Mavrick Realm, Part 1

Travis sat by the window watching the rain travel along the glass. It rains every night in Florence, a small village in Italy. Dr. Banks, an archeologist, lives in Florence studying an old waterway that was recently uncovered. Poor Travis was pulled out of his school in America and had to leave all his friends behind to come live with him. His nostalgic trance was broken with the sudden flash and bang of close thunder. Within seconds, Travis heard clatter on the floor and felt a shaky cold, wet snout find his limp palm. He gave his dog a quick rub and a few smacks on the belly. Luckily, he still had Max to keep him company. For a German Sheppard, Max was quite a wimp when it came to storms. There was another loud sound; this one came from Travis’s stomach. “Oh god, I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” The boy rose to his feet to make an evening snack.

The hallway was dark and quiet, and lacked proper lighting; Dr. Banks hadn’t had time to turn on most of the electric; he hadn’t even had a chance to unpack the majority of their things. In the kitchen there was a small electric lamp amongst all of the candles in the house. The lamp, stove and refrigerator were practically their only pieces of furniture and were all powered by a small generator the Dr. had set up. Travis peered into the fridge, “Figures, Drew still hasn’t gone food shopping yet. We’ve lived here for a week already, how long is it gonna take!” he sighed, considering his options. “For a Doctor, he sure is unreliable. I guess it’s takeout again tonight, eh Max?” the dog clumsily strolled off into the darkness of the house. Travis grabbed the phone and started rummaging through a phone book. Suddenly there was another clash of lightning and the phone went dead.
“Ah! Darn, Now I can’t even get some food!” Travis plopped down onto a stool by the table. The silence crept in and he soon realized how alone he was and began to feel anxious. Of course some eerie quiet was to be expected, seeing as how his caretaker wasn’t home, but this house was just too creepy to be alone. “Where’s Max, when you need him.” He grabbed a candle and went to go find his dog, mumbling to himself harshly.

The house was huge and still very new to him; with so many rooms it seemed impossible to find him. Travis shouted “Max!” but there was no answer. “That dog must have gone back to the Dr.’s Study. He would have come running by now if he hadn’t.” He marched by the staircase but stopped in his tracks just inches past it. He had an eerie feeling of something watching him. Travis scanned his perimeter to be sure nothing looked unusual. The lad was very nervous but wasn’t superstitious and went to the stairs to investigate. “The worst it could be is a burglar, right? What could be worse than a criminal?” He told himself in a pessimistic, yet reassuring way.

The second floor was even more new to Travis. He wasn’t even sure if the stairs would hold him. The floor boards creaked with each step and the railing swayed in either direction with just the weight of his hand. Without the occasional flash of lightning, the house would be far too dark and impossible to navigate. Shouting once more, Travis got his reply, “Arff! Arff!” It sounded like Max was in a room at the top of the stairs after all. Walking up onto the second floor lobby, Max could not be seen anywhere. Travis thought to himself, “This floor is far bigger than I had expected.” Another bark could be heard, this time to the left. The barking faded and was replaced by a most unusual sound.

“That almost sounds like a music box.” At the age of 12, it’s easy for such things to distract him. The noise came from a closet on the other side of the room. The boy cautiously walked toward the dark closet, and was mesmerized by the constant flashing of the lightning outside. The sound of thunder slowly faded and all that could be heard was the music box. Travis felt his heart beating and his blood ran cold, however this didn’t stop his slow march. He reached for the door; his fingers felt the icy steel knob beneath their tips. And at that, the music stopped. The song’s grasp on him ceased and he could once again hear his dog barking. Max was down on the first floor, barking at the front door. Travis shouted cheerfully and ran for the stairs, “Dr. Banks is home!”