The Apparition on the 9th Floor

The door to the main entrance of the apartment complex swung open, Rachel stepped in. She was dripping from the torrential downpour that started as soon as she left work. All she wanted now was to dry off and have a cup of green tea with her cat on her lap. She entered the elevator and pressed the button marked ‘9’. Her ascent was nothing out of the ordinary. The elevator stopped: Rachel had arrived.

The doors opened–she didn’t notice it at first; when she did, she thought it was another resident. Rachel then realised that she could see through the figure as she got closer. It was then that Rachel knew–this figure wasn’t a resident of this apartment complex or of this world!

The apparition was between her and her apartment. Rachel was petrified, she couldn’t move a muscle or call out for one of her neighbours. The apparition had now noticed Rachel. It turned to face her: it was a young woman with a gaping head wound. Rachel tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth.

The apparition raised her hand and pointed at the door of the apartment across from Rachel’s, then vanished.

Rachel cautiously approached the apartment door. Once at the door, she saw that it wasn’t completely shut. Rachel nudged the door open and poked her head inside.

The apartment was a mess.

“Hello?” Rachel called out.

She entered the apartment and could faintly hear a running shower and a man singing. She got to the living room where she saw the woman who had appeared to her as an apparition; she was lying naked on the floor with a machete buried in her skull.

The shower and singing abruptly stopped.

Rachel bolted for the hallway, she shut the apartment door behind her. She fumbled for her key, pulled it from her pocket and unlocked her door. As she opened her door, she heard the sound of the apartment door behind her opening. Rachel didn’t look back, she just leapt into her apartment and slammed the door closed.

Rachel sat on the floor as she watched the door handle to her apartment being tried over and over. She stifled her screams for what felt like an aeon until whoever was outside had left.

Rachel would then call the police.

The killer was long gone when the police showed up.

After a short investigation, the police informed Rachel that she had just encountered one of the most prolific serial killers in recent times. He typically followed women back to their homes before ritualistically killing them.

The killer is still on the loose.

Some nights, Rachel can hear her door handle being tried.