The Faerie Folk

The Sludge

The house was deserted. The police had no luck as to where the owner had gone and asked me to take a look just in case it was something in my area of expertise. They on edge as it wasn't long ago someone had vandalised the local standing stones, which in my experience always caused trouble for the local authorities. Entering the room you could smell the foul stench of rotten eggs but there were no other obvious signs of otherworldly activity. Yet this is how it can be sometimes. I managed to perform the Rite of Sheatat and by no surprise, to me, the spirit of the previous occupant appeared and started to recall to us it's last moments.

I was alone in the house. Staying up late with the fidgety boredom which had been plaguing me over the last few weeks. I had no more booze in the house and no money to buy any, so I was left in a state of sharp irritation. I saw the clock was at 3 am and it would be hours until I could go outside again to find some more entertainment. I had already tried to call on some friends, but none were interested and most cursed at me for what I had done the last time I was bored. Yet to my surprise at that dull hour I heard a knocking on the door downstairs. In my confusion, I went down to find out who it was. Even if it was one of my friends with a change of heart it was odd they had walked all the way to the back of the house.

As I got close to the door I saw nothing standing behind the frosted glass. I cursed at the darkness and suddenly it came forward. A face that was a dark green. I couldn't tell if it was the pattern on the frosted glass but it looked like there were no facial features to make out. Just a melted lumpy mess of dark green. As it pushed forwards towards the frosted window its face smeared all over the glass. It knocked again and terrified I swore at it to go away. As I checked the if the door was locked I heard someone fall over in the room above me. It was then I remembered the upstairs window was open. It was then the banging on front door started. I stepped back and grabbed an old empty bottle by the sink and readied myself for whatever was going to come down the stairs. At first, I saw a shape slowly appeared out of the darkness. It didn't look human, there were far too many legs for it to be human. It hissed at me so I threw the bottle at it. As the bottle made contact it suddenly fell apart like a bundle of rags being dropped on the floor. I tried to keep my head straight at this strange sight as around me the banging on the doors grew more frantic. To my horror it was then I noticed a black shadow sliding down the stairs. I looked closer and recoiled as it was this thick foul smelling sludge crawling towards me. I jumped away until my back was tight against the back door, the furthest distance I could get away from this creeping evil. Yet as I tried to move again, I felt something tugging at my shirt. I was barely able to pull away when I saw the sludge was now coming out of the keyhole in the door. I pulled away but it had such strength it was able to pull me back towards the door as if the tendrils of the slime were like powerful fingers. I knew it was determined to stop me from running away. So I took off my shirt off and made a run for the front door where I saw the same sludge crawling out of the letterbox. I looked round in panic as it looked like every window and doorway had this foul rotten sludge crawling towards me hissing as it went. The only space left without windows to hide was the downstairs bathroom.

Yet as I locked the door it wasn't long until the sludge started to creep under the door. I took the shower head and tried to wash it back but it just kept coming. No bleach or soap would stop its journey towards me. Once enough sludge inside it rose up like a great wave filling the room with its evil stench. I cornered myself at the far end of the room, scratching at the wall to get out like a mad rat until it engulfed me. I felt the thick rotted sludge pour force its way into my body with every opportune place it could find. The thick wriggling slime finding its way behind my eyes and down my throat. I tried to choke and claw at it but it couldn't be stopped. I tried to run but it quickly encased me until I was paralyzed. I collapsed helplessly onto to the hard tiled floor and then everything went dark but it wasn't over it was then I-I-I.

The spirit then started to scream at us for help in a crazed panic as it was starting to remember where it was and where it came from. There was nothing else we could do to help it. I expelled the spirit back to the cursed place and comforted the police officers who had brought me here. I made sure to ask if they were repairing the standing stones and they all nodded. Despite the look of fear on their faces, it was good for them to hear those last moments because one night they might have a little too much to drink and have the urge to cause some chaos in the wrong places.