The Family Barn

The barn. An old place that his Dad had loved since childhood. But, Cyrus couldn't bring himself to entirely like it. As the place was more full of painful memories than good ones. Ones that were unintentionally caused by a former babysitter, Aunt Celeste, and her visit over the Summer. She was his Dad's big sister if he remembered it right. She would bring him out to the barn with his friends and the other kids from the neighborhood. Having them play hide and seek.

Sometimes it would be nice.

Other times it would be terrifying. Since there were times that Cyrus swore that he heard scratching noises. Little scratching ones that were like a dog running around. In fact, it reminded him of their Schnauzer Daisy when she ran around the kitchen. Who strangely went missing a month after his Aunt Celeste's visits started. And despite how many missing posters Cyrus remembered putting up, she never came home.

What was worse was the times the other kids got hurt in the barn. Not splinters or anything like that. But, scratches. Bites on their legs and arms from something they hadn't seen. Or ones that they hadn't seen. Which really dwindled his friendship pool after two weeks of 'attacks'. It got so bad, Cyrus was friendless by the end of that Summer. Which really made that following school year a terror. Cyrus remembered how his friends avoided him. Acting like he somehow caused them harm.

Or how they whispered about his weird Aunt and her games.

But, he never remembered his Aunt playing any odd game. Or anything bad about her. As his Aunt was a kind, gentle, andell meaning woman. A little flaky but, sweet and loving. More so than his parents were. Who seemed happy to dump him on her anytime they wanted to have 'alone time'. Which felt like every freaking weekend when he was growing up. Putting those feelings aside, he walked around the barn. Noticing how run down it had been over the years. Wondering how it got so bad. As he remembered how his Father loved the place. Just how proud he was of it after inheriting it from Cyrus's Grandmother. A person that Cyrus vaguely remembered.

Since she died when he turned four. And all he remembered about her was how sickly she was. If he remembered it right, she had a rare blood condition. One that he couldn't remember the name of.

That didn't matter.

All that mattered was how bad the barn now looked. How deeply in disrepair it was. Part of him wondered why it happened. Why his Dad wasn't coming out here anymore. Or even keeping up with any of the care. As Cyrus started poking around, he felt an odd urge to get into the barn. Find a way in to check out how bad things were inside. See if they were just as bad as the outside. And with how bad the roof was, he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good inside.

As the roof looked like it partially collapsed a while ago.

So, the inside probably was in disarray. At least that's what Cyrus figured as he headed to the front doors of the barn. Trying them to see if they would open at all. Not feeling surprised that they didn't. Considering the state of them and all that. Cyrus then decided to find another way into the barn. Walking around it to see if there was another way in. It took him around ten minutes to find a hole in the side of the barn. One that wasn't all that big but, he felt he could squeeze himself into it. Which he did. It took a bit more effort than he initially anticipated. But, he managed to get through it into the barn. Finding it better than what his mind came up with. No rotting wood that he could easily detect.

There was a strange scent in the air. Which initially he thought was mold. Though the man found no sign of it as he walked through his former play area. Cyrus recalled several fun memories as he walked past things. Games that he used to play with his friends and cousins. A memory of his Aunt making shadow puppets on a wall once to entertain him when he was particularly lonely. It made a small smile come to his face as he leisurely strolled. Right until a scent hit his nose. One that smelled uncomfortably familiar and made his stomach twist.

Decomposition.

Rotting meat that's been around for a while. It was familiar thanks to the fact Cyrus had been around death before. He gagged on the scent as he reached for his handkerchief. Pressing it over his nose as he tried to block out most of the scent. Then getting out his phone to help with the lighting. Turning on its flashlight before he started searching for the source. Guessing it was probably a dead squirrel or something. After all, what else could it possibly have been?

Part of him wished that he hadn't searched for it.

Cyrus found himself in front of the terrible stench. It wasn't just a dead squirrel. There were several. Along with a raccoon. A fox. And at least dead deer rotting in the far corner of the barn. Surrounded by wet hay. The sight making the remnants of his last meal threaten to come back up. But he did his best to keep it down as he stepped away from the pile of death. Right into something solid. Something that was hotter than any human being ever was. Taller than Cyrus as well. His teeth dug into his bottom lip as he slowly turned around. Aiming his phone's flashlight towards whatever the thing is as well. Soon as the flashlight did, Cyrus wished that he hadn't come into the barn. The thing behind him was tall, pale, and draped in a thin stained white sheet. Stained with what, Cyrus had no ideas. But he hadn't wanted to know.

The thing behind him had long black hair, a large drooling maw in place of most facial features, and long yellowing claws.

That's all Cyrus needed to see before he bolted as fast as he could. Right back towards the hole that he had entered the barn with. As he ran, he heard the creature right behind him. Running just as fast as Cyrus was. Or faster. He couldn't entirely tell. But, he wasn't going to look back to find out. Instead opting to push himself to try to run faster. His lungs were burning as he practically threw himself through the hole. Squeezing out and falling flat on his face. Scrambling to get away from it as fast as possible. Nearly screaming when he felt the thing's nails scrape against his ankle. Kicking them hard before pulling himself to his feet. When he turned around, he saw the creature was gone. Then he realized just what exactly had hurt his childhood friends. And that his Aunt wasn't as sweet as he originally thought.