I’ll be dead by 3 AM.
The room is dark, the door rattles. A lightbulb, barely hanging by a broken cable, casts a dim light on the white ceramic floor. Beside me, a toilet filled with years’ worth of waste, all sorts of critters nesting around it. The smell of dried blood and fetid putrefaction fills my nostrils, as my trembling body struggles to hold the door, while whatever it is that wants to come in violently pushes against it.
Won’t take long to shatter it. Minutes is all I have. Must try to write something, alert someone.
I can only think of the words. “Doggy Wants To Eat”. It’s such an innocuous phrase. I can’t even begin to think how I got here.
There’s a calm. It stops banging against the door. I know what that means, and a chill runs down my spine. But it’s better to take the opportunity to write than to simply wonder when will I die.
“Doggy Wants To Eat”.
My eyes look at my phone - and I see a message, scribbled in dried blood under the bathroom sink. I was so stupid.
Perhaps a bit of context is needed.
…
My name doesn’t matter. It’s Max. It’s what I always use for a pseudonym. The characters in all my accounts and novels are always named the same. In the end, it feels like a shared dream of experiences being barely perceived by many people, never knowing they’re the same.
Ironic, considering.
Logan is my friend. Went to college together. He studied law, I went for advertising. We share everything. Taste in movies, taste in food, affinity for poker. Only reason why you wouldn’t confuse us is because he’s smaller. We have some friends in common. James, our soccer team friend who plays us on weekends. Kenneth and Mika, our bar friends, they’ve been together for over 3 years now.
And Julia. She’s our friend. Sometimes, after she drinks, she goes to my place. Sometimes, after a few drinks, she goes to Logan’s place.
Like I said, we share everything.
Julia, it just so happens, has a beach house. We’d been contemplating a small trip to celebrate having finished college for quite a while. It had been 3 months already, but we hadn’t gotten around to it.
She came up to me with the idea one afternoon, smoking some weed. “What if we go to my parent’s beach house?”
“Do you think it’s such a good idea to go there, after the crash?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. It’s just a beach house near the coast. My parent’s didn’t crash there, anyway. I’ll be fine.”
I considered it a bit, but eventually decided it was worth it. That same night, I let Logan and the others know we had a small plan for next week.
A few days later, I remember having drinks with James. We hadn’t seen each other for Soccer, so I’d told him to pass by the Kuvra Bar near downtown.
“That beach house idea sounds good, man. I’ll probably see if I bring someone along,” he said.
“You should definitely bring someone along.”
“Or I could simply find someone there.”
“You wouldn’t want to do that,” I adjusted myself in my seat. The drink was getting to me. “It’s not worth it.”
“Why not?”
“Julia’s house is part of a poor neighborhood. I think some sketchy people are there. Plus, her grandfather also lives there. You probably won’t have a chance to see many girls with him trying to be nice and all.”
“What do you mean a poor area? Doesn’t Julia come from money like you and Logan?”
“Not really, no. Her mom was from a poor side of the southern coasts. That’s why she married Julia’s dad, who was a cop. No one else wanted her. She simply got lucky when she landed the job as a District Attorney.”
James looked at his glass. “Why did they crash their car? It was her mom, no?”
“Yeah.”
“Alcoholism? I know you told me her family was into some weird shit. She always carries around those chains about her totem animals and stuff.”
“No, it wasn’t that.” I stood up from the chair, adjusting my shirt. “She killed herself by crashing the car while she was driving with her husband.”
…
We drove for quite a while. The coast was three hours away from the city, and we barely fit inside one car. Kenneth lent us his van, but James had to drive it. Mika Sat in the front with him, while the rest of us suffocated in the back.
During the first hour or so, it wasn’t so bad. We opened up the windows, drank a few beers. Julia put her hand on my leg, but she started kissing Logan. She always did this. I loved it.
Problem was, James didn’t know where the coast was. Julia did. And Julia was busy with us. By the time we noticed we were going in the wrong direction, we had wasted at least thirty minutes.
It started to rain. We could barely see. We rolled up the windows, even though the van didn’t have any air conditioner. After an hour of driving through what was essentially a dirt road, Julia recognized a small gas station with a nearby restaurant.
“This is it. We’re near.”
“Well I want to stop for a bit. I need to take a piss.” James slowly parked the car. As soon as I stepped on the ground, my feet were soaked. The restaurant was little more than a collection of tables under a small wooden ceiling that leaked water from above. He offered us a couple of beers and some cold meat. We worked with what we had and talked a bit.
James, as usual, was left out, given that he had no woman of his own. It’s always bad to not be part of a group.
“This place is unusual, Julia.” Mika looked around. “I’m freezing, even though we’re near the coast.”
“Yeah, me too. But I promise you, we’ll be warm when we get to the house.”
“Is it big enough for all of us?”
“Oh yeah, for sure. It’s more of a two story apartment.”
“Two story apartment? Someone has a mansion and didn’t tell us!” Kenneth said before gulping some beer.
“No, it’s nothing like that!” Julia defended herself. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky a bit. Judging by how long it took to hear the thunder, it was a bit far off, but not quite enough. “My grandfather Marko bought that apartment with a meager policeman’s salary. It was a steal at the time, mostly due to the neighborhood and the economy.”
“Your grandfather’s a police officer, too? So that’s why your mom married your father then.” James said this as Julia looked at him perplexed.
“How did you know my father was a police officer?”
James didn’t have to say much, it was evident on his face and by the sharp look he gave me. I couldn’t believe he could be so careless with those subjects at times.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.” She smiled a bit, but I could see there was more underneath her expression. “Should we get going? I’d like to get there before dawn.”
…
The apartment complex showed its age. The tall spires represented a time when the government had intended to build large skyscrapers in this part of the country, a time when they tried to create a little metropolis that attracted tourists. A place for people like me and Logan, idiots that we were. By the expression on his face, he seemed to think the same.
Now, it was just an abandoned relic, a tomb of abandoned dreams and projects. The pool was dirty, and you could see a few broken windows. From what I had heard some time before, there had been a fire some years back that burned a third of the apartments.
The one security guard welcomed us with a grim look. I tried not to think about it. I kept my mind on Julia.
“Do you ever get squatters in here, Julia?” Kenneth asked.
“Yeah, of course. But it’s not that bad. After all, we came here for the beach and to have a good time, right?” I agreed. I didn’t mind if the apartment was a mess, as long as I had my own room to do as I pleased.
Indeed, the apartment was quite big. It wasn’t in any great shape, mind you. Leaky faucets, dirty toilets, and some cobwebs here and there. Logan helped clear out some stuff from the living room, and noticed a small drawing hanging on the wall.
“Hey, Julia. Did you do this?”
“Seems like it,” I said. The picture was that of a small girl, with black hair like Julia’s. She was standing on some grass, with a big brown dog. It’s odd to explain, but the dog seemed to be smiling while it towered over the little girl. A big set of letters were above the picture, written by what seemed to be a young child. It read: “Doggy Wants To Eat”.
Julia simply avoided our gazes and went past the drawing, muttering a small “yeah”. I paid it no mind.
We continued moving crates, setting up our stuff. Logan and I decided we were going to take our stuff to the upstairs bedrooms, when Julia stopped us.
“Hey, you guys are going upstairs?”
“Evidently,” I said.
“Well, try to be quiet. My grandfather still lives in the upper apartment, and sound carries over. I don’t want you guys waking him up early. He’ll try to get in here and spoil the fun.”
I said, sure, no problem. We continued on, putting our stuff in the bedrooms on the second floor. The bedrooms were oddly preserved, and by the decor, one of them seemed to belong to Julia’s mom.
“Hey, did you notice the grass?” Logan’s voice made me jump.
“Jesus. What grass?”
“All the grass around the buildings, man.” He was right, the apartment complex seemed to be surrounded by a lot of tall grass.
“Maybe that’s where Julia found that big dog in the picture,” Logan proposed. “She was walking around in the middle of the day, and this big black dog comes and scares her.”
“Yeah, she did seem pretty awkward around the drawing. Wonder what was that about.”
“Maybe it’s a ghost dog, bro. Like that Smile.Dog story from a few years ago?”
“A few? That story’s a decade old at least, man!” I said laughing. “I know Julia believes in weird stuff, but I wouldn’t go that far.Go on, get out of my room. Remember to be quiet.”
I stood there a bit, in the room, looking at the grass. Imagining what could Julia have seen at that age. It wasn’t until I went to put my stuff inside the drawers that I seriously started getting creeped out.
Inside one of the drawers, there was a lot of old stuff. It looked like it belonged to someone else from long ago. I moved them aside, trying to find space for my own clothes. Beneath them, however, something was scribbled on the wooden surface:
“Doggy Wants To Eat.”
Only, it wasn’t Julia’s handwriting. It was written in a more aggressive manner, and these combs and dresses looked old. Who did it belong to? Was it Julia’s mother who did this when she was little…?
…
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?” James asked Julia as we continued to drink by the pool.
“Leave her alone, James!” Mika said. “If she doesn’t want to talk about her aunt, let her be!”
“Sorry, I was just curious. I mean, it’s weird that there are two rooms upstairs, but we’ve never heard of her aunt-
Julia didn’t let him finish. She stood up from the chair and went back into the apartment. I simply looked at James, letting him know he had fucked up. I went after Julia.
“Julia, wait up.” She met my gaze as she was going up the stairs. She held my hand and led me back into the apartment. We went up to the second floor and started kissing each other.
I don’t know how much time passed after that. I just remember being in bed with her when James came up into the room.
“Hey guys, is everything all right in there?”
Goddammit.
Julia simply laughed. “You can come in!” Before I could say anything, he was in the room. “Oh, so you guys started without me. That’s cool.”
Julia beckoned him to come over. They started kissing each other.
Given that the situation had changed, and I wasn’t in the mood for that level of sharing, I started to get up, but as I tried getting up, Julia tried to pull me back. I ended up falling against the nightstand and knocking out a lamp. The sound reverberated across the silent complex.
“Oh no.” Julia’s eyes widened as she suddenly stood up, all excitement gone from her face.
“It’s ok, we can repair it.”
“DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID?” She suddenly started yelling, her face now red.
“Julia, it’s ok, it’s just a lamp. We can pay for it,” Logan added.
“It’s always the same for you two. Everything can be solved with your fucking money.”
“Hey, relax-
“DON’T TELL ME TO RELAX. All I wanted… Was one night before… And now I don’t even get to have that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“GET THE FUCK OUT!” She pushed us away from the room, and before I knew it, Logan and I were in the living room downstairs. Eventually, our other friends came inside.
“What was that about?” Kenneth asked.
“You heard?” I said.
“Please, we could probably have heard it from the restaurant. This place is way too quiet.”
“What did you guys do?” Mika asked.
“Nothing, we just knocked out a lamp and she just lost it!” I said.
“What?” James asked. “A lamp?”
“Yeah! I don’t know what-
I froze mid sentence. There was someone at the door. They had left it open, and a man was standing against the doorframe. Large, wearing an open shirt exposing his chest, paired with some trousers and flip flops, this man seemed… Old. Wrinkled skin, with bloodshot eyes carefully studying us. At first, he didn’t do anything. He simply looked at us. I noticed he was wearing a series of familiar collars on his neck, the same that Julia usually wore.
He then began to smile. Half his teeth were gone. Was this…?
“Grandpa, hi.” Julia came down the stairs, smiling. She looked completely relaxed. “Did we wake you? I’m so sorry.” The old man simply kept smiling. I almost assumed he couldn’t talk until his voice, akin to stone scraping wood, came through.
“Doggy wants to eat.”
“Excuse me?” I looked at him. He barely seemed to notice me.
“Doggy wants to eat.” His eyes focused on mine, and I felt sweat trickle down my spine.
“Um… Julia?” Logan gestured as if asking for help with the situation.
“Yes grandpa. We’ll get to that. They don’t understand you well, that’s all.” The old man simply nodded, still giving that weird smile of his. “We need to buy you a new set of teeth, so everyone can hear you well.”
“Doggy wants to eat.”
“All right, grandpa. Guys, why don’t you get out?” Julia looked at me, her eyes filled with rage. “We’ll take care of you in a second.”
“All… All right.” We started going out of the apartment and headed downstairs to the pool. Before I closed the door behind me, I swear I could see the old man touching his collar, as if he was deeply lost in thought.
I could also hear a strange melody, like someone was humming an odd lullaby.
…
Two hours had passed. It was 1:00 AM.
“We should go back to the apartment, man. I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.” James was walking on the edge of the other side of the pool, Mika by his side. We had tried to entertain ourselves a bit, but we were too nervous to make small talk.
“Like hell I’m going back up there with that creepy old man,” Logan said. “If I knew Julia was taking us to this shithole, I would have stayed home.”
A cold breeze flew by. The grass near the outskirts moved.
“I don’t give a fuck about that old guy. I want to sleep, and I drove us here. Am I right or am I right?” James looked at Mika for approval, but she just gave a dubitant expression. The wind kept blowing more and more, I could see it throwing aside some tables and chairs.
“Well, fuck it, I’m going up. Ain’t no way Julia’s gonna-
Suddenly, James fell to the ground, as if someone had knocked him aside. He yelled, but didn’t get up. Something was holding him to the ground. Mika tried getting near him, but then she noticed: A body, translucent at first, sitting on top of James. Whatever that thing was, it started pummeling James’ face. He yelled as we stood on the other side of the pool, watching his face slowly turn into a red pulp. The figure then opened James’ mouth and pulled out his tongue, throwing it in the water.
We started yelling, not knowing what the hell was going on. The first of us to move was Kenneth, trying to go towards Mika. To my right, Logan bolted out into the dark. The figure clearly sensed the cowardice, because it went after him.
To Logan’s credit, he grabbed a nearby chair and tried hitting the creature with it, but he was too slow. The last I saw of him was his contorting body being ripped apart, starting by the legs. I ran towards Kenneth and Mika.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?” Mika cried.
“I don’t know, just run!” I said. Kenneth ran behind us, attempting to serve as a shield for Mika as we ran up to the apartment.
“Julia, open up!” I yelled. No answer. I tried opening the door, but it was locked. I banged and banged, attempting to bust it open.
After my third attempt, the door started to budge. Just as something pulled Kenneth back into the stairs. I could see the creature pulling his arms and biting his neck. Tore his shirt and pants… And took away…. Mika started crying. We could not waste time. I pulled her into the apartment and closed the door, even though it was useless.
The lights had gone out. We went through the living room, passing by the dog painting. I looked at the main staircase. Perhaps we could hide beneath it.
We scurried away into that dark corner, waiting for any sign. Then, I heard it. A small creaking, noise, like a door being opened. I half expected to hear slow steps, slowly analyzing or surveying the room, looking for prey.
But that’s not what I heard.
“DoggywantstoeatDoggywantstoeatDoggywantstoeat”.
Quick, scurrying sounds.
Getting nearer.
Nearer.
Found us.
It pulled Mica away. Pinned her against the wall. Tore her clothes off. Opened her belly. Blood dripping everywhere. I had assumed the creature was a predator. But it wasn’t eating her. It only wanted us dead.
I ran away from there. Needed to find another place to hide. Only available place to go was up. More stairs, this time of a darker color. Was this the burned area of the apartment complex?
Heard noises coming from behind me. Gasping sounds, something chasing me. Near me. Saw a stray chair, tried using it to knock the creature back.
It didn’t work.
The creature’s teeth felt like cold air, ripping away my left hand. I kicked and screamed. Discarded my hand, trying to see if I could run and hide.
There was an open door. The apartment right on top of Julia’s. It was burnt. Felt like a dark mirror of the chaos that was downstairs. Filled with statues, dead animals, and strange collars.
Blood. Dried blood.
I closed the door. Locked it. I hoped that would be enough. For a moment, the creature banged against the door, violently shaking it. But, as soon as the violence had begun, it stopped.
I turned on my flashlight, but all I could see were more discarded ritualistic items. This apartment wasn’t supposed to be as old as the one below.
More dried blood sprayed against the walls.
I eventually made it to the kitchen. I saw a table, filled with more clutter.
Someone was sitting by the chair.
Grandfather Marko. His grin, now wide open, showed his decaying teeth, blackened.
“You.” He said.
“Sir, I’m only going to say this once. I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but there’s something out there. I want answers.”
“You wonlemme eat.”
“What in the hell are you talking about??”
“You want to eat? YOU CAN’T EAT!!”
As soon as he said that, a gust of wind broke the window. The creature leapt through, ignoring Marko. I backed off, further into the living room, now trapped with the monster.
Searched everywhere.
Bedroom. A black stain on the sheets, in the shape of a human. The stench.
Door to the bathroom.
Locked myself inside. Bathroom full of dried blood.
I looked around.
I saw the shower window.
And the person inside the shower looked at me.
“Julia! Are you ok?!”
I pulled her out. She was bleeding.
“It’s done.” Her voice barely a whisper.
“What is going on?” I could hear the creature outside. There’s a window in the bathroom. Not too long before it entered through there or broke the door apart…
“I’m sorry, Max. I just wanted to have fun. We had finally finished college and… I guess this is how my mom felt, you know? When she crashed the car. Like, no matter how successful you get, people always look at you different. They know you don’t belong. Even my dad behaved that way. Maybe that’s why she took him. Sometimes…”
“Julia, what are you saying?” She was dying. Blood was coming out from… Between her…
“There comes a moment when you know that it’s no use. You can’t escape what you are. I guess this is why I decided to go out this way. I’d say I am sorry, but I’m not. You guys made me so miserable. Just like he did all those times.”
“Who?? What did you do? What is all this?”
“Let’s just say I wanted to crash the car tonight, Max.” My mouth went dry.
“You knew this was going to happen…” She nodded.
“Your grandfather… What is he… Why does he keep saying Doggy Wants To Eat?”
“That’s not what… He isn’t even my grandp… Ugh. I shouldn’t have even been born.” A tear rolled down her face. “Guess I should have bought him those teeth…”
That’s all she said.
…
The bathroom stays quiet. No more banging. I’m either going to bleed out or that thing is going to burst into the door. I look at the dried blood. That’s when it hits me.
I look at what’s written under the sink. When did they buy this apartment? Probably when Julia’s mom became successful. Probably as a way to separate themselves from Grandpa Marko as much as possible.
Not that it mattered. Julia was probably here many times. Just like her aunt. Just like her mom was since little. Of course he isn’t her grandpa. He’s still family, just closer.
Goddamn it, they were so poor they couldn’t fix his fucking teeth.
Written in blood, under the sink. Probably by an older Julia, realizing what I’m just realizing moments away from my death.
“Daddy Wants To Eat.”