We Got Demons! Apartment 239 Part III

Chapter Seven: The Cat

Madeline leaned onto the ladder, craning her neck and straining to see into the dark. She heard a light tapping sound and turned around to see the cat had returned, batting a paw against the sliding glass door. It meowed desperately and lifted up to rest both front paws on the glass.

"Don't die, okay?" Madeline yelled into the attic.

In the attic, Ted found only half of the space had flooring. The rest were just boards, like a great ribcage, with pink insulation stuffed between them. When he flipped the light switch on the wall to his left, the switch fell to the floor. He pulled out his phone to use as a light.

The room felt hot, sweat prickled on his skin and ran down his back. There wasn't enough room to stand, he had to crawl on his hands and knees, the grit on the floor dug into his kneecaps. Using his phone, he shined the light around the space. He saw only cardboard boxes, dented and misshapen, piles of clothes, and the worn red carpeting on the floored portions of the attic.

The light illuminated a rocking chair.

"Don't you do it," Ted said. He watched the chair. "Don't you start moving. I don't need any spooky rocking chair bullshit."

In the kitchen, the cat batted more incessantly at the door.

"This cat really wants in," Madeline called out to Ted.

"Don't let the cat in!" Ted yelled.

"I won't. I might say hi to it though. Anything?" Madeline asked.

"Nope, just an empty attic. Thank God."

"Well, if you see anything scream like a girl, okay?" Madeline said.

The attic was devoid of life. Even the one mousetrap he saw contained a stale piece of cheese, untriggered after untold years. But Ted's heart raced. His muscles tensed and he felt like leaving the space. He felt watched.

Turning to go back toward the stairs, he saw why.

Two and a half feet tall, with gray skin the appearance of old leather. Giant, round eyes that glistened the light, a milky white with no pupils or color. The creature didn't blink, only turning its head. The thing smiled, exposing a comically large row of razor teeth, overlapping and fighting for room within its mouth. Two large horns curled from the top of its head. It made sharp staccato hiss, like a rattlesnake.

"Shit," Ted whispered. He crawled backwards.

Downstairs, Madeline slid open the glass door. She got onto her knees and leaned forward, holding out her hand. The air outside cooled her skin. The cat immediately closed its eyes and purred, rubbing its head against the palm of her hand.

"Hello, you," Madeline said. "You look all kinds of friendly."

In the attic, Ted moved backwards, trying to control his breathing, keeping a shaking light focused on the creature. It moved forward on short, stumpy legs. Its short arms ended in rounded, tiny paws. Despite the ghoulish cranium, the creature's body was more akin to a teddy bear.

"Madeline," Ted called.

Hello, Ted. I've missed you.

"Madeline!" Ted called louder.

Madeline kept petting the cat, which arched it's back and purred louder. The animal walked small circles, letting Madeline pet it again and again.

"I bet you want to come inside, don't you?"

The cat stopped purring and twisted its head around to stare at Madeline, but the head kept turning, continuously, in a 180-degree formation. The bones in the creature's neck cracked and popped, the jaw fell open and the eyes rolled back until they appeared solid white and then burst with an orange light.

In the attic, the creature stopped. It looked down to the floor.

Oh no.

The creature looked quickly at Ted. It opened its mouth wide, the teeth popping free and spreading outward. In Ted's head, a roar bounced and echoed.

RUN.

Ted fell backward, off of the floored portion and straight through the insulation and drywall.

He landed hard on the floor, his head slamming the table on the way down. His head throbbed and his whole body burned as he experienced all of the cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs at once. Dry wall and stucco rained down after him. A loud pop and the lights went out in the room. Madeline ran to Ted and helped him up.

"You gotta get up, we gotta go, now!"

She looked up see a creature's face jutting out from the hole in the ceiling, the same being she saw scrawled in crayon earlier. She screamed, the creature blinked. A voice entered her head.

The cat. RUN.

She looked behind her to see the animal leap into the kitchen, immediately doubling in size. The cat then bounded onto the kitchen table, now roughly the size of a mountain lion. The animal's body shook, underneath the fur and skin bumps and ridges formed, movement like undulating snakes writhed below the surface. The jaw dislocated, an arm appeared to break as the creature shook and screamed.

She pulled Ted up.

"You gotta help, asshole, I'm pregnant," she cried. Ted stood and muttered incoherently. He stumbled behind her as she pulled his arm. They moved into the dining room and through small doorway separating the dining room and living room. She pushed Ted through and ran in behind him. She looked back through the doorway. The cat's head split open, starting from the forehead and through the face. Spikes shoved out of the exposed flesh and muscle. It stood up on hind legs, the knees snapping and popping until they resembled legs belonging to a bipedal creature.

Madeline slammed the door shut.

Move.

Madeline heard the groan and crack of wood. She jumped aside just as a china cabinet shoved against the door, shattering all the plates and bowls within. Looking down, she saw the small creature from the attic lower its arm. The thing glanced up at her, a small bump above the mouth that might have been a nose twitched.

Bad cat.