The Horror
Matt knew something was wrong as soon as he approached the door. He inserted the key, turned it, and opened it. Immediately and with a force that almost knocked him over, the stench met his nostrils.
He couldn’t control himself. Without warning, his stomach spewed its contents all over the entrance hallway. He prepared himself for another heave. It came as quickly as the first, covering the floor from one wall to the other, down the front of his suit, shirt, and tie.
He pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He tried to step around the mess he had just created and moved further inside. There was only a thin sliver of light coming through the blinds. He peered through the gloom. On the right side of the room, he saw the source of the assault on his senses.
He inched closer, staring at it. Were there any signs of life? He saw something moving. His eyes adjusted to the dark. As he got nearer, everything became clear. He wanted to puke again. Thousands of maggots covered it, squirming their way over the entire surface and into every crevice and crack. He gagged several times but managed to control himself. He couldn’t believe his eyes!
What had happened? How could this have taken place in his apartment? Didn’t anyone in the building smell anything?
Matt’s OCD was screaming. Sweat began pouring down his face, and he started shaking uncontrollably. He had only been gone for a week on business. This should never have happened. He had spent his entire life preparing to avoid this type of situation.
Matt’s mind raced back to the previous Monday. Was there something he had missed? He had called Jen right before he left for the airport and everything had been fine.
She had a key.
He didn’t need to worry about anything. She would look in on the apartment while he was gone. If there were any problems, she knew the building manager and could get his assistance. And she could call Matt about anything, 24/7.
They had spoken to each other the previous evening. Jen was looking forward to seeing him and had exciting news to share. She could hardly contain herself. And as they had agreed, she had been to the apartment once during the week. Everything was fine and in order, or at least that’s what she had said.
But everything wasn’t fine. And everything wasn’t in order.
Matt fought to control himself, but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. It started deep inside his core and slowly moved up and out of his mouth. The screaming groan was so loud that every person in the building heard it.
Jeff, his neighbor from across the hall and one of the people closest to Matt, ran into the apartment to find him on his knees, shaking, sobbing, red-faced, and angry. He was in shock. His eyes started to roll back into his head and he was about to pass out.
Jeff knew exactly what to do. He had seen Matt in this state before. He grabbed Matt by the shoulders, shook him hard, and slapped him four times across the face.
Thank God, it worked!
Matt’s eyes focused again. His breaths were still coming short and fast.
Jeff looked him square in the face.
“It’s okay Matt. It’s okay. Breathe deep, breathe deep.”
Within a minute or two Matt’s pulse had slowed, his breathing relaxed, and his face returned to its normal color.
“How did this happen? What’s been going on here? The horror. I can’t get the horror out of my mind,” sobbed Matt.
“I’m sorry,” Jeff apologized. “It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry Matt. I never meant for this to happen. You’ve got to believe me!”
Jeff continued, “ On Tuesday evening when Jen came over to check on the place, we happened to meet in the hallway. I hadn’t seen her for a long time. I couldn’t help myself. You know how Jen is. Always so friendly and with that magnetic smile. I followed her inside. We chatted for a couple of minutes and the hunger inside of me just kept knawing away until I lost all control.
I tried to stop myself, Matt. Really, I did!
The next thing I knew, the order had been made, and Jen and I were sitting here on the floor laughing and enjoying ourselves. I guess we both had so much fun that we completely forgot to throw out the leftover pizza.”
