The Mysterious Rattle 02

 Original Idea: Sophiie93

Copy Editor: Leena 

James cautiously peeked into the room, seeing the figure he was chasing cloaked in darkness. It appears to be searching for something, kneeled over an old chest. He slowly pointed his flashlight at it, prompting the figure to turn and stare directly at him with animalistic eyes. 

James was petrified in shock. In front of him wasn’t a ghost, but a mutant, and one of the strangest mutants he had ever seen. She had two heads, six arms, and a long slender tail that ended in a rattle that twitched nervously at his presence. 

“H-hi there?” James said in a shaky voice. This mutant looked like she had been through hell. Her hair unkempt, her clothes were torn, she was covered in dirt, and she was wearing a backpack that was falling apart. There was one thing that was out of place though, an expensive looking microphone in their hands… Chuck’s microphone, which the mutant dropped to the floor before taking a step back cautiously.

“Who, are you?” James said gently.

“Ah! G-go away!” both heads said in unison, grabbing a small bag from the open chest and turning to flee.

“Wait!” James pleaded giving chase. He was curious, but also concerned for her safety. If this house was going to crumble in the storm he didn’t want them to be stuck inside. He eventually cornered them in a large courtyard near the back of the house. The rain was coming down in a torrent and the mutant was running into a room on the far side to take refuge from it. He sighed, ruffled his hair, and made a mad sprint through the falling water to keep up.

Upon entering the room he saw the mutant curled in a ball in the corner. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to protect herself from the rain or from him. He stopped dead in his tracks, approaching her slowly as if she were a frightened animal. “Calm down, I don’t want to hurt you…” James said, doing his best not to scare her, though honestly he sounded plenty scared himself.

“Go away!” the mutant’s right head shouted. “This is my home!”

James put up his hands submissively trying to calm her down. “It’s OK, It’s OK. I understand. But listen. I think we need to leave. The house is in bad shape and I’m not sure it will survive the storm. I know a safe place…”

“No! This is my house! Go away!” the left head replied. They were practically yelling so they could be heard above the noise of the storm. 

James tried to speak but was interrupted by a small piece of rubble falling on his shoulder. Looking up he saw a crack in the roof quickly getting bigger. He decided action was better than words at this point and simply grabbed the mutant’s wrist and began dragging her outside. She struggled, but the surge of adrenaline James was feeling was enough to overpower her.

James pushed the door open and dragged the mutant into the courtyard as the room crumbled behind them. They collapsed on the grass as the crumbling room caused a chain reaction, support pillars falling, ceilings crumbling in, until more than half the house was nothing but a pile of debris. James put his arms around the mutants, shielding them from the shrapnel and the loud deafening crash. His thick coat and backpack was enough to protect him from the damage.

When the carnage subsided, James heard soft sobs coming from within his arms. He stepped back. The mutant was in shock. “M-my house” both heads said in a wavering voice. James took off his coat and put it over the girl’s head to keep them dry, giving them time to gather themselves. He took out his phone to call 911 but before he could the mutant slapped the phone out of his hands “Don’t!” they pleaded.

“But… I have to. This is serious, you need medical attention!” The mutants turned to flee at James’s protests but he grabbed their wrist again, preventing them. “No wait! Where do you plan to go? You can’t just run.”

“Nowhere ok!” one of her heads said. “I have nowhere! I don’t have a home anymore! I have nowhere to go!” she dropped to her kneed and started to cry. 

James assumed the neighbors would have been alerted from the loud noise and if they got involved things would just get more complicated. He put his hands on the mutant’s upper pair of shoulders reassuringly. “Okay Okay I won’t call 911. Just please calm down you two.”

“Melany…” both heads said.

“Sorry?” James replied confused.

“My name is Melany. Not ‘you two,’ just one, me, Melany,” the left head said. A hand came up to wipe some tears from the right head’s eyes. “I know, you’ve never seen a mutant like me.”

James laughed to himself remembering some mutants can have two heads but one personality. “No look you two… I mean… look Melany, your mutation doesn’t matter right now. We are stuck in the rain, the house is falling down, and you don’t want to call 911. We can’t stay here, so what do you want?”

“…Food?” Melany said cautiously, her tail twitching in the rain. James figured she must be so hungry that the rain was barely even a concern for her. “Ok. Come to my house and we can get you some food. I just want to get you out of the rain.”

“Alright.” Melany said, gently taking James hand. “Alright.”