My Aunt
So recently my life pretty much went into the gutter. I lost everything. Wife, house, job, etc. A messy divorce followed by a foreclosure. Needless to say, the loss of my job soon followed the other unfortunate events. It's a long story so I'm not going to get into the details of it all.
Anyway, I ended up moving in with my aunt, who lives way out in the country. She took me in when I had no money and nowhere else to go. She was family, and hey, it's all I had at this point. The house is surrounded by thick forest and the nearest anything is about a 15 min drive. It's the textbook definition of 'middle of nowhere' place, but I literally had nowhere else to go.
Her house is large. And by large, I mean huge. It's an old country manor. She came into a lot of money about 15 years back due to a very wise investment. She quit her job and spent her days living alone in her mansion. She was never married and had no children, so being her nephew, she welcomed me in with open arms.
I spent most of my time alone in my room combing over the local paper and craigslist, looking for jobs in the area and surrounding towns. I would also run errands for her since she didn't like leaving the house. Such as going into the city for groceries, or collecting her mail at the local post office. They didn't deliver to such remote addresses, so the mail had to be picked up manually at the local branch.
She loved cooking. She cooked amazing homemade meals every night. We got together every night for dinner. I would sit and we would chat for hours. I think she just liked having someone to talk to. She never asked me to pay rent or anything.
She was old. And moving up and down the hallways and corridors of her house were getting hard on her. So whenever dinner was ready, and she couldn't come knock on my door, she would simply send me a text message on my phone to let me know to come to dinner. "Dinner is ready", it would say. Night after night. This went on for weeks. I always enjoyed getting that dinner text, since I knew an amazing meal would soon follow.
One night after dinner and a pleasant chat with my aunt, I retired to my room. I surfed the internet and played some online games. It was about 3am and I had just laid down in my bed when my phone buzzed.
"Dinner is ready".
Must have been a delayed text. Happens sometimes.
"Dinner is ready", my phone buzzed again.
At this point, I was confused so I made my way through the dark house and into the kitchen. I flipped on the lights. My aunt was sitting at the table with her cell phone in her hand.
"You feeling okay, auntie?", I asked, "I just got a text from you but dinner was like 6 hours ago..."
She looked at her cell phone, then looked up at me and smiled. Then she looked back down at her cell phone. Her eyes got real wide like she had just had some kind of revelation. Almost like a child who is discovering something for the first time.
Then, she smiled a huge grin. So huge I thought her lips were going to crack. I got chills. It was inhuman. Then her mouth opened wide and it looked like she was about to say something. There was no teeth, only blackness. She started to scream.
I heard a door in the back of the house creak open. My aunt's bedroom.
My "aunt" at the kitchen table immeditely got up and slithered through the crack in the open window like a snake. It was barely cracked 6 inches, but she contorted her body through it. I ran to the window and looked out and watched her run off into the forest behind the house. The dogs were going crazy.
Just then my aunt walked into the kitchen from the hallway and said that she heard a commotion, and asked what I was doing up so late, and why all the lights were on. I just stared at her in disbelief. Then, I came to my senses. I told her I was just thirsty and needed a glass of water. I didn't want to alarm her. And I certaintly didn't want to tell her about her doppelganger who was running through the woods behind the house.
She casually said "Okay dear" and then walked back into the darkness of the house to return to bed. I heard her bedroom door close.
I don't know what I saw in the kitchen, but that thing that texted me and slithered through the window was most certainly NOT my aunt.
The next morning at breakfast, I was wondering whether or not I should even mention it to my aunt. Would she think I'm crazy and kick me out? I didn't know what to do or how to approach the situation. I was on edge, so I said nothing at all.
My aunt broke the silence between bites of her bagel.
"We need to talk about last night.", she said.
Part two
"Ok, let's talk.", I said calmly, pretending nothing was wrong. I was playing it cool, kind of waiting to see what she was going to say first.
She didn't say anything back, only looked at me. She took a long sip of coffee, never breaking eye contact. Swished it around in her mouth a bit and then spit some of it back into the cup. She could sometimes be a picky eater, but I've never seen my aunt spit food out before. I just figured maybe it was too hot to drink.
"Was the coffee too hot? Are you feeling okay this morn--", I asked her.
I was cut off by footsteps coming down the hall. Thinking it was the dogs coming to beg for some table scraps, I turned around to shoo them away. But it wasn't the dogs.
"Good morning, Jacob!", I heard my aunt's familiar voice sing out from the hallway, "I'll be at breakfast in a minute, sweetie."
My heart sunk in my chest. If my aunt was in the hallway, how was she sitting across from me at the table? I slowly turned my head back towards the table and looked at my "aunt". The corners of her mouth slowly curled up into a huge smile. An impossibly big smile that literally stretched from ear to ear. Coffee was dripping off her chin, all over the table and floor. Her mouth kept opening wider and wider as the coffee and bits of bagel continued to leak out of the gaping blackness.
She held a cell phone up to her ear. "Dinner is ready", she giggled without moving her lips.
Slowly standing up, she strolled over to the door, opened it up a bit and slithered outside. One leg at a time, one arm at a time, like a broken puppet or something. Even when she turned her body sideways to move out the partially open door, her head was pointed at me the entire time. I sat there too afraid to move or even scream. She stumbled off around the side of the house and out of sight. She walked very clumsy. Like someone learning to walk or someone with no bones in their body.
I sat there in total disbelief with no clue how to even process what I just saw. Did I just see this in broad daylight? Am I hallucinating? Is this really happening? I must be dreaming or going insane. I reasoned all these things with myself. My hands were shaking. I was almost crying. As a grown man, I felt like a scared child. I put my head in my hands.
A few minutes later, my aunt came into the kitchen and looked at the chewed up bagel and coffee all over the table. She looked like she was about to scold me for spilling my food and coffee all over the place. I was still in shock. My head still rested in my hands.
"Going to clean your mess up, dear?", she asked me kindly, but looked a bit upset. She walked over and closed the door, "and why is the door open?".
I didn't say anything. I just sat there. I was just relieved it was my real aunt and not that thing.
"Jacob, what's wrong? You look pale. Last night you were making a huge racket in the kitchen at 3am.", she sighed, "... and this morning you're spilling your food all over the table and floor. What's gotten into you?"
Again, I just sat there not knowing what to say.
"Are you sick?", she asked and felt my head to see if I had a fever.
"I'm fine, auntie". I tried to fake a smile.
I apologized to my aunt for waking her up last night. I also apologized for the spilled food. I apologized that a grown man has to live with his aunt. I apologized for being a burden. In my flurry of mixed up thoughts and strange emotional state, I probably apologized a bit too much. She gave me a hug. I cleaned the mess up, told my aunt I was going out for the day, and walked outside.
I needed some fresh air and to clear my head a bit. I also had to figure out how I was going to bring this up with her in conversation at dinner tonight. I had no idea how to tell her she has some kind of creature pretending to be her. It sounds downright ridiculous. Plus, she is old fashioned. Doesn't believe in any of that paranormal stuff. She would think I'm absolutely crazy.
I spent hours outside, walking and thinking. I walked around the fields by the house, and even took a little hike in the woods. In fact, I spent the entire day outside just trying to rationalize everything. The more thinking I did, I felt a change in myself. The fear I felt earlier in the day was now turning into some kind of anger. And the more I walked, the more angry I was becoming. Why is this happening to me? Between the divorce, foreclosure, and everything else in my life, why did I have to deal with this creature on top of it all?
The weight of the world felt like it was on my shoulders. I broke down. I slumped down by a tree and started to cry my eyes out. For my ex-wife. For my old house. For my old job. For everything. I sobbed loudly. I was exhausted mentally. I must have cried myself to sleep because the next thing I knew I was waking up to my phone buzzing in my pocket. The sun was setting.
I clenched my fists. I wanted to smash it to pieces and scream, but I forced myself to check the text message anyway. I cupped the top of my shaking hand over the screen to reduce the bright glare of the setting sun, and read the message. I already knew what it was going to say.
"Dinner is ready."
I didn't know it was my aunt or my "aunt". I am so confused with the events of the last 18 hours that I'm not sure of anything anymore. But at this point, I figured I would just man up and deal with the situation.
I texted back: "Be right there."
Phone buzzed again almost immediately. "Ok. See you soon Jake."
My aunt never called me Jake. It was always Jacob. Always.
I headed back inside, but not before swinging by the garage to grab the biggest baseball bat I could find. I've had it with this damn thing.
My Aunt pt 3
After grabbing the bat, I headed into the house through the garage sidedoor. I wasn't really sure what I was expecting to find. I wasn't even sure if it was going to do me a lick of good against whatever the hell this creature was. But better safe than sorry I guess.
The house looked fine. Nothing in disarray. I made my way through the hallways and towards the kitchen, checking every room as I went. All empty, but this house was huge and there were a million hiding places. I contemplated checking the upstairs, but then my phone buzzed.
"Dinner is ready."
I quickened my pace.
Sure enough, when I reached the kitchen, my aunt was sitting at the table. The smell of homemade alfredo and heavy garlic filled the air, yet I didn't see any food being cooked. Being out late, I probably missed dinner and was just smelling the residue of a good meal. At this point, however, eating dinner was the furthest thing from my mind.
I wasn't sure if it was my real aunt or the creature that sat at the table. My hands were a bit shaky as I approached. I hid the bat behind my back.
"Hey Auntie", I said. My throat was really dry. My voice cracked a little, "Dinner smells good..."
"Hey Jake", she said. My stomach dropped.
Slowly that inhuman smile creeped across her face. Her mouth opened wide and once again I stared into the infinite, swirling blackness. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that this was most definitely not my real aunt. I lifted the bat up above my shoulder in a striking position.
"What do you want from me, anyway!?", I screamed as I was getting ready to smash this thing's face in.
I wanted this thing to leave me alone once and for all. I wanted it to go away. My anger, my hatred, and my stress had reached a boiling point. I wanted to kill it. To end it. But I couldn't. It looked like my aunt, and besides, it didn't even flinch. I couldn't go through with it. I lowered the bat.
"Sit", it hissed out of the darkness of it's open mouth. One simple word that I felt the need to obey.
After a slight hesitation, I dropped the bat on the floor. I pulled up a seat across from the monster. It just continued to stare at me for what seemed like at eternity, but must have only been about a minute or so. The entire time it's mouth was opening and closing, opening and closing. Smiling wide and then frowning. Over and over like a cross between a snake and a clown. It had a strange soothing effect. Almost mesmerizing if it wasn't so terrifying.
I broke the silence.
"What do you want from me?", I asked more calmly this time.
The creature stood up and pointed it's finger at me. It's mouth opened wide again, exposing some swirly black, tendrils of skin now flapping around inside. It's eyes turned pure black.
"You beat your wife. You cheated on her. She left you. I made sure she did."
I put my head down in shame. I did those things. I felt sick to my stomach.
"You spent your savings on alcohol and gambling. You lost it all. I made sure you did."
I started to quietly sob to myself.
"You cheated clients to line your own pockets, and lost your job. I made sure of it."
My head was pounding. Throbbing. Aching.
"You hurt everyone for your own gain. You don't deserve her --"
I had heard enough. I snapped.
"Stop it! Stop it! Shut up!", I screamed and lunged at the creature. But I missed. It was too quick for me to tackle. I faceplanted on the floor next to it, while my elbow smashed into the cold floor. It hissed and ran down the hallway behind me on all fours.
"I'll take her from you too!", it shrieked out of the darkness of the hallway. It's voice echoing through the corridors of the large home.
As I was pushing myself up back to my feet, I heard my aunt screaming from upstairs. I heard a loud commotion. Banging and crashing. I darted through the house as quickly as I could, but by the time I got there she was gone. Some furniture was overturned and the sheets on her bed were on the floor. The window was wide open. There was specks of blood on the carpet, but not a crazy amount.
I ran over to the window just in time to see my "aunt" dragging my aunt into the darkness of the woods. She was screaming and kicking. The outside lights on the property illuminated the whole scene.
I began to panic. My chest was heavy and my heart was beating out of control. What was I supposed to do? Nothing can prepare you for witnessing or experiencing anything like this. My mind was fumbling. I felt dizzy. I sat on the floor trying to get my head straight. I thought I was going to pass out.
The minutes passed like hours. I sat alone in the silence.
My cell phone rang. I jumped a little. The sudden noise scared me.
This is where my memory goes fuzzy. Cloudy. The following conversation probably isn't verbatim and it was a lot more terrifying while it was actually happening. In my panic, these are the bits I can remember though.
I put the phone up to my ear, trying to hold it steady with a shaky hand.
"It's only one more thing to lose.", said the raspy voice on the other end. It didn't sound like my aunt anymore. It didn't even sound human. Like a guttural growl mixed with a very deep voice.
"Please don't hurt her...", I pleaded into the receiver.
"Redeem yourself", it screeched. The screeching was unbearable and painful. I had to pull the phone away from my ear. As I pulled my ear away it was still talking but I couldn't understand what it was saying.
"What? I didn't hear you", I mumbled between gasps of air, "I don't understan-"
It cut me off.
"Your wife. Your house. You can have it all back.", it paused, "if you let me take her. Let me have her. Let me KEEP her."
The way the creature said keep was very unsettling.
Sweat was forming on my brow despite the cool country air. Synapses firing. Thoughts flooding in my mind until I felt like they were drowning. Without hope. My brain continued running a mile a minute. I did the only logical thing a completely haunted and broken man can do. I silently sobbed while I contemplated this strange offer.
Memories of my ex wife filled my head. How we met in college. Our first date. Our first kiss. Our wedding. The first house we bought together. Hanging up pictures. Taking the dog for a walk. My first day at the job I loved. Vacations on the beach. Late nights and holiday grilling on the deck. A cozy life in the suburbs surrounded by family and friends. Living the life that I loved. And then watching everything slip away, a little at a time. Due to my own faults. And my greed.
Looking back on it now, I guess this creature or being or thing or whatever the hell it is, must be the being that guides and weaves my life. A worker of fate and destiny. And it followed me out here to the country and took the form of a loved one to get close enough to keep hurting me. To show me how low I can really go.
I fumbled on my words and took in a deep breath and said the two words which sealed my place as the man who truly does destroy everything around him. Perhaps it's actually me who keeps hurting me.
"Keep her.", I whispered between trembling lips. Thoughts of my wife dancing in my head. The phone went dead.
My aunt never came home again and the creature seems to be long gone.
But, I have hope. I'm still sitting here waiting for it to keep it's promise. Alone in this big, empty house out in the country.
[Part 3 permalink(http://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1g9pxf/lost_everything_i_owned_so_staying_at_my_aunts/)