House number 55A wasn't so much standing as it was refusing to fall down, in spite of all the minuscule time fractures that permeated its barely modern rooms. When compared to the chic homes on either side it wad decidedly unpleasantly squat and lacking in any saving grace of a feature. Still it was briefly home to many though as of recent it's been declared "unsafe to inhabit" which is government-speak for "we can't tell you why this place is a hellhole because we don't know but if we admit this then it'll cause too much fuss and maybe even a panic".
The last tenants, much like all the others before them, lost someone to the house before it let them go. Before their loss it had been their last resort before leaving the area altogether to be closer to workplaces and better schools and such. Their children - twin girls - didn't much care for the new place nor any of the old ones, having moved around so often that home was a foreign concept to them, something for books and classmates.
The girls' solace was in each other and their explorations of each new home they were told was going to be "the one" while they waited for their parents to discover the next perfect house. Hide and seek was their preferred method of exploration, combining the best parts of predator and prey survival while being harmless to everyone else.
House number 55A had so much more to explore than the others, so many little passages between rooms in the form of large metal grates that they found were hidden everywhere. They once counted eight in a single room and each lead to another area of the house. It was where they went to play, crawling through what felt like miles of metal tubes to track each other down.
By the time they realised they weren't alone it was too late and their cries were cut short before they could draw enough breath to scream. On the bright side, their little bones and clothes were left in neat piles at every single grate as a thanks for their parents brave sacrifice. Little did they know that things would be a lot easier for them. Money would be quick to come and slow to go, their jobs would be easier and their work seemingly already done when they got there.
All it took was a new home and the chance for a new start.
The last tenants, much like all the others before them, lost someone to the house before it let them go. Before their loss it had been their last resort before leaving the area altogether to be closer to workplaces and better schools and such. Their children - twin girls - didn't much care for the new place nor any of the old ones, having moved around so often that home was a foreign concept to them, something for books and classmates.
The girls' solace was in each other and their explorations of each new home they were told was going to be "the one" while they waited for their parents to discover the next perfect house. Hide and seek was their preferred method of exploration, combining the best parts of predator and prey survival while being harmless to everyone else.
House number 55A had so much more to explore than the others, so many little passages between rooms in the form of large metal grates that they found were hidden everywhere. They once counted eight in a single room and each lead to another area of the house. It was where they went to play, crawling through what felt like miles of metal tubes to track each other down.
By the time they realised they weren't alone it was too late and their cries were cut short before they could draw enough breath to scream. On the bright side, their little bones and clothes were left in neat piles at every single grate as a thanks for their parents brave sacrifice. Little did they know that things would be a lot easier for them. Money would be quick to come and slow to go, their jobs would be easier and their work seemingly already done when they got there.
All it took was a new home and the chance for a new start.
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