I Thought The Noises I Heard In My Apartment At Night Were Caused By Roaches, Unfortunately The Truth Was Much More Terrifying

It doesn’t occur to me to call anyone else for help because I’m still thinking of her as my roommate, my friend, my silly-simple Marnie who often takes things too far and doesn’t know when to shut up. I’m still thinking of her as a normal person and maybe that’s my problem.


It’s almost 5pm and I’m starting to think maybe that nap is a good idea after all. I’m too afraid to go outside, I’m not sure where Marnie is and until I can pinpoint her exact location I just don’t feel right leaving my room – it’s sort of like that crackle I felt earlier, the one just before I locked my door. And who knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t?

I shove a few more pieces of laundry against the pile that’s already crammed against the bottom of my door. Surely no bugs can get through there. The barrier of dirty clothes is at least a foot thick.

I give the tee shirt barrier a kick with my foot to be sure it’s wedged firmly in place. It doesn’t move.

I climb into bed, my head aching, my ears unconsciously pricked for Marnie’s muttering voice to start leaking through the walls again. I tell myself I’ll take one nap, that’s all, just one nap, but as I lay down on the bed my bedroom door suddenly bursts open.

Marnie is standing there, grinning. I can see in the few seconds after that she’s literally kicked my door down, the place on the frame where the lock goes is splintered and she’s stepping inside, knocking aside my little barricade of soiled laundry like it’s nothing.

“Remember when you told me I didn’t ssssscream, Jesssssssica?” Marnie says, that hiss seeping through her speech again. “You were right, I guesssss, I thought I’d ssssscreamed but you were right, I didn’t ssssscream because they told me to ssssstop, they were already inssssside by then and even though I wanted to ssssscream I didn’t. Becaussssse they didn’t want me to.”

I am scrambling for my phone to call 911, I don’t know what’s wrong with my roommate but there is most definitely something wrong, I will tell them she has a weapon even though she doesn’t and someone will come to rescue me, I’m sure of it, they can stop her –

And it’s then I notice the tiny antennae sticking out of her left ear, twitching violently like an epileptic’s spastic fingers.

Horror writer for Creepy Catalog, ESFP, Kylo Ren advocate, Slytherin, sassbasket.

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