Upon waking up, the first thing Anderson Au sawwas an overhead fan still in full swing above his bed.
He had been lying upon it, feeling the remnants of sleep cling to him as he wiped the dirt from his eyes to gain clarity. The room, bathed in the morning light, revealed a disconcerting sight: walls and desk covered in dust that seemed to have materialized overnight, despite his regular cleaning routine.
With a sense of unease settling in, he ventured out of bed and surveyed the room. Every surface bore the same eerie coating. Concerned, he made his way to the door of his rather small room and opened it, hoping for some explanation in the adjacent living area.
Entering the living room, Anderson's disquiet deepened.
The walls, now adorned with red dust and cobwebs, appeared aged and deteriorated, as if time itself had accelerated in their decay. The sight was bewildering, prompting a natural question to form in his mind:
What the hell happened to my home?
As he pondered this unsettling discovery, he noticed that his television, though powered on, displayed nothing but static. It seemed even the electronics were not immune to whatever phenomenon had befallen his living space.
Driven by a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, Anderson approached the walls, reaching out to touch the strange residue. To his horror, he detected not just dust and cobwebs, but also the faint scent of blood, explaining their crimson hue.
As he stood there, grappling with the surreal scene before him, his gaze shifted to the area where the living room met the kitchen. There, in the dim light, he thought he discerned something resembling a face, though uncertainty clouded his perception. Nonetheless, a shiver ran down his spine at the sight, adding another layer of fear to the already unsettling situation.
It had been two years since Anderson Au made Block 27 of Emerald Hills his home, settling into the comforts of his executive apartment nestled in the central part of Singapore, not far from the old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
As a single and freelance web designer, Anderson found contentment in his solitary lifestyle, despite the lingering grief from the loss of his parents five years prior.
With the ever-increasing cost of living in recent years since Covid pandemic weighing on his mind, he made a conscious decision to forgo romantic pursuits, believing his modest income was just enough to sustain his own needs.
Witnessing the struggles of his now married cousins and friends grappling with financial strains, marriage and parenting breakdowns only reinforced his resolve to remain single, sparing himself the burden of supporting a family.
However, five days ago, the tranquillity of his routine was shattered by a series of inexplicable events. Every night, he found himself plagued by recurring nightmares, their origins shrouded in mystery.
Alongside these harrowing dreams, he awoke to a chilling realization: he was mysteriously confined within his own apartment, unable to venture beyond its walls.
With each passing day, the once familiar surroundings of his home became tinged with an unsettling aura of confinement and uncertainty. His sense of isolation deepened as he grappled with the inexplicable phenomena, his thoughts consumed by questions that remained unanswered.
Taken aback by the surreal scene before him, Anderson shifted his gaze from the dust-laden walls to the modest kitchen area, consisting only of a sink, cabinet, and fridge.
To his astonishment, the same grimy coating of dust and cobwebs adorned every surface, casting an eerie pall over the otherwise ordinary space.
Attempting to dispel the mounting unease, Anderson turned on the tap, hoping for a semblance of normalcy. However, his shock only deepened as the water flowed crimson, staining the sink with an ominous hue.
His mind raced with troubling thoughts, wondering whether the discoloured water was merely tainted or if it bore a more sinister origin.
As he stood in the unfamiliar kitchen, a flurry of questions raced through Anderson's mind, each more unsettling than the last. Could this be just strained water or blood of someone else, a grim testament to some unseen violence within his home?
Opening the fridge in search of solace, his distress only intensified upon finding it barren, devoid of the cutlery, paper bowls, plates and two paper bottles of H2O chocolate milk and Fruit Tree yuzu juice he distinctly remembered purchasing two weeks ago from nearby grocery shop. Confusion mingled with fear as he grappled with the inexplicable changes that had befallen his once-familiar surroundings.
While still contemplating his confinement and the possible implications, a sudden noise shattered the silence, emanating from one of the nearby walls. Intrigued and apprehensive, he approached the source, his heart pounding with anticipation.
To his horror, the seemingly innocuous sound gave way to a chilling revelation as a grotesque figure emerged from a gaping hole of what looked like a face seconds ago.
As it did so, it laid on the floor for a while before crawling and reaching out with its blood-splattered hand as if it needed help desperately. However, the sight of this along with its blood-soaked and writhing body only sent shivers down his spine, his mind struggling to reconcile the impossible sight before him in his own home.
Paralyzed by fear and disbelief, Anderson recoiled against the opposite wall, his senses overwhelmed by the macabre spectacle unfolding before him. In that moment, the line between reality and nightmare blurred, leaving Anderson to confront a terrifying truth: he was not alone in his confinement, and the entity before him defied all rational explanation.