The new apartment had a chimney, and I was excited to have a fire. I made a fire and enjoyed its warmth. I used dryer lint and cardboard to start it and burned the old wooden chair that got broken when I moved.

The coals began to die down and I left the glass screen open to get more heat from the coals.

I fell asleep, watching the embers. Late in the night I woke up. I had heard a strange and scary noise. I sat up on the futon and looked around in the darkness. Then I heard it again, a scratching and wheezing sound from the freplace.

I got up and found the lightswitch and it wouldn't turn on. Instead, it flickered a few times and then winked out, leaving me in the dark. I got a flashlight out from my boxes after feeling around for it.

While I rummaged through my own stuff, I heard the noise again. I felt a chill and all my hairs stood up. I was shaking with fear as I turned on the flashlight.

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I shone the light on the open darkness of the fireplace. It had cooled and the cold air was coming from it. I went to it slowly, to close it. Suddenly I jumped away in fright!

Huge and scary spider legs curled around the bricks as something was coming down the chimney. Its eyes were on stalks and appeared, shimmering like black glass. It had an arrangement of multiple mouths with protruding teeth that unfurled and gaped as drooling maws. Tendrils with suction cups reached for me.

I screamed in panic and threw the only thing in my hands at it. It took the flashlight I had thrown and chewed it into crumbs. While it masticated, I kicked shut the glass shutters on the fireplace. Then I pushed the futon against it.

I heard it scratching and tearing at the futon. I tried to call the police, but my phone wasn't plugged in yet. Then I heard it going back up the chimney. I looked out my back window and saw it racing away across the rooftops of the apartment buildings.

I noticed all of the other chimneys had smoke coming from them. Their fires had kept the creature from coming down their chimneys.

From then on, I always kept the fire going.