Thunder roars and lightning flashes in the dark sky in this eerie night. A ten-year-old boy with long raven ponytailed hair carrying a big backpack can be seen hurrying out of the woods.
Mateo frantically runs, his gaze catching the long spindly hands in the shadows reaching up for him. Adrenaline push through him as he sprints faster, only to trip by a single gnarled root. He tumbled through a small cliff and rolled down the hill. His backpack cushioning most of the fall; he tumbled in a splash of mud. Groaning, little Mateo pick himself up and secured his backpack on his shoulders.
"Caw... Caw... Caw... ", looking up, he saw a shadow of a bird. Its call seems mocking him. Suddenly lightning flashes, its light illuminating the crow as it squak in startlement.
Another lightning flashes, and there, up in a hill, stood a gothic castle. Its long spires reaching up to the sky as lightning strikes down upon it.
Finally, people...but
-
"Hihihihihi...Scrumptious little kids waiting to be eaten", a hag with a nose full of warts sung as she pulls a screaming little girl out of a cage. Children of all sizes and ages can be seen huddling in fear in their respective prisons. The screams of the little girl echoing inside their heads.
-
Mateo shivers and shakes his head. He eyed the suspicious castle in hesitation only to hear wolves howling from the woods. Then, as if to add to his predicament, thunderous rain pours down, its wind blowing harshly against him. With no choice, Mateo huddles himself and he set his way up to the castle.
Trudging through thick mud, Mateo arrives at a tall ornate railed gate. Thick vines are wrapped upon rusted railings and moss-covered brick walls flanked it.
He checks the area and noticed a small crevice between the walls, enough to fit a child like him. He took off his backpack and push it through the hole. Wind whipping in his face and his ponytail swaying harshly in the air, he crawled through the hole, pushing small rocks as he did so.
Upon crawling his way in, he hoists his bag and walked his way up to the castle, not noticing something slithering behind him.
Mud covered footsteps trod upon the marbled dusty floors as Mateo wandered his gaze upon the dimly lighted porch before him. He shuffled towards the wooden double-doors and clutch the metal knob. Gripping it tightly, he knocks the door with it three times.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Suddenly the wind silenced and the rain stopped pouring. Ominous aura fills up the place as the candles at the lanterns die down.
Clutching his backpack tightly until his knuckles whiten, Mateo braced himself.
"DoDum...", as if something unlocked, a loud sound rumbled behind the doors. A creaking sound followed and the door opens up.
A pale wrinkled hand appeared holding a lantern, followed by a hooded figure.
The hooded person paused and stares at the mud-covered creature before him. Both of them stared at each other. A paused, then suddenly the hooded person retreated and closes the door.
"Bang!", Mateo blinks and stared at the door dumbfounded. Behind him, the storm continued and a shadow of a long something can be seen as a lightning flash.
"Hey!", wiping his face with the back of his hand, the boy frantically knocks on the door.
"Hey! Opened up!....please!", Mateo pleaded as cold air wraps around him. Soaking with mud and rain, Mateo knock pleadingly against the doors. "Please, let me in. Just for the night...please", knocking weakly, the mud-covered child slumps kneeling onto the door.
Behind him, something creeps up, its long tendrils sneaking upon the unsuspecting child.
Whish...the tendril's end sharpened ready to strike the boy...
"Creak....", the door opens and the hooded person appeared. The hooded person stared warningly at the tendril and the tendril as if chastised, retreated to where it came from.
Mateo blinks in surprise, relief flooding him momentarily. He stood up and faced the hooded figure. His cherubic mud-splattered face lightening up by the light coming from the lantern.
The hooded person opens the door widely and gestured to Mateo. Shuffling his feet, Mateo uttered a small "Thank you...", and let himself in. The hooded person stares at the mud gathered at the front of the door and the trail coming from Mateo. The person radiated a disgruntled exasperation aura before closing the doors.
A grand staircase welcomed Mateo, as the child curiously wandered his gaze at the place before him. Crystal chandelier clinks overhead and marbled ornate statues of a small gargoyle decorates the staircase.
Bam!
Hearing the closing of the doors, Mateo gazed back at the hooded person. Footsteps echoed and the hooded person arrives before him.
"Ahm...thank you for letting me stay here for the night...Mister...", he said politely as he squirms in uneasiness. The cloaked wearing person removed his hood, revealing a pale wizened face.
"I am Gustavius, the keeper of the castle." Gustavius introduced as he direct Mateo towards a dark hallway. "While you are here, you are not to wander and disturb anything within this castle", the old man continues as he leads Mateo downstairs and into a worn-out door. "This is to be your room for the night. There are bathing facilities inside and you may use its services...", dropping a key to Mateo's hands, Gustavius turns to the child and speaks to him gravely. "You are not, under any circumstances open the door to anyone", Mateo nods and swallows his spit in anxiousness. Staring down at the child, Gustavius turns his back, cloak billowing behind him as he went away.
Mateo stares at Gustavius' departing back then turned his head into his room. He opened the door with the key and pulls the chain string hanging near the door.
Immediately, light flooded into the room as the child closes the door behind him.
The room has no windows, with stones as its walls. It has an empty shelf on the left side of the door and a closet on the right. Another shelf with a few books and a drawer near another door. On the right side, there's a four-poster bed with a bedside table and vanity table, there's also a study table and a comfy chair. Mateo also sees a small fireplace to keep the room warm.
Observing the room, he paid his exhaustion no mind as he makes sure that the room is secure. Dropping his backpack, he opened the closet and made sure that there is nothing out of the ordinary on it. Checking the bed, bedside table and the study table, he scrutinies it carefully before he deemed it safe. Abruptly, he spins around and turns to the door and locked it. He almost forgot to do it. Heaving a sigh, the child then turns to the empty shelf and drawer. Pulling the drawer open, he chances upon a journal. Taking it away for later, he continued his exploration and when he deemed every crook and cranny normal, the child then set his gaze upon the bathroom door. Slowly opening it, he turns on the light and surveys the room. It has a counter with cabinets, a loo, a bathtub, and a shower. Seeing no mirrors, the child shrugs and then checked the cabinets. Mateo finds a soap and some kind of shampoo inside, as well as some towels.
Sighing in relief, Mateo discards his clothes, leaving a muddy pile of clothing on the floor. The boy then filled the tub with water. While waiting for the tub to be filled, Mateo turned the shower knob and wash away the mud from his body, revealing pale skin. Turning the shower off, he then grabs the soap and shampoo and slides down into the tub. Turning the water off, he began to scrub and clean his body with soap. Bubbles began to appear and it quickly filled the tub. Mateo then pours some shampoo into his hands and carefully lathers it into his long raven hair. He then untangles the knots in it and smoothens it out. "....hah", letting out a relaxed sigh, the child began to nod away.
-
Mateo was with his parents at the campsite. They are on vacation but instead of relaxing, his parents were arguing the whole day. Failing to reserve a room on a hotel, his father deserves all the nag his mother gave, as all the hotels were already fully booked and they had no choice but to camp out on the rumored haunted campsite. Despite having many campers on the site with them, Mateo's mother was still uneasy. This uneasiness made Mateo's mother to urged his husband to find a place to stay.
Meanwhile, little Mateo already runs off with his bag still with him; playing with the other kids at the campsite. Suddenly despite being noon and with the sun out, shining brightly, a thick fog covered the campsite. Mateo's mother, feeling that there's something wrong hurriedly called out for her child. "Mateo! Honey, come back", his mother called out. Not seeing him, she began to feel anxious.
Meanwhile, Mateo and the other kids were confused of the fog's sudden appearance. Suddenly, something pulled on a kid's foot. Without any warning, the kid hoisted up in the air and was dragged screaming into the void.
The children panic and begun screaming and calling for their parents. Mateo runs with another boy when suddenly the boy stopped. Urging his companion to hurry, Mateo turned around only to see something piercing in the boy's stomach, blood splattering into the ground. It's sharp as a spindle then like a flower blooming, it opened up like a hook and dragged his companion into nothingness.
"Mateo!", Mateo's mother called when suddenly children's screaming can be heard and all the adults and parents hurry. But with the fog so thick, nothing can be seen. "Mom!", Mateo cries out one last time, as he was pulled away into the void.
Hearing his son's cries, Mateo's mother frantically searches amidst the fog but to no avail, she can't find her son.
Suddenly the fog disperses, leaving no children, revealing only toys and a blood-splattered shoe behind. The children... have been spirited away in daylight with their parents and guardians as witnesses.
"My son!", her mother cries in grief as she kneeled to the ground, her husband assisting her with a look of stupefied anguish. "Mateo...Mateo!!!"
-
Mateo woke up submerged in the water. Rousing quickly, he coughs the water away and begun leaving the tub. He washes away the suds on his body and drained the tub. Drying himself with the towel, he covered himself with it and walked towards the closet. He remembered seeing a nightclothes there. Drying his hair out, he began to brush it. After that, he pulled a chair and barricaded it into the door. Pulling an empty drawer along too.
He then makes his way to his backpack and rummaged through it. Pulling a solar-powered lantern flashlight out of the bag. He then pulled it to become a lantern revealing a bright light. Pulling the lights close, Mateo makes his way into the bed and sets the lantern into the bedside table; making it a night lamp.
Mateo stares at the dark ceiling, his thoughts flying to his parents.
Are they looking for him?
Did they miss him?
With such thoughts, Mateo's eyes became heavy and he fell into a deep sleep.
-
Outside the room, a creature of some sort wandered in front of Mateo's room. Sniffing, the creature ambled as it turns the knob only to find it locked. Twisting and turning it, the creature turns away, bored, leaving the door alone.