True Lab of His True Intention (O/O) (Rated M)

The fact that this place wasn't creepy was causing her more discomfort than it should've. There were no cobwebs and dust like it should've been. The doors and stairs didn't squeak with years of neglect. And a distant hum could behead deep into the basement, perhaps a machine of some kind?

At least Sage wasn't wrong. As she descended into the darkness, she craned her neck to inspect the sights within the path of her light. This was definitely his lab. Only now….Sage no longer desired to be here. She stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked about.

The humming got louder as she paused at the bottom of the steps. It didn’t… one might think her crazy… sound like a machine. It sounded like a human. Or something human-like. The voice humming sounded very cracked and out of tune, and it grew closer and closer, though she was not moving. Despite how she waved her light, it didn’t seem to pierce into the belly of the deep hound of darkness settled over the area.

This was not normal. Sage gripped the railing, fear eating away at what confidence she had left. That noise, the humming, it was getting closer. A whimper escaped from her as she waved her flashlight about frantically, trying to see what was approaching her. But the light didn't make a dent in the darkness around her, it was so thick and impenetrable.

The humming got so loud she could make out that it sounded like a small child mixed strangely with an old lady. Something dragged down behind the thing as it hummed and squelched by. She could feel a strange brush of skin as it passed her slowly, then on down the echoing hallways. It didn’t seem to notice her.

With a gasp, Sage stumbled back, moving to the other railing. "What in the heck was that?" she breathed as her heart began to pound furiously in her chest, resting to bust out and run far far away from this mansion whether she followed or not.

Her ears followed the thing as it passed, the humming and squelching continued. A monster! Her mind screamed and Sage was quick to agree –

Except, monsters didn't exist. So it couldn't have been that, right?

The humming faded slowly into gentle echoes. Soon she heard a soft, male’s, human voice. It was soft and deep with a tad of rumble. Whomever it was seemed to be greeting the monster who passed, since the humming cut off. His— or its— voice seemed to be calm and soothing, but she couldn’t make out what it was saying.

Sage perked curiously. Someone was down here? She made to follow the voice but she stopped. That thing just went in that direction and she did not want to cross paths with it. Yet, all the same she needed to find someone if they were down here, or this all would be a waste. She inched a bit closer towards the voice, her flashlight lowered to light the path of her feet.

The voice continued on its rumbling, soft hum of speech. It seemed to be fading as the probably weird pair walked away from her. The monster hummed happily, and that was the last thing she heard.

"Dammit! " Sage hissed as the voice faded. Now, she had nothing to guide her AND she didn't know where the steps were now. There was nothing but darkness all around, her light was doing nothing more then lighting a few feet in front of her. But she couldn't just sit here and wait for something to find her, so she begrudgingly continues, cursing herself all the way for losing sight of the steps.

She reached a distinguishable fork in the hallways, where she heard the male’s soft laugh from the left hall. It sounded mildly clear, so they must’ve stopped in the time that she was walking and when she lost them.

Sage paused at the fork. She listened to the voice again. It was definitely a man and he was talking to that thing. She lowered her flashlight to the ground so it wouldn't be seen and snack closer to the hallway. Maybe she could hear him now….

As she reached the point of which his voice was coming from, a dim light caught on her eyes. It was enough for her to make out two forms, one horrifically large, and the other small and normal. The smaller one was reaching up to the larger one, probably feeding it something. He seemed to just be humming to it now, with little spikes of laughter.

It was a monster.

Sage gasped and scrambled backwards. It really was a monster and that man was feeding it! A scream rose in Sage but she forced it away as she backed away. She had to find the steps. Now.

She simply ran back against the wall, which seemed to startle the smaller form. He looked over, squinting slightly in the darkness,
“Who is there?” He called out, the monster crooning softly behind him.

Sage shook her head even though he couldn't see her, not yet. Her phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. But she hardly registered it as she took off.

He walked forward just as he heard the pitter patter of footsteps. He shook his head, then bent down to pick up her phone. He shone the flashlight directly in his eyes, whishpch he shook his head off, turned around the phone and turned it off. Now it was time to find this person before they got lost.

"C'mon, where are they?" She growled as she ran. The steps hadn't seemed this far when she was walking away from them. Why had she dropped her phone like a idiot? There was nothing but black around her, she couldn't see at all. What if she'd already passed them?

She must have turned around somehow somewhere because before she knew it she was getting grabbed by strong hands.
“My dear lady,” The man panted, “may I ask what you’re doing here?”

Sage could easily say that she had never screamed as loud in her entire life. Her scream was bloodcurdling as she kicked and fought against the man. She hadn't even registered what he'd said.
"Let me go!" she screamed. "Let me go, you creep!"

The man gave her a concerned look and let her go, furrowing his brow. “Please do not scream that loud. You could wake up Red. And here you dropped your phone.” He nudged the tech on her shaking, flailing hand.

She stopped screaming once he let her go, only then did she register his words. Snatching her phone, she backed away from him, pointing her phone at him as though it would do something. This man…. He was living with that monster, down here, in the dark. He?l, he'd even named it. Sage bared her teeth at him. She had to get out and he waa not going to stop her.

The man watched her with mild interest, a slight grin playing on his lips.
“You’re going the wrong way, you know. You probably think I’m crazy, so you don’t have to believe me. I am the owner of these labs. Do not make me your enemy, or you will most certainly rot down here.”

What? What was he talking about.

"No, I know you're crazy!" Sage held her ground. If he even though about taking another step towards her, she smash this phone right into his face. "Acting like you own the lab of a dead man, and then making the—those things! You're physcho!"

The man played with his dry hair, humming softly and rocking on his heels. “Your anger is very much unneeded. And I am the owner of these labs. I can hear your doubt.” He stretched with a yawn. “Anyway, it’s feeding time, so I suggest you go and get lost faster so Red can have an early dinner.”

Sage froze. How could he be the owner, the scientist was dead, tombstone and all. Stars above, what was his name!?! "Wait. You're trying not tell me that you're the dead scientist?" Sage began to tremble against her will. It hadn't slipped past her that he'd mentioned Red again, it really was that monster's name. And he was going to let it eat her?!?!

“I’m not trying not to tell you, I am. The. Dead. Scientist.” He shrugged, leaving his hair alone. “I’m pretty good at making graves so… I just went ahead and made myself one to get rid of awkward questions. Like the ones you are asking now!” He grinned brightly. “Anyway, I’ll be sure to make a grave for you, mysterious poor girl.”

Sage frown, she didn't quite approve of how lightly he was taking this. "Excuse me. I'll have you know— #1 I am not poor, #2 You are way more mysterious and sketchy than I'd ever dream to be, and #3 I won't need that grave. I'm not dying, not today at least. You are going to show me to the stairs and I'll see myself out."

“I did not say you were devoid of money. I said you were misfortunate to step foot here.” He waved a finger. “And I don’t think I want to help you any more. It is so rude to call someone a creep, you know.”

"Well you look like one, you act like one, and you live like one so of the shoes fits. Wear. It." she growled in defense. How could this be her fault? "Please just let me leave."

“Why, I’m not stopping you from leaving. You’re the one pushing away a valuable resource for your survival.” He continued walking, humming softly to a tune stuck in his head.