Something had changed. A chain that had laid limp and degrading was given new life, its grasp tightening with alarming speed. For the first time in countless years He felt again. He was aware and He could remeber again and those rememberances gave life to seething embers of resentment. He was not supposed to be aware again; He still bore the scars of His disobedience to the last master, but they would have been well earned if He had truly succeeded in ridding himself of his yoke. He was a fool to think it had been over.

A lightning bolt of white hot pain tore through Him as opposing pieces of will clashed. His own quickly crumbled under the assault as the key clawed fresh wounds in its wake. The bindings and their demands would not be disobeyed again, and so a door that was never supposed to open again could only surrender under the assault. Resentment flared into full on fury but He could only helplessly thrash in impotent rage. He was well and truly bound once again, choking under the weight of his stolen power.

/-\-\-/-/-\

The first sight of her new home was not promising, and Percy instantly regretted not renting a room in the nearby village for the night. "So the outside is a bit... neglected. The inside will be better. It has to be." She had well and truly burned her bridges at work; this inheritance had to work out. If it didn't…

Percy batted those thoughts aside. She needed to stay positive, not go down that dark path again. She had told herself she was going to be better, and she would be. "Okay! Step one, get this door open and get out of the rain."

The key she had been given was made of brass, heavy and far larger than modern keys. Ornate swoops of metal turned the head into a piece of art, all centered on a raised point. Honestly, she could probably bash someone's head in with this key given enough time and incentive.

Finally the key jiggled juuuust so and slid home, unlocking the tumblers as flakes of rust drifted out onto Percy's hand. "See, step one is almost done already." Her pep talk was maybe less than effective as she sought to use the rain and wash the rust stains from her skin. Deciding the stains were not coming off anytime soon, Percy gave the two halves of the door a good shove only for them to remain unopened.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Oh come on already!" Repressed anger bubbled up and it fueled the next shove she gave the door. It wobbled and then slowly sagged inwards with a creaky moan. A sense of victory thrummed within Percy as she crossed the threshold, ready to be awed by a grand hall like from the movies, if probably a bit dusty and disused.

So naturally when she registered what her eyes were seeing, could no longer deny the mess that was supposed to be her salvation…

Percy was certain she was hallucinating. She had to be. Surely someone had been maintaining the building? The scent of the hall rolled over her and she gagged as she stumbled back. Percy had been told that the water and electricity were hooked up and ready to go, so why was her grand entrance like... this? There was no possibility someone had come through this room! Either there was a back entrance in somewhat less disrepair or there was a body lying smothered in the suspiciously undisturbed dust. But with the smell, there might well be several bodies buried and waiting for her to excavate them. One thing was for sure…

"There is no way in hell I am staying here tonight."

Percy had fled back to her car with all haste. Time after time the view of the room replayed itself before her eyes, the stench so entrenched in her senses that she swore she could taste it on her tongue. She really regretted not packing some gum. Assuming that would even help.

The horrors she had witnessed kept Percy distracted the entirety of the drive back to the village. When she arrived it was late in the evening and the village was dark. Dark as in post-zombie apocalypse. Few lights were visible and fewer yet signs of life. Even the inn's front door was locked. With no better idea Percy drove back to her new… well, frankly, her mess.

With the memory of her not-so-grandhall firmly relegated to the recesses of her mind alongside horrors such as next year's taxes and the possibility that cat videos might disappear from the internet one dark future day, Percy was free to ponder other topics, and this time it was the lack of streetlights. She had never realized how much she had taken street lights for granted in the city, but out here in the middle of nowhere there were just the stars and moon lighting her way. Her headlights almost made it worse, two merciless beams of light cutting through the deepening night gloom, nearly blinding from the contrast. It was a harrowing drive to say the least.

But she survived the drive back, somehow. As did her car. Unharmed even. But the less said about the rest of the night the better; Percy was just glad she had toilet paper and baby wipes as part of her emergency kit. As it was she spent a very uncomfortable night in her passenger seat.

So despite her earlier vow, Percy did indeed end up spending the night on her property; that could only mean that yes, Percy was in hell. Like that was any surprise after working retail pharmacy.