One Shot (Completed)
On a thunderous day, with heavy storms raging and lightning splitting the sky, four friends — Alex, Noah, James, and Henry — stood outside the hostel. They had recently been kicked out for attempting to “upgrade” their room into the Justice League Watchtower.
“Okay, so we’re literally homeless in the middle of the semester,” James grumbled.
“Well, we could’ve been under a roof if these two hadn’t replaced the hostel’s Wi-Fi name with Wayne Tech Secure Network,” Noah shot back.
“Why are you yelling at me as if you didn’t paint the walls with Gotham skylines?” Noah retorted.
Henry murmurs, I was the least problematic and I didn’t deserve to be here today. (Puts a fake “Kryptonite” rock in the mess hall fridge, which turned out to be a glowing green jelly that exploded)
“Oh my God!!”
“Yeah, yeah, absolutely”
“Yes, definitely we know that.”
Suddenly Noah looks around, “Hey is that, Lucas? (Lucas was their next-door neighbor at the hostel) Why is he smirking at us from behind the wall? “Hey man, what’s up with that?”
Lucas continues to smirk as he disappears behind the wall.
“Geez, he’s a weirdo.”
“Alright so what’s next for us? “Said Alex.
“I found a place — about a mile from here. We can go talk to the owner. You think she’ll let all four of us crash in one apartment? It’s just one big room with a single bed, but it’s the best we can get for now. We can always move somewhere better once we find it.”
“A’ight boys, let’s hit it. ” Alex starts his car as they all jump into the seats with their bags.
The path to the house was very eerie, with bushes all around. It was a heavy rainfall day with a crooked road. Along the way, there was mist and cold air breezing through the windows as they drove to reach the destination.
They spotted a huge house just as the GPS announced they’d reached their destination. Noah rang the bell, and the door opened to reveal a woman staring at them in confusion.
“Mrs. Barbara Henderson? Hey, this is Noah — remember I called you yesterday? Actually, we wanted to check out the room so we can move in ASAP.”
Barbara greeted them with a warm hug and invited them inside. “Oh, come on in gentlemen. So, this is my house, and there’s one room up in the attic that’s been unoccupied for years. We thought of renting it out — it would make the house feel a little livelier.”
Her dog suddenly bounced on Henry, trying to wrap him in a hug. “That’s a good boy,” Noah laughed. Barbara smiled. “Oh, he loves greeting guests. This place is usually so quiet that whenever someone visits, he gets excited to see new faces.”
Barbara led them upstairs to see the room — a beautiful space with a huge master bed, wide windows, an old but clean carpet, and a view of the forest outside. Vintage lamps stood in the corners, and all of it was offered for just$50 a month.
“That’s it? we are moving in already.”
As soon as Barbara handed off the room keys to them, Noah and James jump into the bed with joy.
“Jesus, this bed feels so good. I can’t believe we managed to get a room at such a low price.”
“Why is this place such a hidden gem?” Noah asked, running a hand over the blanket. “This bed makes the hostel one feel like we were sleeping on a pile of bricks.”
Suddenly James feels the bed shaking slightly.
“Did you feel that, Noah? Did something just move beneath the bed?”
“I don’t know, I felt a huge push from the bed.”
“Let’s just keep this to ourselves man, because we can’t afford to move out from here now. ”
“Alright man.”
“Imma take the shower now. “Said Henry.
Alex jumped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Man, this place is ancient as hell, but still so comfy for this price. My back’s already thanking me.”
Henry wandered into the bathroom. “Whoa... this thing’s as old as my grandpa. That faucet looks like it’s ready to snap off any second.”
“Just use the shower and get out, man. There’s three of us waiting,” Noah called.
“Alright, alright, I’m going.”
Suddenly, Alex felt the bed shake beneath him. His vision blurred for a few seconds, and when it cleared, he saw Noah lying next to him.
“Wtf was that? Did you do that?”
“Hey just calm down man. I don’t know but James and I felt the same some time ago but we decided to ignore it.”
“Jesus, this is creepy. ”
“But it doesn’t happen all the time.”
“Where’s the charger socket? “Said someone.
“This one looks rusted. Try the one near the television. It’s almost broken but I guess there’s no other option for us today. ”
After the shower, they end up eating instant noodles for dinner. They occupy different corners of the bed. Its 11:45 pm. The sky is dark as the heavy rain continues. Suddenly the power goes off.
“Woah, that’s cool. Where’s my phone? Someone turn the flash light ON come on. I can’t see anything. Hey take your hands off my pants. Wtf man. This house sucks.”
The bed shakes tremendously as the boys are thrown off it.
“What the hell? What was that?” Henry screams.
“Henry Henry, calm down. We know what’s happening but please sit down.”
“Noah, James and I felt the same. Just sit down.”
Henry screams “What the hell is this? And you guys knew about it?”
Noah whispers, “The bed suddenly starts shaking out of nowhere but stops in some time.”
“No way, man. Is this bed haunted or something? “Henry says.
“We don’t know man, but we can’t really move out. There’s no place as cheap as this. Just calm down for some time”, Noah comforts him.
After ten minutes, they decided to just lie down together on the bed, hands clasped. “Man, I just want to sleep tonight. It’s been such a hectic day, and we’ve got college tomorrow. Can we please just get some peaceful rest?” Alex muttered.
00:10 a.m.
“Hey... you notice it’s been forty minutes and the bed hasn’t shaken?” James whispered to Henry.
“So... does that mean we have to keep our mouths shut for it to stay still? Is that what the ghost wants?” Henry murmured back.
“Well... guess that’s our mission then. I think so.”
I don’t think so, Alex replies. “Maybe there’s something wrong with the floors... I mean, look at this room!” Alex said loudly. “The walls are cracked like they’ve been through an earthquake, and the ceiling’s got stains shaped like continents. I swear, if a spider drops on me in my sleep, I’m moving out that same night.”
In that moment, the bed shook hard, and Alex and Henry fell off, landing on the floor with a loud bang.
“Ouch—holy cow!”
“That’s it, that’s it—tone it down, you guys! That’s what the ghost wants—keep our mouths shut!”
“I’m done. I am so done with this place.”
“Alex... Alex. Let’s just text each other. No more talking. We’ll see if the bed still shakes.”
The rest of the night passes in awkward silence, just the sound of their phones clicking. Eventually, morning light spills into the attic.
As they head downstairs, James calls out, “Good morning, Mrs. Barbara. We’re heading to college. See you in the evening.”
“Good morning, boys! How was your first night here?”
“Oh, it was very good, Mrs. Barbara. We slept great,” Noah replies quickly, while James flashes a big fake smile that’s basically screaming, Yep, totally not haunted at all.
“Alright, take care, boys.”
“You too.”
As they reach the college, Noah exclaims. “I feel so fresh here. I really feel so good here.”
“Damn I miss my old room”, exclaims Alex.
“IKR, it felt like a nightmare last night. I can’t imagine going back to that place.”
“Imma take my nap here because I don’t know if I can sleep properly in the room again.”
Suddenly, they catch a small smirk aimed their way.
James: “Yo, Lucas... what the hell, man? Why you grinning’ at us like that?”
Lucas: “So... how’d you sleep last night, James?”
James: “What’s that supposed to mean, bro?”
Lucas: “I’m talking about your first night outside the hostel. How was the spot?...How was the bed?”
Noah(side-eying James): “Man, I don’t know why, but this dude’s giving me weird vibes.”
James: “It was... exactly what we expected.”
Noah: “Knew it. I freaking knew it. This dude’s always been shady as hell.”
They grab Lucas by the arm, drag him into the corner.
Noah: “Alright, spill it.”
Lucas: “This is what you get.”
James: “Get for what?!”
“For months after I moved in, I tried to meditate quietly in my room,” Lucas began. “But you guys never let me. Loud music, shouting, constant complaining... I couldn’t meditate at all.”
“Dude,” James interrupts, “you literally have Jessica’s photo in your room. Were you meditating to her?”
“That’s a different topic,” Lucas snaps. “I was meditating with the higher powers, trying to receive a message about when the world would end. But I never got it—because you noisy boys kept interrupting me. So, I decided to leave my grandmother’s spirit behind you all. Every time you make noise, the ghost reminds you to... respect the power of quiet.”
“That’s kinda messed up... so why the bed, though?” James looked at Lucas.
“Oh, that’s simple. You never let me sit on your Avengers-style bunk bed. I always wanted to try it, but you kept me out of your room.”
“Jesus, how do we get out of this now? Lucas man.”
“Talk to warden and give me your bunker bed. ”
“Bro, it’s literally made outta cardboard. Grab those scraps, tape ’em together, and boom—your own avenger bunk bed.”
“I can’t believe he was behind all this.” Henry says to Noah
“What the hell man? And then does it all get better for us?” Henry asks Lucas.
“Yes, it will. I shall receive the bed and my grandmother’s spirit will stop haunting that bed and then we can all sleep peacefully” Lucas replied.
“Oh man, finally—we can actually crash in peace. That’s done and dusted. Phew. Alright boys, back to reality—we got that project due next week, so let’s grind.”
“Nah, you won’t have to,” Lucas cuts in.
“Huh?” Alex stares, confused.
Lucas smirks. “The world’s ending next week, bro,” he laughs.
