[Music] I had the strangest roommate in my freshman year of college despite being otherwise normal and even a bit shy Eddie would every so often become frantically possessed by a sudden overwhelming need to lock the door it didn't matter which door either wherever he was when the fit Came Upon him he would leap up run to the closest entrance and lock it people who stood in his way were screamed at anyone who tried to stop him would get attacked he became a ranting sweaty madman until his mysterious sense of vulnerability passed but the moment it
was gone he would apologize profusely sink timidly into himself and Scurry away embarrassed for that reason it was hard to hate him but it became a little easier to despise him each time I returned home to find myself locked out similarly each time I brought him to a party and he had one of his episodes I inevitably lost potential romantic interests and friends because I was roommates with that Eddie guy halfway through the year after the third almost girlfriend ghosted me because he scared the hell out of her I put in for a dorm room
transfer and washed my hands of the poor guy that was almost 7 years ago now so when Eddie messaged me on social media and said he was in town and he'd run into some travel issues I decided to give him another shot I'd always felt sort of bad about how I'd treated him in the end so I drove half an hour out to his broken down car and picked him up around 1: in the morning on a noral Wednesday night 3 weeks ago I remember pulling up to the edge of a high Cliffside road to
see a skinny silhouette waving at me he was leaner than I remembered and somewhat more in shape my headlights illuminated him fully I saw his face glisten and I laughed that was Eddie all right sweat was sort of his Hallmark he hefted a duffel bag and ran up to my passenger side before fiddling with the door handle repeatedly don't pull it when I'm unlocking it I told him he waited a tick I pushed the button and he tried the handle at the same time oops wait I said again hitting unlock as I did so okay
now he finally got the door open and clambered in with a nervous laugh sorry man his long legs folded up a bit as he got situated and I could see his exposed ankles thanks for picking me up I Shrugged no problem at all do you know what's wrong with it yeah the alterate has been having trouble I think the cold weather finally did her in cool I gave a slight cough to clear my throat and we drove in awkward silence until he brought up a joke from the past just like that we slipped into that
first semester 7 years before with all of its new experiences hilarious Misadventures and surprise pressures by the time we reached my place I'd remembered the good things about him and I was glad I decided to help him out on the way in I pointed to the couch that's probably the best spot in the apartment I'm trying to save money these days so the place is pretty small rent these days eh he asked before placing his duffel bag down and sitting carefully on the couch to evaluate its softness this will do fine I can't thank you
enough I'll get out of your hair in the morning as soon as the repair shops open no problem at all Eddie actually I go by Ed now good for him he definitely grown as a person from the socially fearful Outcast I remembered I grinned then no problem at all Ed I went to bed back in my room without a single worry it seemed like his issues had been resolved by maturity or medication and who was I to judge someone for trouble beyond their control that was in the past of course I was completely wrong around
4: in the morning I awoke and got up to get a glass of water from the kitchen I knew my own apartment so my footsteps were pretty much silent but Eddie still sighed and stirred on the couch as if something was bothering him I stood by the fridge glass in hand as he whimpered struggled and then leapt up in a mad terrified Dash he ran to my front door and slammed the dead bolt he gave out a deep breath of relief and remained there with his head down while I tried to figure out the best
way to let him know I was there well if he was having a fit there was no good way to do this Ed he seized up mightily gasped in as much air as his lungs could hold and then slowly turned around his face was obscured in dimness since the only light came from various red or green pinpoints on on the television and microwave but I could tell he was sweating profusely after a long moment he managed to Breathe Again finally he said oh hey didn't see you there yeah I put my glass down on the
counter you all right dude he meant his laugh to sound nonchalant but it just came out nervous and high strung same old same old you know how it is I went around the counter and approached him he moved back a few steps and I touched the door this is a safe neighborhood there's nothing to worry about he nodded awkwardly unsure I believed his calmness I moved my hand to the dead bolt I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get weird while I was asleep if I went back to bed he made a sudden
half-hearted leap towards me hand out don't at that moment I was starting to remember the times I'd seen him attack people during an episode there's nothing out there I gripped the dead bolt to turn it back towards me but a very slight Shadow moved somewhere in my vision the hell no it couldn't be reacting rapidly I put my eye to the peephole my brain made sense of the curved Panorama just in time to see a sliver of a silhouette disappear along the sidewalk to the left Eddie moved closer bringing the smell of his panicked sweat
with him did you see something no I lied I kept staring out through the peep pole watching the quiet night in my otherwise unremarkable neighborhood the asphalt glimmered Darkly Under the Stars while distant lamp posts cast Long Shadows across grass remind me again what makes you suddenly want to lock the door now that I wasn't actively trying to unlock it he seemed slightly less manic I never told you because I thought you were starting to hate me but uh when I was 8 years old I had a sudden feeling that I should lock the door
I didn't and and uh he shivered some men broke in a moment later and robbed us I frowned at his glistening shadowed face Jesus was anyone hurt he nodded between audible breaths my mom another three breaths passed in the otherwise silent Darkness she didn't make it damn I didn't know what else to say say just damn no wonder no wonder before I could elaborate the sound of something skittering outside reached us he turned and listened in one rapid motion like a startled animal and I had to admit I was none too calm either still I
couldn't risk amping up his anxiety I did want to sleep again at some point he whispered where was that it sounded like it came from the back I whispered too I'm sure it's nothing let's go I led the way and we crept through my apartment he made sure to mimic my steps but he was still louder than me and I nearly winced at every Creek by the time we entered my bedroom and reached a rear window my nerves were raw the window was fitted with stops that prevented it opening all the way I usually left
it open for the breeze even in the winter we sat in total darkness in front of that thin rectangle of cool air looking and listening we sought any sign of what had made the noise have you ever actually listened to the sounds of the city at night what I'd gotten used to as silence was actually anything but soft winds stirred a rustling in the nearby bushes a train blew a horn in the unknown distance a dog barked twice briefly an ambulance siren treed across the Horizon under it all a constant low haunting whale emanated across
the world from the nearby Highway I'd always hated that noise whenever I'd accidentally become aware of it because I thought it sounded like a thousand ghosts screaming from very far away but I wasn't about to tell Eddie that it was about that time that my gaze landed upon something among the trees when I'd first seen the closely bunched collection of white pinpoints I'd assumed they were Reflections from somewhere now though as I watched them carefully I was nearly certain I was seeing them rotate upwards it was as if someone was spinning a wheel of light
whose narrow side was facing us from the size and distance the wheel must have been 2 or 3 ft in diameter I whispered what is that after finding it with help for my pointing finger Eddie's stare deepen I've never seen anything like it what could that Poss possibly be I couldn't make sense of it while I watched it grew slightly dimmer and then slightly brighter it's definitely casting light around it I think I saw some leaves above it is it changing Eddie clutched my wrist as he stared at those strange up Wheeling lights is it
getting bigger I couldn't be sure but how could it be getting bigger unless jumping up I placed my fingers on either side of the window and brought it down swiftly and quietly then I turned the latch and locked it before pulling the nearby cord and sliding the blinds down whatever it is we're secure in here we'll be fine it's probably just some kids playing with light toys or something he sighed and opened his mouth to speak but a visible chain came over the silhouetted Contours of his head an instant later he leapt over and slammed
my bedroom door shut the boom echoed loudly in my ears I demanded to know what he was doing as he locked my door Eddie turned around and put his back to it I could tell he was wild eyed from the way he whispered be quiet it's in your apartment the adrenaline in Spike from the slammed door made me a little angrier than I wanted to be what what's in my apartment his frantic whisper was nearly a hiss I don't know I just know that we have to keep this door locked I was fuming but if
I spoke I would have said something I regretted so we stood there in the dark for a solid few minutes I began to calm down as those minutes passed and once I was in control again I opened my mouth to whisper hey I'm sorry I the floor creaked outside my bedroom door I froze Eddie backed away from the door and faced it alongside me it was nothing but a dark rectangle in front of us but I stared at it for any hint of motion or change the crazy thing was I had no idea idea what
I was even looking or listening for what could possibly have been out there not only had we left the front door locked there hadd been no sound of Entry forced or otherwise if there was someone or something out there how had they gotten in dim light began to move across the walls of my room and I waited for the sound of a passing car but none came as we watched the door brighter lights began to roll upwards around us again as if someone was spinning some sort of lit wheel it didn't take long for us
to realize that whatever we'd seen in the distance outside was growing closer to my window beyond the blinds something was coming nearer but neither of us dared to look away from my bedroom door for even an instant then I saw it between moving lines of Shadow and light I could have sworn my door handle had changed angles I backed away a look at the blind showed definite light spinning closer as if they were right outside the window and about to come up against it grabbing Eddie by the shoulder I pulled him with me into my
tiny oneperson bathroom he closed and locked the door the instant we were inside my heart was hammering in my chest to the point of actual pain grunting my whisper I asked what the hell is happening he shook his head I have no idea are you sure I asked him squeezing his wrists this all started with that robbery and attack on your mom right no he whispered back my bathroom door was flushed to the outside carpet but hints of rotating light began to appear beneath as if that insane impossible wheel had somehow entered my room without
opening or breaking the window none of this made sense it has to be you somehow no it has to be I shook him violently is your fear making it real is something after you you don't understand he whimpered I didn't finish the story it didn't start with that incident I'd been getting the urge to lock doors for years before that the first time I didn't that's when they came I couldn't understand exactly what he meant the robbers he shook his head oh God they weren't robbers were they he shook his head again my voice dropped
to a razor hiss what's out there Eddie all he could say was they want in something about the way he said it finally made me understand it's not about the bathroom door is it I looked out through it thinking of my bedroom door and my apartment door beyond that it's not about the literal entrance to the room you're in the rotating light below began intensifying as whatever was out there approached our hiding spot his panicked grip on my hands told me I was right then why do you lock real doors Eddie I shook him until
he looked at me despite his fear is it a metaphor does it make you feel better does it closed them off somehow why isn't it working this time he began to cry sending mixed drops of tears and sweat onto my forearms I couldn't take it anymore I'm tired of the constant struggle the high Cliffside curb where I'd picked him up flashed through my mind clear as Crystal and the fear that had been building since that moment I saw him wake suddenly left me he'd gone to the that Cliff for a reason and he'd probably had
second thoughts as he stood there alone in the dark completely calm I asked your car didn't break down did it he shook his head you messaged everyone didn't you he nodded and I was the only one that responded he rocked back and forth in front of me I just couldn't take it anymore they want in they're always out there they want in I always lock them out but they never stop I'm tired of being terrified every minute of every day air began moving under the door as the lights reached Peak intensity outside whatever it was
it was almost upon us there's nowhere to go Eddie let's open that door maybe you're constantly terrified because they want you that way let's face them let's be unafraid and it might just work he didn't respond but I dragged him to his feet I'd never wanted to do anything less in my entire life but there was nowhere else to go with a firm grip on his wrist I reached forward with my free hand unlocked the door and flung it open I don't care if you believe me that's not the point but I'll tell you what
I saw the lights were eyes they were bright enough to obscure the grotesque moving body beneath I still can't understand how it was spinning like that snake likee curves connected things in Shadow every blazing pinpoint swung up flashed us with images of hatred and fear and paranoia and then continued past moving on too fast to process that was the thing the images were lies my girlfriend was cheating on me my teachers at school had thought of me as a failure my boss hated me and only put up with me because he hadn't found a replacement
yet but each individual lie raced past too quickly to pick apart and resist I knew they weren't true but they just kept coming at the heart of this creature I sensed a hunger for fear I kicked a wide grasping mouth away and jerked Eddie out with me getting a few feet past whatever the hell that thing was it turned towards us again as I flung the bedroom door open I'd been right about the door CLE turning that much I knew in an instant the madly spinning Shadows and Light failed to illuminate the Beast that lay
beyond that door immediately I knew the thing behind us was just a servant to this because this was so so so much worse the only thing I truly registered was a melted face its misshapen gaze seized the Beating Heart muscles in my chest and filled me with absolute Terror as if it had the power to reach inside me and dredge out all the Blackness and animal fear in the corners of my human soul I knew these things didn't want into my apartment or my bedroom it wasn't so simple as that they wanted into our world
and Eddie was some sort of conjur for that nightmarish goal he always had been I had the knife ke vicious sense that I needed to kill him immediately but maybe that urge came from the emotions these creatures were giving off as the sludge Speck her with the melted face began a rising scream that threatened to deafen me I did what I had to do I grabbed the heavy lamp from my nightstand and smashed my window clean through I threw Eddie out a moment after and then pulled my arm from a burning grip of costic acid
to escape I could only lay on the ground screaming as Eddie did the rest by dragging me away from that place that was 3 weeks ago the burn from the grasping hand of that sludge creature refused to heal the doctors at the emergency room couldn't make heads or tails of it something had burned the shape of a melted hand around my forearm and continued to burn as they studied it they could find no acid no Catalyst and no heat eventually they had to release me of course their lack of understanding didn't lessen the Hefty medical
bill any I parted from Eddie the next day telling him to stay strong and remain unafraid we'd beaten the forces of hatred and paranoia personified and escaped with our lives by charging through rather than hiding he seemed unconvinced and repeatedly said that we hadn't done anything that I dragged him out of there and that without me he didn't know if he could do it but I have a life to live I told him got to pay off that ER Bill and find a new place he understood or at least he said that he did today
I saw Eddie again he didn't know I was there because it was just a chance encounter on a city street he was in a bar watching a television above and drinking a beer I stood outside and watched him through the window for a moment AED at the change he was sitting with new friends he was Ry confident and completely ignoring the door of the bar instead of nervously looking at the entrances every so often it was such a positive change that I actually went inside with a smile but I stopped about 10 ft behind him
as over the noise of the bar television above I began to hear what he was talking about his words floated in the air with a nearly perceptible stench sludge dripped from the back of his sentences burning the ears of those near his group his new friends agreed happily and haughtily replying noxiously in kind a disgruntled customer nudged me as he passed ignore those idiots I turned away with misting eyes and walked out into the chill night I hadn't saved Eddie at all he'd found Refuge not in standing up to those creatures but by going down
a path I hadn't even considered I looked through the window of that bar one last time the misshapen creature that had burned me with its touch grinned back from the shadowed Corners behind the television it had found the entry into our well it had craved for so long long I'd unlocked the door but it was Eddie that had let them in