Allye/Performances/The Lonely

Real Date	2021-10-21
Game Date	439-08-33
Event	Tavern Troupe's Night of Frights Storytelling Contest
Point of View Character	Unknown

Allye recites:

  "A shy young boy visits his grandparents for the first time, his parents drawn away by some business and his usual caretakers all indisposed. His grandparents are very old, and he is very bored. He decides to explore the neighborhood!"

Allye recites:

  "Unfortunately, as he's running down the front steps, his grandfather calls out from the front door, stopping him."

Allye gruffly says, "Be careful about the empty house at the end of the lane, kid. It's too dangerous, stay away from it."

Allye recites:

  "What could possibly be so dangerous about an old abandoned house? He just wanted to go skip rocks at the river's edge, anyway. He shrugged and continued on. But his grandfather called out behind him."

Allye gruffly says, "I mean it, boy! There's a monster who lives there and eats children."

Allye recites:

  "The boy rolls his eyes and goes on his way. Why do adults try to trick little kids like that? If the place is old and dangerous then just say that. It isn't like he's stupid or something. He would understand."

Allye recites:

  "The boy spends the day alone by the river's edge, skipping stones, while some of the other neighborhood kids play nearby. The sun begins to sink beneath the treeline, and he heads back home. As he reaches his grandparents' house, his gaze follows the lane to stare at the house his grandfather had warned him about. It's definitely falling apart. And ugly. Frayed curtains flutter in its fractured windows, and the steps leading to the front door are bowed by age."

Allye cheerfully asks, "It's pretty creepy, right?"

Allye recites:

  "The boy startles. He glances to his right to find a girl standing beside him. She grins up at him."

Allye grumpily says, "I mean, not really. It's kind of dumb they tell us not to go in there."

Allye cheerfully says, "Yeah, true! I've always wondered what's really in there." She pauses, then continues. "But ever since my Pa died, Mama doesn't let me have any fun. I bet she'd never let me do that."

Allye recites:

  "The pair smile at one another in recognition. An unspoken bond forms, the mutual understanding of two lonely children. They agree to meet once the adults are all in bed and then explore the old house together. So at the appointed time, he joins her outside his grandparents' house and they walk to the end of the lane."

Allye teasingly asks, "Are you ready? Sure you don't want to chicken out?"

Allye recites:

  "The girl shakes her head and grabs his hand."

Allye cheerfully exclaims, "Let's do it!"

Allye recites:

  "The pair bound up the shaky front steps, giggling. Together they push the large front door, grinning at one another as it easily opens before them."

Allye recites:

  "He lights a candle he pilfered from his grandparents' house, holding it out ahead of them as they cross the threshold."

Allye recites:

  "They pause at the foyer, gazing up at the bare skeleton of what must have been a grand chandelier hanging high above. The crystals that once dangled from its frame lie shattered and scattered all about them, crunching beneath their feet as they make their way into the dark house."

Allye recites:

  "The candlelight flickers and casts shadows all around them. The boy startles as they turn a corner, a figure suddenly looming before him. He laughs at himself as he realizes it's simply an empty suit of armor, all rusted and missing its helm entirely."

Allye smugly says, "Do you think they put this stuff here just to scare us if we were brave enough to come in here? They're so dumb."

Allye recites:

  "His friend laughs brightly, following along behind him. He grins, emboldened."

Allye recites:

  "The pair wander into a side parlor, navigating carefully over toppled, broken furniture and moth-eaten rugs. The floorboards creak unhappily beneath them with each step."

Allye cheerfully exclaims, "You're right, it isn't scary at all!"

Allye recites:

  "Her giggles echo behind him, but his eyes are drawn to a stained lump of burlap dumped unceremoniously to one side of the room. The strange parcel is surprisingly large, nearly as long as he is tall. It lies within a pool of black. Is that dried blood? He moves forward, intrigued. Marks along the wall beside the odd bundle are difficult to make out in the darkness."

Allye recites:

  "Jagged lines of the sticky dark substance come into view as he moves the candle closer. Haphazardly assembled letters scrawled across the wall read, "NOT FRIEND.""

Allye recites:

  "Confused, he turns back to his friend, wondering what the words could mean."

Allye recites:

  "The wind outside shifts, causing one of the tattered curtains to billow away from the broken window. The girl smiles at him, and row upon row of razor-sharp teeth gleam menacingly in the moonlight."

Allye matter-of-factly says, "The end."

Allye flashes a quick grin.