Void Contract



I sauntered lazily up to the door of the real estate office, its ragged sign reading "New Age Realty: Established 1870."

The door was wooden with a couple of scratches here and there, not too shabby. The inside was hidden from the peering eyes of the window, concealed with the bulk of a set of wooden blinds.

"This seems to be the place," I whispered to my son, Frederich.

Holding my hand, Frederich ducked back behind me, cowering in stunned curiosity and ominous fright.

"Don't be afraid, my son," I said. "There's nothing in that shabby old building that would possibly hurt you. Come, child."

The door of the building opened slightly as i approached it with caution. Must've been a mistake, I thought.

I reached with my shaking hand to open the door, and as I touched the knob I felt the sense that this wasn't the right place to go. Something in me held me back, told me to look for a more refined complex.

Of course, I didn't listen.

"Come, Frederich. We must make haste."

The door made a deafening creaking sound as I slowly pulled it towards myself, something still telling me to turn back.

Yet I still ignored the call of safety.

"Henry, a customer!"

A loud crash that seemed audible from a significant distance sounded, and a tall, elderly man lumbered out of a closet.

"Oh, hello," said Henry, half-heartedly.

I nodded at the man and shuffled to the front desk, where a woman with a nametag stating "Debra" sat.

"Hello, I'm looking for a tour of one of your fine condominiums?"

Debra raised her eyebrows at me, clearly surprised.

"You... you want a tour?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, ma'am. Could I get it quickly? My son here is getting a bit squeamish."

Frederich nodded at Debra, seemingly to support my claim.

"We'll... set up the condo for you as soon as possible. Come back in around... oh, Henry, how long do you think?"

"I don't think you should give them a tour, Debra."

"I'm sorry?"

"Debra, they should never come back. You know what happened last time you gave a tour. Debra, stand up and show the man and his delightful child what I mean."

Debra stood up reluctantly and shuffled beside the desk.

Debra's legs were so terribly disfigured that I have not one idea how she still stands.

Frederich screamed and dashed out the door.

I ran almost through the door, picked up Frederich and leaped into my minivan.

"It's going to be okay, my dear Frederich," I tried to soothe him. He was sobbing softly.

I drove home not knowing what to think that night.

I got on my computer and searched up "New Age Realty".

There was but one link that showed up on the page, and it looked like a news headline.

I opened the link and saw an article titled "New Age Realty: Couple with child dies on tour of condominium?"

The body of the article consisted of details about the child and the couple, the time of their tour and how the investigation was performed. I scrolled down and saw an image of one of the condominiums, it had no windows and it had but one steel door that was chained up on the outside. There seemed to be dents in the metal.

"Officials say Debra Pvolo was responsible for this murder account, but details are unknown. Some speculation of a supernatural being exists, but our reporters scoff at that. More news as it develops."

I looked at the date of the article, to see how relevant it was.

The date said "Tuesday, February 22nd 2013".

Today was the first of March, the year 2013.

Right then I felt a feeling that no being shold ever deserve to feel, no emotion any sensible person should ever experience.

The emotion of terror.

"Frederich, please go brush your teeth and go to bed," I said. "It's getting late."

Fredrich nodded and solemnly walked to the bathroom.

I waited until he went into his room to get up, get my coat on and trudge out to the car.

I stepped in, considering the thought that I might die on this very night.

I sat there for 10 solid minutes, mulling over the thought of my imminent death.

I pulled the gear into drive and I pulled out of my driveway.

The drive to the real estate building seemed endless and unnerving. I thought I would never get there until I barely saw the eerie sign in the dark. The 1870 seemed to be scratched off. I walked up to the door of the building.

The door was locked.

I looked around for something, and I realized what I had to do.

I took the fire axe from my minivan and I drove it into the plywood door.

The wood gave way instantly and I fell in.

The sleeping body - or corpse - of Debra was barely visible in the front desk chair.

I snuck behind the desk and opened a drawer.

Not what I was looking for. It was a family picture, with a post-it note attached.

It read, "I am so sorry, I wish you would come back so I could be happy again..."

The family picture was of her, the couple and the child who died on the tour.

I dropped the picture, closed the drawer and opened the one to the left.

Aha! There were the condominium keys.

There was only one.

I picked it up and looked at it for a couple of seconds, and I pocketed it. Better to make haste.

I walked through the ravaged door again and caught sight of the condominium.

I sprinted toward it with my fire axe, ready to strike the chains if I had to.

I took out the key and fit it into the lock on the chains. I turned the key and the door seemed to be a stone boulder, it moved to the side on its own.

I took the flashlight from my pocket and began my investigation.

From the front door, the house seemed completely normal. It looked like any old condominium would have looked. I wondered why she hesitated to give me the tour, it looked exquisite.

I creeped in, darting my flashlight back and forth. The shadow of a small child was visible in the left corridor.

I froze in my position, staring at the shadow.

The shadow seemed to stare back, motionless. It quickly moved away as if running, and I ventured down the corridor.

I turned to see the silhouette of my only son, Frederich.

"Daddy, I'm home!" I heard him proclaim.

That's what he says everyday when he gets home from school.

I briskly walked toward him. "Frederich, what are you doing here? I told you to go to sleep. This place is very dangerous."

Frederich's silhouette dissappeared only to be replaced with something I cannot describe.

It was the opposite of existence itself. That is all I can describe it as.

I propelled myself out of that room. I dropped my flashlight on the way out, only to see it dissappear into the bowels of the Anti-Being.

I dashed out the door, grabbing my fire axe as I did so.

I ran all the way across the field until I could not run anymore, and I leaped into my car and drove back home.

I walked in and checked on Frederich, who was sound asleep. He had not been disturbed one bit.

I shut the door and put a padlock on it, afraid of what might happen if I don't.

That night I dreamed.

I dreamed of the anti-being, the being of no being, the opposite of existence.

It was staring into my soul with nonexistant eyes, boring into me like the sword of a horseman.

It said something, not with language but with meaning.

It told me something I would rather not take the trouble repeating here.

I died that night. I died emotionally. I died on the inside, nothing was left of my psyche. I told Frederich to run off to an orphanage and I died.

I died.

The dreams continued on for the rest of my existance, there was no way of getting away from it. I could only attempt suicide and fail, its negative being keeping me in despair for the rest of eternity.

Please, don't go to New Age Realty.

You will become the opposite of humanity, the opposite of who you once were. You will be no more, only the darkness commands you.

I voided the contract for my house, I resorted to sleeping in the woods, where hopefully something would have the decency to kill me.

Death never came.

The Anti-Being lives on. Do not let it possess you. Do not bother looking into disasters.

It can only end up in worse than disaster.