Other Worldly

It was a dark and stormy night, much like any other in the cold fall months, but this was especially cold and stormy. I was coming back to my office around 18:00, maybe 18:03, and I knew something was up that night. Normally the lights are all on in the hallway, Mrs. Johnson casually tidy’s up around that time, but she wasn’t there and that signature aluminum vacuum she likes to use wasn’t whirring like always. Strange, she never gave that rust bucket a day off, let alone take one herself. No, something was definitely up and my hair was standing on end to let me know. I walked through the hallway, keeping an eye on my surroundings and waiting for something to come charging through the wall like some comedic drink commercial. You know the one I’m talking about, the one the kids are all over nowadays, with the extra sugar and liquid diabetes.

I managed to get to the elevator just fine, not a single noise in the lounge or hallway of the building, but definitely something strange, even the lights weren’t working properly. I couldn’t put my thumb on it, but I had to keep an eye out.

So there I was, up on the fifth floor of my building, standing before my office door and reaching for my keys latched to my belt loop as always, the keychains dangling off the lanyard of my old college pride. Good days, but everyone says that about their youth. I managed to get the door unlocked and opened, slipping inside as I took a look behind me to make sure I wasn’t followed, nothing there but a flickering light in the hallway and plastic plant in the corner. I closed the door and as soon as the knob latched into the slot, that’s when I heard something outside in the hall. It sounded like something fell over, toppled by something heavy and inebriated. I wanted to go take a look, but something told me it was best if I stayed in the office and locked the door tight.

I did, even kept the lights off in the office as to not attract attention, though whatever made that sound probably knew I was there. No worries, I had my piece on me and if they wanted some action, I had 6 in the cylinder and 1 chambered, ready and waiting on my hip. It had been a long time since I drew, but I wasn’t afraid of doing it again.

I walked over to the faux leather couch across from the door, sat down in it and relaxed just a bit to release tension in my shoulders, I had been stiff all week and this strange feeling wasn’t making it easy on me. I pulled out my billfold and opened it, recounting the cash in there, making sure I had enough to pay rent. It was all there, but parting with it was still a heartache, especially when you have to consider what’s important in life. Food is necessary, but shelter is required and this office was the kind of shelter I liked. The rustling noise from the hallway happened again, except this time it didn’t sound like someone bumping into anything, it was more of a shuffle, like they were drunk off their ass and trying to make it home before the ball and chain caught them out again. I watched the underside of the door, the light flickering on and off every few seconds and a shadow clearly moving around. I wasn’t alone.

I slowly pulled the gun out of my holster, holding the revolver against my belly and leaning back further against the cool leather. The flickering kept going on, the light shining under my door and the shadow moving back and forth as if they were looking for something. Wrong room buddy, this one doesn’t have your wife, but it does have hot lead if you’re looking for a meal. There was some kind of scratching coming from the wall, like nails scraping against the drywall and flaking off bits of Spackle plastered to the wall. It was definitely something odd, the way the shambling sounded and the guttural grunting did not sound normal, even for a drunk. It sounded like something you’d find in a reanimated corpse flick, something that should not be a possibility in the realm of reality. The door knob jittered, obviously who or whatever it was outside in the hall was messing with it. I pulled the hammer back on my piece, quietly cocking it and gripping it tighter as I watched with anticipation.

I stared at the light under the door, the shadow of whatever manner of curiosity that stood on the opposite side of my door kept shuffling back and forth, the knob making soft little clicks and jitters as they attempted to turn it. Finally, after maybe ten or so minutes, they started to shuffle off, their nails scraping down the hallway as they went on their way. I eased the hammer back down, careful not to blow a hole somewhere and put the revolver back in the holster. I wasn’t tired, but that whole situation had me wondering if it was best that I block the door. That bad feeling wasn’t going away and whatever it was that tried to get in didn’t have luck this time, but maybe that would change next time. I was all alone too, no partner in the office or anyone else in any other part of the floor that I knew.

Thunder clapped outside for the first time since the storm started, it easily vibrated around the room but dispersed quickly, the lightning lit up the room from the windows and I got up from the couch. I walked over to my desk, grabbed a chair from the side and propped it up under the knob and against the door, pushing it into the wooden frame to add blocking leverage. I took a quick glance at my watch, noticing that it was quarter past 19:00, and the baseball game was already on. I walked over to the couch, sat down and leaned over the arm to pull out a small portable television and propped it up on the side table. I pulled the antenna out and positioned it before turning it on, and messing with the dials to focus the picture on the game. It wasn’t my team, but it was better than sitting alone in the office with my thoughts another night. Sure, I had some work to do and some leads to look into, but I wasn’t sure why the feeling of dread stuck with me. Like those angel on the left and devil on the right, something told me the devil was dancing.

As soon as the sound came on, the announcer commenting on the pitcher throwing a grounder at the batter and tagging his ankle, walking him onto first, the jittering on the door knob started up again. The guttural growls were back, a little more desperate and feral, like a wild animal trying to get out of a cage. The door itself was being rattled, scraping was coming across the wood and the latch was being pressed hard by something wanting in. The light in the hall flickered more, the shadow erratically moving back and forth as something kept trying to force inside.

I pulled my piece out, cocked the hammer back and stood up from the couch, sneaking over to the door and looking through the peephole. Nothing was there, but as soon as I looked down at the shadow, I could hear it clear as the announcer on the portable television. I started to smell something rotten, a horrid smell was coming from outside the door, and the scraping was getting more and more ferocious. The hair on my neck stood and I kept looking out the peephole for anything, but nothing was there. I could feel tension in the room, my life was being threatened and I had no way of seeing what was trying to get to me, nothing but a shadow and I didn’t like that either.

“Whoever you are, you best be leaving now, before you get a slug in your dome!” I shouted, calling from my side of the door, but as soon as I did I realized that was the wrong thing to do.

The door was struck, something smashing into it and the growling was straight up roaring, the animal crying out in malicious anger to break down the barrier between it and myself. To get to me and do who knows what with me. My life was now in danger and I had to defend myself, even from something I couldn’t see. I could hear the door heaving, battering ram hits were being pelted into the wood and it was beginning to creak and buckle, but stood up to the onslaught of wild blows. I stepped away from the door, holding up my revolver and readying for whatever broke through the barricade to come for me. I was not ready to go out, at least not without a fight.

Lightning flashed through my windows and lit up the room just as the door split open and I saw the glassed over eye of a creature staring at me, wild and dangerous. Some nocturnal beast that was there for me was breaking down my door, and I didn’t know if I was able to take it down or not, but by God I was going to try. I aimed at the splintered door, let off a shot from my .44 revolver and heard it hit flesh, bluish green ichor splashed into my space, dripping onto the floor in a splash as the creature howled in pain. I could see it clearly, the grayish skin tone and pustules bulging across it’s face. The pulled back lips and gnarled teeth protruding from its jaws, the claw-like fingers holding the missing eyeball and damaged socket. The light stopped flickering and the creature was there, in full view through the broken door. Some strange, bipedal monstrosity that was after its next meal, but wasn’t ready for the fight. It ran off through the hallway and I knew there was no where safe from that beast now that I had wounded it. I was priority number 1 in it’s ledger, and I’ll be damned if I become fast food.

**WILL KORRIC BE ABLE TO STOP THE MYSTERIOUS CREATURE IN TIME? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EXCITING EPISODE OF OTHER WORLDLY!**