Chapter 6

They went back to the house, panic weighting every step. Every single noise made them jump out of scare.

"What should we do now?" Marty asked, desperate.

"The police can't help us. Let's leave. If we go far away, Patrick might leave us alone." Mia didn't wait for an answer and started packing.

Marty watched her put Ricky down and throw clothes haphazardly into a bag. In less than five minutes, she searched to see if she missed anything, picked up Ricky again, and went to the door.

The door remained immovable.

"Marty, open the door!" She yelled as she kept trying to go out.

"It...It's not closed." Marty stammered with a pale face.

"What?" Mia turned to Marty in disbelief and then looked back at the door. The door was wide open, two meters away from her.

She stared dumbfounded. She had been at the door. Mia was sure of it. The lights flickered. The sounds of footsteps echoed in the room.

"Patrick is lonely. Patrick wants a friend. Do you want to be my friend?" a deep voice said.

Marty and Mia were scared. The voice seemed to be all around them and nowhere at the same time.

Marty pushed Mia out of the apartment. In the corridor outside the room, lights were also malfunctioning. Mia knew that they couldn't stay here. With Ricky in her arms, she ran to the elevator, but Marty stopped her.

"Marty, we have to go." Mia wanted to keep going, but Marty prevented her from taking another step.

"Look!" Marty pointed at the end of the corridor in front of the elevator.

The shadow of a man with extremely long arms kept appearing and disappearing on the wall. On the other side of the corridor, the same vision flickered.

Mia looked at Marty with despair on her face. Marty was also at a loss for what to do. He looked around for a solution when his eyes landed on the closed doors. He rushed to the closest and knocked with all the strength he could muster. No one answered.

"Help! Help! Help us, please. Open the door!" He yelled.

Despite all the noise he made, none of his neighbors went out of their house. He tried several doors. Still, the same silence answered him back. He was sure some of them were at home.

"Marty! Marty! He's getting closer." Mia yelled, but Marty didn't stop trying to find help.

When the shadow got close, everything stopped. The lights worked again. The shadows disappeared, and a neighbor answered the door.

Marty looked at the man's face.

"What's up, mate?" The man asked.

Marty didn't know what to say. He hesitated a moment. He looked on both sides of the corridor. All the other neighbors opened their doors, watching him with curiosity. No monster was in sight. Everything looked ordinary.

"Do...do you have sugar?" Marty asked.

He was sure no one would believe him if he told them about what happened.

Everyone looked at him like he was a weirdo. The man refused and then closed the door in Marty's face. Upon noticing the commotion stopped, the other neighbors returned to their house.

Marty took Mia, who still hadn't reacted, back to the apartment.