Funk-N-Fiction

Would YOU open this door?? L E Perez takes us along as they answer that question in today’s addition to our Halloween Flash Fiction event!!

Who’s There?

The strange door on the side of the house creeped me out from the moment I first saw it.  The short flight of steps leading to it was uninviting and we had all avoided the door and where it led like the plague.

Unfortunately, we were cramped now. Like really cramped and I knew it was inevitable that we would have to open the door and explored the space behind it.

“Maybe it would have more room for us?” I said aloud contemplating it from a distance.

“You’d think so but where does it lead?” Javi said. My brother looked up at the house and back to the door. It doesn’t make sense there would even be anything there. The house and where we’ve spread out seems to go right to it.”

“So, then what the hell is in there?” I tugged at my hair nervously, a bad habit I picked up as a child.

A thump beyond the door made us both jump and the squeal that escaped my lips would’ve been funny if we weren’t already terrified.

“Who’s there?” I croaked.

Silence was the resounding response, and we both took a step back.

Our options were limited, and this house was the only shelter we’d found for miles. So it had been for the other fourteen people in the house.

Civil war and apocalyptic turn of events had humanity scrambling to survive. Where we could, folks banded together. We’d faced a lot collectively just to survive the past three hundred and twenty-two days since the world fell. This door was scarier than all of it and I couldn’t figure out why.

Javi yanked on my sleeve. “Are we waiting to find out?”

“Hell no.” I led the way back to the front door. Javi and I had become de facto leaders of the motley group in the house, but I was damned if we would be dealing with the door alone.

The image of the door flashed in my head, and I stumbled.

“You okay sis?” Javi grabbed me by the elbow and steadied me.

“Yeah, stupid door just has me spooked.”

“Why didn’t we check it out when we first got here?”

I stopped to face him, realization washing over me. “I don’t remember seeing it. Did you?”

Javi swallowed hard and I saw the answer in his eyes. He hadn’t either.

“Shit.”

***

“Luna, Javi!” The young black man waving them over kept looking over his shoulder.

“Dude,” Javi punched him softly in the arm. “It’s pronounced Havi, pretend the J is an H.”

“Yeah, yeah. Forget all that. There’s something thumping in the wall.”

“Which wall?” I said.

“In the side where that door is,” he whispered.

Javi and I looked at each other and took off at a run. I jumped over the littles playing by the door and ran to the side of the house where the door was. I stopped short when I saw most of the adults crowded in the room listening.

Thump…Thump…

Javi ran to the window and looked out.

“Luna! The damn door is open.”

“What?” I ignored everyone as I ran out, Javi hot on my heels.

“Luna wait!”

I jumped down the three steps and ran for the door. It was open and the thumping was coming through loud and clear. My heart was pounding as every childish fear washed over me. Today was Halloween, or it would have been. I took a few steps and gagged.

“What the hell is that smell?” I coughed.\

Javi covered his nose and got closer shaking his head. “Dunno…sewer maybe?”

He walked closer and I knew I needed to stop him, but the now open door was like a siren call.

“Javi stop.”

He kept walking.

“Javi…”

He was almost to the door.

“Dammit Javi!”

A large, mottled hand reached out and grabbed him by the shirt yanking him in.

“JAVI!!!!!!”

By the time I got to the door it was closed again. Banging did nothing. I ran back to the front of the house grabbing the bat on the porch. I had to get him back.

When I got to the side of the house the door was gone. The walkway too. The side of the building was smooth with the one window. Javi was gone.

A chill went down my spine and I turned around. Everyone who was in the house was standing behind me.

“We have to save Javi,” I cried.

One of the littles I’d jumped over earlier came over and led me away.

“We already did.” She said in her singsong voice. “We already did.”