Day 528

Their new house had an old fireplace.
It was one of those tudor ones, original fronting and minimal structure change.
The renovations must have cost the former owners a fortune but they sold it so cheaply.
How could anyone say no to such a great deal?

The problems behind the house weren't obvious at first, they crept in.
Literally.
Tiny black footprints appeared on the white wooden floors overnight.
Sometimes just two standing beside the fireplace, other times they lead to the back door.

And then there was a voice that whispered to anyone who stayed in the living room after dark.
It asked for the fire to be put out though the only thing in the fireplace was a vase of plastic flowers.
As far as the new owners were concerned it was a quirk, nothing too serious.
Only a little quick steam-clean on the floors, some loud music and it was basically gone.

Then it began to spread.
The little voice followed them around if they weren't in the master bedroom at night.
Always asking for the damn fire to be put out.
Until last night when it said that it was too warm behind the wall and wanted to come out now.

From that night onwards the voice grew louder, came out longer and made footprints that left stains.
It almost yelled now though it sounded muffled like it was talking through a wall.
There was no record of who had lived there before the renovations, it had just been left to rot.
The former owner was of no help - turns out he hadn't been seen since the week after they moved in.

Unsure if it was coincidence or unfortunate circumstance the new owners continued to search.
Nothing was found at first, there was simply no information from that particular area.
As a last resort they sat down in the living room at night, let the lights flicker off and waited.
They didn't have to wait long before the voice came to them saying how warm it was behind the wall.

They asked it what had happened and it stopped mid sentence.
Very quietly, as quiet as it had been the first night they heard it, the voice finally told its story.
A house full of life, too full of life, a sickness spread like fire in a summer forest.
Superstition asking for sacrifice to keep the house strong a fireplace built with the freshest life inside.

The voice had been alive behind the wall for weeks, drinking rainwater that fell through the bricks.
It had cried out every day to be freed and was met by either silence or anger.
The living didn't want to be reminded.
And so the "dead" continued to cry out until they could cry no more.

Until they woke up and found themself able to move beyond the fireplace, out into their home.
They thought they were free until they looked back at the wall and saw their remains.
Now all they asked was to be let out and the new owners went to think.
their decision is unknown but it's believed that they kept the wall intact for good luck.