Howl; Boots; Cait.
(3d20)[17][3][12](32)
On a dark winter’s night the wind howled outside and echoed throughout the halls of Mythos Complex. During the daylight hours it had been a nice sixty two degrees Fahrenheit, but in the late hours it shot down to a chilling thirty-three. Cold air nipping at the residents whom had not thought to buy a heating device, assuming the landlord would provide such a luxury. Snow caked the sidewalks and covered the shrubbery around the rundown brick building. All of the long windows were boarded up with a slab of wood to prevent anymore suicides as well as save money on replacing the glass again. This managed to keep out plenty of the air outside from creeping in, but the cracks allowed for the freeze to enter thus making the defense futile.
Anyone who had resided in this complex for a long enough duration knew to have a heater plugged in or to have several comforters this time of year, lest tempt the frost to turn their bodies to popsicles. This concept was the same once summer hit, except air conditioners or fans were the necessity. When this place had first been found it was a nicer studio apartment to reside in, but with the rumors and the price being shot down to the shitter the landlord felt no need to fix anything that dove too far into their wallet; why bother when they were likely to be dead within the month?
Miraculously, some residents managed to stay for months, even years, beyond the landlord’s expectancy. What especially surprised them were the skeptics that somehow lived throughout the whole ordeal finding several logical answers for their problems, since they were, normally, the ones to plunge to their death first. However, no questions were asked to how they dodged the grim reaper’s call, because that meant common faces that paid on time. Besides, if someone was performing a variation of voodoo magic it was best to be left unknown.
On this night in room number 3012, Holly Hendrickson, commonly known as Boots for the combat boots she is rarely seen without, was clinging onto her roommate, Howl Osborne, for warmth beneath their thick comforters. They had been residing in Mythos Complex for several years now, but decided to not buy a heater to avoid paying extra electricity, so, instead, they invested in several comforters for nights such as this one. The studio was meant for one person to reside in, yet they made do by sleeping on the same futon shoved in the farthest corner from the door. The two of them had been friends with each other since childhood and found it comforting to sleep with each other in a brother-sister sort of way, not that anyone believed them when they claimed they were nothing more than that.
A bump in the night was what caused Boots to be stirring at this hour. Today was Tuesday, so they made sure to go to bed at a decent hour so she would not be drowsy when she taught her preschoolers in the morning hours. However, she was far too paranoid to ignore the noises occurring. Carefully she scooted away from Howl — trying her best to not wake up the heavy sleeper — crawled over the covers, and entered the cold air that enveloped her the moment she left the sanctuary of their blanket cave. Shivers ran across her spine, goose bumps rising almost immediately, as she pulled her knees tightly against her chest. She was wearing a long sleeve pajama shirt with rubber duckies on it with matching pajama bottoms and socks. Boots crawled across their bed and followed the sound of moaning. Now, she knew it was not one of her neighbors — Boots knew the difference between a sexual encounter and that of a spirit — but this moaning almost sounded like crying that was all too familiar to push aside and continue her slumber.
She reached the bedroom door, her hand extended towards the knob until she realized how moronic it was for her to be doing this at all, especially without Howl. A gulp was made then went down her throat, the spit swirling about. “Howl…?” Boots turned to her sleeping roommate with her brows furrowed and a face full of fear. He grumbled something she could not make out. “Howl…?” She stepped towards the bed, closer to him instead of further examining the sound that had been tempting her out of the safety of her room. “Howl!” Boots yelled frantically.
Howl sat up instantly. He could sleep through anything, even road construction, but Boots crying was one of the few things that could bring him out of the world of dreams. Without any explanation, he jumped from their bed and pushed her down on it, keeping his arms extended in a protective stance. “I know it sounds like Katie, Boots… but she’s gone. They’re just tryin’ta bring ya down too.”
Cait jumped awake, her body almost flying up a foot off her bed. Boots screaming startled her immensely, causing her heart to race rapidly. Living right next door to her for a few years should have prepared her for these kind of circumstances by now, but she never managed to get herself to sleep heavily enough even with earplugs, headphones with music blaring, or any other method that came to her mind. Body trembling from the sudden shock, as she placed her hand over her bare bosom above her beating organ she realized that she could hear the moaning as well.
Glancing around the room briefly, there was no one else in here but her. She grabbed her button up shirt and loosely buttoned it just so she could feel appropriate enough to enter the hallway. Upon standing Cait realized the shirt she threw on was actually that of a client’s, so it was longer than expected and looked more like a nightshirt on her. With a roll of the eyes and a shake of the head, she concluded that just meant she didn’t need pants to cover herself.
Boots and Howl resided to the left of her room with Joseph on the right. Across the way was Ellie and a little boy with the haunting 3011 room beside them. It confused her that the landlord had labeled the two rooms by the stairs 3011 then 3015. Why not make those 3011 and 3012? Or 3014 and 3015? But, it did not matter to her so long as she knew who around her was helpful.
She strolled over to her door with her arms crossed over her chest in some attempt to keep warm, then pressed her left ear against the door. The moaning grew louder, so she knew it was coming from their floor. Being a resident who had lived there for some time, she remembered the same Katie that Howl was currently telling Boots was dead. The girl had been living in 3011 until a few months or so ago; inside now resided Bridget. Cait didn’t know the exact time since she never cared for her, when she jumped out of her window like the rest of them. Or maybe it was a year ago? Honestly, she had no idea.
Cait pressed her forehead against the wooden door and let out a sigh.
[M] — Mythos Complex [IC] (H)
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