The Abandoned House

Time is fast when you look back at it. One moment you are a young kid playing in your front yard with that kick-ball that you got for your birthday, and the next minute you are an old fogy rocking back and forth on a front porch that rarely sees any visitors. You wonder where the time has gone to, but can come up without any answers except that maybe, you slept it all away. Thomas Glisen is one of these old fogy's and the answer to the question for him would be that he worked all of the time away. He worked for a company that always treated their employees right. A company that took care of their employees and made sure that when the time came for them to retire they wouldn't have anything to worry about. He would wake up at five AM almost every morning and head off to his work. He would work hard all day long not paying attention to the time ticking away. He loved the people that he worked with, and he loved his job which never let him go home until seven PM or later. There was plenty of overtime working here, and Thomas always took as much of it as he could. Saving money is what he was all about, and now that he is retired he enjoys looking at the huge bank account that he accrued over the many years. Though he has no family to share it with, he never married given his need to work all of the time, but with all of the partying he has done he was still satisfied with his life.

So much booze, so many women, so much money, he was very proud of his life. At seventy years old, just having a birthday a few weeks ago, he made sure to stay active in order to keep his body from breaking down. With all of that partying you would figure that his body would be in shambles, but it wasn't. He still managed to walk anywhere that he had to go, which was a necessity considering that he doesn't own a vehicle, and he has sworn off of the booze. Being retired and having no family does make it boring for Thomas every once in awhile, but he keeps himself busy walking around town talking to what little friends he has left. As time goes by he has less and less friends, losing them to old age or a disease that seems to pop up out of nowhere.

One day Thomas decided he was going to go for a walk. He started out at 10 o’clock in the morning and spent most of the day on Edison Road. It was a quiet country road that hardly ever saw any traffic. It was perfect for a 70 year old man who wanted to go for a walk. He saw an old bench on the side of the road and decided he was going to have a seat and enjoy the nice weather for a bit. As he sat there a green Honda drove up the road and stopped right beside him. It was his good buddy Mike.

“Hey there Tom! What are you doing sitting on that bench? Shouldn't you be at the bar?”

“That's not until tonight Mike.”

“Oh hey did you talk to Frank? He's gonna be selling his car and I heard you needed one.”

“Really? OK I'll go and check it out. His house isn't to far from here.”

“Okay, see you at the bar later tonight!”

With that Mike drove away and Thomas decided he was going to head on over to Frank's house to look at his car. He got up off of the bench and continued on down Edison Road. A strange gust of air smacked Thomas right in the face. It had a foul stench to it like something had died. He put one hand over his mouth and turned his head to the left. He saw a dirt road heading into the woods.

“I never noticed this road before.” said Thomas. The beginning of the small road was actually covered with weeds. This would explain why he never noticed it before. Looking in the direction to where Edison Road leads he can see Frank's house in the distance. He thought to himself it wouldn’t hurt to go and have a look at where this road leads. Turning left he headed toward the hidden road.

Thomas would always catch poison ivy pretty easily so he was very careful to inspect the surrounding weeds just to make sure there was none there. Luckily it was free of the poison so off he went up the road. There was trees on both sides of this small dirt road and the leaves on the top of them extended over the road like a roof. This made it a little dark but Thomas didn't mind since he always liked walking in the woods so he was used to it. The road went straight for about a half mile and turned right. Rounding the corner Thomas was amazed by what he saw. It was a huge abandoned house that looked like it had been here for a very long time. It was a white house with all of the windows boarded up from the outside. Weeds were growing up the sides of the house. Some even on the chimney. There was a large front porch that was surprisingly in good condition. It almost looked as if someone just built it not to long ago. Thomas decided to look inside.

Stepping up onto the porch Thomas walked up to the door. He turned the doorknob and it opened. Looking inside it was dark but he could still see that the house was still in good shape.

“I'm gonna have to go and get my flashlight.”

With that Thomas turned around and started walking back up the dirt road. Another gust of wind hit him in the face which made him do a 180 degree turn as the stench in the air was very nasty. He looked back at the house and he noticed he left the front door open.

“It'll be okay until I get back.” He thought to himself. He then heard a strange soft voice coming from the house. He didn't see anyone in there when he was looking inside so for a second he thought he was just hearing things. Looking at the doorway he saw a hand come into view and grab the doorknob. He thought he was dreaming as he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on standing in the doorway looking back at him. She was waving at him. Trying to get him to come back to the house and enter. At that moment another blast of wind came at him. This time there was no strange smell but the wind was as cold as ice. Feeling very cold and kinda freaked out Thomas did not want to go back into that house. So he turned around and walked away. He walked all the way back to his house.

“I'm not going to go to Frank's either.” He thought to himself.

Back at his home Thomas was watching the news. It was going to be a clear night with no storms on the way. This made him very happy because he could stay out at the bar all night. Beer was on his mind. The woman from the house was also on his mind. He was wondering where she came from and why she was in that broken down abandoned house. It was so dark in there he figured she could have been in there and he just didn't see her. He decided that he was going to go back to that place the next day with a flashlight and see if he can find her. As for tonight thought it was party time!

Entering the bar that night it was surprisingly quiet. Everyone that was normally there at night seemed to be missing. Even his friend Mike was no where to be found. Thomas walked up to the bartender and asked him where everyone was at.

“I'm not really sure why it's empty in here tonight. Mike said he was going to be here.”

“Yeah, he told me that too. I saw him earlier today.” Thomas replied.

The bartender said “Well I hope they all didn't run of to another bar.”

Thomas looked around to see who was here. Over in the corner was Simon. He would always keep to himself and always seemed to be drinking but was never drunk. Playing pool by himself was Kyle. He would normally be playing with a group of friends but they were not here tonight. Thomas got up and walked over to Kyle.

“Hey, Kyle, where are your buddies at?”

“Everyone of them said they were sick, Tom.”

“All of them?”

“Yeah all of them, Tom. I guess there is a flu going around.”

“Did you notice the strange smell outside, Tom?”

“Yeah, every time the wind would blow I would smell something nasty.” said Thomas.

“I was talking to Simon and he was telling me some strange stuff.”

“What kind of strange stuff.” asked Thomas.

“Go over there and ask him. You'll see.”

So Thomas walked over to where Simon was sitting and sat down.

“Hey, Simon, how are you doing?”

Simon looked at him and didn't answer. Just as Thomas was about to ask him again, Simon said, “The air out there is cold, it has returned!” Thomas was confused about what Simon said.

“It has returned? What are you talking about?”

“You don't know the danger that lurks in the air, Thomas. Beware of the eater!”

Thomas decided it was time to leave the bar and go home. After what happened today at the house and hearing what Simon was saying he thought getting drunk might be a bad idea. Exiting the bar he could smell that strange odor in the air again. This time the wind wasn't blowing in his face but he could still smell that rancid stench. It was a nice warm night and Thomas enjoyed his walk home. Turning onto his street he could see Edison road not to far away. Coming over the hill from Berkeley street was a group of people that he knew. It was all of Kyle's friends and Mike.

Thomas shouted at them. “Mike!” There was no response. “Mike! Hey Mike!” Mike just seemed to ignore him as he and the group of people started to walk down Edison Road. Thomas decided not to follow them as it was so late and he was tired. He figured he would ask what they were doing tomorrow.

The next day Thomas got up and went for his daily walk. He strolled down Harris street and ended up on Parkway. He still couldn't get the beautiful temptress out of his mind so he decided it was time to go back. He was also thinking about Mike. Why would he go down that road so late at night? Was he going to the house?

“No, he was probably going to Frank's house to show everyone his car he has for sell. Yeah, that has to be it.” Thomas thought to himself.

Thomas made a quick stop back at his place and grabbed his flashlight. He then started down Edison Road. There was no stench in the air today. The wind even blew in his face and he didn't notice any stink. Being tired from walking so much he sat down on that bench again. Looking off in the distance he could see mountains and trees. It was a very nice day. From far away a car engine could be heard. It grew louder as the vehicle got closer to where Thomas was sitting. It was that green Honda again.

“What are the odds of that happening?” Thomas said to himself as he chuckled. The green Honda was driving very slow. It looked to be moving at 10 MPH. Thomas put his arm up and started to wave Mike down.

“Hey, Mike!” There was no reply as the car just slowly moved passed Thomas. He could see Mike sitting in the drivers seat with the window down. “MIKE!” Thomas shouted. Mike just sat there driving forward while he gazed out the front windshield. He looked like a zombie. Thomas just figured he was on drugs again since Mike did have a problem not to long ago. Thomas got up off the bench and continued to walk down the road.

Reaching the dirt road Thomas made his way toward the house. The door was shut so he thought he would knock this time. Maybe the lady would answer. He walked up to the door and knocked three times. There was no answer. He knocked three more times. Still no answer. Thomas turned the doorknob and it opened. He turned his flashlight on and entered the house. Looking around there was stairs on the opposite side of the entrance and a living room to the right. Beyond the living room was a kitchen with a fridge in it. Some of the paint was coming off of the walls. The back door was in the kitchen to but it was tightly sealed. He turned around and went back into the living room. To the right was a door to the basement. He opened it and walked down the stairs. There was a coal furnace that had holes in it and some coal over in the coal bin. Other then that it was an empty basement. Back on the main floor he went back toward the entrance and glanced upstairs. It was very dark up there. More so then the main floor. On the left side of the entrance was another room. He looked in there and saw nothing but junk on the floor. Papers and old toys lay all over the place. On the wall was a picture of an old lady.

“Well there is nothing down here I guess I'll try upstairs.” Thomas thought to himself. At that moment he heard a thump coming from the floor above.

Thomas walked slowly up the steps to the second floor. He was a 70 year old man so if there was someone in here who wanted to hurt him he would be in trouble. He made sure the entrance door downstairs was wide open just in case he had to run out. He was old but he was in good shape. So he could run pretty quickly if he had to. Reaching the top of the stairs he looked to the left. It was a bed room with just a bed in it. He then looked to the right. There was a small hallway with a bathroom at the end of it and another room to the right. The door was closed to this room. He knew this is where the thump came from. He slowly walked up to the door and put his ear close to it. He couldn't hear anything in there. So he turned the knob and swung open the door. Inside this room was another bed. To the right was a closet. THUMP! He walked over to it and opened it up.

A small kitten ran from the closet and out of the room. Thomas laughed and shut the door back up. Turning around he saw a picture hanging on the wall just to the left of the entrance. It was covered in dust and he could not make out what it was. So he walked over to it and used his right sleeve to clean it off. It was a picture of the old lady again. This time she was standing in the entrance to the house leaning out with her arm waving. It looked like she was inviting the viewer to come in.

“She reminds me of the beautiful woman I saw yesterday. Just much more uglier.” Thomas said to himself. Disappointed he did not find the beautiful young lady he decided it was best he left the house. So he walked back down the stairs and out the entrance. Back on the dirt road he was about to leave the area. He was then hit in the face with a strong blast of cold wind which was carrying the worst smell he had ever smelled his entire life.

He gagged a little bit and turned around so he would not have to face the wind. In the entrance to the house was the young lady. She was smiling at him and waving for him to come back in. In his mind he knew he shouldn't go back into that house but he just couldn't resist. There seemed to be some strange power just drawing him to her. As he walked slowly back to the house he looked to the right. Simon was sitting in the weeds by some trees. He was rocking back in forth holding his head repeating over and over.

“The eater is here! The eater is here! The eater is here!” Thomas heard this and got very frightened. He could still see the Beautiful lady waving at him. She still had that pretty smile on her face. He really did not want to go into that house but he just could not stop himself from walking toward the door. He stepped up on the porch and inched ever closer to the door. He could still hear Simon.

“She's gonna keep you! You will always be hers! The eater is here! Just like the others! You will never be seen again!”

Thomas started to cry as he tried his hardest not to walk to that door. He couldn't stop himself. He looked around as the porch began to look really old. It was no longer new. It had holes in it and the entire left side had collapsed. Thomas let out a loud scream as the woman placed her arms around him. She still had the beautiful face but her arms now looked like burnt wood. She pulled Thomas into the house and closed the door. Loud screams could be heard outside the house. Thomas was gone. Simon was still sitting by the trees.

“The eater is here! Thomas is no more! The eater has fed! Thomas is dead!”