• It Came From the Fridge


    tab Having been up late the night before a young woman groggily gets out of bed and goes to shower. It's 10:50 Am. The alarm goes off while she's in the washroom. She misses the loud shuffling noises coming from the kitchen, masked by the alarm's drone and the sound of the water. She lives by herself and the apartment is small.
    tab She finishes her shower and goes to her room to change into her work clothes. The shuffling has stopped now, she never noticed it. She finishes dressing, leaves her room and goes into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Upon entering the room she notices that the fridge is open and a box of take out food has spilled onto the floor. She frowns. The refrigerator isn't stocked full enough for it to pop open on its own.
    tab After cleaning up the mess and having some toast she notices that the side of the fridge is lightly discolored in one spot. The mark is brown and around ten centimeters in diameter. She scratches at it to see if it is only a food stain. It does not come off. She also tests the door to see if it isn't sealing properly. It is fine. The young woman dismisses the event as something she cannot explain and leaves for work. It is 11:35 AM.
    tab Having put the strange occurrence out of her mind the young woman has a long though pleasant work day. It is close to the holiday season and the store is busy with early shoppers. She closes late and returns home. It is 10:25 PM.
    tab When she opens the door to her house she hears a low humming sound coming from the interior but thinks nothing of it. It could be the furnace running or any number of electrical appliances functioning irregularly. She enters. She takes off her shoes and hangs up her purse and coat. Tired, the young woman goes to the kitchen to make herself a snack before bed, the humming gets louder as she nears it.
    tab Having gone into the kitchen she realizes that the refrigerator is the source of the hum. She is puzzled, the fridge has never made that sound before. The mark on the side of it is also different, it is no longer brown, it has gotten bigger, it is black. She approaches the fridge slowly. As she nears it a sound like a gunshot going off pierces her ears and the door of the fridge shoots open, spitting a milk carton against the far counter and a number of other items.
    tab The young woman is so startled she falls backwards and lands on her side. She is shaken but otherwise unharmed. Unmoving, she stares in shock at the fridge and realizes that the humming has stopped. Her eyes also register something abnormal. Movement.
    tab Her breath catches. It is beyond her. It wants... Suddenly the fridge light brightens blindingly and then shatters. There is silence in the apartment. Three days later the young woman's family becomes worried after being unable to contact her. Her mother comes to the apartment and knocks repeatedly on the door before using an emergency spare key to enter.
    tab The mother looks all over the apartment. Nothing is out of place, until she enters the kitchen. Inside are her daughter's work clothes, torn to shreds, and a small puddle of a thick brown liquid oozing out from under the fridge. Distraught, the mother calls the police to report her daughter missing.
    tab A search was mounted that lasted months. The young woman was never found. However, when the substance from the puddle was tested it was identified as some sort of digestive fluid, highly acidic and reactive. There has only been one other case similar to this, in Baltimore, where an elderly couple vanished from their suburban home in 2003. Their clothes were found, shredded, and a puddle of the same substance as in the young woman's apartment, twice the size.
    tab The kitchen was the scene of the disappearances in both cases. Nothing further has ever been documented.






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