Page 15 of Voices in the Stars
Whatever attacked this house was differentthan what got to the others. I took a step closer to a neighboring house, turning my back to Klyn as he stopped in front of the door, rooting through his bag again. It didn’t have the same extra level of damage. Everything was burnt. There were holes in the side of the house along with fallen rocks, like something was repetitively rammed into it. Nothing I could see showed the same level of animalistic viciousness as what was before me.
“Ah-ha!”
I jumped as Klyn exclaimed, heart pounding as I went to face him. The monster must have come back to finish the job. I thought I was safer here, but I still stood there like some snack for these dream creatures. My body was tense as I prepared for the horrors that awaited.
Instead, I met with Klyn holding up a metal set of keys for the padlock on the door. I let out a deep breath at the sight of his small smile as he turned to unlock the door.Who would’ve thought that near death experiences would make a gal a little jumpy?I chuckled to myself as Klyn swung the door open.
A gag caught in my throat as we walked through the front door. The smell of rotting food wrapped around me like rope. Klyn muttered an apology as he pushed by. I froze in the doorway. Dishes, clothing, food, and papers covered every surface of the kitchen the front door opened into. It was the opposite of any house I had been in. The first room was a kitchen with a table and three chairs. There was a clear path from the kitchen into a living area.
A thud echoed as he dropped his bag onto the counter. I flinched as a small stack of dishes went crashing to the floor, jumping to the side as ceramic chunks slid toward me. Klyn unleashed a sigh before moving further into the house. My fingers twitched with the want to help clean. If our house had just a few dirty spots, my mother would be on a mission to make life hell until it was cleaned. Taking a deep breath, I tried to push the want away. Regret filled me as the taste of rot filled my mouth, making my eyes water. If he wanted to live among an unknown number of diseases, then that was his choice.
His house wasn’t just filled with garbage; everything around us was covered in dust, making the airstale. Klyn walk over to a wood bucket that was sitting on the floor. He grabbed a couple of glasses sitting on the counter above it. The clear glass was stained a muddy green from dust and grime clinging to the sides.
He glanced over it, swiping his fingers along the inside. It must’ve passed his inspection, because after looking at the fingers he used, he plunged the first cup into the bucket of water. I couldn’t stop my gag as he pulled the cup out. It was filled with greenish brown water. Even from across the room, I could see things floating in it: small black specks from either wandering bugs or remnants of food he’s eaten. Klyn didn’t give the glass a second glance before draining its contents. I really hoped those weren’t bugs. He filled his glass again before filling the second, holding it out to me.
“Thirsty?”
“No,” I choked out, trying to hide my disgust. Truthfully, my throat was dry enough that talking was starting to burn.
He grunted, setting the glass down after he finished drinking, before walking back to me. His brows furrowed as he looked me over. I shifted my weight, fighting the urge to tug at the fraying hems of my dress.
“You’re disgusting,” he pointed out.
I glanced around the filthy house, biting my tongue against the remarks I wanted to make. Either he was oblivious or really thought living like this was normal. Maybe here it was. I desperately needed to find a way back.
“I don’t have many other options,” I said instead.
He frowned, looking over me again before turning away, muttering to himself. He went into the living room before disappearing down a hallway. A door banged open. Mutters and curses traveled into the kitchen before the door slammed shut and Klyn returned with a pile of clothing in his arms that he quickly tossed at me.
I glanced at the creature before me who barely came up to my chest before looking down at the pile in my arms. These were going to look like doll clothes on me.
“I don’t think these are going to fit,” I commented, trying to hand them back.
He just rolled his eyes, restinghis arms back on his stomach. “They’re my wife’s from when she was pregnant. They’ll fit you well enough.”
I wanted to argue. Something about wearing that woman’s clothing didn’t sit right with me. Where was she and this child of his? The house was too quiet for them to just be hiding somewhere. I didn’t have a chance to voice any of this before Klyn was barking out his next set of orders.
“Change, now. You still reek.”
I made my way to the closed room he pointed at. When passing through the living room, I tried to peek around, but was stopped by Klyn pushing me forward into a bedroom. I closed the door behind me with a soft click. Leaning against it, my pounding heartbeat was all I could hear while looking around. Whatever attacked the outside of the house looked like it found its way inside. The furniture was destroyed. There were teeth marks where it tried to tear the walls apart. Clothing and toys were torn to shreds. It was easy to guess what happened to the rest of his family.
Once I was calm enough, I made my way further into the room. The bedposts had gnaw marks along the wood. Half of it was collapsed onto the floor. There was another door on the closest wall. With the clothes still in hand, I let my nosiness win as I opened the second door.
It was a small bathroom. There was a small, cracked mirror hanging above the counter. A wooden tub and toilet pressed against one wall with hardly enough room to turn around in. Ignoring the rest, I set the clothes on the counter and focused on the mirror. My light hair was tangled around leaves and small twigs. Streaks of mud colored parts of it brown while dirt covered most of my face. My arms were still streaked in black. I poked at the black webbing under my skin expecting pain. I huffed in relief as none came. Besides the way it looked, everything else seemed normal. I let out a snort at that. Nothing about this was normal.
I ran my fingers through my hair until it was free from the leafage. There wasn’t much I could do about the rest of it unless I wanted to risk the water. A shudder ran through me.No thank you.I peeled the wet dress off, dropping it on the floor with a wet plop. Bruises covered my body. There were cuts and scrapes along my sides from my run through the woods. Moreso from the falls.
Pulling my stare away from my broken image, I slid on the new set of clothes. Thankfully, they were simple. Part of me was worried they’d be as complicated as the dresses Marie would have to help me with. It would’ve been hopeless for me to attempt to put those on myself. Instead, I was dressed in tight, black bottoms and a white shirt that hung down to the middle of my thighs. I tied the cloak back around my neck. At least I wouldn’t be freezing anymore. I took a moment to quickly braid my hair before walking back into the bedroom.
But when I tried to go back into the living room, the bedroom door refused to budge. I wiggled the handle, tugging and pulling on it. The door still refused to move. I shoved my weight against the wood, trying again. My chest felt tight. I kept ramming my shoulder into the door. It had to be stuck. Who knew how long it had been since it was opened. This entire house seemed abandoned.
“Klyn?” I yelled.
Wood creaked from somewhere deeper in the house.
“Klyn, I think the door got stuck,” I explained, knocking on the door.
“I’m sorry, missy.” Klyn’s voice called from the other side of the door. “I shoulda warned you, it’s an old house. Get some rest, and I promise I’ll have it fixed by the time you wake.”
