than his old rat house Lance thought. Stephany would be more than happy to go. "Alright then!" he shouted. "Start saving up your money and since Stephany doesn't work, she can be the one to find the cheapest house." Stephany agreed and smiled. This was going to be pretty good thought Greg. Everyone stood up and folded the chairs then put them in the back of Lance's car. "Next week we'll go look at the house that Stephany has chosen by then," he said. They agreed and let Lance take them home.

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The next week felt slow for everyone. Greg and Peter would always take a ride with Lance on weekdays to their jobs and back home the same days. Lance's job never started until ten or so which gave him plenty of time to take the other guys where they needed to be. Stephany even felt as if the days were slowly moving. What seemed like three hours were more like five minutes. Nobody talked about the buying of the house and they knew they wouldn't have enough in one week to buy it but they could pay off what they could whenever possible. Finally the weekend came and everyone gathered together once more to discuss what they were going to do.

"We don't have enough money right now to just buy a house but we can certainly move in and then pay the rest off later," Lance said. Stephany seemed eager to show what she had found and quickly unfolded the newspaper she was holding. It took her a minute to find the place but she did and slapped her finger on the picture of what looked like either a mansion or some old hotel. "I doubt we'll even get enough to pay for that one! Look at the size of it!" Greg yelled. Peter moved Stephany's finger away and read the description to himself then looked at the price. "Whoa! We can so pay for this! It's not near as much as you'd think!" Peter exclaimed. Everyone moved in to look at the price and let out a hollar. "We could pay this in no time!" Lance said. "Why is it so cheap though? It looks like it'd be worth well more than what they're offering," Greg asked. Nobody knew. "Well then, tomorrow we'll head up there and take a look around," Lance suggested. "Can we do that?" asked Greg. Lance shrugged and looked around, "I don't see any harm in doing so." Everyone agreed and the rest of the day passed by all too fast. Nobody knew why the house was cheap and they didn't care as long as they were getting it.

Early the next day everyone got up and were picked up by Lance to go and check the house. There was a little complication when trying to find the street but they quickly found out where they needed to go. Lance had already called ahead to the real estate in case they wanted to purchase what they could right then and there. When they arrived someone was already there waiting for them. Susan was her name and she was sent by the company to help the group tour the house. As much as she hated doing it she had to tell them the history of the house and why it was so cheap. She'd get to that when the time came but as for now, they just needed a good walk through of the place. Susan showed the group each room was bigger than they thought possible. Only one of them had a bathroom in it and there were two other restrooms upstairs. She told them about the basement it had and how it was used as a temporary hotel at one time. Finally, the question came up. "Can you tell us why this house is so low?" Peter asked. Susan sighed and nodded, "Yes. Somewhere in the late fourties or very early fifties, two men had purchased the house themselves and dug that basement out to use as a lab." They were now very interested in the story. It's not everyday you hear about homemade labs and what not. "Well, they were studying leeches as for a cure some diseases but you and I both know that leeches don't cure much of anything. Still, they tried their hardest and then one day it seems both of them just disappeared," she explained. "O.K., but that doesn't tell us why this house is cheap," Lance said. She knew and continued, "After that incident, people said they heard strange sounds coming from the house and even saw disturbing things that frightened them out of here. None of them would say exactly what they saw but it was always strange since the person who would be running out always said they had a friend in here with them." A few them shuddered. "Nobody has gone into the basement which was where their lab was held and also the main area of the strange noises," she concluded.

This was a huge twist. Lance had thought this house was cheap for unstable reasons, not supernatural ones. Greg stepped forward and looked at Susan for a moment then said, "We'll take it." He hadn't even discussed it with his friends yet he seemed to sure of himself. The others looked at each other and nodded. After all, what's a house without a history? Lance figured the strange noises were just sounds the house made since it appeared to be old but still in good enough shape. More than likely it was all just overactive imaginations. Lance asked for the papers to sign and everything while everyone else decided to have a look around. The place even had furniture still in it from the early fifties as well. an old elaborate red carpet ran from the top of the stairs and down to the front doors which reminded Greg of the old horror movies he use to watch.

With everything said and done, Lance handed over the money everyone had helped collect and wished the nice real estate woman a good day. She smiled in reply and headed promptly out the front door without so much as a glance back. "So...what do we do now?" Lance asked while leaning on the railing on the second floor. Peter looked to Stephay, "Why don't you cook us up a nice feast? I'll even help!" he suggested. Stephany thought about this for a second then nodded and walked downstairs to find the kitchen once more. Greg was busy looking around the main room which was nicked named the lobby by the estate people but it wasn't that big. Maybe half a lobby if you thought about it. Lance figured it was his best interest to find a good room to call his own. He was going to be living under this roof anyways.

Greg looked around the corners of the doors leading to the lobby and wondered what he could do to help out around the house. He remembered the basement door next to the kitchen and wondered if he should check out exactly what's down there. He decided to take his time and find the door whenever he came to it which was easily only five minutes later. Without much hesitation, he pried it open and cringed at the squeaking hinges. It was pitch black just a few feet in and a huge gust of hot air met with Greg along with a horrible smell making him gag and cough. He couldn't figure out what it was but it sure wasn't anything good. After a few minutes of coughing up a storm, Greg finally calmed down and pulled the front of his shirt over his mouth and nose as to not let the smell reach him again. He took each hand-paved step cautiously and felt his heart beating harder and harder the further he went. He shouldn't be scared in a place that's been unoccupied for years. He tried telling himself that over and over but he was scared beyond his wildest dreams. Some distant sound made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. After a second or two passed he distinguished it as the sound of water dripping. It'd make sense since the hot air in a confined place would more than likely start condensation somewhere, especially if there were pipes. This eased Greg a little making him think it was just a normal basement. His heart calmed slightly as he continued his way further into the dark abyss.

Stephany had found the kitchen with Peter tailing right behind her. It was really old fashioned and this peaked Stephany's interest the most. She had never actually seen a kitchen that still had the old iron stove from way back in time. There were lots of cobwebs but that was the easy cleaning. The hard part would be trying to get the rust off of the stove and more than likely go back to someone's house and get some utensils to eat with. They even needed groceries. Stephany turned around and cringed as she heard the door the basement open. Somebody, probably Greg went down to check out what it was all like. She looked at Peter and began to open her mouth when he raised his hand to stop her. "I know! You need the food to cook, right?" he said. She smiled and nodded to him, "Yes, tell Lance to take you to get some chicken and even some rice." Peter grinned and ran back to the lobby then glanced around to try and find Lance. He must've gone somewhere else since he sure as hell isn't here. Peter ran up the stairs and looked down the halls finding Lance just walking out of a room. "Yo! Lance! Stephany needs food to cook so let's go get some!" Peter said. Lance raised an eyebrow then chuckled some and agreed with him. Both of them walked towards the lobby and down the stairs then grabbed the door handles and pulled. Nothing happened. Neither door budged and acted as if they were a wall with door handles. Lance told Peter to step away and grabbed both handles then pulled with all his might. Nothing happened again. Lance growled and grabbed one handle with both hands then yanked and flew back with the handle in his hands but the door still immobile. Peter grabbed Lance by the arm and helped him up then studied the place where the handle was on the door. Lance sighed and looked at the handle then tossed it to the floor, "I guess I better look for some tools to open the doors again."

Greg eased his way down into the basement until he was positive he found the last step. The place was still hot and more humid than anything he's experienced in his life. He had to find a light to know where everything was and see if there was anything useful in here. The place echoed with each step he took and he tried guessing the size from how far the echo traveled but he wasn't quite sure. He knew the place was wet somewhere since there was a faint dripping sound. As he continued his hip caught something and things went crashing to the floor making him jump and panic. He wasn't sure what he hit but it scared him horribly. His head hit something above him that moved and swayed. The light! He felt around for the bulb to make sure it wasn't broken and then slowly guided his hands down it to the tiny chain and gave it a good yank. The room filled with a dull yellow light but it was lot better than stumbling blindly through the dark as he was doing earlier. Greg looked at the floor and saw various glass shards from what had to have been caused by him. He couldn't see all of the ground except what was directly under the light which made him wary of the corners in the room. He found he had hit a table that still held some test tubes and trays on it. There was another table across the room and next to it was some giant metal cylinder. "What the hell is this?" he said to himself and walked over to it. It looked so out of place but it could be the heater to this place he thought to himself. He looked down. A heater with a plug? Greg leaned down and grabbed the cord then pulled it up until he found the end.

Something moved behind him. Greg turned around and looked the place over. He could've sworn he felt movement behind him. The whole room was still except for the gentle swaying of the light, which was now slowing to a stop. He turned his attention back to the cord and the huge metal casing. There wasn't anything too strange about it except for the rungs that were attached to one side. Shrugging, he looked near the bottom of the wall and found the socket for the plug. Putting it in caused a few sparks to jump as Greg stepped back. The vat made a low churning sound and then continued on a low hum. "That must've done it," Greg said, now happy with himself. The light flickered for a brief second then stopped. Something else was down here with him. He could feel it. Whatever it was it was watching him and could see him better than he could see it. Convinced it was his imagination, Greg turned around and began heading for the stairs only to see the door at the top close itself shut. "Dammit guys! That's not funny!" he called up. There was no reply and he decided to wait until he heard one. He was always tired of getting picked on and now it seemed that it was going to happen again. He sighed and looked around for something to make a big noise as if his yelling wasn't enough. Maybe they'll think something happened. He snickered to himself and walked to the table he had previously hit then noticed that one of the walls in basement was...moving? No, he had to be seeing things but it looked like it was alive somehow. It was the same color as the rest which didn't help since it was all black but it seemed as though there was some light shimmering off of it in places. He walked closer to the wall, fascinated by the bits of reflection he was seeing. As he got closer he noticed a strange sound coming from the wall too. He couldn't place it though, he'd never heard it before. As he reached his arm out to touch the wall he stopped. Another drip sounded to his right and took a glance to see what it was. The vat was dripping every now and then. Greg shrugged to himself still thinking it was a heater only to turn his attention back to the wall in front of him right before it reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm.

Greg was too shocked to scream. He didn't know what was going on. The wall just came alive it looked like! he took a second look at what was really wrapped around his arm and cried out in horror. It was a ton of leeches acting together like some big tendril whipping out of the wall! Greg screamed and tried pulling himself free but to no avail. The leeches were stronger than him for some reason. He tried once more and felt even weaker than the first time he tried. What was happening? He felt cold and then remembered exactly what leeches do to flesh; they feed. He tried to scream once more but he was already dropping to his knees. How could they take this much life out of him so quickly? Greg tried beating on the leeches but only got tiny squeals back in reply. Before he knew it, they released him leaving him within an inch of his life left. Was he free to go now? Greg looked at him arm which was nothing more than his skin on his bones. He checked the rest of his body and saw it was all the same except for his torso, which was thin but not completely. Tiny little marks covered his arm as well with little rivulets of blood oozing from them. He was dying and he knew it. As he looked up, his sunken eyes caught the last image of his life which were the leeches coming back; this time, to leave nothing.

Stephany had heard the strange noises coming from the basement but figured Greg was trying to scare her like the other guys liked to do. She had known the door closed and suspected it was Greg again. After that she heard nothing else. The stove was old but she always wanted to cook on an iron stove. Just the thought about cooking on it set her into giggles. Lance came by and told her he needed tools while Peter followed behind him. "Why's that?" Stephany asked. Lance sighed pointed towards the lobby, "Because the doors are stuck and the handle just came off one of them. I don't know how they could be that suck but I need tools to figure out if I can loosen it or something. Breaking a window will only break into our funds." Peter nodded and just kept quiet about everything. Stephany let them be and waited until she heard them leave the kitchen until she began to actually clean. She knew that they knew she cleaned but she rather not be seen doing it. It was just uncomfortable having someone watch you do something to her. The sink was probably in just as bad shape as the stove. Rust was collected around the drain more than anywhere else, or, at least she hoped it was rust. That was nonsense! This house may be creepy but that doesn't have to mean something happened in it! Stephany cleared her mind of any unpleasant thoughts and grabbed the metal brush to scrape some of the rust off with. The sound was bad but she could bear it if she had to.

A moment passed and then Stephany heard something else over the metal scraping she was doing. It was a low gurgling sound coming from inside the drain. She tried thinking it was just some water but she hadn't even turned on the faucet at all. She leaned over trying seeing down the hole but there was nothing. The drain did even have a garbage disposal. She continued her cleaning until she heard the noise again. This time it was closer to the surface of the drain. Cautiously, she peered down at the hole and slowly began to lean into it. Something was moving in it now. She tightened her grip on the brush and poked it down the drain until it hit something solid but kind of soft. She poked it a couple more times before eharing a hiss emit from the sink. Dropping the brush, she stumbled backwards not sure what she had just heard. The brush twisted around in the drain clanking against the edges before being sucked down into it. Suddenly there was no sound. Nothing even gave a slight sound in the very least except for her breathing which was fast and hard. Stephany calmed herself down and stepped up to the sink once more taking a peek down the drain yet again. This time she eased herself closer until she was less than a foot away from it. Something glistened down inside it. She thought about reaching her hand down there but decided against it. Maybe another utensil to see what it is. The kitchen had a good variety of utensils for her to choose including the brush that was lost down the drain. Stephany chose a wooden spoon which had a foot long handle and prodded it down the hole colliding with something again.

The spoon snapped, sending tiny bits of splinters out of the sink and causing Stephany to cover her face for a second. Silence ensued once more. Stephany was getting more pissed than scared now. She had chores to do and this thing in the sink kept her from doing it. She finally peered over the sink and into the drain yet again to get a good hard look at whatever was caught in it. She couldn't see anything so she slowly leaned in closer. After noticing she still had the broken spoon in had hand she dropped it to the floor and leaned in closer. Still nothing to see. She leaned in as lose as she possibly could and tilted her head slightly as to let her right eye see more of what's hidden. She was only six inches away from the filthy rust bucket and could clearly hear the hissing again. Something moved around and came at her eye too fast for her to react beforehand. The other end of the broken spoon shot up into her eye and lodged itself into her skull sending blood gushing out of the edges of the wound. The crimson splattered into the sink coating most of the inside until Stephany screamed and pulled back. The pain was unbearable! She was lucky she didn't die or lose consciousness. She grabbed the part of the handle that was still outside of her head and lightly pulled only to stop immediately from the searing pain. Her face felt hot, mostly from the blood coating it and she screamed again. Lance or Peter had to hear her! Even Greg! He was just in the basement! Stephany staggered to the side and looked at the sink with her only eye available and saw something that turned her stomach. Leeches, the size of a man's fist, were feasting on the blood that had poured into the sink. There were a few but she didn't have time to count them. "LANCE!!!" Stephany screamed.

A couple of the leeches slithered their way up to the edge of the sink almost as if the scream attracted them. Stephany took no notice in the leeches as she screamed again and turned around to see the sink again, now feeling really faint. She saw the leeches back up slightly then jump, actually jump, into the air and directly at her. The last thing she saw were the tiny teeth one had under its slimy body before latching itself directly onto her left eye. It was cold as first then a new feeling met where the leech was. It was warm and she thought she was crying which she wouldn't find surprising until she realized she couldn't blink. It was feeding on her other eye! She screamed again and felt eh cold wetness of the other leech on her stomach now. It began travelling its way up and covered her mouth completely. She tried screaming again to get it off then tried to pull it off but it was too slick to get ahold of. She opened her mouth once more and gasped as it worked its way inside and half way down her throat, blocking her air. She couldn't see and now she couldn't breathe! The faintness came all too quickly for her as she collapsed on the kitchen floor face first, shoving the spoon completely into her brain and killing her intsantly. The other leeches began to gather and slide down the counter and onto the lifeless body to feed.

Lance heard the screams and so did Peter. He began leaping over the bed he was behind and took off down the hall with Peter close behind. More screams fueled him to keep running even though it felt hard to breathe for him. Peter ran ahead of him and tripped on a piece of the floorboards that was sticking up. Lance stopped and grabbed him by the arm almost jerking him up when he heard something else in place of the screams. It sounded like something heavy dropped. Lance let go of Peter and began skipping steps on the stairs to reach the bottom faster. He turned and ran only a foot into the kitchen before stopping. He couldn't take what was laying before him on the floor. Peter came running up behind Lance trying to peek around him. Lance turned around and grabbed Peter by the shoulders, "DON'T!!! You don't need to see this! Just...just go get some blankets!" Peter nodded and looked down behind lance to see Stephany's foot with a leech on her ankle. "HURRY!!!" Lance yelled and let go of Peter. Peter nodded again and turned around then ran back upstairs to get the blankets for Lance.

Peter looked around for a closet but didn't remember where one was. He quickly chose a room and grabbed the sheets off the bedspread pulling them free of the mattress hoping they weren't goign to be used for what he thought. If Stephany was dead than he'd just stop what he was doing right now, but he didn't know for sure if she was dead, he only saw her foot. And that leech. Peter shook at the thought and tried erasing the image from his mind but it was burnt there. As soon as the last of the sheets were free he turned around and stopped. The man in the doorway wasn't here before. When did he get in and how? Peter dropped the sheets when he noticed the tattered lab coat and at how drained he looked. His eye were sunken into his skull and his bones were clearly visible through the skin. His hair was sparse and almost as pale as his skin. "W-who are you?!" Peter demanded. The figure stared at him clearly taller than him by a foot. The man smiled a big toothy grin showing off his rotten and decayed teeth then said, "This is my house! You must be punished for entering!" in almost a growl. Peter felt himself shake all the way to the bones. "Listen, we didn't know you wanted this house that badly! If you want, we'll leave!" Peter tried to reason. For a moment it looked as if the man was going to settle for that but then took a few slow steps towards him before saying, "We already have two of you...," in a hollowed tone. Peter stared into the man's eyes and felt as if death was staring straight back at him. "What do you mean?" he asked. The man was obviously happy to explain, "We took your precious Stephany...and even Greg before her!" "How do you know their names?!" Peter demanded. The man shook his head, still smiling. "And why do you keep saying 'we?'" Peter asked. The man looked almost as if he'd cry for a moment before raising his arms and laughing maniacally, "Why...my children, of course!!!"

At that exact moment, a swarm of leeches seemed come from behind the guy and coat his body completely. They continued to cover him until he looked like one big leech man with no existence of a humanbeing present. Peter stepped backwards and tripped over a part of the sheets he was dragging earlier causing him to let out a slight yell before colliding with the floor. He glanced up at the towering leech infestant and then closed his eyes hoping for it to be quick and painless. What he got was quite the opposite, making him scream and yell in pain like he never had before. Each one echoing off the walls and down through the house all the way to Lance's ears.

Lance stood up and looked around him as if the walls were screaming themselves. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to cry but it wasn't possible. He couldn't hold back his feelings right now. Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to all of them and not just him? Who was doing this? Lance's mind raced through questions faster than he could answer them and he fell to his knees holding his face in his hands weeping. The screams stopped and Lance tried to stop his mourning but his emotions had the better half of him for now. The lights flickered a little and stopped. Lance didn't notice it the first time but the second time he lifted his head and watched the lights. It was almost as if they put on a show for him. Slowly, he pushed himself up and stared at Stephany's body, now covered with bite marks and her skin just dangling off the bone almost. Lance sniffed a couple of times and wiped his nose wondering what to do. He almost thought everything through until he felt a cold, dead hand land and rest on the base of his neck sending shivers through him and causing the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The last thing he heard was a hollow voice saying, "It's all right. You'll meet them soon enough..."