I grew up in a pretty remote place. My family lived and worked in a funeral home, out in the middle of nowhere. The only people keeping it running were retired old men, stubbornly holding onto their lifestyles. Apparently, living in a town full of old people keeps the customers coming. My father is the undertaker, and my Mom is a funeral director. I never went downstairs where they worked their magic. Would you? Just passing the door gave me nightmares.

My name is Otto Graves. I guess it's a pretty cool name, but its also a morbid reflection of my life. I've been trapped in this place my whole life. No one my age anywhere. I was home schooled for a big chunk of my life, but luckily, we had cable. So I wasn't bored to the point of wanting to throw myself into the well.

Growing up, there were occasional power outs, leaving me without entertainment, and forcing me out into the world to play or something. At night, it was terrifying. The corners where darkness collected whispered and cackled, and the shadows on my walls clawed the wallpaper and window pane.
Thinking I'm just having childish delusions? This still happens, and I'm in my teens now.
I stopped running to my parents long ago. Nothing they could do. They never saw. No one did. Maybe I was crazy. That's what I thought too, so I could only ignore the signs and try to cling to normality.

That is, until a strange man came to me once, while I was playing target practice with the cacti. He asked me some pretty strange questions, about boogie men or whatever. I didn't want him to know I was crazy, so I told him off, making him the crazy one. He left, and I assumed for good. You would of thought I'd be happy a stranger came? No. Why? I dunno. Hormones, whatever.

He came again. Maybe he was a relative of one of the old coots in town? He started telling me that people were fodder, puppets for something else to play with. We were cattle to be fed off. He was freaking me out, so I ran.

I had nightmares, nothing unusual, but they seemed to get to me more than usual. The more that man came to talk, the more I was willing to listen.

Soon, I was consumed.

He offered me deal.

A chance.

A chance to defy everything. Fate, whatever, it was a ticket out.

"Where do I sign up?"