Flash Fiction Friday - The House

No number, no address, maybe no way out

Like an old TV powering down, the GPS screen turned to black, a small white dot appearing in the center before blinking out. With a curse, Daniel tried powering the unit off and on, but nothing but black remained.

The street it had taken him to was unfamiliar, and given that it only had one house, it was more than a little strange. Reaching into his pocket, Daniel tried his phone, only to see that it had suffered the same fate as the GPS. There was only one thing to do, which was to knock on the door of the lone house and ask for directions.

As he headed up the crooked path, Daniel couldn’t help but notice that there was no number to be soon. He also couldn’t remember seeing a street name when he turned onto the road at the behest of the now dead GPS. Stranger still, the door sat slightly ajar.

A faint white glow pulsed from the interior, as though someone were watching TV. Daniel poked his head through the open space and called out, “Hello,” the greeting coming back as an echo that seemed somehow distorted.

Nudging the door fully open, Daniel stepped inside, greeted by a chill and the faint scent of something foul. He gagged at the stench, which was like something out of a fast-food dumpster, but it also carried a sweetness that might have been men’s cologne, much like the kind he was currently wearing.

The main part of the house was devoid of furniture and looked to be in some disrepair, although without any real light, other than that strange glow, it was tough to tell. Daniel jumped at the sound of a creak coming from above. Looking up, he saw an orb pulsing dully at the top of the steps. The glow was hypnotic, and he felt the urge to move toward it, but the sound of another creak, shook him free of the orb’s thrall.

“Hello,” Daniel called out again.

He waited, hoping for a response, yet also fearing it. The urge to run, to take his chances on finding his way back to the highway, was strong, but the answer to his greeting held him in place.

“Hello,” the voice called out from upstairs. The voice was his own, unmistakably so.

The creaks from the second floor grew louder, joined by thuds that could only be footsteps. “You found me,” the voice, his own damn voice, called down.

“This isn’t funny,” Daniel said, now terrified but still rooted to the spot.

A shadow fell across the orb, all dark and misshapen, like an attempt at being humanoid gone wrong. The voice, still Daniel’s, yet now out of tune, began to sing, “And we were meant to be together within, myself and my forgotten twin, we…”

Daniel screamed and finally broke free from what whatever was holding him in place. The sing-song voice continued its song as it began to head downstairs.

Lunging out of the house and almost tripping over an upraised sidewalk slab. Daniel bolted to his car. To his relief, the vehicle started at the first attempt, with the GPS also springing to life. He turned to take one more look at the home and saw a badly sewn together version of himself standing in the doorway, arms stretched, swaying, and singing at the top of its lungs.

The GPS pinged twice and the demure female English voice of the unit said, “You are home, Daniel.”