The Vent

Jimmy Haddiway had lived in the same apartment for three months. Every single day, he smelled a foul odor leaking from the vents inside of his kitchen. The one day, he decided that he had enough, so he grabbed some of his tools and opened it up. After unscrewing the vent and prying it open, he looked inside the darkness and saw two yellow circles. As he squinted, he wondered what they were, and decided to crawl inside for a better look.

He knelt through the vent and crawled forward. The circles became more clear, and he got a much better look as he grew closer and closer. Finally, as he got close enough, he saw two yellow eyes staring back at him. He got frightened, and tried to back up. However, the smell from the vent was making him nauseous. His body grew weak, and the eyes seemed to be glaring back at him with detest. Out of the darkness, Jimmy watched as a body appeared out of the darkness from the other side of the vent’s chamber. It was long and lanky, with hooked hands and sharp teeth in a big mouth. A long tongue slithered out and licked at the air between them. It opened up its mouth and stretched out it’s face, just like a snake would, unhinging its jaw. As it moved forward toward Jimmy, he tried to move backward from the vent, but he got stuck. The smell kept getting worse, and seemed to be coming from the monster's gaping mouth. It’s teeth looked like steak knives that glistened with a brilliantly white light as it came toward Jimmy with a low growl.

“Get away!” He tried to cry out. “Don’t come any closer!”

His words failed him. As he backed up toward the entrance of the vent, he was about to step out of the tunnel, but the monster's long arms and hooked fingers zipped past Jimmy’s body. They grabbed the vent and pulled it shut, slamming it tightly. Jimmy tried kicking it back open but he failed. The monster had sealed his way in. He was stuck.

“All...mine.” The monster growled.

Jimmy was scared so badly, he couldn’t move a single muscle. The creature crawled toward him and pulled him closer with his hooked fingers. As it tugged and pulled, Jimmy was heaved toward the monster. He whimpered to himself as the monster’s lips coated Jimmy’s body, and he was slowly pulled inside the monster's mouth. The monster swallowed Jimmy whole, and shut his mouth tightly. Jimmy was lost forever inside the creature's body, who quickly squirmed its way back into the darkness of the vent.

A few days later, the creature spit out Jimmy's clothing, as well as a small clump of hair that smelled atrocious. Not only did it stink, but the smell wafted back out into the apartment.

Several months later, after a new tenant, Benny Verdon, took over the apartment, he had just finished moving all of his things inside, when something startled him.

The worst odor imaginable was coming from the vent, and he got the idea to check it out.