Chime DRDE – Prologue Through Chapter 3
Chime – Prologue
It had been a long time since I arrived at this place. Many years of bliss. Enough bliss that unneeded memories had been stricken from my mind. Memories such as how I came to be here, or who I was before.
I had spent so much time here in the countryside with the Old Lady. She treated me like her own little girl, and spoiled me so. She rarely left the house and never once had a visitor. We spent each day curled up in front of the fireplace as the Old Lady told me stories of far away places and days long past.
It had been a week since the Old Lady had last come out of her locked room. My food had long since run out. At first I was angry. Had she abandoned me? Did I do something wrong? How could she leave me like this? Then I came to realize something. Her big metal contraption she used when she left was still here. She hadn’t left, yet the house was silent and devoid of life other than my own. Was this the “death” I had heard of in some of the Old Lady’s tales? At the time I didn’t really understand. At the time it simply meant I had nothing to eat. It wouldn’t be long, however, that death would stop being a foreign concept. No, I would come to understand death intimately in the days ahead. In fact, death would be my only constant companion, right up until it finally turned and embraced me.
The Old Lady had called me Chime. She said my voice was beautiful, like the sound of a bell. She gave me a lovely name. I must thank her for that among other things. I must thank her should we meet up in the afterlife.
I am Chime, one without a past.
I am Chime, one forced to leave behind all she knows.
I am Chime, listen to my story.
Chime – Chapter One
I exited the Old Lady’s house and began my descent down the steps. One, two, three. Three steps and I was on the ground. I breathed in and looked back at the house. This was as far as I had ever been from home. Well, at least since I first came here all those years ago. Exhale, Chime, everything is going to be alright. Everything will work out. No, how could it work out? I don’t know anything about this world. I have no goals or directions. Nothing to strive towards or for. I’ll simply meander about until I lose the will to go on. Stop it, Chime. You must not think like that. Just walk, don’t think.
I slowly made my way down the road, heading in the direction the Old Lady and her metal thing would go when she left. She always came back with food, I must be able to find some if I go this way. I looked back just as the Old Lady’s house disappeared from the horizon. I had thought I would be going back there soon, but in reality I would never see that place again. Day turned to night and night slowly bled back into day. I simply walked. Left foot, right foot. Nowhere to go but forward, Chime.
Eventually a new house came into view. This one was nothing like the Old Lady’s. It was run down and rotting. Junk littered the yard around it. The human who lives here must not care for aesthetics, or hygiene. Maybe this is where the food is. I guess I’ll have to check. I crept nervously to the door. Locked, I’ll need another way in. Circling around the house, I discovered a window near the ground. I got to my knees and peered through. An arm, I can see an arm. Someone is here. I knocked on the window, but heard no response. I used all the strength I had to push the window open and carefully dropped in. Now with a full view of the room I realized why their was no response. The arm was not attached to a person. Maybe I should not have come here. Nothing to do about it now, the window is about five feet off the ground, much too high for me to reach from this side.
Scanning the room I soon found the owner of the arm, hidden in a shadowy corner. He was an older man with a beard, now sitting on a rocking chair. He had large wounds everywhere and his head slumped onto his shoulder. Was he also dead? I reached my hand out to touch his shoulder. Contact, his body was lifeless and cold.
Suddenly I was dizzy. I fell to my knees and clutched my head. What is this?
“Where is she?” called a low and terrifying voice. Who is there? I stood up and looked towards the location of the voice. Wait, was I taller now? I looked down at my own body. This wasn’t me, these weren’t my clothes. The dead man? I looked back behind me towards the rocking chair. No one was in it.
“I know she is here.” the voice said again. I jerked my head towards the voice just in time to see the figure it belonged to emerge from the shadows. A man stood there. At least I think it was a man. He was tall and dressed all in black. His hood obscured his face with the exception of his mouth which was curled up into a terrible grin.
“W-who are you?” I asked.
“Oh, so you can talk.” he replied. “Then tell me where she is.”
“Who is she?”
“Don’t play games.”
The shadowy man crept towards me and I instinctively backed up, bumping into the rocking chair. The man lifted up his left hand revealing an axe.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know who you are talking about!”
The shadowy man’s grin widened to almost unrealistic proportions. Without a word or any hesitation he swung the axe down on my outstretched arm. My right arm was sliced off and flopped on the ground. Blood began spraying everywhere. Pain, intense pain. I held my stub of an arm with my left hand. The shadowy man pushed me onto the rocking chair.
“Where is she?”
What? He is still going on with that? I don’t know who he is talking about. Why doesn’t he believe me? I can’t tell you what I don’t know! Please, just go away! My allotted time for a response must have been up. He lifted the axe once more. No, please don’t! I felt the axe enter my chest and quickly retract. Again it hit me, ripping through my flesh. Stop! Please stop! Again and again the shadowy man hit me with the axe, blood splattering onto his face which was causing his grin to broaden even further. Why was this happening? My vision began to fade out and the hits of the axe became less and less painful, I was about to die. My head slumped to the side and came to rest on my shoulder. Everything was completely black now. The axe hit me a few more times, but I could hardly notice. Then my mind went blank. Nothingness followed. I was dead.
My eyes opened. I was still in that house, laying on the floor. I got to my knees and looked down at myself. Yes, these were my clothes. I was me again. I was Chime again. I looked over at the rocking chair, which once again seated a dead man. Did that really just happen? Was I reliving his death? I don’t understand, but there doesn’t seem to be food here. I should really just get out. I walked up a set of stairs and found the front door, which I exited from. It was still daylight out, I wonder how long I had been laying on the floor.
Slam! I looked over at the source of the sound. It was another one of those metal contraptions. This one was blue with some lights on the top. The side of it had the word “Police” on it. What was a police? A man had gotten out of it and was now looking at me.
“Um, hello little girl. Is this your house?” he asked in a soft tone.
“..No.” I replied after some hesitation. The Old Lady had told me never to trust anyone else, but she wasn’t here anymore. I had no choice if I wanted to survive.
“Well, wait here please.” he said as he entered the house. Sure, I’ll wait here. Do you have any food?
Chime – Chapter Two
A few minutes passed and the man came back out with a serious look on his face. He was a younger man, clean shaven with a short haircut. He turned to me and made a weak smile.
“Where are your parents?” he asked.
“…Have none.” I replied.
“..Oh, uh, well why are you here?”
“…Food.”
“You’re looking for food?”
“Yes.”
The man tilted his head slightly to the side and ruffled his brow.
“Ok,” he replied. “Well what is your name?”
“…Chime.”
“Chime? That’s a nice name”
I nodded. Chime is a nice name.
“Do you know your last name, Chime?”
I shook my head in response.
“Well,” said the man as he stretched his hand out towards me. “I’ll bring you to the station, we’ll find out who your parents are.”
I stared blankly at him. Parents?
“…I’ll uh, get you something to eat as well.”
I grasped his hand. This man could feed me. I like this man.
The man shivered and gave me a strange look, a surprised and uneasy look. He shook his head and his weak smile returned. He then walked me to the metal contraption and strapped me in. He went around to the other side and we began moving away from the old house, down the country road encased by forest as far as one could see.
“Oh right,” the man said, keeping his eyes forward. “I’m Officer Williams.”
I heard what he said, but really didn’t acknowledge it. Officer is an odd name.
“…I guess you don’t talk much.” he stated, looking a bit dejected.
I watched the trees fly by us out the window for what felt like hours until finally there were no more trees. Instead the trees were replaced by many buildings. Buildings were all around me, hundreds of people were walking around, and these metal things were everywhere. I didn’t know places like this existed. The forest doesn’t go on forever? This must be where the Old Lady went to get food. Eventually we came to a stop. Officer exited and then came around and let me out. We were on a black surface with yellow lines. Metal contraptions that looked just like Officer’s were neatly placed between these lines. Officer then lead me into a nearby building.
“Williams, how was it?” said a gruff man who was dressed just like Officer.
“He was dead. A pretty gruesome murder.” Officer replied. “I found this girl on the premise.”
“He didn’t have a daughter, did he?”
“No, She said she didn’t live there. Her name is Chime, family name unknown.”
“Huh, well run a check on missing children. I expect a full report on my desk by the end of the day.”
“Yeah, uh. What should I do with her?” Officer said as he looked down at me.
“She might have already been reported missing,” replied the gruff man. “Just keep her with you for now.”
“Uh, yes sir.”
I tugged on Officer’s shirt and looked up at him.
“Huh, what is it Chime?” he asked.
“…Food.” I replied. I need to eat.
“Oh, yeah,” Officer looked over at the gruff man. “Do we have anything to eat?”
“What?” replied the gruff man. “This is a police station, not a restaurant.”
“I think I have some crackers in my desk. Do little girls like crackers?”
“What are you, Williams, stupid?” groaned the gruff man. “Everyone likes crackers.”
The gruff man walked off and Officer led me over to a desk where he sat down. He opened a drawer and handed me some crackers. I like crackers. As I munched away, Officer asked me many questions, but I had few answers to give. The Old Lady had told me never to tell anyone about who I was or where I was from. I always listen to The Old Lady. The questions eventually bled into silence and Officer did something or another with a glowing box. Some time passed and Officer looked at me with a sad face.
“Well, no one has reported you missing. I won’t give up though. We’ll find out who you are.”
I looked at Officer with a tilted head. I am Chime. That’s who I am. I shrugged and went back to my crackers.
Chime – Chapter 3
I had fallen asleep after I ran out of crackers. I awoke to Officer and the gruff man talking.
“..serial murders. Buncha hicks and an old lady all dead and the girl sprouts up? Gotta be one of their kids!” The gruff man yelled out.
“None of them had children that could be her. No reported adoptions, no dependents filed for in taxes.” Officer replied while scratching his head. “If she was living with one of those people, they didn’t want anyone to know. Not the one who was keeping her nor Chime herself.”
“We humans can be terrible beasts, Williams.” The gruff man said as he placed his hand upon Officer’s shoulder. “A million things could be scaring the poor girl into silence. We’ll take her to the morgue.”
“What?!” Officer yelled out in anger. “You are going to force a little girl to look through a line up of corpses?”
“Scared or no, her reaction will prove if she knew any of them or not.”
“…Sir, that’s…”
“Unless, Williams, you can find me something concrete within the week.”
“Yes, sir.” Officer said between his teeth. “Of course I will!”
“I’ve arranged for her to stay at the orphanage up in the borough.” The gruff man said with crossed arms. “Drop her off before you get back to work.”
Officer turned away from the gruff man and began to head towards me. He froze in his tracks for a split second upon seeing me awake, but shook it off and gave me a smile.
“You are going to be staying with a nice old lady for now, Chime.” Officer said to me, his smile weakening before my very eyes. “Plenty of off other kids your age to play with. You’ll love it there!”
“..And food?” I asked eagerly. Officer chuckled to himself for a moment.
“Yes, dear. And food.”
Officer brought me back into his metal contraption he called a “car” and we began to move. I watched the people and buildings become blurs. Thousands of faces I couldn’t quite see flew past. Was he out there? Was one of them the shadowy man? My heart began to race at the thought, and I had to hold my hands to my ears to ease the feeling that my composure would burst through them. Officer gave me a glance, but didn’t say a word. Time passed and the crowds of building and people became lighter, and eventually gave way to a forest of trees. These trees were foreign to me. They looked the same, but they didn’t feel like home. I wasn’t going home.
“What in the world?” Officer mumbled to himself as we began to slow. I moved my attention to the front and saw what he had seen. The blackened shell of one of these “cars” sat on the edge of this dirt road. Flames and smoke rising up from the hollow vessel blackened the sky around it.
“Stay in the car, Chime!” Officer said as we came to a stop a safe distance from the flames. I nodded as he left me behind. He took a device from his belt and began to talk into it, but I couldn’t make out the words as the door slammed behind him and left me in relative silence. I watched the flames flicker and wave, as if they were inviting me to dance along with them. They felt familiar and inviting, but I couldn’t seem to recall from where.
“Daughter.”
The word pierced me. Startled, I whirled around in search of the source, but no one was to be found. The low, blunt voice was familiar, but I couldn’t attach a face to it.
“Daughter.”
Again the sound felt targeted at my being’s very core. It resonated from within and sent blood rushing through my veins.
“Daughter.” the voice called out again, this time more playfully than before, as if it knew something I did not. My head moved to the side and my eyes peered into the forest. I struggled out of the binds that fastened me inside this “car” and made my way outside. Officer didn’t notice me, for I was as quiet as a mute mouse. My legs carried me towards the treeline and I couldn’t seem to stop them. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to scream out, but my mouth wouldn’t open. Something in here was drawing me to it, and some part of me that needed to find it was in control now. I pushed into the forest as sweat dripped down my brow, off my nose and fell to the earth at my feet. Left foot, right foot. Keep moving Chime. I am in control now.
It didn’t take me long to find what had called me here. Another corpse. This time a young man with a single wound across his chest lay supine on the ground, barely obscured by the brush that dominated the forest floor. This was here for me. This was mine. In my mind I was screaming at my body to listen to my commands, but it reached down and gently touched the man on the cheek. Back in control, I slammed my eyes shut.
“Ah!” an unfamiliar voice called out in surprise. “Oh! You scared me. My car…. it…”
I opened my eyelids ever so slightly. The corpse was no longer at my feet, but standing alive in front of me. The young man nervously titled from side to side as another approached him.
“Hello, my dear girl.” The shadowy man said with a smile as he looked directly through the young man in front of him and right towards me. “I knew I would be finding you soon.”
“Uh…I-I’m a man..” The young man nervously replied.
“Who are you this time?” The shadowy man sang out. “Emily? Annette? Francine? Or Maybe…
“My name is Dave..”
“No,” The shadowy man began to say. His tone changing from playful to angry. “Not even I can stand the taste of your real name on my tongue.”
“Uh…I don’t think I am who you think I am!” The young man said as he began to slowly back towards me. The shadowy man stopped looking towards me and finally turned his gaze to the young man.
“The message isn’t for you, boy.” He said with an exaggerated shrug. “You are just yet another unfortunate casualty in the girl’s petty games.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry though,”The shadowy man explained as he procured an axe from behind his back and a grin widened across his face. “She’ll get the message.”
“But..” the young man hurriedly tried to spit out as he threw his arms out to try protect himself and backpedaled away. His words were cut short and bled into a scream as the shadowy man’s axe ripped into his chest. The young man fell to my feet as I had found him before. His eyes screaming out, and his shaky hand reaching out towards nothing as as the last bits of life left his body. The shadowy man began to speak as he refocused his attention upon me.
“Stop resisting my pursuit now, “daughter.” The last word said with distaste through gritted teeth. “It is in the best interest of these mortals you do so love.” I didn’t know what to do. The shadowy man started at me with a grin and I couldn’t make myself look away.
“Chime!” Officer called out.
I looked behind to see Officer running towards me. My head then snapped back towards where the shadowy man had been standing, but he was nowhere to be seen. Officer was taken aback at the sight of the corpse, but he quickly grabbed onto my hand and pulled me away. I was sequestered back to the confines of the metal contraption and given more crackers. I stared into the woods as I munched away. What was I doing here? More men dressed like officer began to show up and time passed, but I just focused on my crackers and the treeline. Am I really Chime?
