Another contest entry from Gaia. This was for the second prompt: Lie, it's alright. I took a lot of artistic liscense on this, I think. Another longish short story. XD You'll see why when you read.

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Caring for a Lie

The soft patter of feet as they descended the stairs echoed lightly through the cellar, accompanied by a rhythmic drip of water somewhere in navy blue darkness. Seven-year-old Lie rubbed away tears that had begun to fall as he stepped onto the cold cement of the orphanage's cellar. As he trudged to a corner of this morbid sanctuary, he flopped down onto an old chair. Dust flew up around him once he sat, but he ignored the flock of particles that danced around his face. Lie's nose was too stuffed up from crying, not even an invasion of these miniature dust bunnies could make him sneeze.

Despite his attempt to rub out the tears, they continued to fall in lazy streams down his cheeks. Every now and then, he'd wipe them away with his hands, and rub his sleeved arm under his nose while snuffling. A few lines of snot were already crusting on his shirt, making it stiff and slightly sticky.

'This always happens,' thought the young boy drearily as the tears started to subside. His nose, however, was still stuffy no matter what he did, 'I try to play with the others, and they start making fun of me just because of my name.'

Flashes of the scene that had happened upstairs passed before Lie's eyes, and he sighed again at how typical the scenario was to every other one. They all started off the same, with him asking hesitantly if he could play a game with Marty, Roger, or some other fellow orphans. Then they'd wrinkle their nose, and say something along the lines of 'Why should we play with a liar?'

Then a whole group of orphans would ring around him, jeering, and making fun of his name. No matter what Lie said, or attempted to say, they'd ignore it or even use it against him. Something would eventually happen, which would send Lie running to this dark sanctuary that no other child dared to enter.

"It's not my fault my mom named me this." Murmured Lie to himself, watching a few dust particles dance around before they landed. It was true that his mother named him such a pitiful name: Lie R. Monro. The reason behind her disgust when choosing a name was the fact that Lie's father had an affair while she was in her last months of pregnancy. He had run off, before she gave birth to Lie, with an exotic dancer named Maple Syrup when Lie's mother initially found out.

Of course, choosing his name was the last decision she ever made, since soon after giving birth to Lie she died. He'd always been told it was due to circumstances that always came with giving birth to a child, but Lie would hear the whispers. Lie soon realized his mother hadn't died of any usual natural cause, but in an unexplained, unusual way. Yet, he didn't bother to dwell on the fact, or ask anyone exactly how she had died. Any woman who would name their child Lie due to its father's own mistake wasn't worth the wasted brain cells.

A soft mewling brought Lie out of his vague reverie, and he scanned the area, looking for the source. His eyes fell on a black creature, sitting beside him on the arm of his chair. It's green-yellow eyes glowed in the slight darkness of the cellar, illuminating its own silhouette against the deeper darkness. Reaching out a hand, the young boy smiled and started to pet the creature.

"There you are, Keeble. I brought you some more cheese." As Lie turned away to pull out some chunks of cheese from his pocket, Keeble softly hopped onto the boy's lap. Lie wasn't sure what Keeble was, but it had never harmed him.

Keeble had a face similar to a cat's, with overly large, triangular ears propped on its head, but its neck was more elongated. Keeble's body was much skinnier, and longer than any cat Lie had ever come into contact with as well, with a thin tail that had a plume of fur at the end. Overall, Keeble was black, save for its pupil-less eyes, and the plume at the end of its tail, which was a hunter green.

Finally, fishing the cheese from his pocket, Lie held out the little bits of cheese to Keeble, allowing the creature to eat the food from his hand. As Keeble ate, Lie would pet it, and mumble about how his day had been. At the mention of the other orphans jeering at Lie, Keeble's eyes sparked with predatory interest. Yet, the young boy took no notice as he fought to keep his eyes open. Something about crying always made Lie tired, which was most likely fueled by the darkness that hugged around him.

"I think," started Lie, fighting down a yawn as he curled up on the chair, gently shoving Keeble off his lap in the process, "I'll take a nap."

Keeble stared at Lie, watching the boy slowly drift into slumber. When Lie's breathing was steady, Keeble hopped off of Lie's chair, and padded over to the stairs. It spared a glance at Lie, to make sure the boy was still asleep, before it stealthily zipped up the stairs, phasing through the closed door that stood atop of the staircase.

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The pounding of his feet against the wooden stairs reverberated through Lie's legs, making him shake with fear. As he rushed up the stairs from the cellar, Lie hurried through the door way and slammed the door shut behind him. Clicking the lock into place, and bracing himself against the door, he clenched his eyes shut, trying to blot out the screams echoing downstairs. Yet, his body continued to move, despite his mind shutting down in horror. Vaguely, he heard the door he had just locked be pounded on, and the muffled screams of those trapped down there wafting through the door.

Out the back door to the outside cellar doors, Lie's feet carried him as swiftly as they could. He hopped onto the dirty, wooden and weather beaten doors, and locked the padlock as fast as he could. His legs gave out from under him, and Lie collapsed to the wooden door, body quivering and blood turning to ice in his veins. Through the thick door, he could still hear the cries of his fellow orphans, no doubt witnessing horrors they had only encountered in their nightmares.

'Why am I letting Keeble do this? Why aren't I helping Matron and the others?' wondered Lie, curling up on the door in a fetal position as his mind started to be plagued by guilt. He only faintly noted the door rattling, and the louder screams as whoever attempting to open the door was met with their death. Yet, his mind focused him on the issue of guilt, which ironically helped him ignore the screams that were slowly dying out to sobs, all of which ended with gurgles of liquid flooding the throat.

A few tears streamed down Lie's cheeks; he was too confused. He didn't know what to do. One part of him screeched at him to help the Matron and orphans, the other side calmly told him that this was karma. After all the tears those peers made him shed, and all the teasing on the daily basis, this is what those bastards deserved.

"But, Matron..." murmured Lie to himself, about to debate against his soul again. Yet, the words came to his mouth without him having to think about them, and an entirely different sentence fell from his lips, "Deserves the same. She never stopped the others from teasing me, she never did it. She knew, but never helped. Never."

His heart started to slowly sink, in realization that those people facing gory deaths downstairs truly deserved it. They deserved every bit of pain they got. They gave him pain, and they would receive it tenfold. All of them had been antagonizing, even up to their bitter end. Lie's eyes started to flutter closed, and the memories of what happened just moments prior to him running up the stairs flashed through his mind.

"Why don't you believe me, Matron?" cried Lie, standing vulnerably in front of a large, foreboding desk. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, and Lie felt he could hardly breathe. Sitting behind that desk was the old woman who ran the orphanage. Her look was less than welcoming with frigid blue eyes, and grey hair pulled up into a tight bun. The Matron was observing Lie, not believing the "alibi" he was feeding her.

Lie could hear the ever present murmur of the other orphans behind him. Ten minutes earlier, the Matron had called them all into her office, telling them that another orphan had been pushed out of the third story window. She had inquired if anyone knew who could have committed such a treason against human life. Instantly, a young girl had blamed Lie, saying she had seen him walking away from the window moments before hearing the thump of his victim's body on the ground.

"I wasn't anywhere near the third floor, ma'am!" Exclaimed Lie, knowing that the woman wasn't believing a word he said. His heart felt like it was being wrenched, knowing his name was the only 'evidence' she had to not believe his credibility.

"Then where were you?" snipped the Matron in a crisp, cold voice. Lie looked down, biting his bottom lip as he shuffled his feet a bit. He didn't want to tell her that he spent his free time in the cellar. Then, when the orphans would become less afraid of the dark room under the house, and take that place from him as well. That, or they'd terrorize him, even in the cellar that acted as his safe haven. Yet, Lie felt he had no choice, and he murmured hesitantly, "I was in the cellar, I had fallen asleep."

The Matron's scarce eyebrows rose a tick, and her eyes flickered with something that Lie couldn't, and didn't, identify. Behind him, the whispers of his. Finally, after a moment of silence, the old woman spoke, "And what were you doing down in the cellar?"

"I was down there," Lie paused as he glanced over at the orphans who were glaring lividly at him, before he continued, "Because the others made me cry, and wouldn't let me play with them."

The Matron's eyes lazily glared over the other orphans. Yet, they did nothing, for all their eyes were burning into Lie angrily. They believed he was lying, and that he truly killed Ronnie. Another pain shot through Lie's chest, and he hung his head again, knowing no one would believe him. He knew it was futile and hopeless to even attempt to change their minds.

"He's lying, Matron!" snapped a boy, who's voice was filtered with anger at Lie for tattling, and slight fear if the Matron happened to believe Lie.

"Yeah! He killed Ronnie, that's why he's making up that he was down in the cellar," Screamed another girl, bouncing up and down on her heels in an anxious nature, "Why else would he be under the house?"

"He's probably friends with the bogeyman down there." Muttered another boy, his voice dripping with disdain. A few others started to agree with him, some giggling as another boy added, "The monster has monster friends. That makes sense."

"Keeble isn't a monster!" Screamed Lie, before he could think. As soon as he said that, however, Lie felt a chill crawl down his spine. The biting heat of the tears started to flood his eyes again, which seared the cold chill away. They just had to make fun of him; they couldn't even keep their claws out of him, even for a death of their fellow orphan. Then he snapped, he revealed his only friend in the world. Who knew what Matron would do to Keeble if Lie was forced to find the creature and bring her up out of the safe darkness?

Yet, a hushed and surprised silence fell over the other children. They stared wide-eyed at the boy, no doubt wondering if Lie had the power to send bogeymen after them. Some of the children clung to siblings, biting their lips and whimpering. The Matron watched all of this with an observational eye, and eventually she stated, "Lie, take us to the cellar. Prove that your little friend isn't a monster, and I'll believe you were no where near the third floor."

There wasn't any choice in the matter, Lie realized, as his eyes trailed up to meet the Matron's. He had to, since the Matron ordered him to. Gulping down, attempting to fend off the feeling that he'd get sick from all the emotions flooding through him, Lie nodded dismally.

Lie's eyes snapped open as the door reverberated under him. Something, probably the size of a body about two foot tall, had just been slammed against the cellar door he laid on. Too numb to care anymore, Lie closed his eyes again, and started to replay the memory of what happened once they all arrived at the cellar.

"Well, where is your little friend, Lie?" questioned the Matron, icily. Lie had started to wander to his chair, but when he realized that Keeble wasn't coming out, he started to get nervous. He started to shuffle around the cellar, looking under boxes, over boxes, and behind boxes. But, in this darkness, he couldn't find Keeble.

Due to the fact that the orphans had started to cry and whimper in the dark, Matron had the lights on in cellar. Lie never turned them on, since he wasn't tall enough to reach the string that did turn the lights on. The elderly woman waited patiently, while the orphans grumbled and glared at Lie, already assuming he lied about being friends with a bogeyman.

"I don't see your friend here, Lie." stated the Matron, obviously unimpressed crossing her arms. Lie was starting to get a bit frantic, and he continued to search a bit more erratically paying no heed to the Matron or the other orphans. Where was Keeble? It usually showed up soon after he came down.

Soon, worrisome thoughts started to fling through Lie's mind. Maybe he broke a rule or something that prevented him from showing Keeble to anyone else. Or maybe Keeble was too shy to show itself in front of others. One fear resonated more brightly than the others, and that was that Keeble ran away, or never even existed to begin with.

Lie started to wonder if he had lied to himself. If he had made up a friend, due to the fact he had none himself. With his eyes cast down, Lie turned to the Matron, fighting off tears as he spoke, "I don't know where Keeble is, Matron. Usually, it's here when I come down."

"I'm sure it is," Stated the Matron, turning towards the stairs to exit the dirty cellar, "But, Keeble isn't showing, so all I can do is assume that you ly--"

"You humans, and your lack of patience," Snapped a female voice in the darkness, coming forth and brushing off a dusty dress, "It took me some time to find a dress in the boxes down here."

The young woman who appeared had an ethereal look about her, as if she didn't belong on this plane of existence. Her eyes were tilted and almond in shape, and were the lightest grey in color. Her hair was shadow black, and her light skin held the slightest tinge of grey to it. On her lips was a smile not unlike that of a cat who just found a nest of baby birds. Something about her body didn't express humanity, however; the neck was too long, and the limbs too thin. There was an air of elegance and grace that could make an experienced ballerina look like a bumbling oaf.

Lie stared at her in awe, having never laid eyes on a woman such as her.

"E-excuse me?" stuttered Matron, eyeing the woman, "You had to find that dress down here?"

"Of course," The mysterious woman spun around, letting the dress flare out behind her. She stopped twirling, and faced the woman with a chesire grin on her face, "I had to change my shape, and by doing so I had to find some suitable clothing. I doubt you would have appreciated me coming to you naked as a jay bird with all these impressionable young children around, now would you?"

The Matron flushed for a moment, and glared at the woman. The elderly woman felt as though the woman had challenged her ethics with that taunting grin. Clenching her fists, Matron glanced down at Lie, and inquired, "Is this Keeble?"

Lie was dumbfounded for the moment, still entranced by this woman. He only vaguely heard the question, and it took all his willpower to look up at the elderly woman. Lie noted that the other orphans were also staring at the woman with mouths agape and eyes wide in fascination.

"Keeble has never appeared like this," Lie looked up into the woman's almond-shaped eyes. The dark-haired woman smiled at Lie, and he couldn't help but hope the glitter in her eyes was one of fondness. He turned to look up at the Matron, "Yes, that's Keeble."

Keeble beamed at the Matron, which caused the old woman to falter. Keeble's teeth were pointed, and sharp. The smile was one that caused screaming nightmares to occur in the dark. A few of the orphans squeaked at the teeth, and as one they moved back a few steps. Lie was the only one who remained where he was, that is, until he saw changes in Keeble.

"Now, you all have made my boy very unhappy," hissed Keeble, her face becoming more pointed and her eyes loosing any color. Her fingernails elongated slightly, and sharpened. Keeble took a step towards the old woman, raising a claw and tracing down the Matron's cheek. A slim stream of blood oozed from the cut, "I don't like my boy being sad. It makes me sad, and when I'm sad I get revenge."

Lie started to back away as he watched. The Matron was staring wide-eyed at Keeble, and seemed to hardly be breathing. The orphans were frozen where they were, too scared to move and too fascinated to look away. In one move, Keeble had the claw embedded in the Matron's forehead without looking. Her eyes had gone to wander around the room, from one child's face to the other.

An eruption of screams from the kids resounded as their Matron's own blood-curdling scream was released. Shoving the claw right through the head, Keeble glared at the Matron just as the woman's scream gurgled to a close. The Matron's eyes lost their life, and were frozen in time, in the memory of the surprise death. Lie gasped, fear filling his veins as he tried to make his way to the stairs. He didn't wish to anger Keeble though, and he stopped on the last step, glancing back at the woman who had just pulled the bloodied claw from the old womans skull.

Keeble's eyes trailed to Lie as she grabbed a random child by the collar of her shirt. Flashing him a warm smile, she nodded up to the door, signaling to leave if he wished. Lie remembered mouthing 'thank you', before taking off up the stairs, ignoring the screams and pounding of the other children behind him.

Lie's eyes fluttered open as a smooth hand brushed his bangs aside. He was greeted with the grinning face of Keeble. It took Lie a moment to realize that something was wrong, and yet another moment to realize what it was. Keeble looked as clean as she had downstairs, with no blood staining the dress she wore, or any blood dripping down her face and hands.

Instantly, almost as if he were spring loaded, Lie bolted upright, and stared into Keeble's eyes. She continued to smile, and stand where she was, obviously waiting for him to say something first. Lie's mind sluggishly clicked back into awareness, and a flood of questions filled his thoughts. He didn't even constrain himself, and just blurted them all out, "What are you? What'd you do to them? Did you push that one boy out of the window? Why do you care what happens to me? What do you want with me?"

Breathing heavily, Lie glared up at Keeble, and oddly realized he wasn't afraid of the strange woman. The woman, on the other hand, laughed at all the questions, and knelt down so she was on Lie's level. Reaching out a hand, she ruffled Lie's hair, and calmly started to speak, "I've watched you ever since you were born, Lie. You're special, and unlike any other human that roams the world this day. Your mother didn't appreciate you, though, and I've always fancied children to an extent."

Lie's eyes widened slightly, as a question crossed his mind. Yet, just as the question appeared, Keeble answered it, "Yes, I killed your mother. It was painless. Although, you have heard it was a strange way to die, which was true. When you're older, I can tell you all the gory details, if you want. That offer is also up for what happened to those down in the cellar." Keeble paused, and glanced down at the cellar door on which they both stood on, "I'm sure you could imagine what happened yourself, though."

His gaze followed her, and his imagination sparked up with horrifying scenes: blood spattered wall, broken bodies riddling the floor, boxes broken apart and their contents spilling onto the floor, and maybe even shattered glass from broken light bulbs. Despite the gruesome details, Lie let a slight, satisfied grin pass over his lips.

Yet, the satisfaction soon passed into fear, as he looked up at Keeble. No doubt the police would arrive soon, once some of the other workers realized all of the orphans and the Matron were missing. A new plethora of questions cascaded into his mind, and he asked, less frantically than before, "Where am I going to go, now? This was my home. I have no one to turn to."

Lie's voice fell to a whisper, as he pictured himself travelling by himself along a dark, dirty street in the cold night. He'd starve, no doubt, or be mauled by wild animals. His heart sunk a bit, making his stomach churn with anxiety. Ironic how victory was so fleeting.

"Oh, Lie, you silly boy." Laughed Keeble, embracing the boy against her. Lie squirmed a bit in the woman's arms, but relaxed. Despite her murderous demeanor back in the cellar, Keeble was quite soft. Lie glanced up at her, hearing her coo, "I'm going to be your mother now! You don't have to worry about anything, baby. I have everything planned. All I need is your cooperation, Lie."

Wandering into his thoughts, Lie pondered about living with Keeble. True, she was the only thing that showed him any love, or respect. But, if she could so easily kill someone for her own gain, such as his mother or the Matron, did he really want to be in her company? Lie looked deep down, seeing how he truly felt about it, and was surprised by his conclusion. He truly didn't care if Keeble was a murderer, or selfish. She'd care for him, and love him. That's all he could ask of someone, after years of being teased, isolated, and hated.

"Lie, it's all right if you don't want to come with me. I'd understand if you wouldn't want to have a monster for a mother." murmured Keeble, feeling that Lie was attempting to figure out a way to decline her invitation.

"Mom, I want to go home." replied Lie, laying his head on Keeble's shoulder, and closing his eyes. A fond grin fell over Keeble's lips as she stood up, holding the young boy close. As she rubbed his back, she murmured a few words to him, which instantly helped Lie to fall into dreamland. Wander a few feet from the orphanage, Keeble turned to stare at the building that had caused Lie such grief for years.

Now wasn't the time to deal with that hated place, though. It was time to take her boy to his new home, a home where he'd be accepted and loved by the rest of her family. After Keeble murmured her shadow spell, darkness consumed both bodies, and disappeared into the dwindling night. The building creaked sorrowfully, as inside it's foundation the aroma of death permeated.