Somehow, fate had led me back to this place. Back to the manor. It had been 90 years since I'd met and served Asmodeus. I was done mourning his loss at his shrine, and I decided to return to the house to see who remained.
As I walked to the stairs, I had flashbacks of those who once lived here. The porch often had Tyson or Faida- or both, sometimes sharing a chat while they smoked. Now the porch was old. The paint had worn away, and it seemed as an animal had taken refuge underneath the steps.
I went up them regardless. I felt them dip slightly under my weight, but I made it to the door in one piece. I opened it, half expecting to see Jekyll in the kitchen, making coffee or getting water to help aid in Lucien's morning hangover. She was always so motherly. She took good care of him. I hope he figured out his place in life, and allowed Jekyll to live hers.
The coffee maker that Jekyll once held on a daily was now tipped, covered in dust, and broken.
I felt alone as I made my way into the living room. There was no Marcy, no Tiberius, no Grinny. They weren't stacked upon the couch, with Grinny in Tyson or Tiberious's arms, and Marcy in Faida's. No. The couch where they all once sat was empty. Fibres and springs sticking out of it every which way. The TV where they all would watch whatever was on- was simply missing. Taken by looters, or one of the residents of the manor itself.
I made my way to Lucien's 'office.' Nothing. Where his desk once sat was just a square stain on the floor. It sent shivers down my spine to think what may have happened to Lucien for them to remove every last remaining part of his life from the one room he lived in. I shook the thought from my head and continued on down the hallway.
Most of the doors were shut. I couldn't bring myself to open them. I kept imagining finding a body- or the corpses of one of Epsilon's pets. I saw Erela's old room, the door was slightly ajar so with a shaky hand I opened it the rest of the way. To my surprise, her room was in pristine condition. While the rest of the house was falling apart beyond repair, her bed was neatly made, free of dust with pure white sheets nicely sprawled across the bed.
The sight of it threw me off, so after a moment of staring, I left. I was about to open Blanket's room, but I couldn't. The thought that these kids that I once knew could be dead brought about a feeling of survivors guilt to me. The only one who could still possibly be alive was Persik. He was just a baby when I knew him. Always being caudled by Jekyll.
I was brought back to the present when a bat flew near me from one of the rooms, scaring the hell out of me. I jumped, admittedly, and decided it was time for me to head out. I heard the back door slam, and I quickly turned my attention to it. It was only the wind, as the main door was busted off its hinges, the screen door was free to bang around all it wished.
I walked over, opening the screen door to look at the garden.
All of the plants that Asmodeus and I created together that day were dead and shriveled, some looking burned. One bush caught my eye, though. One large goat next to a smaller one, obviously both burned, they still retained enough of their shape to make out.
Out of all this, the thing that made my stomach turn and tears flood my eyes was the dried white rose flower crown that lay atop the head of the smaller goat-shaped bush.
