The Little People

In this entry, the local recalls an experience of his involving a hoard of small creatures who reside in an abandoned house, and who don't take very kindly to intruders.

Some wonder what  happens when no one is looking. No one truly knows what happens behind closed doors. So, the real question is this: what happens in places where no one ever does look, where the door is always closed?

There is an abandoned house on the outskirts of my neighborhood. The people who previously lived there have since fled for reasons unknown. Time has certainly taken its toll on the yard, yellowing the grass and multiplying the weeds, but the house is still in reasonably good shape. However, this house is part of a phenomenon that, to our knowledge, is unique to our town. It is infested by Little People.

Little People are small creatures that can usually be found in abandoned buildings. They are approximately an inch in height, and can move incredibly fast, making their appearance rather difficult to distinguish. Because they prefer to stay in darkness, all one usually sees of them is a small, humanoid silhouette with glowing white eyes. Despite their size, these creatures are in no way harmless. If they detect an intruder, animal or human, on the premises of their claimed territory...that individual is never seen again. Few have survived an encounter with the Little People. I am one of those few.

In my younger days, I had a job as a journalist for the local newspaper. This was not long before I quit there. Anyway, this was only a day or two after the residents of that house fled, and I was asked to take some pictures of the house for the paper. So, I took my camera and drove my way there, blissfully unaware of what awaited me.

As I pulled up in the gravel driveway, I saw that the house looked normal in almost every aspect. However, there were small details that hinted something wasn’t quite right. The front door was slightly ajar. An overturned lawn chair lay on the porch. The front window was unlocked and cracked open, the curtains behind it blowing in the wind. After what felt like hours, I snapped out of my daze, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the night air. I took a couple of snapshots of the exterior of the house. My work done, I was just about to turn and leave when I heard something. Listening closely, I began to make out the sounds of a scuffle coming from inside the house. I was reluctant to venture inside, dreading what I would find. However, eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. To this day, I still regret that decision. Slowly, I stepped up onto the porch and pushed open the front door. The noise was louder now. It sounded like a fight going on; I could hear the unmistakable sound of a cat yowling. It sounded as though it were coming from the kitchen.

Some unseen force willed me to go through the door and creep down the darkened hallway until I found the room I was looking for. What I saw in that house will remain seared into my mind until the day I die. There, cornered against the back wall, was a large tabby cat. Its back was arched, its tail like a bottlebrush, and it was hissing and spitting viciously. A large gash ran along one of its legs, and parts of its fur were caked with dried blood. But it wasn’t the cat that scared me. What really terrified me were its attackers. On the floor between the cat and me, there sat a small black cloud. At first, I couldn’t quite make out what it was. However, narrowing my eyes, I saw that the mass was made up of tiny, man-like figures. They seemed to quiver in the air, like holographic images. However, judging by the damage to the cat, they were all too real. I watched in horror as the figures closed in on the cat. The cloud enveloped the animal, and an ear-splitting howl pierced the air. Then, the figures parted.

Where the cat had been moments before, there now was only empty space. Horror-struck, I gasped audibly. I saw the small figures tense. Moving as one, they all turned to face me. Dozens of pairs of glowing white eyes stared straight through me. Suddenly, in unison, they all hurled themselves dead towards my face. I finally found the ability to move, and tore out of the house, screaming all the way. I practically flew into my car and sped as fast as I could away from there, not daring to look back.

After dropping my equipment off at my workplace, I headed home, taking a way that avoided passing by that house. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night, and I made sure that all my doors and windows were locked and that every light in the house was on. I did not exit my house for three days straight, and what little sleep I got was filled with horrible nightmares.

To this day, I still refuse to pass that house, no matter the circumstances. I dread to think of what would have happened if I hadn’t fled in time. I’ve heard of other cases around town of buildings infested with these creatures, but I’ve never actually met another who has seen them and lived to tell the tale. I certainly hope that one day we are able to find a surefire method of ridding ourselves of this infestation.

Author's Note

This is the sixth chapter/section of my book, Strange Happenings. I am SO sorry for the delay; I know I normally get these up pretty quickly. I had started work on another chapter, but got terrible writer's block and decided to do this one instead. Anyway, for context, read the rest of the book. I will continue to post chapters as I finish them. Please feel free to post feedback.

Reviews

[Another brick in the wa..]

This is so far the only chapter of your book that I have looked at, but it made me want to go back and read everything else. This section was very well written, keep up the good work!