withusyouwillstay

The ghosts were restless. The House was restless. And at first, the burglar didn't know why. There was an antictpation in the air, and it had everyone on alert.

Even the burglar.

He was about to find out why.

Or remember why.

It wasn't like he hadn't seen what was to occur happen before.

Drifting towards a window on the main floor, he could see what was coming. Literally. And then his mood changed from "restless" to "dread". All while the mood of the House went from "restless" to "excitement".

There was going to be a new addition to the Home's collection of trapped souls.

NO!

Wait. Did he think that or feel that or...?

Did it matter?

A young girl. At the gate to the House. Approximate age: somewhere in her teens. Shabbily dressed, as if she had been living it rough for at least a year.

A runaway perhaps? Couldn't be a resident of the town; they all knew better than to go near. No. Definitely some voluntary vagabond of a girl, and she was in need of someplace safe to sleep the night away. And it was getting dark.

No. Please no. Turn back. If you know what's good for you, you'll turn back.

The girl opened the gate, and began approaching the House along the worn path that led up to the building, and excitement thrummed the interior. The ghosts trembled and began to flit about, unable to stay in one place. They knew their roles and were getting ready.

Oh, the girl was so close now. The burglar could make out the details of her face.

No. Too close now.

The excitement had reached a fever pitch, and even the burglar himself felt unable to stay calm and in one spot. Which was probably a good thing, as it made his trajectory line up with where the newest addition might enter the House by.

He had to do something.

Fighting the House itself, he made his way to the window, and made himself as visible as he could.

Oh, he was going to pay for this, but he had to stop what was about to happen.

The door. It had a large window. And she was right in front of it.

No time to hesitate. Act now.

He heard the doorknob begin to turn, and that was when he made his move.

"NO! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!"

His visage flickered in and out, in and out, disappearing and reappearing in a manner that he hoped to convey that the House was dangerous.

Well, it certainly worked as the girl screamed at the sight of a ghost.

Wasting no time she ran down the steps, stumbled a little, fell, then got up and beat a hasty retreat down the path, to the gate, and beyond, never once looking back.

He let out a sigh of relief that the girl was now safely gone...



And then his world was pain, as the House knew what he had done, and he had denied it of...

Weeks had passed since his initial foray into Milliways, which was ample time enough to forget it had ever existed.

There was no room where there should not be. There were no people there who should not be.

Not even the sensation of drinking and a feeling of cold sliding down one's throat.

But sometimes. Sometimes, he remembered. When he'd found himself at the window his eyes drifted down towards a bar. There were people laughing. Having a good time.

Seeing them made him remember, but the memory was hard to recall. It was like it had to fight to be remembered, and not held back by whatever it was that didn't want him to remember.

One day, he found himself staring down the road to the bar. As always the figures were hard to make out, but one of them - a woman - made the memory of Milliways claw its way into consciousness.

Was his secret room at the top of the stairs there?

He had to find out...