Intruders

                   Intruder

         As they entered the house, they immediately felt the presence of another entity, a faint sensation barely touched. It was not a foreboding feeling or one that made them wish to panic and flee, just that someone had been there and was no longer present.

         "I know you are feeling this, too. I saw the look on your face when you came through the door. This place is cursed with wanderers. My instincts on this are always right. You know they are. We have gone over this before, and you never listen."

         "Yes, Keseer. You are always right about this. However, there does not appear to be anything wrong right now, and I am dead tired. Can we see if this rental will work before leaving this one? Please?"

         "Well, it is quiet, and I like the dor. It is near all the attractions we want, and it is in a quiet neighborhood. Fine, Morty. We will stay for now. Get the rest of the belongings, and I will start unpacking. Make sure you shut the doors behind you. We do not need any strays wandering in."

         After an uneventful week, they are awakened by a low banging from one of the upstairs rooms.

         "Psst, Morty! See where that noise is coming from. Something could have wandered in. Just check. Come right back down. Don't let it see you. Remember the last time one did? It took you months to recuperate."

         "Yes, I remember." He began slowly moving toward the stairs, careful not to bump anything. When he reached the bottom of the stairwell, he paused and quietly listened for any noise.

         "Well, do you hear anything?" Keseer started from right next to him.

         "Argh!" yelped Morty, scared by the sudden appearance of his wife.

         "Don't do that! I thought you were still in the other room."

         "I was. But you weren't telling me anything, so I came over to see for myself."

         "I wanted to be quiet to hear what was happening upstairs."

         At this time, more loud noises were coming from the upstairs room. Something was making noises of scraping chairs or furniture on wooden floors, then silence.

         Keseer whispers to Morty, "I think we should go up and check to see who is up there. They are trespassing on our property. They need to get out, or there will be trouble."

         "Well, I agree. I will follow you. I still ache from the scare you gave me."

         "Get your hinny going," scolded Kesser.

         "I'm going. I'm going. Are you coming too? It was your idea."

         "Right behind you."

         As they began their climb, the old wooden boards softly creaked with their passing. They did their best to minimize the noise, hoping to reduce the sound the intruders would hear. So far, they hadn't heard any noise from the floor above.

         When they reached the top of the stairs, they listened intently to hear what was happening. They heard low, continuous sounds like murmuring but could not pinpoint the exact location without leaving the confines of the stairwell behind the closed door.

         "We need to check where that noise comes from and ensure who or what is here leaves."

         "I agree, Keseer. However, let's not rush into this. Let's take this slow."

         Pushing very gently, the door opens. For the first two inches, there is no sound. Then, the door starts to make a loud, distinctive creaking sound. Instead of pushing faster, Morty keeps the same slow pace while opening the door, hoping the creaking noise will stop.

         There is a sudden clammer of wooden chairs scraping against the floor, shrieks, the heavy running of feet, and the opening and the slamming of a door.

         When the first chair was toppled over, Morty and Kesser screamed in unison, slammed the door shut, went back down the stairs and into their room, and slammed their door. The latch did not stick, so Morty had to slam the door several more times before it locked, and they were safe.

         Silence. There wasn't any noise coming from the entire house. Whatever was there was gone for now, and only silence remained.

         Time slowly went by after that. Keseer and Morty lived in fear of another visit by the wanderers. Eventually, they went upstairs and saw the mess the intruders made. They didn't dare touch anything because they knew it could be cursed, so it lay where it fell.

         There were a few other incidents where intruders would break in looking for valuables. Keseer would have Morty confront the robbers and get their valuables back each time. The would-be thieves would run away before being caught, leaving more messes, broken furniture, and unlockable doors. There were some instances when they even left their equipment because they left in such a hurry.

         After more time had elapsed and Morty and Keseer had once again settled into a peaceful rest, they received word of a soon-to-arrive visitor.

          "Morty, has she arrived? They said she would be here soon. Have you seen her?"

          "No, not yet. I know you are excited for her to get here, but she will arrive when she arrives. You know the road here is hard to travel, especially for the young ones."

          "I just can't believe Deloris is coming here, actually here. Her birthday will be such a wonderful celebration. I don't know if I am more excited or nervous about throwing her a birthday party.

          Out of the silence, they hear a soft, whisper-like call, "Hello, anyone home?"

          Keseer leapt up, rushed toward the door, and called out, "We are here, darling, we are here," and rushed to meet her great-granddaughter, with Morty soon following.

          "Oh, Deloris, it is so good to meet you finally. We were surprised and elated that you would celebrate your birthday with us," gushed Keseer.

          "It is lovely to meet you, Grandma Keseer, Grandpa Morty. I have heard so many wonderful stories about you both. Grandma Keris sends her regards to you both and wishes she could have come for a visit but is busy entertaining out-of-town relatives."

          "Oh, Keris always loved to keep busy. She loved to dance and would learn an unfamiliar dance step and show us whenever possible. I can imagine she is still dancing around the house," Morty stated.

          Laughing aloud, Deloris added, "Yes, she does. All the time. She loves wearing her wooden shoes and dancing. She dances around the whole house all night and day. It is an inspiration to see how much energy she has."

          "Oh, and don't forget, she loved to make all those awful animal noises day in and day out. She could mimic anything. Why, I swear she could send shivers down my spine," added Keseer.

          "Well, enough of standing here gabbing; let's take you for a quick tour and get you settled." All three went to the kitchen area where, at one time, the terrible noises came from, and the table and chairs got knocked over. Only the dust particles moved at this time, slowly swirling on puffs of dry air.

         "We don't come in here very often. Call us wary, but we have heard noises from this room multiple times. It is just easier to stay away than to figure out what is happening and fix it. We are too old for that anymore and mainly stay on the lower level," explained Morty.

         Keseer added, "It has been a while since we have heard anything. Maybe the wanderers have given up coming here."

          After a tour of the rest of the house and discussing where Deloris would be most comfortable, they decided that the upper floor with the garden view would be acceptable. Deloris specifically picked this room with the view because she loved the stonework within the garden, as it reminded her of home. "The Weeping Angel statues are my favorite. Oh, and look how the lichen has covered the corner and backside of the central piece. I saw some like those on the way here."

          Keseer moved closer to Deloris and softly stated, "We thought of you when we saw this garden and angels."

         As Deloris' birthday rapidly approached, she and Keseer would practice singing Deloris' favorite hymns for her birthday celebration. Morty was a rapt audience and enjoyed listening to them as they would sing for hours at a time. So, they would not bother the nearby neighbors; they sang softly enough that you would need to be in the house to hear their voices.

         On the day of her birthday, Deloris sang some of her favorite solo hymns as Kesser and Morty finished preparing for the party. During one of her favorite songs, a loud crash occurred from the kitchen, the same room where the previous disturbance occurred. Another more audible crash startled them, and they grew silent. Morty looked at Keseer and Deloris and made the Shsh sign. He went over to the stairway and began to walk up the stairs, one step at a time. Behind him, Keseer and Deloris closely followed. With each step they took, the old wooden stairs squeaked, announcing their accent.

         There was silence when they approached the door. They didn't know if this meant the intruders had left or were waiting for them. Morty opened the door quickly to catch the invaders off guard as they loomed at the top of the stairs. Being off guard would, hopefully, cause the wanderers to panic and flee.

         When Morty was going to open the door, he slowly gripped the doorknob and began counting down to one, starting with four...

         Previously.

          After work that day, four men went to the local bar and began drinking heavily. About an hour before closing, they heard there was treasure within the walls in the basement of a decaying house on the rise near Mountain Cemetery. They thought it was a clever idea to get the money while it was dark and then set the old house on fire so no one would see the damage they caused by breaking in and knocking the walls down to get all the treasure. They also discussed having a celebratory party afterward if they had the time.

          As the small town only had two cemeteries, and one was out of town, it was easy to decide which one they had to visit. After driving for twenty minutes, they saw an old house within a short walk from a family cemetery. They could not see a sign on the cemetery gate as they drove closer, so they ignored it and went toward the house. They exited their truck after being parked as close to the house as possible. Mike and Joe both fell due to their equilibrium being severely affected by alcohol consumption. Eric was behind the truck having his fourth bout of dry heaves, and Jim, the driver, was now on the grass unconscious.

          Three...

          A soft, mysteriously enchanting sound, barely heard in the wind, got their attention. They tried to pinpoint the sound as they could not discern where it was coming from. After holding their breath and twisting their heads back and forth like radar antennas, they decided the sounds emanated from the old house.

          As one, they turned their attention toward the melody, stood up, and began to make their way to the tune. The song was beautiful to hear; it was almost otherworldly.

          As they wandered closer to the house, they were slowed due to the unkempt lawn, rotted tree limbs scattered on the ground, and crumbled statues. Walking slowly, they eventually reached the back door and realized it jammed into the wooden frame from the inside. After several attempts to free the screen door, Eric and Mike forced it open using their combined weight. The door opened forcibly, creating a loud crunching sound against the back wall with remnants of chairs and a table scattering across the already debris-filled floor. The soothing music suddenly stopped.

          Two...

         The three men entered the house and found themselves in a demolished kitchen. Several broken chairs were scattered around the floor; an overturned table had been broken apart and lay in pieces; the once-filled cupboards were now bare except for corpses of dead rats; and unidentifiable animal bones were spread on the floor. To move through the kitchen unhindered, debris had to be moved to one side, causing more noise. They froze when they heard strange creaking sounds from behind a closed door.

One...          

         A closed door forcefully swings open and slams into the back partition, causing a wall of dust to form. All three men's heads jerk toward the noise and open doorway, expecting a raving madman to pop out.

         The room suddenly turns icy cold, with the windows suddenly frosting over.

         Shapeless smears, in reality waft silently out of the doorway and hang a few feet from the men.

          The three men can only hear their heartbeats in their chests.

         "Relax, guys," Eric says, "It's just a little smoke from the basement. There must be a party downstairs. Probably some high schoolers are having their private pot party, and we interrupted."

         "How do you explain the sudden cold?" asked Mike.

         "Air conditioning turned way too high," explained Eric.

         "Let's get the money and leave. I don't like this place. Didn't Jim say it was in the basement? Did he say which wall it was in? Probably not."

         As the three friends were talking about the location of the money, they weren't paying attention to the floating smears slowly drifting behind each of the men, positioning themselves directly behind their targets.

         As one, Keseer and Deloris began to hum an eerily hypnotic melody softly. While this was happening, Morty began to chant so softly that his words disappeared as they left his lips.

          Blood began to slowly trickle from the corners of the eyes and ears of the men. If you were looking directly at each man, you would see the white portions of their eyes suddenly become red, and tears of blood would freely flow. From each ear, a thick, opaque, greenish-yellow fluid dribbles slowly onto their shoulders, followed by a highly foul odor.

          Initially, soft popping and grinding noises are heard, with sudden loud cracking sounds coming from various locations of each man. As the cracking sounds become louder and more frequent, bulges underneath the skin become more prominent until Bone Hematomas occur in several areas on each side of the men.

          By this time, even with Keseer and Deloris humming tranquil hymns of the Salem Witch Trials and Morty providing the incantation used against his family during their trials in 1692, the men were getting close to their mortal limits.

          Addressing Deloris, "My dear, it is time. You Died 331 years ago on a night like this during a sad time in the lives of our people. As this is your re-Birthday celebration, Deloris, you may have your pick of the meals tonight. There is one more outside, sleeping, due to a special incantation I placed on him earlier. That one is undamaged. Toy with it as you please."

          "Oh, thank you very much, Hunter Wolfmoon."

          "Please. We are family. Call me Uncle Morty. Now, let us change into our Were-forms and go for a leisurely hunt for the last human. The first one of us to snag an ear, wins."

         

Prompt: A birthday party gone horribly wrong.

Word Count: 2,556