When I found this apartment for rent, I was walking around the city with my mother. I had been trying to find something for months, without any luck. When I saw this one, I thought we had finally found our solution. The day I went to inspect the place, I did everything that the check list said. I tried all the power sockets, I checked all the cupboard space, I turned on all the taps and even flushed the toilet for good measure. It seemed too good to be true. Even the rent was low for an apartment in this part of town! I signed the lease and a week later I was moving in.
It took me a few weeks to move everything I needed from my parents' house to this apartment. I had bought a new bed that my dad and I put together, only wanting to whack each other 3 times. My sister and I hung up all my clothes and unpacked half the boxes. Mum and I did the kitchen together. I didn't have enough money for a couch but a few bean bags were just as good.
It wasn't until I had been there for a month that the noises started. Scratching in the walls, banging in the cupboard. I wasn't scared… at least, I tried not to be scared. I spoke to a few of my neighbours and they hadn't had any trouble like this… well that they told me about anyway. I told myself it was just a bird in the roof, or a squirrel in the walls or next doors cat. I called my parents and they told me not to worry about anything, it was nothing.
This went on for months. I told my landlord and he inspected everything but came up empty. I couldn't sleep, I was too scared to shower in case the water turned into something else. I told myself I had watched too many horror movies, making myself paranoid. One night I had had enough, so I grabbed my laptop and started looking up the history of the building. It looked clean enough, until I looked at the history of this apartment specifically. As soon as I took one look at the headline I slammed my laptop shut and ran to my wardrobe. I tried to ignore the smell that started wafting from the bathroom. I knew what happened here. I knew what's going to happen here. I needed to get out. I grabbed my sports bag and some random clothes from the drawers and coat hangers. I sent a message to my mum saying I was coming home for the weekend because of an electrical fault.
As I got my laptop into my bag, the suffocating smell of rotting blood had gotten stronger. It's as if someone turned on the heat and it was boiling. I ran through my kitchen, slipped on my boots, grabbed my keys and ran towards my front door. It wasn't until I got the latch off that a voice finally called;
"Don't leave now, the boys are coming home…"
I tried to pull the door open but it didn't budge. The air grew cold around me and a little girl, around 8, appeared but I knew she wasn't friendly. A sharp shove to the middle of my chest threw me backwards. As I felt the cold hands of the child close around my throat, I knew I wasn't going to get away.