creep show

Sometimes, one does stupid things. Out of nowhere, I took the liberty to look through the peephole. I mean, it was there for all to get the Goldilocks vibes and help oneself to the peepshow that was on offer. No one was around and I thought, what the hell?

As I got closer, I thought why am I doing this? What if there was something on offer, I wasn’t expecting to see? What if I am going to regret this? I dropped to my knees and steadied myself. I supposed if anyone walked in right now, they would see me in a compromising position.

I rubbed my hands on my pants and placed them on the wall to steady myself as I lowered my face so I could peer into this peephole. The glass was blurry and was showing wear and tear. Still, I strained my eyes and looked in. I tried to readjust my eyes.

The scene was fresh out of a CSI episode, like that season where that serial killer built miniature dollhouse crime scenes that matched each murder. Had I been the only to see this? There was a mutilated body lying in the middle of the lounge. The room looked very flash with so much high-tech, but I guess, that’s the way the world is going. I could see a massive television bolted to the wall, with surround sound dotted around the room. A couch took up half the room, in form of a letter C. I could see cup holders and charging cables hanging from the arms. I feel like this could be a potential crime scene from a rebooted version of CSI.

Something was moving. I could hear a whirring sound. I took a step back, looked around, rubbed my eyes then retreated to looking into the peephole. The scene had changed again. This time the television was turned on, the mutilated body had been partially moved, and someone was standing next to the peephole, leaning on the glass. I could just make out that the person was dressed in white, like those white overall things. I couldn’t see the shoes, but I imagined them wearing shoe coverings. Am I looking at the inspection of the scene?

I’m too invested to leave now. I waited for something to happen. Inspecting the scene further, I could see blood marks up the wall. If I was to assume, I bet that blood marks would align with the mutilated body. The television was mute, but I could see it was looping on a Breaking News broadcast. The newsreader looked serious, trying to deliver a news segment. Rolling across the bottom of the screen was stating a murder.

Richardson was found bludgeoned to death this morning inside his luxurious house. More to come…

Who is Richardson, I wonder?

The whirring sound kicked into gear again and this time, I stayed. I wasn’t going to move from my spot because I wanted to know what this whirring sound was. Just like that, a mechanical arm came out of nowhere and with a giant click, the current scene transitioned into a new one. It was like a giant View Master in action.

The television had stopped playing the Breaking News segment, instead, it was playing a montage of photos. I believe we are looking at Richardson’s funeral. A coffin is being wheeled into the room. No-one is present. The man that was standing next to the peephole has now transitioned into a nice suit – probably the funeral director. The man in the suit went over to the coffin and locked all the wheels so it wouldn’t roll away. Within seconds, he was wiping his eyes with his index fingers. He wasn’t the funeral director. Another couple of minutes watching this guy cry, someone has entered the picture, kicking the locks on the wheels off. In a matter of minutes, feeling for this guy, the coffin is wheeled away.

There was no mechanical arm, no whirring, no click.

The glass went dark.