The Silent Suburb
"Never been here before," Jeff thought to himself as he followed the delivery truck. The town was pretty far outside his home city. He had almost thought the delivery truck was going back to the warehouse when he'd seen it not too far from here on the highway, but that was in the opposite direction.
The town appeared to consist only of a few small businesses—a grocery store, a restaurant, a bar—and one large neighborhood that formed a circle with two turn-offs. Jeff watched as the delivery truck turned into the neighborhood.
"Perfect," he thought to himself. He parked his car at the side of the road in front of the businesses where it would blend in. Anyone giving a quick look wouldn't even think he didn't belong. Jeff got out of his car and headed down the turn-off where the delivery truck had gone, making sure to leave his phone behind. He had almost gotten caught once because of a poorly timed phone call. Never again.
"Should be easy pickings; these houses look old, dirt-basement old," Jeff mused to himself as his eyes scanned the porches, some of which were almost falling apart. "Surprised any of the people that own these houses even know how to order things online." Perhaps if this score is good, this might become a regular spot.
Getting good targets around home had gotten harder and harder. Too many people were getting doorbell cameras. Too many people were bringing their packages inside right away or scheduling late delivery when someone would be home. It had made the work difficult, but when he got lucky, boy, was the money good.
The delivery truck was out of sight. It looked like there was a turn-off in the middle of the street that connected the two roads just within Jeff's line of sight.
"The truck must have turned there." Jeff thought as he scanned the doorsteps and porches. They were all empty. It was getting late in the evening, likely the truck’s last delivery of the day.
As Jeff reached the middle of the neighborhood, he had not seen a single package. He was growing frustrated. That truck wouldn't have gone out to the middle of nowhere to deliver nothing. Maybe the person had been just waiting and brought it inside?
"I've come too far out to not at least check the entire street," he muttered angrily to himself, looking down to the end of the street. It looked like it went into a cul-de-sac that connected to the other half. The middle intersecting street only had two houses on it. Jeff could easily see their porches as he walked past. They were just as empty as the others.
Jeff continued down the portion of the neighborhood he'd been walking down already. His eyes scanned the various porches. Some of them had paint that was cracked and chipping. The houses were made of old wood.
"It's quiet," Jeff noticed as he walked. There wasn't even the sound of crickets chirping. The windows of the houses were all dark, and the only sign of life was the occasional porch light illuminating the street. He rounded the corner and could see straight down the street. No sign of the delivery truck or any indication that it had stopped here.
"Bust..." he sighed. Whoever the delivery was for must have been looking out their window for it or something. Jeff walked slowly back towards where he had parked his car, his eyes flicking to each porch with a dwindling hope of finding his prize. Every porch was empty. His frustration gnawed at him. How did the truck completely move around him?
Jeff stepped out of the street to go back to his car seething with anger that he wasted his time. He was ready to call it a night, and go home.
"What the hell!" Jeff shouted, his voice echoing in the empty street. He stared in disbelief at the spot where his car had been. It was gone. He ran out to the empty spot to see if he could find any sign of it.
"I've been set up. Guess there really is no honor among thieves," he growled to himself angrily. This was the most intricate setup he'd ever seen. They had to have been targeting him specifically.
"When I get my hands on whoever did this!" He stomped angrily. His car wasn't even worth that much; it had to be someone who caught him on a camera, and this was revenge. Now he was stranded out here in the middle of nowhere without even a phone. "Guess I'll have to see if one of these places has a phone."
He moved to the grocery store first, but the door wouldn't budge. The handle felt grimy, as if it had been exposed to the elements for years. Peering through the glass, Jeff saw that the shelves were empty, the store seemingly out of business. He tried the restaurant and bar next; their glass doors were also locked, the handles equally grimy and uninviting."
He tried the restaurant and bar next. They doors were similar to the store, made of some kind of glass. They were both locked and their door handles had the same grimy disgusting feeling. They didn't even have hours posted. They were either closed or out of business. As if things couldn't get any worse.
"Guess I'll have to ask at one of the houses. This is going to be an awkward conversation." Jeff thought as he went back to the neighborhood. He looked for the first house with a car in the driveway and walked to the front door. He found a doorbell and pressed it. It didn't make any noise. Perhaps Broken? Jeff knocked on the door.
It did not make the hollow, stiff noise you'd expect from wood. It was more like stepping on a squid. Rather than pressing against the wood, the material pushed inward slightly where his fist put pressure, feeling squishy and moist.
"Yuck." Jeff pulled his hand away from the door. There was goo on his hands. He flicked the goo off. What was with this house? He stepped away from the door and almost lost his balance. The ground behind him had opened up, but it did not contain earth. The walls were a pink, writhing flesh like substance. Jeff yelped and jumped to the side away from the hole.
There was a frustrated noise as he moved out of the way. The noise seemed to come from the town itself. Jeff stood watching in disbelief as the ground closed again, leaving not even a seam to indicate that it had occurred. The earth looked as undisturbed as before.
The ground began to open beneath Jeff's feet.
"No, no, no, no!" Jeff whimpered as he ran away from that weird house, further into the neighborhood. He stopped to catch his breath, panting heavily. What was happening? The ground opened beneath his feet a third time, and still he managed to dodge it.
Just as before, the ground closed seamlessly. Not even the roads and sidewalks were safe. It didn't seem to matter where he stopped to try to rest; the ground would just open again. He ran deeper and deeper into the neighborhood in blind fear, just trying to get away, to find a place that was safe.
"Why now? What's different?" he muttered questioning the air out of fear and frustration as he dodged another opening in the ground. "This didn't happen earlier."
Another frustrated, deep growling noise came from all around him. The holes were starting to open wider and faster. The only time it didn't try was when he was running.
"That...has to be it." Jeff realized. The first time he walked down the neighborhood, he hadn't stopped. When the next hole opened, he didn't run from it; he walked away at a steady pace. No holes. It couldn't try unless he was standing still. The creature let out a much louder growling noise, seemingly angry that he had figured it out.
Jeff's eyes darted between the houses. He approached the houses, careful to keep moving, even if it meant walking in circles. The interiors were as empty as the store, with only a few pieces of mismatched, odd furniture.
At a quick glance, the houses looked like normal homes where the families were not home. But if you looked closely, the furniture was just slightly misshapen or mismatched. Some of the houses had five couches, while one or two had a toilet in the kitchen area. He had not noticed before but many of the cars were missing steering wheels.
All of it was fake. All set pieces made to give the appearance of being a normal neighborhood when, in actuality, they were part of the creature's body.
"Guess I know what happened to the delivery truck...and it's driver." Jeff swallowed, as he considered that fate. Did it have a way lure the driver here somehow? Or was the driver the bait?
"Oh, Jeff... what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" he whispered, the only sound in his ears the pounding of his own heartbeat. Time seemed to crawl as he walked back to the entrance of the neighborhood. His feet and ankles started to hurt from all the sprinting and constant movement, but he didn't dare stop, even for a second, to catch his breath.
His legs were as heavy as lead as he carried forward. Finally, the restaurant, shop, and bar portion of the monster town were only a few yards away. The sun had completely set now, and everything was dark. Not even the occasional porch light was on anymore, the creature having withdrawn that courtesy once the façade was broken.
Jeff walked carefully, barely able to see in the moonlight. The once-constant frustrated growls and gurgles of the creature had now fallen eerily silent, making the darkness around Jeff feel even more oppressive.
"Maybe it fell asleep... or maybe it thinks I'm gone," Jeff thought to himself. "I can't risk stopping. Not yet." As he reached the road, he turned to walk up it, not caring how far he had to go.
Just as he took a step outside the town's border, he breathed a sigh of relief. He continued forward, not willing to stop until he was sure he had gotten away.
"What should I do?" Jeff wondered. "Who can I tell about this? Who would even believe me?" His mind raced with all the issues he was going to have. How was he going to file insurance on his car? How was he going to get a new phone? He counted his blessings that he had not left his wallet in his car.
Without warning, he was falling and landed hard facedown on the ground. His left foot had hit a hole, but the hole was far deeper than it should have been... far wetter.
"It set a trap!? It was just waiting until I tried to leave!?" Jeff's blood ran cold as he felt his left leg slide further into the hole. He grabbed the ground, pulling himself as hard as he could, flailing, struggling to get away. Searing pain shot up his leg. With a final pull, he managed to free himself.
His foot and ankle were gone, leaving only a bleeding stump. Jeff could hear a low, gurgling laugh. It had gotten a part of him after all. He crawled across the ground, scrambling, moving as fast as he could.
He wasn’t sure how far he went before he stopped. He reached where his foot had been, feeling the stump. It hadn’t been bitten, just dissolved. Whatever process it was had partially cauterized the wound, drastically slowing the blood loss. Jeff sat in place for longer than he had for hours. Nothing. He had escaped at the cost of a foot. He removed his shirt, wrapped it around his stump, and started to crawl forward, carried forth by sheer willpower.
Hours later, as the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, Jeff reached a gas station, sweat falling from his forehead. His arms on fire. He reached the front door and passed on from exhaustion. The attendant called for an ambulance.
Jeff was forever changed. He never told anyone what actually happened. His days as a porch pirate were over.
When he was well again, out of morbid curiosity, he found the gas station, but no matter how far he drove, he never found the town again, and no one he asked had ever recalled there being a town there.
Whenever he hears about a missing mailman, a missing delivery driver, or a person that was on a long drive that vanished, his stomach twists into a knot, and he knows.
He knows it’s still out there.
Thanks for making it his far! If you enjoyed this check out some of my other stories! More stories to come. Follow and stay tuned.
Credit to www.craiyon.com for the images.
This story was written for Belle's "Setting That Eats" challenge link below:
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