I recently began my second year
of university. And, as is second year custom, I moved out of residence and
rented a house in town with some friends. We should have thought it was weird
when we saw the price of rent, it was cheap. Dirt cheap. Though, as most university
students know, money is tight and we were all pretty ecstatic about having our
own place and our own wallets. The house was perfect for 4 guys; 5 bedrooms,
big lot backing right onto the river, no neighbours to dampen the party.
Needless to say we were all pretty excited.
All of us are from different
places from all over Ontario so we all moved in at different times. The friend
closest to the house, Matt, is the guy who found the place for us. He took
tours of the places and sent us all pictures, but ultimately we all decided on
this house. Oddly enough, on move in day I was the first one at the house. I
had expected Matt to be there but really didn’t think anything of it. My
brother and I moved my stuff in to my room. We finished the move in and sat in
the kitchen for a while, having a beer and chatting. During a break in
conversation my brother, Andrew, pointed out how quiet the house was. I took a
swig of beer and mulled it over. The house was quiet, though a busy road and a
river ran by the house you couldn’t hear a single sound from outside.
I could tell that Andrew was creeped
out so I grabbed him another beer and asked him if he wanted to see the whole
house. He agreed and we started the tour. I had only seen the house through
pictures but I managed to give a pretty comprehensive tour, though, when we had
seen every room Andrew asked about the unused bedroom. Matt had told us about
it but I had never seen the pictures so Andrew and I decided to check it out.
At the top of the second floor stairs was the bedroom. We both tried to open it
but it seemed, not locked but, jammed or stuck. Just as I put my ear to the
door, the front door crashed open and a yell came from the foyer. Kirk, Craig
and Matt were here. Andrew and I looked at each other, rattled, and laughed.
First Night: Andrew left shortly
after the guys got here. He looked relieved. On his way out he gave me a long,
lingering hug and made a point to say’ “I love you.” We finished the move in
then grabbed some beers and started our 4 man-move in party. After some heated
drinking games we corrugated at the kitchen table laughing and carrying on until
a silence befell the group, just like with Andrew. This time it was Craig who
broke the silence, “Damn it’s quiet eh?” Heads nodded in reply but no one
seemed ready to talk. The flame of a new house and good times had been suddenly
and insidiously extinguished. “Anyone want to go out for a smoke?” I proposed cautiously.
No nods this time as the guys all pushed out their chairs and made a speedy procession
out the front door. Once out of the
house there seemed to be a collective sigh as we stood in the front yard and
gazed up at the house finally, for the first time all night, hearing the hum of
vehicles and flowing of the river. We stayed outside until our eyes couldn’t stay
open.
We all got ready for bed in the
single washroom and then stood in our door ways saying good night. Craig’s
furthest from mine, Kirks beside his, then the bathroom, followed by the 5th
bedroom across from the stairs, then Matt’s room. We all lingered for as long
as we could but eventually we shut our doors and went to sleep. I peeked out of
my room once more and looked into the hall, every door on the second floor was
closed and for some reason I felt isolated. I closed my, hopped into bed and
turned out my light. The long day took its toll and with the help of the beer I
felt myself drifting off. Just as I closed my eyes I heard the river, then a
splash followed by a sound that I will never forget. It was a sound of pure
horror, a scream so piercing and pleading, a cold hand gripping my heart. The 4
of us burst from our rooms and met at the top of the stairs we looked back and
forth at each other, and I really can’t tell you who noticed first but it might
have been Kirk, all I heard was a gasp a we turned to see a row of neat wet
footprints into the gapping doorway, the open mouth, that was the 5th
bedroom.
