Lulu

## Lulu by Chibi-Works

It all started with another family camping trip. My brother Andy, my parents, my Aunt Laura, my Uncle Ben and I always planned an annual camping trip to the nearby mountains. Every year we would hike a bit higher and walk a bit farther. This year we went up about 10 miles and half way around the mountain to a grassy flatland. It was pretty nice, quiet and unmoved by the urban life just a few miles down the road. The only part I didn’t like was that there was no actual bathroom so if you needed some quiet time in a john you needed to take a shovel and hope you don’t pick up poison ivy.

It was getting closer to sun down and the camp was all set up and the fire was crackling in the center. I had the greatest urge to take a piss so I told my mother I was going into the trees for a moment. She told me not to go too far and I nodded to show her I understood. Then I left.

I walked into the collection of trees moving just far enough to see the light. The last thing I wanted is one of my family members just peering behind a tree and causing another one of those awkward moments in life.

Once I was on empty I fixed my pants and planned my way back but just as I was about to leave something caught the corner of my eye. I turned my head and in a pond a few feet away there was a girl washing her legs off. I was curious so I walked over. She had pitch black messy hair in these two pig tails; she didn’t look much older than me maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a torn pleated uniform dress but no shoes, her legs were covered in bruises and cuts.

“Hey…” I watched her finish wiping her legs off with the water and stand straight up. She slowly turned to me her black bangs were long and overgrown.

“My name is Rubin.” I smiled at her, “What’s yours?”

A fog rolled in while she stood there silently, then once I could barely see the trees behind her I heard her whisper, “Lulu.”

“Lulu? Well that’s a cute name. So where are you staying?” I looked around it was almost impossible to see anything, not only that but the sun was starting to go down.

“I can…take you…” she muttered softly taking my hand. Her skin was smooth even with the bruises, soft and plush like but so very cold.

I was quiet for a moment, conflicted if I should go with her or not. I gave her a smile shortly after and agreed to follow her. We walked on the dirt path that was cluttered with dead leaves and fallen branches. At the time I was only concentrated on her and not the fact that she was walking blindly into fog like it was an everyday task.

The foggy forested dimmed as the sun descended. She managed to lead me to an old abandoned two story home as the fog thickened even more. She and I sat on the porch to watch the darkness.

“Aren’t you afraid? You know, of living out here in the woods alone?” I look over at the quiet shoeless Lulu. She hugged her bruised knees and kept her eyes hidden.

“Not really, even with the tall men, killers, and monsters on all fours I am never scared. No one visits me anyway.” She explained as quietly as she had spoken her name.

I was surprised at her response, for a moment I thought her crazy. But then again she had probably been here for quite some time. “So, where are you from?”

“A very far away place, it’s very dark there. I don’t like the dark very much, bad things happen there.” She trembled for a moment, and then we sat in silence.

“Why do you cover your face?” I asked after feeling a chill from the cold air.

“I don’t like people seeing my face…”

More eerie silence rolled in with the wind. Then I cleared my throat.

“When do you think the fog will let up? I will need to get back to camp before my parents get worried.” I looked at her and she stood up, something felt strange about her suddenly. A sad demonic feeling overwhelmed me.

“Are you hungry?” she asked walking to the door falling off its hinges.

“Y-yeah.” I stood up as well ready to follow her inside.

She walked into the house and I followed. Inside was a very well kept bare home. There was barley any furniture let alone dust, the windows were clean the couch looked soft. Hell, there were even lights on in the kitchen area. I sat on the couch which was nice and soft despite its seemingly aged upholstery.

She entered the living space with an old chipped plate and a bowl of soup and a shiny silver spoon. She set it on my lap and went to get me a napkin then disappeared up some steps.

I sat alone eating my soup; it was sweet and warm and went down well. It had a deep red colouring with clear signs of vegetables floating about. I ate thinking of my parents, I had been out a long time and we didn’t walk that far. Shouldn’t my parents be calling my name, I should be able to hear them from here. It was weird, ever since the fog rolled in.

I dismissed my thoughts after my soup was done and my eyes became drowsy. I set the plate, bowl, and spoon on the single table in the room and lay on the couch. My only thought was about the girl who disappeared in the house as I drifted to sleep.

I was awoken in the darkness of the night by a loud scream from below. I shot up on the couch and looked around. There was nothing but the creaking boards and howling house. I listened for a few moments to the eerie silence of the house. I looked over at the table when I returned to my position and noticed the dishes were gone.

“Lulu must have taken them…” I closed my eyes surrendering to the sleepiness.

As I drifted back into my dreamscape a loud thud came from below and I shot up again. This time I stood certain this wasn’t my imagination. What if Lulu was in danger? She seemed too frail to fight off anything that could have wandered in. I needed to make sure she was okay. The last thing I would want was seeing her seriously hurt when I could have helped her.

I then carefully maneuvered my way around the dimly lit home. I ran into a bathroom, a bedroom, a closet, and then a basement door. I touched the knob of the door and this eerie chill slowly ran its way down my spine. I was reluctant to open it but thinking of Lulu I forced myself to turn the knob and open the door.

Behind the door there was a darkened stairwell, a strong cold foul wind came up the stairs. I coughed a few times from the unsuspecting smell then took a few steps down.

As I descended to the basement the foul smell got stronger, my stomach began to churn and my eyes watered. It smelled like there was something a lot of that something lying down in the basement rotting. At the bottom I found a switch and flipped it. The basement was now fully illuminated, or at least this part was. At the corner of the room there was another door covered in deep brown rust like colour.

“Lulu!” I called out looking around, there was no answer. I was starting to get worried, where could she be?

“LULU!” I screamed louder, more anxious than before. I hurried over to the door in the corner of the room. I grabbed the handle and swung it open.

“LU-…” I stopped what I had seen in that room made me lose everything I had eaten. There was an entire room with bodies, rotten, decaying bodies just laying there.  I saw men, women, and a few people my age sprawled about the floor even hanging. The one thing they all had in common was their faces. None of them had eyes, there were only empty sockets staring through me. I couldn’t handle it. I backed away from the door and bumped into something.

I slowly turned and there stood Lulu, dress arms and legs all covered in blood. I was horrified. I thought she was so sweet, I didn’t think she could…I couldn’t even fathom the situation. I was just wishing this was all a bad nightmare. That none of this was real.

“You’ve seen too much…” she looked up at me her hair moving from her face to reveal nothing but smooth skin. She he had no eyes, not even open sockets.

“Y-your…f-face…” I backed away from her even further tripping over tools spread on the floor.

Her hand touched the smooth surface, “My eyes…you can’t see them right now.” She flashed a small smile as if she were embarrassed or even happy. “But I have them.”

I was frozen; my heart was thumping in my chest. I could barely breathe, and then she moved all the hair from her face smearing the blood from her hands.

“See?” The skin around the nonexistent sockets began to tear apart and bleed. She started to look so sad, so hurt. After a moment she had deep empty sockets.

“Now that you’ve seen it…” she reached out for me and I smacked her hands away.

“Get away from me! You fucking freak!” I shoved her out of the way and clumsily ran up the dark stairs. She followed.

“You’ve seen too much!” I heard her voice echo behind me as I ran out of the house into the foggy woods. “Give me your eyes!” I looked back and saw her standing on the porch; I didn’t stop until I tripped over a branch and fall down a small incline.

I managed to break my arm on a rock making me scream in agony, the bone clearly poking from a small spot on my arm. Within moments she was sitting on my chest; her hands inches away from my face. I kicked and rolled until she was off then made my way onto my feet. She kept yelling for my eyes and I kept running blood spurting from the small opening on my arm.

Then that’s when I noticed the pond, I had just met her at that pond which means my parents weren’t far away. I found the tree I pissed on then the embers from the fire. I ran as hard I could and stumbled onto camp. My family had jumped on my entrance. I was suddenly so dizzy and tired from running. I looked around and I saw my mother. She looked so worried, the suns light illuminated camp and the fog was gone. I relaxed for a moment feeling safe and I closed my eyes.

I woke up in a hospital my mother standing above my bed; I had a tube in my arm and a cast on the other. She leaned down to give me a kiss on my forehead.

“I’m so glad you’re alright. You leave for five minutes to use the bathroom and you come back with a broken arm and cuts. Now how did you manage that?”

“F-five minutes?” I slowly sat up, “I was gone for five minutes!? But the girl, the fog and the house and the bodies.”

“Honey, there were no houses at our camp sight, no girls and most certainly no fogs.”

I was at a standstill; I was in the fog; I saw the girl. She had touched my hand, she fed me, and those…those bodies. How?

I had checked out of the hospital by time it was 11 o’clock and made my way home with my parents. A fog had rolled in but that was normal for the night time around here. I had set my alarm clock when I got to my bedroom and lay in my bed. I yawned and closed my eyes. I started fading out. The house was quiet; the image of the girl was clear in my mind. I took a deep breath when I heard her sob.

“Give me your eyes.”

NEWS HEADLINES: SEVENTH GRUESOME SUICIDE

Boy takes his own life by removing his own eyes and bleeding to death, parents found him early this morning lying on his bed deceased. His eyes however have not been found.