The flat isn't big, and the rooms give off strange vibes, but she decided to buy the apartment anyway. Mostly because the place is pretty near the city center and because it's the cheapest in comparison to others. Though, one specific thing confused her at first. Normally places this near to the heart of cities aren't so cheap, but when she saw some pictures, she understood fairly quickly - the place isn't pricy because it's almost falling apart. In some patches the wallpaper is peeling off the grey concrete walls. The ceiling has some cracks in it and when it's raining, there are also some water leaks. Plus, the advertisement read "an exterminator has eliminated all unwanted pests", which means that insects and other scary gross stuff has easy access to visit. Moreover, it said that the former renter went missing. Nonetheless, she bought it. She needs somewhere cheap to stay.
That's why she's standing in front of the apartment door now, with the key in hand. Even the front door looks rancid. Well, better than nothing, she thinks. With a soft sigh of self-encouragement, she steps forward. Her free hand envelopes the doorknob before she pushes the key into the lock. It turns, clicks and with a firm pull, the door cracks open. Dust and an odd scent waft out of the dark room, making her eyebrows draw together in a frown. She pulls the door fully open and peeks inside the dark room. Her eyes can't make out much of the furniture, only the dark outlines are barely visible. In a swift motion, she pulls out her phone and turns on the flashlight, shining it into the mysterious space. A small room with two doors comes into view. An old, crusty sofa is standing right in the middle. On the wall next to the window with the closed curtains is a rather large wardrobe. The carpet looks used, with a lot of different, unknown stains. Her frown deepens. Her eyes narrow as she looks around further. On the right side are the two closed doors, one for the kitchen, and one leads to the bathroom, she assumes. After a few seconds of silently gathering courage, she takes a step into the room. Then she leans forward, bending at the waist to get a better view around the corner. Her grim expression brightens when a light switch comes into her field of vision. She quickly reaches out and presses it, lighting up the room through a dim flickering ceiling lamp. Once that's done, she turns the flashlight off and puts her phone back into her pocket.
With a swift motion, she opens the curtains which allows sunlight to flood the room. Making the flying dust even more visible, giving the space an even older and abandoned atmosphere. She inspects the kitchen and bathroom as well, but they look exactly like the rest of the flat - dusty, crusty, rusty and old. It'll do, she thinks, it's only temporary anyway. All the little crumbs of her hope and determination are hanging onto this mindset. With eager steps, she makes her way to the front door, on a mission to get her things in here. But the second she passed the doorway, she found herself back in the apartment. What?
Her steps falter and she looks around in confusion. What just happened? She shakes her head and chuckles under her breath. "It's been a long day", she mutters. Turning on her heels, she faces the open door once again. The hallway is there, she can clearly see it. Her right foot landed on the wooden floor of the hallway just fine. But when she pulled her other leg along and leaned forward slightly to make the final step into the corridor - she found herself back in the apartment. Her eyes widen, her mouth slightly agape. - Cute. She swings around, staring into the empty hallway again. Unconsciously, she takes a few small steps back. Her gaze locked onto the open door and what lies behind it. Now that she has created some distance, she gets into a running stance. Her left foot placed a bit behind her, her knees slightly bent and her torso leaning a little forward. After a second of pure concentration, she lunged towards the door and as fast as she passed through the doorway, she tumbled back into the apartment. She swiftly turns around again and huffs in frustration.
Her hand holds loosely onto a rusty spoon she found in the kitchen. She crouches down, a few meters away from the door. With a measured motion, she sends the metal cutlery flying. As the spoon passes through the doorway, it seems to disappear mid-air. Just to come flying right back into the room. It hits the carpet with a soft thud and her eyes stare in disbelief at the tool. After a second, that felt like an eternity, she jumps to her feet and goes over to the window. Her hands reach out, gripping the handle of the window frame tightly with the clear goal to open it. But when she pulled and tried to pry it open desperately? The handle broke off. Stunned and surprised, she pauses. Her wide eyes locked onto the handle in her hands. Then she turns her head, looking at the place where the handle once was first before looking out the window. The streets are busy as always, cars and people going over their day, unbothered.
"Help!", she yells as she bangs against the glass of the window with her palm. "Somebody help me!", "I'm up here!", "I can't get out!!". - Her cries for help are music to my ears.
After some time of restless screaming, she realizes that these people four stories down can't hear her, no matter what she tries. Her voice is strained now, and her hope is gone. The reality of this critical situation finally dawns on her. In a last desperate attempt to reach someone, she pulls out her phone but that doesn't work either. Here is no internet connection. She presses her back against the wall next to the window and slowly slides downwards as her knees give in. Now, she's sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her legs and her face nuzzled against her knees. Soft sniffles and quiet sobs fill the room. - What a poor little girl.
She doesn't know how much time has gone by. The clock on her phone is going crazy, jumping from hour to hour however it fucking wants, counting minutes backwards und rushing seconds like it's a marathon. Well, her mental breakdown subsided at least. Now, she's busy testing out how well that door portal works. Going through it over and over again, launching all kinds of stuff at it and watching how they end up back in front of her. Frustration, anger and a feeling of hopelessness gnawn at her. In a wave of pure irritation, she grabs a nearby lamp and throws it onto the ground as hard as she can before letting out a ranging scream. Once her anger faded, it got replaced by a sense of sadness. She sinks to her knees in front of the broken lamp, her breathing heavy and salty pearls prickle at the corners of her eyes. Her lips are curved in a sad pout as she tries to hold herself together. Her gaze drops to the lamp, and her facial expression turns curious at a new discovery. She reaches out and grabs the lamp, turning it in her hands and examining it closer. There's something written on the inside of the lampshade. She tugs at the fabric wanting to get it off the lamp frame so she can read the words properly. Once she managed to tear the fabric off, she reads the message someone left here. A shudder runs down her spine, giving her goosebumps. She drops the fabric on the carpet before she stands back up. Her head tilts back and she looks up at the ceiling, scanning the whole room. "Let me out!", she demands. "I'll give you whatever you want! ?just let me out of here", her voice falters, cracking slightly as she pleads for freedom.
....
It's fun to watch her suffer, to see her so desperate and frustrated. The last guy was boring as hell. He had no one and after a while I had no joy in observing his pathetic life anymore. So, I offered a friend of mine that he could have him. Since then, I haven't seen that fool again. What a miserable soul he was and will forever be.
This girl is different. She valued her freedom and life goals more than anything. Of course, I had to take that away from her or else it wouldn't have been fun. Would it?
I love to hear her pleading and begging. To be honest, I didn't think she'd find my hint so fast. What a clever girl~
"I'm always watching", that's what the message on the fabric of the lampshade said - for all the curious folks out there. (This also applies to you though <3)
