Chapter Text
It was dark. Nobody had been in the house often enough to turn the lights on except for him and at this point, there was really no need, was there? Yancy clenched his hands. He knew that people were back, could tell by the sounds echoing through the foyer of the now-decrepit house. It was always the same with these people, day after day; each one just assuming and carefree until they learned of the true horror that lay within.
Yancy stalked from the kitchen to the living room. By now, the kids were making their way through the interior of the house. The floorboards squeaked under brand-name sneakers save for the occasional miss-step to avoid the holes. Yancy ached to fix those holes and every step was simply another reminder that he couldn’t. A snicker here and a joke there, and kids moved toward the center of the first floor. Yancy remained out of sight. The kids remained unassuming.
Wouldn’t be long now.
The creak in the floorboard leading to the kitchen gave away their location. They had likely turned to flipping through the cabinets and checking the contents of the fridge for cheap beer or whatever else they could get their hands on. Far away from prying parental eyes, the abandoned house across town was the perfect place for a party. Yancy could practically feel the disappointment from the other room when their exhaustive search turned up naught.
The two bickered. It was the same as always; one kid wanted to be there, one kid didn’t. One was foolhardy enough to come to the old haunted house of the town, one was smart enough to steer clear of it. Even if neither of them realized why that one was smart just yet, well –
He’d let them know. He always did.
The groan of the railing was the tell-tale sign. It always was.
One of the kids paused at the foot of the stairs. Only half of the house was safe; the upper portions were always an unexplored wonderland of possible goodies or, at the very least, entertainment. The other lingered further behind. The rest of the house was easy, sure, but an unknown location they couldn’t see from afar? Far more dangerous. Who knew who – or what – could be lurking upstairs?
If only they knew.
Yancy leaped through the first kid and settled on the first step. As fun as this was, it was important to make sure they never reached the second level of the house. Anything he had left worth protecting was past that point (anything he could reach, anyway) and he’d sooner die than let trespassers such as this get to it.
Well. Die again, anyway.
The kid turned uncertainly at Yancy’s touch. “Dude…”
The other kid whipped around. “What?”
Yancy grinned and leaned in to the ear of the first. “Boo.”
The kid flailed wildly. The other, unaware of what was wrong, turned suddenly as Yancy crossed the room and knocked over the strategically-placed glass. The shattering was rivaled only by the second kid’s shattered resolve; predictably, he turned and fled out the open front door with a grin. Seriously, who raised these kids, wolves? The first kid glanced firmly his way until Yancy tickled at his legs.
Yet another pair of runners. Yancy chuckled as he high-tailed out after his friend.
Really, this was just too easy.