I was 16 the day it happened. I stood there slack jawed as the officer at my front door explained the accident. My parents had died upon impact, a semi had swerved into the wrong lane on the highway and lost control. Unfortunately, my parents car was right beside the semi trucks trailer when it tipped, crushing them and killing them instantly under ten thousand pounds of steel. 

The police department had called a social worker to pick me up in the morning and take me to my only living relative. An uncle I hadn’t ever seen or heard of. 

I was still in a state of shock as I climbed into the backseat of the social workers car, the portly man loaded my bags into the trunk then proceeded to climb into the drivers seat. He started the car and gave me a sympathetic smile in the rear view mirror. I just stared at him with a blank expression. 

“Want to stop for breakfast on the way kid?” The social worker asked me. I shook my head and stared out the window as we passed through the little industrial city I’d grown up in, soon we were passing through the rolling hills of rural Tennessee. 

The drive was long, we traveled through multiple states all the way up the east coast, after 18 hours I was absolutely exhausted when we finally pulled into the Rural New Hampshire estate my uncle owned. 

My jaw dropped as I stared at the giant sprawling mansion surrounded by a huge stone wall. It was beginning to snow as the metal gate in front of us opened up, the social worker drove forward and soon we were parked in a fancy lot, multiple luxury cars spread out in different parking spaces. 

The doors to the mansion opened and an unnaturally tall and thin man walked outside. Even at night he wore a thick pair of inky black circle glasses, a smart tuxedo, followed with an expensive looking metallic cane adorned with a ruby red stone for a handle. 

His entire appearance was strange and the vibes he was giving off sent chills down my spine. He smiled at the social worker, who was currently unloading my bags, he looked anxious and slightly scared. 

My new uncle showed the social worker a bright set of white teeth, every single one of them sharp as a jagged piece of broken glass. He spoke in an odd manner as well. “Please sir allow me.” He said in a deep baritone. 

I noticed his tongue was a slight silver hue when he spoke, which again sent chills down my spine. 

My uncle snapped his fingers and three pale men, who looked as if they hadn’t seen the sun in a decade, stepped out from the mansion, they walked single file towards my bags, almost as if they were entranced. 

The men swiftly picked up all my belongings then walked them away back into the mansion. “There we are now, ah come along Jason you mustn’t keep the government slave waiting in the cold.” 

My uncle stated in that deep voice again, I felt oddly compelled to obey him, my body resisted slightly but I found myself walking into the mansion as if I’d known the place for years. As I walked inside I stared around me, hundreds of doors lined the bottom floor, a large ebony spiral staircase wrapped around the entire building, I looked up and realized I couldn’t see the ceiling, after the first 5 floors, the stairs just continued going into pitch black nothingness. 

I heard the door slam behind me and I jumped as my uncle stood towering over me, the man must have been well over six foot eight. His entire demeanor seemed to change as he glared down at me, I gawked at him as he snapped his fingers and his glasses floated away from his face, tucking themselves in a velvet bag nestled inside the man’s shirt pocket. 

“Let’s get something straight my dear nephew.” He seethed at me. “I never liked my sister, your mother.” He snarled at me, I noticed his eyes seemed to glaze a deep fire red. “And I’d imagine the feeling was mutual on her part.” He narrowed his eyes and looked down at me. 

“And now I have to take care of her orphaned brat, so here’s what’s going to happen, you’re free to do as you wish so long as you go no farther than the second floor of this manor, you are not to touch anything of mine unless I give you strict permission and lastly don’t bother me unless it’s absolutely necessary. Understood?” 

I gulped and nodded. My uncle curtly turned on his heels and snapped his fingers before disappearing into an adjacent room. I stood there awkwardly for a few moments before a very pale woman in a maid uniform appeared before me. “Master has instructed me to show you to your room.” She stated. 

I nodded and followed her as she started to ascend the stairs to the first floor. She led me down a dark, candle lit hallway then turned left towards a door, she opened it for me and once I walked inside she slammed the door closed. 

I looked around in awe at the bedroom. 

It was giant, marble floors, velvet curtains, a King sized bed with a blackened oak frame and silk sheets. I walked over to another door near the large bay window and opened it, it was a giant bathroom with similar decorations to the bedroom, it had a shower/jacuzzi combo, dimmable lights , a mini fridge full of wine bottles, and to my surprise was stocked full of every kind of luxury soap imaginable. 

I sighed as I slumped back against the marble wall of the bathroom. I thought about my parents, how much I missed them, how strange this entire situation was. 

I just wanted things to go back to normal, before I knew it I was shamefully crying, the shock of my parents death seemed to have finally faded and the reality of the situation begin to sink in. I sobbed and curled up on the bathroom floor, wishing, praying, anything to bring them back.