“Why are you sleeping here?” Asked Terrence, a slightly308Please respect copyright.PENANAqKgHlxFWRH
larger-sized man with white hair and an uneven beard. His tiny eyes stared down308Please respect copyright.PENANAzbdjL9rcZw
at Aaron speculatively.
Aaron yawned, unwrapped his tiny blanket, and stretched. “My308Please respect copyright.PENANAqqYJq2hLoZ
bed didn’t feel comfortable.”
“You crazy bastard.” The man snorted, then plopped down by308Please respect copyright.PENANA5Yj3QA69Mk
Aaron’s feet, nearly crushing them. “I heard some cray person tried to break in308Please respect copyright.PENANAtu3Dm7f51H
last night and here you are sleeping by the front door.”
Aaron didn’t think it’d be wise to bring up the fact that he308Please respect copyright.PENANAOqsMUeFPed
wasn’t as scared of the knocking as he was of the ghost haunting his room. One thing308Please respect copyright.PENANAxfj4p9ism8
he did know was that he’d never sleep comfortably again. “I don’t suppose you’d308Please respect copyright.PENANAJyuj46UVks
like to trade rooms, would you?”
“Hell no. Todd and I already have our room set the way we308Please respect copyright.PENANA9qZoVR9ql1
like it. Plus, I doubt he’d appreciate everything getting moved around.”
Aaron sighed. His own bedroom faced their neighbor’s house,308Please respect copyright.PENANA18AaIbDv0g
giving him a clear view of their bathroom, thus he usually had his curtains308Please respect copyright.PENANAc7wRXSlbW2
closed in case anyone accused him of spying.
“Incoming!”
“Huh?” Aaron didn’t have time to escape before Terrence308Please respect copyright.PENANAGgYumSrRCo
leaned over and ripped a whole basket of rotten eggs on him. “UGH! Gross!” He frantically308Please respect copyright.PENANAijWgTztv5S
waved at the air, sputtering and scrambling away from the nauseating gas cloud.
“I warned ya,” Terrence smirked, snatching up the remote and308Please respect copyright.PENANA6wW8Xnf9Lx
turning on the television.
Eyes watering, Aaron wheezed. “No you did not!” Before308Please respect copyright.PENANA9ZUu5LkwQr
heading back upstairs to take a shower.
His room didn’t seem quite as scary now since Caleb only308Please respect copyright.PENANALgGHpCmE2r
showed up around midnight. In hindsight, that should probably have been a sign308Please respect copyright.PENANAnCNUSWu36m
that something odd was going on. At least now he understood how the guy never308Please respect copyright.PENANAsWeKhjx2Rs
made the door creak.
Aaron tried to do a little more research on Caleb but was308Please respect copyright.PENANA5RvRaFEGkB
only able to pull up a bunch of missing person reports. The only thing that the308Please respect copyright.PENANA98xZPtU5kc
articles mentioned was that he had disappeared one night after work. Since then,308Please respect copyright.PENANAcLRNKsvWce
there were no leads as to where he went or what happened.
The case was still open and one of the theories was that he308Please respect copyright.PENANA5ddpVx9oje
had run low on money and skipped town, which would have been a nice sentiment308Please respect copyright.PENANAPLdNxpLkrb
if his ghost wasn’t haunting Aaron’s bedroom.
In other words, Caleb was dead, and no one knew it.
Remembering all the horror films he had ever watched, Aaron308Please respect copyright.PENANAoNgTLGeK1k
went through a plethora of theories on what may have happened and where he was308Please respect copyright.PENANAAwrcBmNNQz
now.
Were his remains buried somewhere nearby? Like under the308Please respect copyright.PENANA9E8V2DNagt
house or in the yard? Or worse, was his body sealed away behind the walls? If308Please respect copyright.PENANAmaYCWh4idP
he was in the walls, then he’d most likely be in the walls of his bedroom…
Aaron shivered.
When he moved in with a group of virtual strangers, he understood308Please respect copyright.PENANAirdzbEiPyt
there was a high likelihood that some of them would be oddballs, but he308Please respect copyright.PENANAeLCz9Q7os3
certainly did not expect one of them to be dead!
He considered going to the police about this but was struck308Please respect copyright.PENANAErkbbGMcOs
by the gravity of the situation. It wasn’t like he could just waltz up and tell308Please respect copyright.PENANAUmZom9srQS
them that he knew one of their missing persons was in fact, dead. He’d get into308Please respect copyright.PENANAc4CrDlw6xZ
trouble and will get questioned on how he knew that.
Yeah. No. He preferred his freedom to getting locked up,308Please respect copyright.PENANA28RSn1O4cp
thank you.
That didn’t satisfy his curiosity though. He wanted to know308Please respect copyright.PENANAWh3X5FFlu1
what happened to Caleb. Even if he was a ghost, he seemed like a nice guy. At308Please respect copyright.PENANAD2Lnz6FWki
the very least, his family should know what happened to him.
Aaron decided he would try something tonight. Caleb was308Please respect copyright.PENANAEZ2uSvgqNW
easygoing, so if he showed up again, maybe he could ask the ghost himself?
He tried asking his roommates first, but none of them had308Please respect copyright.PENANAN9yu0fHv5r
any additional information. He felt like something was about Caleb’s case because308Please respect copyright.PENANA2qLJfqvWD8
there was very little information posted online. It was like the news outlets hadn’t308Please respect copyright.PENANAOluW4Cw68z
found his story interesting enough to report anything consistent. Then again,308Please respect copyright.PENANAs3HNOJjQvt
people went missing everyday and the guy lived alone, so maybe his family hadn’t308Please respect copyright.PENANAaSybPxxeiP
raised enough fuss for the media to consider the story interesting?
That night, he sat hugging his body pillow, waiting for the308Please respect copyright.PENANAufSsI2oBeV
apparition to appear. It was still unsettling to see that the corner of the308Please respect copyright.PENANAGhbf4kMUc2
room was empty now. He half-expected the bed to appear out of nowhere or308Please respect copyright.PENANAUpIcQsRdor
something whenever he blinked. Soon, he grew sleepy, and his eyes began to308Please respect copyright.PENANAWPaLC1BoOX
close. A few times he’d jerk back awake as he struggled to stay conscious, but308Please respect copyright.PENANAnXoLyQKhwT
eventually, he lost his battle and slumped sideways.
He hadn’t noticed the figure staring at him at the corner of308Please respect copyright.PENANAajWyBJpBeR
his room.
When he woke back up, it was light out.
Realizing his plan had failed, he got dressed. Ruffling his hair,308Please respect copyright.PENANAZBfHzCwSiC
Aaron stumbled out of the room, then paused when the door opened silently.
He stared at the hinge, swinging the door to and fro, trying308Please respect copyright.PENANAE62mnyPI8D
to replicate the shrill squeal it usually emitted.
Did someone finally lubricate the darn thing while he was308Please respect copyright.PENANAsXvXXfSjli
sleeping?
Confused but grateful, he made a note to ask the others if308Please respect copyright.PENANAtjo6YLLUsh
they did something. He wouldn’t be surprised since the noise he had made the308Please respect copyright.PENANArtWpm8kQ8L
other night had gotten on most of their nerves.
Downstairs he started digging through the cabinets, looking308Please respect copyright.PENANAQtUTNhN4SH
for a quick meal before brainstorming his next compilation video. Maybe he’d308Please respect copyright.PENANAsLEuwdvK45
put on some special effects makeup and shop around dressed like a zombie? He308Please respect copyright.PENANAmcsaNqRyfl
could do something cool, like that zipper-face makeup that was popular a while308Please respect copyright.PENANAMVYHoAnPeT
back.
When he realized his box of frosted flakes was gone, he308Please respect copyright.PENANAVNfOibfmlP
grunted, assuming one of the other guys had decided to help themselves to it308Please respect copyright.PENANA68D09Ok3Tf
and grabbed a Pop-tart instead. Then he turned to find the toaster which was…. Missing?
No wait, it’s over by the fridge now. Who the heck moved308Please respect copyright.PENANAIMsqdvW1iE
it?
Aaron walked over and noticed that not only was it moved,308Please respect copyright.PENANAS7I65euU8i
but it was also brand new with four slots instead of two. Maybe one of the308Please respect copyright.PENANAtuaviy7mHS
others traded it up? Not like he was one to complain. A toaster was a toaster308Please respect copyright.PENANARLMUFaArKw
after all.
Popping down the lever, he waited for the tarts to heat up308Please respect copyright.PENANAF0p1DtEwxJ
as he noticed a few other odd things. The biggest one being the living room.
The kitchen and living room were adjoined downstairs, with308Please respect copyright.PENANAz5pSfCBOiL
nothing but a bar counter separating them so you could look over and watch TV308Please respect copyright.PENANATNmCxZ7h78
while you cooked. However, the TV was situated on the wall to the right, and308Please respect copyright.PENANAUpFD61ajOO
the couch was made of sleek black leather instead of the ragged brown one that308Please respect copyright.PENANA6dcKUtHR4m
usually sat slumped in the middle of the room.
He also noticed that someone had put magnets all over the308Please respect copyright.PENANAtOPARnQ90D
fridge. All of them were little squares with motivational quotes and pictures308Please respect copyright.PENANAKqzIsnxUPy
of puppies.
On the wall beside the fridge were an outdated calendar and308Please respect copyright.PENANArQjvEH3sjn
a blender that he’d never noticed. What’s more, the whole place was way cleaner308Please respect copyright.PENANAhAplxa3XpJ
than it had ever been.
Who the heck redecorated the entire house last night? And308Please respect copyright.PENANAX9f3JglrGQ
how did they do it so fast? That TV was bigger than the old one and would have308Please respect copyright.PENANAI5P1GalMRd
taken quite a bit of effort to get through the front door.
He started wandering around, noticing even more odd things308Please respect copyright.PENANAbeGrV0HqMX
that were clearly out of place. Like the carpet being different, and the walls308Please respect copyright.PENANAeZyRf9l28q
being white instead of beige. Then there was the fact that no one else seemed308Please respect copyright.PENANALa2OHCgW14
to be home.
This was a house with 8 men living in it. There was always308Please respect copyright.PENANAYeOJd4VqQr
at least another person here aside from Aaron. So where are they?
As he wandered, listening closely to see if he could hear308Please respect copyright.PENANA1BflZb8W7a
any of the guys hiding somewhere, he came to realize he couldn’t hear anything308Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3B24yA3KY
at all. What’s more, it was cold, like, really cold throughout the house.308Please respect copyright.PENANAqa9k3tVX4w
Someone might have turned the AC too low.
Rubbing his arms, Aaron decided to wander back to his room308Please respect copyright.PENANAGFcQOWKwED
where he once again noticed things were out of place. Namely the fact that his308Please respect copyright.PENANAAc3sCLbgh5
bed was now gone and instead, he found the missing spare bed in the corner that308Please respect copyright.PENANAjVLLflaYsW
it had always been in.
Aaron’s pulse begam to race and he backed up until he tripped308Please respect copyright.PENANAZXLpSxCRl9
over the door frame. This had him knocking into a standing floor lamp that wasn’t308Please respect copyright.PENANA2Mxw7c2q1r
supposed to be there, and the thing fell over, punching a hole in the drywall308Please respect copyright.PENANAKckzEcgPME
just beside his bedroom door. Then it crashed to the ground, shattering the bulb308Please respect copyright.PENANA5AMc3PUmBN
into a million pieces.
This isn’t right. None of this is right!
Utterly weirded out, he ran back downstairs and made his way308Please respect copyright.PENANA4tNQpVN82V
towards the front door but was stopped abruptly by someone banging on it from308Please respect copyright.PENANAWPGfIeywOL
the other side. It wasn’t a knocking sound. It was loud, hard and deliberate308Please respect copyright.PENANADzwJ08ZGcx
like someone was angry.
Unlike before, this banging did not let up and it continued308Please respect copyright.PENANAfVrnctSfjy
to bang harder and harder, practically shaking the whole door off its hinges.
“Who’s there?” Aaron called.
No response.
“I’m calling the cops!” He shouted, his voice trembling and308Please respect copyright.PENANA1P1pLLACaf
his body too terrified to move. “I mean it!”
“Who is it?” Someone asked, causing Aaron to spin around and308Please respect copyright.PENANAwf9QPtna6U
find Trevor, eyes wide with fright and glued to the front door.
Suddenly the house went dark and the noise stopped. The old308Please respect copyright.PENANAOZR0GVFeTV
ragged couch and small flat screen were back to where they belonged in the308Please respect copyright.PENANAALDRaXdSJm
living room, and wrappers were laying on the counter with shoes tossed aside308Please respect copyright.PENANAkOEIQsfXYE
near the main entry.
Doug rounded the corner, looking just as scared. “Dude, was308Please respect copyright.PENANA5Px1snIjR9
that you banging the door just now?”
“What ?” Aaron asked, confused.
A few of the others started calling from upstairs. “What’s308Please respect copyright.PENANAOo3iLoqohh
going on?” He recognized that as Todd’s voice.
“Aaron’s banging on the front door!” Doug replied.
“No I wasn’t!” Aaron defended himself. “Someone else was!”
“It’s true.” Trevor agreed. “I was standing behind him while308Please respect copyright.PENANA1vhJtGb82n
it was happening. It wasn’t Aaron.”
“Are you saying it’s the same crazy bastard from before?”
“Maybe.”
“What the fuck? Why are they knocking on our door?”
Aaron started to check all the windows, wondering where the308Please respect copyright.PENANAM5itxbGelS
sun had gone. “Hey guys what time is it?”
“1:00 AM” Doug answered.
“That cant be. It was light out a second ago.” Aaron mumbled,308Please respect copyright.PENANAra8CKlR7Sn
then pulled out his phone and sure enough, it was 1:02 AM. “What the hell’s308Please respect copyright.PENANAVGHpAMUocO
going on?”
“I’m getting a security camera, that’s what’s going on.” He308Please respect copyright.PENANAYcumc3SNeD
heard Todd coming down the stairs, determined. “If whoever is banging at our308Please respect copyright.PENANAu9mBfzEEcN
door doesn’t cut it out, I’m getting his ass on video and call the cops on him.”
The rest of the guys agreed and started to disperse. Aaron continued308Please respect copyright.PENANAJVvMr1guih
to stare at the door in disbelief, then rubbed his eyes.
Had he been sleepwalking?
Returning to his room, he shut the door eyeing the corner308Please respect copyright.PENANAYT40rjr4ZP
where the spare bed used to be and somewhat relieved to find it was still gone.308Please respect copyright.PENANAY2F9h101pK
Too scared to find sleep immediately, he flipped on the308Please respect copyright.PENANATbCkM7VaTC
light switch and that was when he saw it.
On the wall right next to the door was what looked like a308Please respect copyright.PENANAkIEjuVftAI
patched hole in the wall, right where he had knocked over the lamp.
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END OF CHAPTER 3
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