I unlock the door, but as I should have known by the state of the key, the door did not open. Not only did it not open, when I tried to get my key back out of the door it snapped in the lock.

"Ha! That makes sense. Okay, I figured it wasn't going to be that great based on the price, but this is a bit bad."

I went back to my car and pulled out my screwdriver. Walking back to the door I managed to wedge the screwdriver into the lock just behind the piece of broken key.

"If I'm right, the key is technically still holding the little pins in the right place, so if I-". click The door finally unlocked. After putting my shoulder to the door it also opened.

I looked inside with a sense of pride that quickly faded. "Oh my-" I looked at the living room in horror. There were stains, rough patches, most of a couch, and a tipped over box of tangled cords and wires. I didn't dare to look in the kitchen.

I take a deep breath and nearly choke on the smell, it smelled of stale pork skins and sweaty socks, not to mention I could smell the dishes in the sink from here.

I take a deep breath...once I got back outside, then I went back in to find my room.

Two days later

I smile happily as I look upon what, admittedly, is still a trashy apartment, but it is much better. I've taken out the trash, I've cleaned the sink of it's dishes, I even spent two hours yesterday untangling the cords in that box...which thankfully means the tv works properly again.

There is however, one minor issue. Whenever I try to sleep, I hear...the others. They're always doing something around midnight, but I can never tell what they're doing. I'm aware that I have two roommates, but I haven't seen them yet.

I've never heard them leave their rooms or the apartment, I have however heard them in the kitchen late in the night. They're always whispering to each other about something. I swear I've heard my name mentioned at least twice.

The reason I know they're here though, is because my things randomly go missing. Not only that but I keep finding their dishes in the sink and my food missing from the fridge. That ends tonight.

I wait by my door, my hand sweating as I tight fist the door knob, ready to open it with dramatic substance.

I wait, and I keep waiting, and by 1:30am, I'm mad. But the anger immediately subsides as I hear it. The dishes in the dishwasher moved!

I open the door as swiftly as I can only to see the dark empty apartment hallway, the kitchen at the end of said hallway to the right. I couldn't even be mad, it was dark, there was clearly nobody there, and it's all too possible that the dishes moved on their own.

So, with equal amounts of fear of the unknown and sad that I wasted the last hour and a half standing by my door, I walked into the kitchen.

I flipped the light switch and look around the kitchen. I didn't even notice it at first, but it was so unnatural that it actually made me jump. The dishes in the sink, they were all clean and in the dryer rack. Beside the sink was a small note written on with red ink. It read, "Hey, we are aware that you've been fixing up the apartment, we decided to stop taking advantage of you."

I looked at the note for a while, the message was strange, but what bothered me more was if that was them washing the dishes, how did I miss them? I decided it was late, nothing is wrong, and judging by the note things might actually improve. Before going to bed I grabbed a pencil and wrote, "Thank you" on the note.

I had so mucht trouble sleeping that night though, waking up several times for no apparent reason, my attention always being drawn back to my closet. But by morning it all made sense as the note had more writing on it, this time it said, "You look freaking ugly when you sleep dude."

Lily Fire Wolf

I glare at the 'pirates' as I understand them. Sending charred ships into my waters after filling it with blood. I hated them, and I let them know. Shooting my acidic ink beneath their hull, dissolving the wood. But even as I sank one 2 took their place. So I was driven to this. A talk with these... Humans. I sigh, it was not all bad. They were, pleasant enough. I looked at the officer on deck. "No more pirates?" I ask. confirming our deal. "We will do our best. These waters are uncharted for us." I nodded. I had assisted greatly, able to swin in even shallow water had allowed me to give detailed information upon their coves and hidden islands. These Royal Navy humans would take them away, in exchange for defense if I am able. Anything to get rid of these unbearable creatures from my shores. "And on our side, you will defend our ships?" I concur, "Within my waters." We watched eachother a moment more, before the officer broke. "I will not lie to you, sir." He admitted, "I never thought I would be heading a ship along side a massive kraken." I chittered, in full agreement, "And I did not expect to need to speak to humans at all. I much prefer to avoid your kind." I pause, "Though you are better conversation than I expected as well. I might look for another such human to converse with." I sighed, "But first things first." The officer nodded, "Until tomorrow," I sank beneath the waves. Here's hoping this finally ends this pirate scourge.

Curious Nature Dragon

absolutely agree

I grumble, sauntering through the wastes. My wastes, I think proudly. The constant shifting of the trees speaking to my soul. I look at the village near the river of sand. The roses are sifting for anything that has washed up in the flow of grains. I huff. The town seemed a bit stagnant. I headed there, time to shake things up. I stepped foot in town, already reaching my influence out and- "Enough!" A human, a true human in plate armor stepped into the open, the roses fled from us. Who was this petulant mortal? I growled. I who surpassed all my kind to claim this territory! I willed my influence upon him, and was rebuffed. It remained stubbornly remained unchanged. I roared, enraged. The houses became flesh and the road gold. The sun went out then blue as the unnatural light spilled across the road. Then it stopped. The houses were would, the sun a pleasant yellow shining unchanged. Then I felt it. Order. Stagnation! "You're tyranny ends Badger of the Shifting Wastes!" He cried, "By Aurina, goddess of Order and Law I will slay you!" He charged, as I did. My body flickering across the road, my body shifting and changing. My bones rearranged themselves and my claws melded painfully. I relished the pain, the changes, the strength. It was mine! We clashed, my arms stretching and spinning in a blur of scythes and death! What ever influence Aurina had did not affect myself. Good! But not enough! I felt pain in my throat and cried out, "When I have finished you I will fine this Aurina and flay her flesh from her bones for touching what is MINE! I will- Growl Roar!" My throat shifted once more and I lost my words. It mattered not! I will say though, this boy, for a boy he was, was skilled. He blocked my sudden nigh unpredictable strikes and even struck blows of his own. It matters not. My bones rang against his steel as his steel rended my ever shifting flesh. It mattered not. With a cry he brave a slash across his face and buried his sword in my belly. I gasp as the hot iron, like fire, filled me. I smiled, a smile that comes from knowing I will feast upon this bastard's flesh! "H-How?" He whispered, "How are you alive?" I laughed, feeling the familiar burning in my throat as I gloated. "Cause honey badger don't give a FUCK!" I roar, tearing into his succulent throat, blood splashing across my face, filling my mouth with its sweet taste. I flowed off of the blade, the source of this insidious order driven out of my home, but not yet dead. I feasted upon the knight, his savory meat sating my blood-lust, for now. "I will find you Aurina, and I will K-rowl" I huffed, ending my influence upon my body. Then smirked. I will tear this world apart to find you. I bring an end to this ORder you hold so dear, and perhaps you will learn not to touch what is MINE!

Trustworthy Acidic Squid.

House Water Lynx

Mayhem chaos honey badger. I would argue several books consider chaos an element for magic.

Challenge accepted!

I stare out across the room. He is there, my ancient enemy. The monster. I wonder how he will come today, a useless thought but it kills the time I spend in vigil. "mmhmmm" My charge murmurs in her sleep. I lay back, allowing my fluffy tail to brush against her face. Sweet dreams child, I thought to her, No need to fear. Creeeak. I fire a silent blast of light. the smell of ozone fills the room and is swept away. Crap. The witching hour has started. I allow sparks to envelop me as I step off of the bed. She is safe as long as I stand. One more night, just one more until the nightmares end. A lie, an empty hope. I have no idea how long these battles will last. Children stop believing in monsters at different ages, but it is a comfort, one I desperately need now. Something slick and cold wraps around my velvet leg and I feel the foul slime sink into my stuffing. I force down a shudder as I fry the tentacle. A tentacled horror or a deep sea? I hear a slow call, deep and almost melodious like whale song. Deep sea, nice! I would grin if my stitching had the ability. I didn't relax, the danger was real. A deep sea swims in the shadows, attacks from all directions, and is weak to electricity. I dive as a beam of sonic energy passes over me. Getting stunned now is death, for me and my charge. I turn, catching a brief glimpse of a dorsal fin. The pieces start to come together. I focus, the next attack will be a bite or a blast of poison. A massive orca head surrounded in a mane of tentacles, eyeless and silent but for that unending whale song that was just short of being peaceful. Leaving a truly disquieting feeling. I blasted a bolt of raw lightening down it's throat, attempting to disperse his chosen vessel. No luck. The commitment, though damaging, did not kill it. Teeth wrapped around me, clamping on the soft velvet of my fur. I silently cry in pain, and focus. I felt a dozen tentacles wrap me up, in and out of its mouth. It was trying to rip me apart. I felt my seams splitting, my skin tore, and I couldn't help but smile. Too late nightmare, I exploded in an omni-directional blast of electricity. Better luck next time you- My thoughts freeze as the vessel disperses, and I am replaced in my charges arms, inanimate once more until the next night. until the nightmare comes again to steal my charge. I will not fail her, I will not. I will- sleep.

Plushie lightning squirrel

Welcome to the Post! This is a [PM] Prompt Me.

Reminders:

>* All top-level comments should be prompts for the submitter to answer.
>* Prompt submission and comment rules still apply. >* Prompts must be responded within six hours or this post will be removed. >* Be civil in any feedback.

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

it was the perfect plan. launder the chaos crystals, pretend to feel guilty for my actions, get imprisoned and bribe the guard.

but i didn't expect HIM!

the hero of light, evils bane, werewolf slayer, giant spider exterminator, and endangerer of rats.

but i know him by one name, his real name.

joe.

"hey joe" i say to him, thinking through my options.

"silence dark lord. you will pay for your crimes."

he always was a grumpus, never making time for small talk

"i know you don't want to stay here, how about you cut me down right now, save the time it would take to bring me to the guillotine."

"as much as i would love to do that, this sword only spills the blood of literal monsters, not figurative ones"

looks like i can't escape though death, which is a shame. that enchanted amulet of mine was collecting dust. i need to think of something else then, something quick, time is ticking.

one idea, i didn't want to do it, the fourth wall isn't something to be messed with usually, but i can't waste any more time thinking of ways to convince him.

"if i don't escape, how else will we have a sequel?"

“But who are you? I’m not signing anything until I know everything about all of you. All,” I emphasize just to be sure they hear it.

The spirit sighs, leaning back in the chair. Except the back of the chair now sticks out of his chest that I’m now noticing is nothing more than a reddish-purple glob. “Well,” he ponders for a moment, “okay. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you.”

He begins a gruesome tale of betrayal, murder, and a startling amount of unnecessary death. I can feel my skin getting stiff and cold, almost as if I was dying as well. At one point, I have to rush to the sink to throw up. The acid burns through my nose and at the back of my throat. I hear an aggravated voice in the background grumble, “There goes the muffin I baked for you. Why is it my muffin she vomits.”

Gradually, the horror story comes to an end. I won’t relay it to you as you most definitely will have nightmares for the rest of your life if you heard it. All you need to know is this: every spirit in the room is a mass murderer and, coincidentally, was murdered by someone else in the room. The loose thread of the last remaining person is because the last victim inflicted a curse as they lay dying. The killer died from rapid onset rectal prolapse. I don’t want to describe it. I don’t recommend looking it up either.

As I sit in the midst of evil, I’m not sure how to react. “What do you want from me?” I ask.

“We want your life force.”

“Hard pass. Nice try, though.” I stand up from my chair and staccatically maneuver between the spirits. It can be deadly to pass through one and I’d rather not risk it.

But what the dark leader says next makes me stop dead in my tracks. Pun intended.

“We’ll make you rich and take care of you lavishly. You won’t die as long as we keep it up.”

From where I’m standing I can see into my shabby bedroom. The bed is still just a mattress on the floor, the blanket I’ve been using doesn’t cover my full height. I turn to assess the living room. There’s nothing to assess. No furniture. Nothing.

Exasperated, I finally choke out a response. “Ahh, fine.”

And that’s the story of how I became a pampered queen who never had to leave her home. Not that the spirits would let me, anyway.

I am so incredibly broke. Like, genuinely. It’s unreal. So when I came across an ad for cheaper rent than I’ve seen anywhere else, I jumped on the opportunity. I called the landlord immediately. It rang a few times before picking up.

“Pear St. apartments, this is Dave.” I expected more, something along the lines of, “How can I help you?” or “What can I do for you?” But no. His tone matched his low effort speech, too. It was gruff and lazy, drawling like he had been drinking since 8am. For a moment, I was reconsidering, but that quickly disappeared when the rent price popped into my head again.

“Hi, sir. I’d like to apply for an apartment.”

So that’s where I am now. I didn’t look at the place much online because I really didn’t care. But now that I’m standing in front of it, I wish I had. I insert the key into the rusty lock and try to turn it. The key snaps. I blink a few times at the key-head on the ground a few feet away.

Click

I turn back to the lock and see that it turned seemingly on its own. “Maybe some kind of delay?” I muse. I step through the crumbling doorway and am met by the smell of mildew and wild animals. “Ah, fuck….” It’ll take a while to clean all of this. I take another step forward and reach behind me to give the door a push to close it. It’s not there.

SLAM

“Um, okay.” I don’t know what else to say, it must be a draft. A window to the left is open. Oh. Not anymore. It slams shut so hard that the glass shatters. I guess I might as well start cleaning now.

It takes hours to get all the trash out of the small one bed, one bath, apartment. I duct tape a towel over the broken window to keep the crisp, autumn air out. There’s a quaint, brick fireplace opposite the broken window. When I have enough crumpled news papers and other flammable materials, I start a small fire. Luckily, there were pieces of plywood strewn around the house. I kneel in front of it and rub my hands together before holding them out to the fire. I can feel my stiff fingers thawing when a cold gust of air strikes down the chimney. When I open my eyes, I can see light ashes on my eyelashes and I can feel it just a bit in my nose. I sneeze before sticking my head in a bit to look up the chute. There’s no way the wind should have been able to do that.

I light another fire, careful this time to set up a protective barrier between the fire and my wonderfully dilapidated home. A single spark could set the whole place aflame.

The sun went down hours ago, so I get the mattress out of the back of my truck and drag it into the house on its side. I push it to the bedroom and let it fall with a thump. An identical sound echos from the other side of the house. I’m too tired to care, however, so I just collapse on the mattress and curl up to sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll start the repairs.

The sun rises around 6am and I get up with it. I don’t sleep until around 10pm and I continue this routine for the next two weeks. The whole place is new by the time I’m done with it. The only problem is: weird stuff kept happening. The entirety of the two weeks, there would be some kind of irregular sound or wind or the feeling of someone’s hands on me, around my neck, every day without fail. I had increasingly terrifying nightmares that shook me away at all hours of the night in a cold sweat. I am choosing to blame it on all the work I’m doing. I’m just exhausted. I have to, because the other option is so much more complicated.

I’ll be honest, my abuelita is a mystic; that is to say, she entertains the devil and his underlings. This includes all the spirits of the dead. So the second I touched the door knob, I knew the place was haunted. Horrific scenes flashed before my eyes. My stomach clenched but I just brushed it off. That’s how I continued to respond to the paranormal happenings. And I would have continued like that if things had remained the same.

But they didn’t.

One morning, about a week in, I woke up to a fresh brewed cup of tea with a hint of lemon and a single mint leaf, just the way I like it. I stared at it for so long, it ended up cold. Finally, I just snatched the cup and downed it as quickly as possible. If it was poisoned in any way, it’d better be a quick death. But nothing happened. In fact, the tea was delicious.

It‘s little things like the morning tea that keeps happening since. No more of the creepy noises and chills. I find some kind of meal at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and somehow it’s always food that I love. The apartment seems to clean itself as I haven’t dusted or swept since repairing whatever it is. It even feels like the insulation got better.

It’s been three weeks since I moved in. I’m sitting at my new kitchen table, nose deep in a delicate journal kept by my abuelita. I always refused to open it, not because of shame but simply because I knew what it was and I didn’t want to continue the practice. But as I’m reading through the legible parts, my interest and amazement only grows. If what she wrote is true, then she made multiple contracts with spirits, demons, and once even the devil himself. Or so she says. She did hint that it might have just been an archdemon. But still.

I get to the back of the journal and sit frozen in shock. I feel like I just opened a third eye. Suddenly, the pages fly to the right and the cover follows, effectively closing it. My head shoots up and I stare at a grotesque form in front of me. It’s impossible to continue ignoring them.

A slimy voice slithers into my ears and a chill runs down my body. “So, you are admitting you can see us.”

I gulp, looking around the room at the bodies missing arms, legs, heads, faces; there’s even one that is a single leg with a scarred head perched on top. I look for the rest of it, but I suppose there’s a reason it doesn’t have it on them. I turn back to the apparent spokesperson sitting across from me. I nod.

“Good,” he continues. As he speaks, I pay close attention to his features. His left cheek is missing so I see his teeth and facial muscles. The right eye keeps slipping out of its socket so he blinks a lot to keep it in place. The skin itself is a sickly green, like what you would expect from a long dead person. “We would like to sign a contract. With you.” His words interrupt my thoughts.

“W-what do you mean?” I stammer. “I’m not a mystic, I can’t do that.” I think the spirit is grinning, but it’s hard to tell with only half his mouth. It very well could be a sneer.

“You don’t have to be one. You will work just fine because you have your grandmother’s blood,” he nods to the closed journal, “running through your veins. You read it, so you know now. You know how to sign a contract.”

Jeff flicked the light switch. It did not turn on, even though he had changed the bulb the other day. And it was a long life LED, so he knew that was not the cause. He sighed. Should he even bother going through the landlord?

Well, even if he worked on it himself, there was little he could do. At least, not this early in the morning. He headed to the small kitchen and started brewing the dark nectar that was coffee. As he waited for it to brew, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

The shadows roiled and twisted. The air seemed to grow a little colder as the darkness moved. It came together, deepening and solidifying. The mass of pure darkness rose, shifting into a humanoid form. Its arms were thin and long, and its thin fingers ended in claws the size of large kitchen knives. The creature's face was a hollow ball of shadows, save for the eyes. Two silver circles set into pure darkness shone out. The creature raised one of its clawed hands.

Jeff groaned. "Really, Ted? We talked about this. If you want something, knock on the door."

"Sorry." Ted said. His voice was like the cold wind of winter blowing through a dark forest. "I wasn't sure if you were up yet. I didn't want to wake you if you were still asleep."

"Uh-huh." Jeff said dully.

The coffee was just finishing up, and he went to get his cup. He was about to get a second for Ted, but then he remembered the living shadow did not eat or drink. So, he just set about getting us own cup ready. Even a single sip was enough to improve his mood.

"So, what's up?" He asked.

"My shower isn't working." Ted said.

"I thought you didn't need to shower. You know, being an incorporeal being and all."

"I don't, but Scott does."

"Ah, right. Did you get Mr. Devone to take a look at it?"

"Why bother? He won't do anything."

Jeff nodded. Their landlord was indeed known for being lazy. It was faster to just do it himself. But still, taking care of this building was not easy. Scott, for example, had probably broken the shower when his horn punctured something. The problems of being a minotaur, he supposed.

"True. I'll take a look at it later."

Ted gave his thanks and vanished into the floor. Jeff took his time to savor his coffee and get himself some breakfast. Once he was done, he got a few things he might need, and headed to Ted and Scott's apartment. Then he would go down to see if the demon couple downstairs had actually taken steps to keep the floors from charring.

Lots to do for his neighbors, especially in the old building. After all, just because the other residents were horrible monsters did not mean he had to be one too.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for the submission. It has scored 14 points!

Thank you for your submission it has scored 14 points!

Thank you for editing down: it has scored 14 points!

Just claim mayor lol

Thank you for the submission, but unless it is edited down to 800 I can't score or open it to voting as the 800 constraint is part of the rules for the feature.

Thank you for your submission; you have scored 7 points!

Thank you for your submission; it has scored 14 points!

Thank you for your submission; you have scored 14 points!