EVIL LURKS HERE

The mansion had long been abandoned, a relic of the past. Locals spoke of its last occupants, a predecessor family, a wife who was said to have lost her mind after the death of her husband, and ended up drowning her cubs. Tales of the house’s haunting presence filled the air like the fog creeping along the ground, numerous as there were raindrops in the roiling clouds pattering onto the earth. Nobody had dared to go near it, but with the prospect of goods, and the three having been down on their luck with essentials, a computer chip or wire spaghetti would be worth its weight in gold.

“Guys, I’m sure we can prepare a little more before we go in, right?” Larry said, his grinning maw twisted in anxiety. The words felt inadequate, floating into the heavy air when the two androids didn’t heed his call. There was no getting out of this. Even if they had forgotten a few things on the way, there was no turning back. The overgrown garden appeared to throttle the pathways, wild vines twisting around the wrought iron gates like fingers. Shadows flitted between the tall, skeletal trees around the house, their twisted boughs reaching out in desperate pleas. The air reeked of damp earth and decaying wood, mingling with an underlying hint of something acrid, reminiscent of forgotten memories.

“I don’t like this place,” whispered Larry, his voice barely rising above the whispering winds. His artificial heart raced, resonating in his ears like a distant drum—the only beat in this desolate silence.

“Put a cog in it, Larry!” Fisheye hissed.

“Mm. Besides, it’s just a quick look around,” Adder gruffly furthered. When they hopped onto the cracked porch, the old boards groaned like bones carrying too many years.

“Yeah, it ain’t like something's gonna GETCHA!” Fisheye suddenly pinched the man in his side, making his shriek and fling himself back.

“Fisheye, quit!” he snarled, baring his yellow teeth. Adder pushes them aside with an exasperated “Enough of this…”  like a mom breaking up her two little brats from fighting.

The door stood ajar, a yawning blackness awaiting them. Fisheye pushed it open with a creak. A chill kissed their skins, and the musty air inside struck their senses like a mallet. Adder waved his incense wand, trails of lavender smoke twirling around the staff and masking the nose-curlingly stuffiness of the home. Dust particles danced lazily in the thin beams of light that filtered through the grime-streaked windows, creating an ethereal yet ghostly atmosphere. Fisheye stood firm, a fascination igniting in his eyes like steel had struck his flint gaze. “There’s gotta be somethin’ here— look at this place!"

"Yes, look at this house that has just as much charm as a morgue, what lovely gifts it'll offer us, I wonder..." Adder muttered. Fisheye scrunched his snout at him disaprovingly.

He took a deep breath and delved into the depths of the house, reluctantly followed by the other two. Together, they traversed the labyrinthine hallways, their curiosity battling against an instinctive fear that loomed ever larger with each creak of the floorboards. Each room they entered told tales of past lives—an old piano, its keys cracked and yellowed, a once-grand chandelier now drooping sadly overhead, and walls decorated with peeling papers that spoke to the previous owner’s interests in flowers.

“Look at this,” Fisheye called from the dim hallway, motioning Adder over. He crouched to examine a faded photograph nestled beneath a layer of dust. In the image, smiling faces of a predecessor family beamed back at them, the once vibrant colors now muted but whispering stories of lives long past.

“You think they’re still here?” the android warily bleats, to which Adder scoffs and shakes his head. “No, of course not. Nobody survived the very bad thing, and even if they did, they would’ve passed from old age by now.”

“No, I know that, nerd! I’m talking about like… Ghosts, you know?” Fisheye emphasizes by throwing his hands up and twiddling his fingers, “The floaty guys that go ‘Oooooo, I’m gonna get ya…’”

“Nonsense.” He huffs, steam puffing out the seams of his beak.

GRRRRrrrrrhhh….

A strident growl resonated in the room over, followed by a soft scuffling that sent a shiver down both of their electric spines. “Did you hear that?” he asked, voice husky with trepidation. Fisheye nodded, determination etched across his face, combatting his arched eyebrows. He approaches the door from where the beastly snarl originated, paw trembling when it closes around the knob. It felt like his nerves were a wobbling cup about to spill when he twists his wrist. The door releases an evil hiss, welcoming evil into the narrow corridor they found themselves in. Sucking in a deep breath, he shoulders through and beams his light onto…

Larry, watching a spider spin its web in the corner as if it were the most entertaining thing in the world.

“Larry! Did- Did you make that noise?” the android said softly.

“Huh?” he hums.

“There was a growling noise, and—”

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t eat breakfast this morning.” he sheepishly scratches the back of his neck, scaly face flushed in embarrassment.

“For fucks sake… Alright, come on,”

All of them felt the weight of the mansion’s history pressed against him. Adder had to carefully step over some weathered bones mingling with the soot and astray wood planks, frowning when his core surges with a futile instinct to heal. “Search the cabinets, drawers, anything that could have some valuables, alright?” Fisheye directs the two. “We should probably split up, cover more ground,”
“Ain’t gonna happen, and since when did you become the man that runs things 'round here?” Larry grumbles, squeezing Fisheye’s bicep when he ambles for the spiral staircase. “It’s safer if we stick together,” Adder interjects as well.

“Whatever…” he flicks his tail, slapping Adder in the thigh.

With that, the three scatter, though not far, bound by invisible ropes to keep the other from straggling. They wandered through this yawning hallway lined with mirrors for what felt like days. There were no doors, no tables, just... Mirrors. Each reflection twisted their faces, contorting their features into grotesque versions of themselves. The walls seemed to breathe, contracting and expanding as if alive, and droned for impossibly long. “Something feels off here,” Adder muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, tucking into his robe. It was incredibly cold, like they’d just plunge into the arctic waters. "It's just an open window, probably..." That would make sense, considering the distant song of whistling leaves and clacking shutters, if there were a window.

Just then, a CLASH echoed from behind them, causing them to jump in sync. They spinned, only to find a foggy mirror had whumped on the floor, a spiderweb of fractures spreading across its surface.

“Let’s go back,” Fisheye said, his confidence shaken. The air felt thicker now, as if the atmosphere itself was holding its breath, watching them. But as they retraced their steps, the hallway seemed to stretch endlessly. The mirrors loomed closer, the howling winds more distinct, echoing against the walls like a taunting lullaby. Larry glanced at Adder, his eyes wide. “This- It shouldn’t be this long, we didn't walk this much,”

“I know,” Adder replied, his voice laced with urgency. “Stay close.”

With each step, the reflections changed. In one mirror, they saw shadowy figures flitting just out of sight. In another, a fleeting glimpse of a figure with hollow eyes peering back at them, whispering still ringing in their ears. They didn’t know what was real, and what was only a fragment of their imagination. Each time they glanced away, the images morphed, becoming darker and more distorted.

“We need to get out of here,” Fisheye insisted, panic rising in his chest. He snagged Adder’s arm and pulled him toward what they thought was the exit, but the hallway shifted again, twisting in ways they couldn’t comprehend.

“Damn it!”

“Over there!” Adder pointed to a door at the end of the corridor, a flickering light illuminating the frame. As they sprinted for it, the howling grew, accompanied by a series of odd murmurs, echoing around them like an orchestra of disembodied voices.

“Why– why can’t we leave?” Larry cried, but the words barely escaped his lips before a chilling breeze swept through, carrying with it a faint scent of decay. The air turned frigid, and they felt a presence, something dark looming just beyond their vision. Larry whips his head around, piecing together thier path in his head. "Look, that vase, I saw that on our way in! But..." he craned his head to where the exit should've been, greeted by a doorway walled off with bricks.

“It’s like the hallway is alive,” Adder said, glancing back, bronze goggles glistening with as much intrigue as terror.

When Larry attempted to shoulder his way through the wall, he fell snout over heels with a breathy "OOF!"  It was gone, replaced with more path. Fisheye grumbled to himself, heart thudding so hard in his chest he thought it might just pop out his ribs and bounce off in terror. His paws feel at the walls for a secret lever or button. "Fisheye, that logic only works in movies!" Adder grumbled, assessing Larry who was soothing his bruised back.

Shhhhink.

His paw dipped into a plate on the wall, and it yawned open to a door, and Fisheye had to serve him a smug "I told you it'd work" grin before all else. With a frantic shove, Fisheye pushed it open and stumbled into a dimly lit room, the atmosphere thick with dust and a palpable sense of dread. A large, ornate mirror dominated one wall, its surface smooth and reflecting nothing but darkness, while dozens of smaller, broken mirrors lined the surrounding walls.

“Where are we?” Larry asked, trying to catch his breath. The door slammed shut behind them with a deafening thud, trapping them inside. Adder approached the mirror, entranced. “I think this is the source,” he murmured. He placed a hand against its surface, talons scraping the glass. His reflection warped into a swarthy ooze, twisting and seizing violently like a rabbit in a snare. "SAVE US," the shadow rasped, and then two giant arms shot out. The glass rippled like water, and emerging from the other side was a predacessor with cataract eyes. They looked undead, mouth and nostrils choking with soot, reeking a scent of volcanic ash and gastric juices, with bony claws it used to seize the android’s arm, viciously digging into into his wrist.

Not real, this isn't happening Adder desperately thinks, run to the end of his imagination. An undead predacessor that was summoned from a mirror? This couldn't be, but the pain of shredding flesh was very real. A terrified screech sounds in the room, one he can't orginate, until he comes to realize he's the one screaming. Screaming and jibbering and flailing like a gibbon as hes yanked toward the mirror, closer to the demon's hollow throat. Both Larry and Fisheye grab him by his other arm, and even with their combined strength, somehow this frail, gaunt beast was stronger.

In a moment of desperation, Larry grabbed a shard of the broken mirror from the floor and hurled it at the all-seeing one. The glass shattered, sending shards flying in all directions, screaming to the floor in a great CRASH. The room shook violently, and the howls turned into a cacophony of shrieks and laughter, disorienting them. A blinding light erupted from the newly broken mirror and enveloped all three of them, pulling them away from the malevolent whispers.

When the light faded, they found themselves back in the hallway, but it was different now. The mirrors were cracked, their surfaces distorted but silent. The laughter had vanished, replaced by an eerie stillness.

“We're... we're back where..?” Fisheye breathed, looking around in disbelief, gathering his bearings. Adder pressed his back against the wall and shakily assesses the damage sustained to his arm, only to find... nothing there. No lacerations, no frayed wires, nothing, like the apparition  hadn’t even grabbed him at all. “No marks,” Adder said breathlessly, gaze fixed on the remaining mirrors. Shadows flickered within, a reminder that the darkness was still there, waiting for another chance.

“What are you talking about?” Larry heaved, clutching his chest.

“Look, it grabbed my arm, and there aren’t any marks!” He tugs down his robe, revealing his entire forearm, spotless. “So ghosts are real!” Fisheye grinned joylessly.

“No, you— nincompoop!” Adder objected. “We could just all be hallucinating this, perhaps this predecessor family was anti-amicabot! There has to be some sort of sensor that’s trying to neutralize us… Messing with our heads,” he theorized, craning his neck back to observe the decaying ceilings. Only drooping fiberglass and planks met him, and he hummed in befuddled frustration. Fisheye’s ears swirled like satellite dishes, discerning through the echoes of laughter still dancing in his head, delicate hairy legs. He snaps up off his ground, bunny-nose twitching, and follows a trail right back to the same room Larry had occupied earlier.

“Larry,” he called. “That room you were in, why were you staring at that corner?” The crocodile tilts his head, and he brings a stubby claw to his chin. “I dunno, I just stuck around for the spider… Little feller was working like a mule.”

Blink

A red star flashed in the corner of his peripheral , and Fisheye whipped his body quicker than his mind could comprehend, twisting over himself. That room, furnished only with boxes and one little spider, there was something so terribly off about it, as if the abyss were staring back. He gawked real hard into the corner at that dangling bug, perched on its intricate web.

Blink

One of its eight eyes flashed red, and Fisheye bared his fangs fiercely. “In here!” the cat yowled, sprinting into the room that realistically was a few feet away, but in his head, felt like a full marathon. “Larry, kill that spider!”

“What?! No! Yer sick!” Larry retorted. The android prickled his fur at him and did the job himself, unsheathing his claws and halving the spider. It tumbles from its web, sparks spraying from its flayed flesh, and curls into itself dramatically. Just then, their perception grounded into reality, the anguished howls ceased and the room snapped back into shape, wobbling like jello. Everywhere was just as they saw it when they first entered...

Adder kneels to inspect the mechanical carrion and deduces: “Ingenius security system... Good eye, suppose that's how you got your name, no?"