Infernal Paradise

Canto II - They Came Wearing Masks

Nathan was awoken by the sudden sound of his doorbell ringing. Though he first thought that it was merely something he dreamed, the doorbell continued to ring several times in a row with short intervals.

Plin-long. Plin-long. Plin-long.

Only then did he properly wake up from his interrupted sleep, scratching the sand out of his eyes as he rose from his tangled sleeping position. He looked over his shoulder as the doorbell continued to ring, confused as to who it was. He cast a glance at his alarm clock, which displayed '2:31 AM.'

As he stood up from the bed, the ringing became more intense as it increased in frequency.

Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long, Plin-long.

Nathan was immediately annoyed by the noise and began walking towards his bedroom door in the darkness. He pulled it open, revealing his neatly cleaned hallway, where the ringing was even louder. As he approached the door, the ringing became rapid. The chime wasn't even allowed to finish before the next, making it sound much like an annoying alarm clock.

Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-Plin-

Whoever was ringing had to stop, he thought as he stomped towards the front door. He didn't even bother to look through the peephole before twisting the lock and pulling down the handle. Only then did he realize his mistake.

Through the crack in the door, all Nathan could see was a tall figure dressed entirely in a black robe. Their head was covered by a pointed cowl, while they carried a simple grey masquerade mask to hide their faces. Before Nathan could react, the figure slammed their hand through the door crack, pulling it open with immense force.

The action caused Nathan to stumble backwards, before he was greeted by the view of several identically-dressed figures gathered in a circle around his entrance. Through the tiny eyeholes in their masks, he could see that they were all staring at him.

"What the fuck-!" he shouted as he stumbled.

Before he could say anything else, the figures had already begun entering his hallway in jagged but rapid movements. In an instant, the front figure had already reached and grabbed him by the neck with rough hands. With a single grip, he lifted Nathan in the air and pushed him backwards until he hit the balcony door in the living room.

As Nathan struggled to breathe, he noticed the eerie stare from the one who was carrying him. They were human for sure, but they certainly didn't act like one. He watched in terror as the other figures entered his home, closing the front door gently behind them. It became unbearably quiet as they slowly wandered into his home, keeping their gaze on him.

He tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound. He tried to resist by kicking with his legs, but the figure holding him wouldn't budge. The other figures suddenly began picking up the living room table and relocated it to the kitchen, before two others lifted up the couch and leaned it vertically against the wall.

The figure holding Nathan cast a glance over its shoulder, seemingly confirming that everything had been moved in the living room. It suddenly clenched its hands even harder at Nathan's throat, causing him to let out a distressed wheeze.

"Pl-Please...!" he managed to mutter, but to no avail. The figure tightened its grip further, until Nathan finally saw his vision fading to a horrific darkness as his body fell limp.

***

Matthew chuckled as he dropped the body on the floor, making an audible thud as it landed.

"He didn't put up much of a fight," he said and looked down at the body's terrified face. He had merely been knocked unconscious from the suffocation, but he appeared much less alive than he was.