I pull up to the house in my car, my girlfriend sitting beside me in the passenger seat. She has her headphones in, the volume no doubt cranked up all the way. I shook her arm, making her jump and scrambled to pause the music.
"We're here," I say, turning off the car. I open the door and help her out. We both grab a few boxes from the trunk and walk up to the door. After being together for so many years, we decided to get our own place together in the city. I always loved the city, ever since I was a kid. But I always lived in the suburbs, in a small cul-de-sac. My girlfriend wanted to move to the country, but I ended up winning the argument.
"This place looks so cool," Bella says, looking up at the house.
"Yeah, isn't it?" I ask, knocking on the door, "We're only renting it, though. It's temporary."
"I know," Bella says, "But there'll still be enough time to explore."
The door creaked open and standing there is a man. He's small and skinny, and he wears a black hat.
"Greetings," He says, "My name is Eddward. Eddy and Bella, correct?"
"Yeah, that's us," I confirm.
"Well, the place is all yours," Eddward says, "But there is one rule while you reside here."
Oh boy, I think, This guy is one of those people who stick a million rules to everything, isn't he?
"What is it?" Bella asks, eager to get inside.
"You may go anywhere you want, except the basement," Eddward says, "It's completely off limits."
"Got it, no basement," I say.
"And I mean it," Eddward repeats, "You do not want to go down there."
"Alright, we got it," Bella says, becoming impatient, "Can we come in now?"
"Of course," Eddward nods, "Let me give you the tour."
He shows us around the house. There was the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, even the living room had a flat screen TV. A small one, mind you, but nice enough to watch. He leaves soon enough and me and Bella get set up. We unpack the few supplies we brought- silverware, plates and bowls, blankets- and sit down to watch TV for a few hours. We head to bed and are just settling in when we hear a loud bang.
"What was that?" Bella whispers.
"I dunno," I say, "Probably just a mouse or something."
"Mice?!" Bella squeaks, clinging to my arm. I smile at her.
"Relax, they won't bother us," I say. She eases up and slowly closes her eyes, soon falling asleep. I don't get to sleep that easily, though, as I continue to hear scratching and noises. I try to convince myself that it's just mice, like I said, but it's a bit harder. Soon enough, I too fall asleep.
Weeks later, the noises continue, getting louder and louder. Bella never hears a thing- they seem to only happen when I'm awake. Eventually, I get so tired of the noises, one night I get out of bed.
"Where're you going?" Bella asks groggily.
"Uh...bathroom," I lie.
She nods back to sleep and I creep downstairs to the basement. I know the owner said to not go down there, but I can't take it anymore. Besides, rules are meant to be broken. Slowly, I open the door and head down into the dark. The stairs creak and snap, sounding as if they hadn't been used in years. I look around in the oh-so-forbidden place. It looks like any other basement- dark, damp, dusty, and filled with boxes. I can't find a light so my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. I hear a scruffling to my right and zip around to look.
"Who's there?" I ask, but there was no answer. I continue searching and find a strange sight- what looks like a bed/nest, littered with food and eating supplies- you know, bowls and cups and whatnot. I spot one of Bella's favorite cups- a Devil/Angel Emoji cup. I pick it up, amazed. It had gone missing days ago, and Bella had had a fit. I finally found it, so she'd be happy. But one question still remains-
Who took it?
There's a low grumbling and I feel some sort of mass rising behind me. Slowly, I turn around and have to slap a hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming.
It looks like some sort of creature- big, gray, disgusting, and multiple arms. There's saliva dripping from its jaws, and it looks as though it might live down here. But why would that guy let us rent this house with this...this...beast living down here? My thoughts are yanked from my head as the creature wraps one of its slimy arms around me. It covers my mouth so I can't scream and drags me off deep into the basement…