Oil [Full Story]

Chapter 5: Rot

"Remind me again why we're even going back."

"Uh, to either kill or contain the fucker."

"Right. That's not in the job description. Why does it have to be us?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Because literally no one seems to notice the murders going on and who the hell else is gonna believe us about this?" Daisy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Cal, we're quite possibly the only ones left alive who even know about this thing. Come on! Let's go inside and catch us a killer!" Cal grumbled. "And suddenly I'm having awful flashbacks." Jess swung the door open and stepped inside, the other two following close behind. She spun around and stuck her finger in the air. "Okay! Ground rules! First one is do not get fucking separated. Second one! If you see anything, fuckin' tell us, even if you think it's nothing! Third rule! Don't swing your backpacks around too much, you don't wanna-oh fuck I forgot to tell you guys!" Cal stared at her, unimpressed, and Daisy looked confused. "Forgot to tell us what?"

Jess grinned cheekily. "I got a package in the mail this morning! And you know what it contained?"

Cal sighed tiredly. "What did it have, Jess."

"Some pure caesium! Lots of it! And some Caesium chloride, but eh. Not as fun."

"JESS ARE YOU TELLING ME WE HAVE BOMBS IN OUR BACKPACKS THAT WILL BE EVEN BIGGER IF THEY GO OFF BECAUSE WE'RE WITHIN THE VICINITY OF THAT FUCKING SUBJECT THING."

"Yup!" She said cheerfully. "That's why rule three is don't swing your backpacks around too hard!"

"How the fuck did you even get that stuff into our backpacks?! And who the hell sent the package?!"

"Don't ask questions, and heck if I know! It didn't have anything on it, no stamps, no address, nothing. It was just titled 'To Jess. Good luck.'"

"Oh great! Now my confidence levels are rising!" Cal threw her hands up in the air. "Let's just get this over with, jesus fucking christ." Daisy shrugged a shoulder and said, "So, who wants to take the lead?" Cal blanched when the other two looked at her. "Oh, hell no! All the people who lead die first!" They continued to smile at her. "God damn it. Fine. Fuck. Whatever. Guess I'll just fucking die first." She grumbled. Jess's smile turned cheeky. "Aw, you know I got your back, Cal! We're boob buddies, remember?" Cal pulled out a small flashlight, clicked it on, and took the lead. "I thought I told you to never say those words to me again." Jess fell into step behind her and Daisy took up the rear. This time they went left instead of right and found themselves in the living room.

The place was just as disgusting as the last time they were here, and Cal found herself wrinkling her nose when she spotted the black oil creeping up the walls. Behind her, Jess, who's voice went unusually quiet, said, "How much money you wanna bet that it's the basement?" "It's always the basement." Daisy replied. The three stared at the basement door in apprehension until Cal broke the eerie silence. "...How about we check out the rest of the house first?" She suggested. The other two nodded mutely and it was decided without talking that they'd check out the upstairs first. They trundled up the oily stairs, still slick with the substance that they slipped in last time. They weren't expecting to find much in any of the rooms, and they weren't disappointed. There was nothing. Even the dried oil on the floor in the master bedroom was gone, as if someone had taken the time to clean the planks. Cal frowned at the spot where the substance used to be, turned, and went downstairs with the other two close behind.

It was again silently decided that they'd explore the basement next, because while they had yet to see the rest of the house again, they had a strong... feeling that everything would happen down there. It was time to jump start this shit show. The last time they were here, the basement door wouldn't open even after Jess slammed her entire weight into it. And just a few minutes ago, when they were looking at it, it was closed and locked just like last time. Now it was cracked open, just a bit, not enough to even really notice, but it was open. Cal wordlessly swung open the door and the darkness that greeted them did not offer any comforting support. Cal's flashlight did little to penetrate the inky blackness. It was like shining a light through thick fog at night, except it was even darker.

Cal swallowed down the lump in her throat and hesitantly put her foot on the first step. She did not want a repeat of the last time they were here. The walls of the stairwell were coated in the same ebony substance that they had found upstairs, but it seemed... thicker, here. More viscous, as if it was closer to the source material. Mingled with the oil and also coating the walls was what looked like blood (most of it was dry; some of it was not) and Cal seriously hoped that it was not blood. The stairs themselves were suspiciously silent. Not a single one creaked as they creeped down them. The house was old and abandoned and in a serious state of disrepair, so they should be creaking every other step. They did not.

Cal had to squint through to darkness to see the next step, and behind her she heard someone squeal as their foot stepped in something squishy. She couldn't quite tell who it was. It felt like hours had passed before they made it to the bottom. Knowing the creature, though, it really could have been hours. Cal swallowed again and shined the flashlight into the room they now found themselves in. It looked like a hospital waiting room, complete with a receptionist desk and a door leading to the hallway beyond it. The room had, like the rest of the house, once been clean and sterile, but was now clearly abandoned. Some debris from the ceiling had fluttered down and lay in various places, and there was a thick layer of dust coating everything. There were some of the waiting chairs still screwed into the floor, but the majority of them were piled haphazardly in the far right corner, long forgotten.

Cal briefly pondered on why someone would have a waiting room in their basement, and then noticed with a flood of unease that there was some footprints in the dust leading to the middle of the room and stopping. The prints themselves were also dusty, as if someone had walked here long ago but the dust hadn't had time to fully come back, and they simply stopped right in the middle of the room. Whoever had made them was nowhere to be seen. Behind her, she heard a harsh and audible swallow, and then Daisy whispered. "Uh, guys?" And then she heard the tell tale sound of a heavy door slamming from the stairs and she did not have to be a genius to figure it out. All three of them whirled around at the sound, their eyes wide. They screamed.

Glued to the wall by the jet-black substance were bodies. They were decayed and grotesque and smeared across their mouths and taut lips was the same oily substance. Their stomachs had been burst open, as if something from the inside had exploded outward. Intestines hung from the gaping bellies and if they peered up they would be able to see the still and dead hearts. Pus and blood dribbled from orifices and eyes and some of the bodies had their mouths open in a forever silent scream. They showed off grossly yellow and black rotted teeth and Cal had the delirious thought of "Why don't they smell?". The nearest two bodies had moth eaten police uniforms on.

"H-HOLY SHIT!" She heard Jess exclaim. She also heard something begin to drip behind her, and she did not want to turn around but she found herself unwillingly doing so. She cursed her traitorous feet and whipped around. Dripping from the ceiling was that black substance, and it was quickly forming a pool beneath it. "Guys!" She shouted. The other two whipped around as well and they found themselves speechless as the dripping continued and the puddle began to form a wobbly four-legged creature that looked like it was constantly melting. Cal stares at the gooey creature in front of her, she curses Jess to hell and back for dragging her into this. "Quick, this way!" Daisy screamed and darted towards the door next to the receptionist desk.

Behind them the creature laughed and stumbled forward on sticky and awkward legs.