Next Door
The cool mountainside greeted me with a chilly breeze, the leaves of the trees swaying by the wind as the gate arch with the name of the subdivision comes into view. The clouds are overhead, a little bit dark, signifying that there must be a chance of rain sooner or later. I drove inside the residence, the bushes growing on the sides of the road, most of the leaves wilting.
The houses almost look…empty. As if there was no sign of life around, my eyes could catch shadows moving from the windows of the houses I drove past by. I could feel gazes burning on me, staring at me and it never failed to bring chills running down my spine. The wind whistled as raindrops slowly trickled down from the sky until rain pours.
I sighed in despair as I slowly drove down the street, noticing that the houses seemed to be varying at irregular distances from each other. Some are either close, others are far—about 40 meters away from each other. I paid no mind, thinking that maybe it was just how the people live here and it’s how the developer had arranged the houses. It seemed odd, but hey, I shouldn’t complain right now.
As I drove down the street, I noticed that the houses I come by are now much, much farther away. I could see how small they looked from the distance that my car traveled. This residence…is odd.
Soon, I arrived at the small house that I’d bought for quite a surprisingly cheap price. It looked good on its condition, with no cracks, no damages and everything seemed to be in place. What piqued my attention was the house next door.
It seemed to be my only neighbor. The only house that’s settled next to me, and nothing else; all of the other houses are at a farther distance. I furrowed my brows and looked at the abundant blades of thick bushes that surrounded the area across my house. There was nothing but an empty, grassy lot across my house and nothing else.
My eyes went back to the neighbor’s house. Their lights are off and their lawns are untrimmed too. It almost seemed as if no one was living there, judging from the disarray just outside their residence.
I sighed and shook my head; these things are something that I shouldn’t be bothered about. I’m just wasting my time; I should be unpacking my things…
I look at my watch, reading 5:30 PM. Another sigh left my lips as I leaned against the car seat, completely exhausted. My stomach grumbles and I looked at the reflection in my rearview mirror, my face in a state of disarray. Soon, the pouring rain stopped and I sigh in relief, getting out of my car as I unpack my things.
I lie down on my portable mattress, looking up at the white ceiling with a satisfied look on my face. The house isn’t as dusty as I expected it to be, and I noticed that the former resident who sold me this house might’ve cleaned it up for me, which is a relief.
As I tried to doze off into sleep, I can’t help but wonder how this residence feels…weird. Something about it is bringing chills running down my spine as if I cannot even try to point out whatever it is. It’s just…I don’t know, eerie? I cannot find the right word for it and all I can say is that this place just feels off.
Perhaps it’s just the exhaustion of talking, after traveling hours and hours in my cramped car filled with baggage and whatnot, barely even taking breaks.
Just when I felt the drowsiness kick in, my body suddenly flinches in reflex when I heard a glass shatter loudly next door. My eyes open in surprise and I get up, a worried look etched on my face as I stand up and look around, only to realize that the sound came from the neighbor’s house—
Wait, the neighbor’s…house?
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
The neighbor’s house looked uninhabited, like no one has lived there for years, the grass around the area are even beginning to take up the front porch, the curtains were shut and so are the sliding windows. The vines are already crawling and climbing on the posts and the railings.
My body felt tense from the anticipation I felt as I listen eagerly to the next sounds that I might hear. There is no way that a cat slipped into that house and decided to just make some chaos.
A breath got stuck in my throat when I heard the talking—no, arguing. It’s not audible, but I can hear how the woman’s voice sounds so distressed while the man’s voice seems like he’s bursting with anger.
Then came another crash—it seemed like multiple items crashed on the floor all at once and broke.
I swallowed the nervous lump that formed in my throat. My hands shake in fear as I looked at the floor in utter confusion and nervousness. How is it even possible for someone to live there, in that house when it looked like it has been long abandoned?
I struggled to compose myself as I grab my phone to call for the authorities, my feet scrambling to find the device in utter nervousness as crash after crash follows by the arguing getting louder and louder, my ears being pierced by the noise.
Yet when I reached the phone, the noise had stopped.
The air is filled with tension and silence and I could not even hear the crickets chirping through the night. Cold sweat beaded my forehead as I tried to calm myself down from what just happened. It’s not possible, it cannot be possible that someone lives in that abandoned-looking house…?
The floorboards creak with every step as I went to open the blinds, my heart racing in anticipation…
…Only to see that their lights are not even turned on.
A shaky sigh left my lips and went back to sleep.
Multiple nights came, and the fear that I once felt now transformed into annoyance and frustration. The noise that kept waking me up at midnight made it impossible to sleep, yet when I checked the windows now and then, it all seemed the same.
Am I going crazy?
I’m pretty sure it’s not the multiple cups of coffee I’ve taken every single day just to stay awake doing chores. The arguing is deafening, and I’ve lost count of how many hours have I been awake through midnight, so I’ve decided to complain about it. My patience broke already, and I’m going to get that good night’s sleep that I deserve.
I take my slippers and watch the clock reading 12:01 AM. A sigh left my lips as I take my phone and open my front door, my steps leading to the neighbor’s door.
I noticed that the streetlights of this neighborhood are pretty dim at night, and I can’t help but feel a little anxious about the darkness that seemed to swallow every corner. My slippers brush through the thick grass of their front yard as I walked towards their front door with a nervous sigh leaving my lips.
I checked the time on my phone, reading 12:04 AM. Usually, their noise is at its peak at this time of the night. My eyes scanned the front door and my eyes narrowed when I realized that their door is slightly ajar.
The cold wind of the night blew and it made the door creak open an inch wider. I could see how dark it is inside as my heart raced in fear and anticipation. I gathered the courage and walked closer to the door, turning on the flashlight of my phone.
My hand touches the cold doorknob as I push it open, revealing how dark it is inside. As I tried to look around their living room with the light from my phone guiding me, I can’t help but smell the awful stench of rot and decay in the cold air of the room.
I felt myself becoming nauseous from the god-awful stench and I swear I could feel the bile forming in my throat.
My footsteps creaked against the floorboard as I looked around, waving the cobwebs away from my face. I struggled to hold my breath to avoid inhaling the unbearable stench, taking short, shallow breaths now and then.
While I was distracted by the pictures, I felt myself step on something soft and mushy; I could feel my slippers getting drenched from the unknown liquid. I cringed and let out a gasp, accidentally inhaling the unbearable rotting scent.
I flashed my light on what I might’ve stepped on—
“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
I stumbled back and fell on my rear, my heart racing in fear and anticipation, cold sweat beading on my forehead as I accidentally let go of my phone in utter disgust and surprise. My breath hitched as I looked at the dead, decomposing body in front of me, the maggots crawling on the flesh of the woman. I could see the insides sprawling out across the floor and the sharp knife glinting just far ahead of the body. I scrambled to get my phone that fell, only for me to feel a cold hand grabbing me by the shoulder tightly. I struggled, only to scream when the flashlight shines on the assailant’s face—
A man—his face barely identifiable with bloody slashes all across his face, maggots eating up the crevices of flesh that are left of his features. However, the disturbing grin is evident on his face, stretching up to lengths no human can do.
I screamed as I try to scramble away from his grip on my shoulder only to be tackled down by the decomposing woman, the maggots on their faces slowly falling on my face.
I scream with terror when they both pinned me down on the floor and pressed their cheeks, squeezing thousands of maggots out of their faces as one hand pries my mouth open to catch it all down.
I could feel the worms wriggling inside my mouth, going inside my eyes, and crawling inside my ears and nose as I struggle to breathe each second, becoming suffocated by the worms that seemed to rip my flesh and tear me apart.
I could feel both of them chewing through my face and my skin as I scream in terror, my flesh being ripped apart brutally, blood seeping down on the floor as they took an excruciating bite, gnawing through my skin, pulling my flesh, limb by limb, one by one…
…until I can no longer feel the life inside me.
