I had planned this trip with my friends a long time ago. we were heading to Alaska for a week. it was a very fun trip, until I insisted we left on the fourth day.
We had arranged to stay with this man living alone in a three bedroom house. the three of us slept in the guest bedroom, with two on the bed and one (me) on the floor.
The man was nice. no problems with him, he was very considerate of our stay. the rate was pretty good too.
After mostly hiking on the first and second day, the third was more relaxing, so I decided to check out the house. I have a habit of being nosy, so beforehand I’d ask the owner if there were any place that was off limits, and he said no.
So off I went down the halls, looking in closets, scouting the basement, then I came across the attic door.
It was a ceiling entrance that seemed like it had never been opened once. it spiked my curiosity greatly. I don’t think I remember walking to it, I was just there in front of it, but then I hesitated. if I wasn’t supposed to be in here then he would’ve mentioned it, right? nothing was off limits. I pressed on, grabbing the handle and pulling it down to reveal a ladder that reached the floor.
It was pitch black up there. I headed back to the guest bedroom to grab my flashlight, and rushed right back.
The ladder creaked as I stepped upward and poked my head into the void. I brought my flashlight up to my eye level and activated it with a “click”
All at once I saw it. it had arms and legs but it wasn’t human. it had a facial expression of exhaustion and absurd sadness. its eyes were pointed at me. I was completely frozen in place. It held up a pointer finger, and the hand itself darted in random directions like a humming bird, then another finger went up.
two… three… four… five…
The other hand seemed like it was in slow motion until it got to six, then it joined the other hand in manic motion to continue the count.
Seven. if there’s a hell I’m going there because I let it get to seven.
My legs kicked into action and carried me out. I folded the ladder back and slammed the entrance shut, then I began to panic.
At that moment I had genuinely believed that what I’d seen wasn’t real. I’d have to talk to my doctor about early signs of schizophrenia. it was getting late, should I sleep? could I? yes. sleep was good, I had to have some. I headed to my sleeping bag. my heart dropped over and over, being pulled up each time by my insistent thought: “not real.”
I slept horribly and had a nightmare. I can’t remember what it was about but I woke up drenched in sweat. I heard something that twisted my stomach coming from directly above the room
“Tap tap tap… tap… tap… tap… tap tap tap”
I sat in my own sweat until the sound was too much to withstand. I sat up, dreading what came next. I dragged myself back to that attic door. I knew how stupid I was being. the ladder tumbled down as I turned my flashlight on.
“One foot in front of the other” I mumbled.
Dread traveled through me when I found that the thing was still there. It was smiling this time. It looked happy and so excited to see me. I looked down.
The owner of the house was there on the floor, divided into precisely seven pieces. He was spread out, tubes connecting each part, winding and overlapping each other. it was too much. the smell, the blood, everything. then he looked at me, and gasped. I felt weak all over.
“Tap tap tap… tap… tap… tap… tap tap tap”
I looked toward the piece that his hand was attached too. his wrist powered weak knocks against the wood.
I got out of there. It took convincing to get my friends to leave the trip early. I didn’t tell them anything because they wouldn’t believe me when we left they were disappointed that they didn’t get to say goodbye to the owner. they couldn’t find him.
Since then I’ve stopped being curious, and my attic door is taped shut.