mirror of https://github.com/nealey/Horrors2
126 lines
4.2 KiB
TeX
126 lines
4.2 KiB
TeX
\chapauth{Rummanging}
|
|
\chapter{Nebulous Cupboard}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This city is my mistress; it is my wife; it is my secretary. All
|
|
that one can feel about a city, I feel it about this one, and more.
|
|
My best friend. I watch the public stream past my window, like a
|
|
river flowing past rocks, the rocks being my small 1 bedroom
|
|
apartment, which was by now dirty and neglected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When I leave for my patrol, I do not check for my gun. It is as
|
|
much a part of me as my toenails are of me. I am forced to bring as
|
|
well, my cellular phone. In an ideal world, I could never talk to
|
|
anybody, and all would be good, but it is not so I must. As the
|
|
rickety door rickets behind me as I leave, I cycle though my
|
|
address book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
{\em ABE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CYNTHIA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MOM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PIZZA HUT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DIRECTORIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INFO HOTLINE}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I ring for ``Abe'', as I am accustomed to doing. A gruff
|
|
New York accent shrieks in my ear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
``Bavarious! Thank Christ you rang, something's not
|
|
right, need your help immediately! It's coming for me Luke,
|
|
it's {\bf comiii} --- ``. I interrupt him. ``Abe,
|
|
what is this? Where are You?''. I can tell from the tone of
|
|
his voice something isn't right. ``Why didn't you
|
|
phone ME if something's wrong!'' I said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
``Dammit Bavarious, I ran out of credit, now get your ass over
|
|
here!''. I slapped the phone shut like the jaws of an
|
|
overprotective crocodile, and sprinted for Abe's hut. It
|
|
would be a long run from here, but I can tell he needed me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
His wooden hut was hidden deep in the forest, the outside seemed
|
|
normal, well as normal as it could seem, Abe being an
|
|
unconventional character to say the least. In one slick
|
|
simultaneuous motion, I kicked the door forcefully, sending the
|
|
thing flying inwards, and swept my Beretta up from my ankle
|
|
holster, a task made significantly more difficult from the kick.
|
|
The lights were all not on, leaving the place shrouded in darkness.
|
|
I heard a noise from a closet, and rushed to meet the source. The
|
|
thin door was locked, so I shot 6 holes in it, allowing me to see
|
|
inside. There was nothing inside but my bullets. I carried on with
|
|
my sweep.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The lounge: empty. The kitchen: empty. The bathroom: empty, save
|
|
for one poo in the bowl. The Stench was fresh, and strong. Whatever
|
|
left this vile gift was still here. I turn my head to check my
|
|
countenance in the mirror. I am entranced, until I hear a scream
|
|
from upstairs, distinctly Abe. I dart out of the room, and it
|
|
lumbers after me, slowly and scarily. I find Abe's shrouded
|
|
figure huddled in the corner of a blackened room. ``Abe, is
|
|
that you, have you been drinking again? You said you'd
|
|
quit{\ldots}'' I enquired. He looked me in the eye, and raised his
|
|
other hand. The light was so poor, I could not tell what was in it.
|
|
Until he flicked the lighter on. The small light illuminated his
|
|
tear soaked face, running down his cheeks, carving streams through
|
|
the dirt caked on his face. The dirty rag of material hanging from
|
|
the bottle neck became visible. ``I'm sorry
|
|
Bavarious'' he whimpered, and before I had the time to react,
|
|
to light the rag and tossed the bottle high in the air, shattering
|
|
on the ceiling above him. Shards of glass and licks of flame fell
|
|
down like hell fire onto his crumpled body. The house was wooden,
|
|
and the fire spread like wildfire. ``{\bf Aaaaabbbbeeeeeee}'' I
|
|
cried, crying for the loss of a friend. I was forced to vacate the
|
|
house as fast as I could, the flames consuming the hut like the
|
|
mouth of Lucifer. Just as I was maybe 20 feet from the hut, it
|
|
exploded, sending shrapnel every which way. Something rock hard
|
|
struck my head, I hit the floor like a rock, out cold.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some unknown time later, the black mist tentatively receded from my
|
|
vision, allowing me to see. It took moments before I recalled where
|
|
I was, and I quickly looked back behind me. Nought but a single
|
|
cupboard stood. I crawled to it, my legs too burned to work.
|
|
Scrambling through the debris, I reached the un-charred doors,
|
|
pock-marked by 6 familiar bullet holes. I tried the doors, now
|
|
inexplicably unlocked. As the doors swung open, the bloodied corpse
|
|
of a small child fell outwards onto me, still clutching his
|
|
teddy-bear. I held the child as he held the bear, desperate for
|
|
solace in our final moments. I jerked my head back and screamed to
|
|
the heavens, and the skies opened.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|