[b]DAY 6: MISPLACED KEYS – THE DEVIL'S HOUSE[/b]

There was an urban legend circulating around the town that in one of the old apartment buildings was a door to the devil's house. It was rumored to be in the very bottom, in the basement, but to get there, you had to press the elevator button 0 six times while chanting the devil's name. The elevator would then take you to the door of the devil's house, but from there, you were on your own. Nobody knew what would happen once you opened that door. Of course, some people claimed they had traversed behind it and talked about all sorts of horrors they faced beyond, but it was questionable whether they had actually experienced whatever could be found from there. But these accounts, fake or not, helped to keep the urban legend alive, especially among teens and young adults.

And that day, yet another curious group of teens wanted to experience the mystery of the devil's house by themselves. They traveled across the town, eventually finding the correct house. Their group of five packed inside the elevator and one of them started to press 0 repeatedly while all of them chanted the name they believed to belong to the devil. The elevator started to move down. And much to their surprise, once the doors opened, they came face to face with a strange door. The group stepped out of the elevator to look at the supposed entrance to the devil's house.

“No way…”

“This is sick.”

The door had a wooden frame, but the rest of it looked like it was made of flesh and had a few fangs sticking out from various places. Oddly enough, they were moving. There were three locks and a metal handle. A hand-written note had been left on the door.

THE LAST VISITOR LOST THE KEYS. IF YOU WISH TO ENTER, FIND THOSE KEYS. FOLLOW THE HUMMING.

“Follow the humming?” one of the boys wondered. “Like the one we're hearing right here?”

The group could clearly hear a humming sound in the lobby. Was there a key near their location?

“Eww, gross! Look at that!” one of the girls suddenly yelled and pointed at the left wall.

A huge eye had emerged on the wall. The iris had a sickly grey color and it was moving frantically. Just when did it appear there? It was very weird. The whole group was just staring at it for a while.

“Well, better start to look for the keys”, another boy said and began to move towards the corridor on their right side.

One by one the rest of the group followed his example, while the huge wall eye continued to stare at them. The corridor was empty and took a few twists and turns while flickering lights gave illumination for the curious group. Just when they started to suspect that the place was very uneventful, they came upon something horrifying. A corpse of a man, all their organs removed.

“Oh, fuck…”

It was a terrifying and repulsive sight. Discovering it revealed to the group what they had walked into. They didn't waste much time inspecting it and just moved forward. But the corpse was just one of the many they would encounter in their journey. The corridor became a horror show with scattered limbs and brutally killed dead bodies. It was sickening.

“Wait a minute…”

One boy took a closer look at a decapitated head that was on display on the wall. He noticed that there was a key stuck in its exposed brains. And as he came closer to it, he could clearly hear a humming sound emanating from the key. He reached for the piece of metal, a little nervously, and pulled the key out of the brain.

“I guess that's one of the three.”

One of the girls made a disturbing remark. “Are all the keys inside… inside some body parts?”

That was a morbid question and nobody wanted it to be the case. Of course the devil's house was forcing them to look through corpses and body parts. It was something none of them wanted to do, but if it was the only way to proceed… They would take a better look at the dead flesh scattered around. The group wandered around the corridor, checking every corner, trying to hear the humming of the keys. It was after a while when they could distinguish a humming coming from inside a headless woman's pregnant body. A knife was placed on a pedestal next to the body. It was clear what had to be done.

The teens all shared glances with each other, pondering who would do the bloody deed. In the end, one of the girls stepped forward and took the knife. Violently she struck it onto the belly of the woman and kept digging deeper and deeper. She infiltrated the woman's insides until she finally could feel something hard inside her. The girl pulled a key out; now they got two of them. Only one to go.

But the last one proved to be hard to find. The group moved back and forth around the gruesome corridor, but couldn't find a trace of the remaining key. They started to get frustrated, cursing the whole place, desperately touching pieces of dead flesh to find what they were looking for. It wasn't until at some point one of the girls remembered something.

“Wait, didn't we hear the humming noise close to the eye? Could the last key be in there… inside the eye?”

“Oh, shit, you're probably right!”

Feeling already a bit relieved that they were going to get out of this place, the group started to head back to the door, moving at a fast pace. Soon enough they reached the lobby where the eye was still staring and the door waited to be opened. Luckily the girl who opened up the stomach of the woman had kept the knife and she decided that it was her duty to spill blood once again. Once close to the giant eye, she stabbed it with the knife, blood oozing out of it. She invaded its insides, tearing it apart, until she found what she was looking for. Triumphantly, she pulled out the last key. Now they would finally open the door to the devil's house.

“Yes! Finally, we can get inside!”

Excitedly, they all gathered around the door and proceeded to use the keys. One by one the locks clicked open, and a plunk noise could be heard afterwards. The door was open. One of the boys grasped the handle and the door gave them access inside.

The true adventure would begin here.



[b]DAY 7: DISTANT LIGHTS – NEVERENDING JOURNEY[/b]

It wasn't uncommon for people to leave behind their homelands in search for a better life. Aneku was one of them. Where he came from, there was just misery. Just darkness shrouding everything in a veil of despair. People grew with dark hearts and so, kindness was a rare trait to possess. Aneku himself could tell that he wasn't kind – but maybe he could learn to be one. He just wanted to get away from all the anguish, took a harsh road and hoped it would lead him to a better place. He wasn't sure where he could find one, the miserable lands were the only thing he knew, but surely, somewhere out there, he could find a new home.

The path Aneku had chosen was a lonely one. No one to speak to, no one to share a meal with, no one to keep a watchful eye on him while he was sleeping in a dangerous area. Though, he wasn't sure how to maintain a relationship with somebody; he had never had a friend. Not a real one, at least. He wondered what it was like, to form a bond with somebody. In hopes for a brighter future, maybe he could also find a person that would become his friend. He sought comfort from this tiny piece of hope so his travel through desolate lands would be more bearable. It was a weird thing, however, the ability to keep hoping even though he had grown with despair. Perhaps he was a little different than the rest of his kind.

And so Aneku wandered through the lands where darkness ruled and black dead trees dotted the barren landscape; the sun had abandoned them a long time ago and now their dry carcasses were twisted and reaching for the sky and sun in hopes it would come back and revitalize them. That day probably would never come. Gusts of wind traveled together with Aneku, sometimes blowing across the land gently, sometimes more fiercely. But it was always there, always with him in some form. He had no one else in his company.

One day his tired eyes spotted something very strange to him. Golden lights, somewhere in the distance. He wasn't a stranger to light, but it was also something he wasn't used to. A little bit bewildered by this sight, Aneku let excitement into his heart; because it looked like the many lights he saw belonged to a settlement. It was exactly what he was trying to find, a better place, and to him, lights were proof that it was a good dwelling. Eagerly he followed the golden shine, wanting to touch and feel it.

He walked and walked but the lights still remained far away. He wasn't discouraged, though, and continued to move forward. Aneku didn't really rest, he just kept moving as he wanted to so badly be graced by the lights. Hours passed. Then days. Nothing seemed to change around him; he was still wandering through dark and dead land. The lights were still shining in the distance, he wasn't getting any closer to them. But Aneku kept going. He continued his journey towards the distant lights, still maintaining that little flame of hope in his chest.

Aneku's feet were getting sore. His body was withering away; it had never been too healthy to begin with. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, and this was taking a toll on his body. His mind was strong, but his body was weakening. It was eating itself because there was nothing else for it to consume. He became very thin and frail, it wouldn't be impossible for a gust of wind to knock him down. Still, he forced himself to keep walking forward. He slowly turned into a walking corpse who just wouldn't give up its impossible quest. His legs gave away at some point, the bones snapped inside them, fragile like twigs. This didn't stop Aneku. He crawled forward, grating his legs and lower body. Eventually his skin would be scraped away, his flesh and organs following. His pace was now significantly slower, but he was stuck in his mindset that he had to reach the golden lights. So, he continued to crawl.

Perhaps it was a curse put on him because he left behind his homeland and ancestors. Maybe his journey had been doomed from the start. Or maybe some powerful entity – a malevolent god or perhaps a vile spirit – had cursed him. Whatever the cause may be, it was clear that Aneku was stuck in his path to a better life. He simply couldn't understand this, however. He remained hopeful, crawling along the dusty road, still believing he could reach the distant lights, even though they hadn't come closer to him one bit.

But he would keep going, even if all that was left of him was his spirit.



[b]DAY 8: UNEXPECTED GUEST – WHEN THE INNOCENCE DIES[/b]

A storm was raging outside, it had been for days. It was constantly tormenting the outside world, and if you dared to hope it would pass soon after calming down for a moment, you would get disappointed as it would then turn even more fierce than before. But no matter how strong the storm was, it didn't matter to Nocklius. He was safe in his little tower of solitude, comfortably dwelling inside. He could just sit in an armchair by the lit fireplace and enjoy his glass of whiskey while the winds and rain and lightning were rampaging outside. All was well in his tower and Nocklius was feeling quite content at that moment.

But that would soon change. He was simply enjoying his drink when he heard a loud bang from the lower floor. It was an interesting thing to hear because no one else but him had access to the tower. He didn't go to investigate the source of the noise, he just sat and waited. He had the view to the doorway from his seat and Nocklius kept an eye on it, harboring the feeling that somebody was going to enter his lounge from there. Eventually he could hear footsteps coming from the stairs. But they were very light ones, whoever was approaching was a small individual.

Nocklius saw a child's shadow playing on the stone wall. Following this, a little boy's figure appeared on the doorway where he stopped, dripping water from his wet clothes, and stared at Nocklius. The man was quite surprised to see this child; he knew him rather well. The boy had the same black hair and blue eyes as he did, having the same unsettling look. The ghoulish green lights that illuminated the room gave the boy an eerie appearance. But the fact that he was here, right now, was the most unnerving thing about the boy.

The man smiled a little. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

But the boy didn't utter a single word. He just stood there, soaked and shivering, and his expression didn't change a bit.

Nocklius swirled the drink in his glass, staring at its contents. “What are you looking for from this place? Why did you want to meet me?”

The child remained wordless and stationary.

“You know… I'm sorry I couldn't help you earlier with mom and dad. I didn't exist yet.”

The boy was like a statue.

Nocklius took a sip from his drink and let out a sigh. He looked into the flames, watching them dance. “You are the broken part of me, the one who was cast into darkness and had to learn how to survive. But I'm here now. Have been for years.”

Finally, the little boy started to move. He slowly walked towards the man, approaching him like a ghost from the past – which wasn't farfetched. He stopped on his tracks just a couple meters away from Nocklius. The man glanced at his frail figure and shook his head.

“What do you want from me?” Nocklius asked. “I'm the monster. I can't probably aid you with anything good. And frankly speaking, I don't even want to.”

Surprising to Nocklius, the boy moved even closer to him, so close that he could touch him. The child reached for the man's free hand and gently took a hold of it and guided it to his chest. The man eyed him for a moment.

“So, that's what you wish for me to do?” Nocklius said quietly.

The boy nodded. Nocklius drank the last remains of his whiskey with a gulp and placed the glass aside. He stood up from his seat and the boy let go of his hand.

“I'm sorry, kid. I'm sorry it came to this”, Nocklius said. The child probably understood what he meant.

Purple swirls of light began to appear on the man's right arm. They completely engulfed the limb for a second, whirling around. Something started to grow underneath their light and then they just disappeared, revealing the transformation of the man's arm. It had black scales on it now and there were deadly sharp claws on his fingers. It truly was a limb of a monster.

Nocklius gave one last pitiful look at the boy who was just standing before him calmly, even though he knew what was going to happen. Then Nocklius struck his monstrous hand into the child's chest. Easily with his great force he was able to sink his hand deeper, blood spilling from the wound. He grasped the boy's little heart and ripped it out of his chest. The child's lifeless body hit the floor, his blood staining the carpet. However, the boy's body slowly faded away, like ashes into the wind, and nothing was left of him, not even the blood Nocklius had drawn out of him. It was like he had never even existed; even the heart Nocklius was holding disappeared. There was nothing. But that's what he wanted.

The man let his arm revert back to a humanoid form and he sat down on his chair again, staring into the flames absentmindedly. He just destroyed his original self. Now all that was left of him was a monster.



[b]DAY 9: INFESTED HOME – JUDGING YOU UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE[/b]

More and more of them have started to come recently. Sebastian's house was getting infested with odd beetles. They were huge and crawled all around; they were on the walls, ceiling, floor, even infiltrating cabinets and drawers. At first Sebastian hadn't been worried, spotting only a few of these crawlies in his house. But ever since the… incident, more beetles have appeared. He had no idea where they were coming from or what was the reason for their great numbers. Killing them didn't seem to decrease their quantities. Sebastian was baffled, but didn't mind them much, at least not until the incident. Shortly after it, the beetles became much more disturbing.

It was nighttime and Sebastian felt anxious. The darkness outside felt unnatural somehow and the lamps in his home were barely able to offer illumination. Was this a manifestation of his dark mind, he wasn't sure. His grasp on reality was weakening. And the beetles, the damn beetles, they seemed to be openly mocking him. They had appeared as normal insects at first, but now, they had grown a huge human eye on their back. Now Sebastian saw eyes everywhere, watching his every move, not giving any mercy and just silently judged him. They knew what he had done and he knew that they knew. He couldn't accept this, however. His actions were justified; that woman had taken everything from him. She stole his happiness, stole his life. It was only fair for him to take hers.

[i]“It's not for you to decide when somebody's life ends. You can never give it back.”[/i]

But Sebastian was adamant that there was no way around it. It had to be done. She was vile, rotten to the core, existing only to hurt people. There would be more victims. In a way, he was sparing lives. Still, he thought that he was in the right. But the beetles, they knew the ugly reality and continued to watch him with their abnormal eyes, judging him. They were crawling and skittering all around and the noise was making Sebastian insane. He tried to cover his ears, but he could still hear them.

“Fucking stop it!” Sebastian yelled and started to violently crush the insects.

His movements were guided by madness as he squished the beetles and popped their disgusting eyes. A splatter of blood along with the crushed corpse of the beetle would stain his home. Yes… This was his home, his safe place, his sanctuary, not this dark dwelling of judgement. He was on the right. He was on the right. He roared fiercely like the beast he deep down was and he kept crushing the beetles. But no matter how many he killed, more would come to replace those deceased. At some point Sebastian grabbed his baseball bat and began to kill the beetles with it. His force was now more destructive, but he didn't care. He was a madman at this point. He killed and spilled blood and broke everything that came to his path.

Sebastian trashed his house in his fit of fury. It didn't make him feel any better when he finally calmed down a little bit. There he stood in the middle of broken objects and stains of blood. Nothing had changed. He was still a sinner in denial. And yet, there were beetles with their bulgy eyes judging him. He felt clueless, not sure what to do. Sebastian fell on his knees on the floor, dropping the baseball bat. He raised his hands to take a hold of his head and sobbed.

[i]“You're not better than her. You had no right to end her life.”[/i]

He screamed and dug his nails into his scalp. Deeper and deeper his nails sunk, then he started to scratch his head aggressively. He brought forth his own blood, but this small sacrifice would never be enough to atone for what he did. He was a horrible and selfish man with a black heart and tainted soul. And the beetles knew this. They would remain here, judging and reminding him of his bad deeds. Sebastian would suffer until the day he dies.



[b]DAY 10: UNCANNY FACE – THE FACE OF A MADMAN[/b]

Every passing day, Gordon's face in the mirror kept turning stranger to him. Was this tired and tormented man really him? Who was he, exactly? The more he pondered about his identity, the more confused and lost he became. He couldn't tell what his identity was. Was he really the man that was born thirty years ago or was he just an imposter? Gordon knew that no one could give him answers. That meant he had to figure these things out by himself, but the thing was, he wasn't sure if he could do that. Could he learn the truth about himself before he would turn completely foreign in his eyes?

Morning after morning he stared at his reflection and he could see an anguished man looking back at him. Did other people see the same as he did? It was hard to tell, because he was a lonely man with no one in his life, except with a handful of co-workers. But Gordon had never established a meaningful relationship with those people. He would just go to the workplace in the morning, spend the day there interacting with people as little as possible, and then go home to dwell into his loneliness. He lamented the fact nobody in this world would miss him, but meanwhile, he didn't miss anyone, either. Nonetheless, it hurt him.

Suddenly Gordon had started to notice changes in the face he saw in the mirror. They were subtle, so it was hard for him to pinpoint when exactly the transformation began. The corners of his mouth had started to rise a little, eventually turning into a smile. It was weird to see him smiling. His eyes were opening up more, but the dark circles under his eyes grew darker. Gordon noted that his skin was getting paler, though it could be explained with what it was the darkest season of the year currently. Though even in the summer he didn't go outside much. These changes were happening to him gradually, causing him to keep an eye on how different he was turning day after day. The face in the mirror was strange to him before, but now, it was even more foreign.

Little did Gordon know, there was a seed of madness within him, had been since the day he was born. And now it was time for it to sprout.

People outside had started to sneak glances at him more often. Did they see the changes, too? People were whispering, secretly pointing at him while staying as far from him as possible. Gordon felt even more alienated in his workplace and around the town. It bothered him, but there was nothing he could do about it.

It was the face, wasn't it? It was distorting, Gordon could clearly see it from the mirror. His reflection was getting so unfamiliar that he didn't recognize it although it supposedly was his own face. Maybe that was why people were acting so weird, they couldn't recognize the man that had walked among them for years, being part of their town. Now he was a total stranger to everyone, but especially to the person that allegedly knew him the best.

And one morning, as Gordon gazed into the mirror, he simply snapped, he couldn't accept what he saw. There was a man with a wide unsettling smile looking back at him, the eyes reflecting a gleam of madness. But the worst part was the smile, it was so wide it almost tore the man's face in half. This wasn't his face, this was somebody completely different. Gordon didn't want to see this man anymore. He had to act. He quickly went to the kitchen and snatched a knife, then returned back to the bathroom mirror.

He started to cut his face. The blade of the knife sunk into his skin and began to carve around the face. Blood was flowing as Gordon slowly used the sharp tool to remove the part he didn't want to possess anymore. The face had to go. It had to. Never did he yelp from pain during this gruesome procedure, so badly he wanted to get rid of the face he saw in the mirror. Eventually Gordon managed to crudely remove the skin of his own face, there was just a mess of blood and flesh remaining.

But to him, it was perfect. He grinned at the faceless man in the mirror. Now the stranger is gone. Now there was only him.