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The madness next door
Enter the monster.

Enter the monster.

Victor

I regret walking with the divine. The monster had saved my teacher, who was a federal agent, but it came at the cost of my soul. Hopefully, I could be the house slave or a pretty one like a concubine. But I said Jannasry. That may have killed my chances of survival.

For a moment we stood silent. Then it moved. However, instead of summoning a dark portal or calling a massive hell beast it just started walking. It beckoned me to follow with its shitty imitation of human fingers. So like the fool, I obeyed.

With my first steps, everything blurred into speed lines. I thought I was going to travel into a realm of madness, down a dark path into some unspeakable place, but in a blink, I was standing by my house. No, it was the house I always stared at from my perch. That damned suburban hiding hole.

“Come in now. We have much to discuss,” said that soft-spoken humanoid to whom I foolishly sold my soul. He stood by his house, simply waiting.

“Wait, where are we? No wait, what? How the hell?” I pleaded looking around.

“Thou art asking the wrong questions. Come knave,” it responded, moving to the door.

I had never actually entered that house, always sitting outside as my parents talked to those things parents. It just stood there, like a normal house. But I knew, I goddamned knew it was alive. At midnight once a week, the house always shuttered, and for the briefest moment, black ooze came from the walls before just as quickly being dragged back resuming its pathetic disguise. Like a wise man, I didn’t move. I simply stared. Somehow I knew, if I moved I would die.

“Thy mind is as open as a desert. It shall not harm you,” the younger brother spoke, opening the door.

“Wait, you read my mind?” I shuddered, trying to step back. “Stop that. Also, bullshit in every way. Why on god’s green earth would anyone enter ?“

It turned towards me, with that mockery of a human face. The thing tried to smile, but it was too exaggerated like a twisted AI picture. The jaws were too high, and the lips were too thin, like a serpent's smile. Those eyes became enormous curved moons that were too concave and slightly off the human’s eye sockets. The pupil's were a weird mix of human, goat, and snake eyes. Was this a threat? Was this my final moment?

It noticed my discomfort, and it tilted its head to the side. Unfortunately, it kept going until it bent to a strange 120 angle.

“Is this a kind of joke? Or is this just how you look before eating someone? I will let you know I will give you shit,” I said.

“Thy faces are foul sort, and your expressions art the worst. “It spat like a child who’d done something wrong.

“Well, you need to at least try. God, how the hell have you stayed hidden this long?“ I sputtered, looking away.

“Come now. Thou art being obtuse,” it retorted, grabbing my hand.

Like prey in the hands of a predator, I pulled back with all my strength. This lasted about a minute as I acted like a crazed rabbit, the wilder part of my brain shouted with weird wisdom with me. My rage and might were worthless as they dragged me inside.

The house was stranger than I could even believe. It was normal. Damn nearly average, almost generic. Now, normally this would be a relief, another point to my possible insanity but not this time. I refused to be fooled. I watched it every night. I was inside the beast. My eyes were razors, cutting through everything around me. With my wit, I found all the minor issues, the telltale signs of life in the damned house. The staircase that led upstairs tilted to the right and suddenly shuddered setting itself level.

Then I noticed the errors with the door I went through. It had a slight rig that slotted onto the door. They were like small, sharp shark teeth with a strange bony texture. It rattled like a wind chime. That juggle shook my very soul.

.

The monster dragged me forward through another off-tilted door frame. The damned floor that I was pulled across felt soggy and rubbery. Sometimes when I stopped managing some resistance, I became more aware of the truth. The walls were painted in normal grays but for a moment; it shimmered revealing a glossy black gel.

Now, I was not a brave man but I was sure as shit not stupid. Redoubling my efforts I tried to get out, but it was useless. I was, after all, in the hands of the divine.

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After struggling for thirty minutes, I moved to a couch. It was soft. Too soft, Like sitting on a ball of fat. But the fat was also sticky, slightly clung to me like a flytrap. Then that bastard brother let me go.

“Knave, stay here,” it said, moving up the staircase into the unknown.

“Like hell I will,” I screamed, struggling against the most evil couch.

It was much harder than expected as the couch pulled me further inside. I could feel it try to hold me moving slowly pinning down under what I hoped was stuffing. Without a doubt, I needed to get off. Using all my strength I still had, I ripped myself off the damned sofa, slamming to the ground. Then I crawled backward to a weird fireplace.

The exhaustion was getting to me, as I could barely tell what was around. My fingers grasped for the only thing I had hoped was real. Or at least it would kill me just a little slower than everything else around.

It was a golden candle holder that seemed—for lack of a better word—kind. The long stick with the ruby red orb was just an art déco candle holder. Unlike the house or that family, it felt different. Still foreign but much gentler, like a bit of goodness in this pit of madness. It felt like a hug or a warm meal after a chilly day. It even gave me a dim light to get a better idea of the area around me. I couldn’t pick out a single reason it was a math question that had something I could pick out. Somehow it just radiated a strange mix of heartwarming feelings and positive affirmations. I felt calm, at least for a moment. So naturally, everything then got worse.

My head whipped back to the strange doorway. Something white slipped out moving to the light. Terror rose through my body as I realized what it was. It was a bone-white skull that was followed by another, then another. First came a long crocodile skull, followed by a bird’s with a harsh, sharp knife beak. The final skull was a large snake skull that seemed to hover between the two. The serpents and crocodiles had large gold-lined teeth glistening through the darkness. They were covered in lusty black hair crowned the head giving them a strange frame, with each hair set as a twisted mirror of human hairstyles.

I thought they just floated there for a moment, but then I noticed the necks. They rested on long serpent-like necks that seemed to move independently of each other, connecting to a vague human torso. Strangely, it was still somewhat identifiable with the feminine curves but with a black shimmering outline. Large bat wings helped steady the strange monster as it walked on a mix of lizard and cloven legs. I prayed it was a prank, a joke, or proof that I was insane. But then the jaws snapped as the purple glow from the skull shone like searchlights burning with alien intelligence.

My eyes burned as I stared at the monster. That familiar strangeness and the maddening illness came back with force. It was no mere weak tick like that damn worm from the hospital. I almost fell but that little light helped me stand at least for a moment. It gave me strength or rather resolved. Then the serpent's head noticed me as if I was an intruder. I guess I was.

The wings unfurled as it turned to snap skeletal jaws at me. Weird yellow smoke came from the creature as I held back a scream looking at the monster. If I were to be a meal, I would make that thing work. The ground became soggy like flesh, and I knew this was it. Without a doubt, I was going to be eaten if I didn’t fight back. Even if I did fight back, it was doubtful it would matter but I could sure as hell try.

“What crack have you smoked? How on this dusty earth did you get inside here ??” It spoke in a very cute voice.

That voice was a sweet girly tone like a girl next door. It was so extreme to the point of mockery. This was that bastard sister—the smaller one. I had never seen her fully like this. Only minor glances at only one of the heads at time. I thought it was shape-shifting from the peeks I had at her. Like changing clothes but with flesh I didn’t rule anything out. But clearly, she was a hydra. My body clung to the couch like velcro, then the teeth appeared around my body.

“I dunno, maybe you left the door open?” I joked.

“You're just a spitting viper. You have been watching and staring at us for months. With men like you, who needs monsters?” It sneered.

“Jealous? I mean you are not using your assets effectively ?” I spat as my head started to hurt.

“Ya got jokes, huh? Funny, I don’t like eating humans, but comedians are the exception!”

“Go right ahead, I am already going crazy” I retorted as my eyes started to bleed.

Another, more mature voice spoke. “By nashrock jaw, must you make such a racket?”

My eyes, despite my better judgment, turned to the fresh voice. The first thing I noticed was the hair. It flowed and blended in a strain of momentum and unique madness. She was oppressively feminine, like a succubus, her body shaped like a Venus with arms, with sleepy closed cute eyes. At least at first. Her soft footsteps rocked me as her eyes opened. Three sets of pupils stared down at me with disgust and contempt, a slight frown revealing sharp jagged teeth at were even on her tongue that glinted in a pale light. One set of eyes sat slightly above her eyebrows small a beady-like spider just like the ones under her eyelids. Strangely her human quese eyes were the biggest and the most vivid as constant lightshow. Wearing only a simple nightgown, my eyes burned as her neck unfoiled into strange vivid tendrils rubbing at what seemed to be tired eyes.

“Why is the voyeur here?” Her voice was dangerously attractive.

She was a walking honey trap. My logical thinking mind screamed, focusing on her inhuman flaws. But my weird, animal side just kept lusting. I was disgusted with myself for being so weak. Trapped, bleeding, and horny. What a disgrace.

It was funny. Some cosmic joke washed over me. I laughed as I struggled against the sticky couch pulling free with slick pop. The teeth ripped against my skin but the pain was more of a stimulant pushing me far beyond my limit. I felt those sick eyes that seemed to see beyond the flesh. My mind buckled as dark black spots sparked on the sides of my vision. Bloody tears streamed down my bruised cheeks as I struggled in the face of these cruel gods.

“. Do you think I am afraid? No. Come on then, you star bastard. .” I held that gentle candle holder.

They just stopped looking at me. The two stared at me like jaguars eyeing a rabbit. It was the elder sister who moved first, her third eye upwards with a strange twitch. Then the other sister serpent's head shook from side to side. Thus the cosmic orchestra began. The sound clashed and snapped like serpents, hounds amongst the unknown, pushing me down to my place as a mere monkey in the animal kingdom. The two had started to laugh. They started to laugh, and the indescribable mockery rocked my very soul. Each inhuman chuckle was a blow to my essence and left me on the ground, blood leaking from my eyes, nose, and mouth. I was barely sane, and all my thoughts mixed and clashed in a desperate way to fix it. Weakly rising, I sputtered like a broken car, interspersing between manic laughter and singing. It was a jumble of any song I could think of, mixing the ending of a movie I saw once/at least three cartoon themes, an anime intro, and a couple of sea shanties. I wandered up to the two with my hand in a death grip on that candle stick holder.

“What?’ I sputtered, moving only to fall to my knee.

I couldn’t lift my head, my eyes fixed on the ground. Fear rushed over my body as something new came. Stronger, older, and much more powerful. My body froze. It grew harder to breathe. I heard a sound so defined it was unrecognizable. My mind stopped as I blacked out in a pool of blood. It was funny in a way. I couldn’t even survive being around them.