Reset Password

Gina’s stomach threatened to empty itself as the thing’s sour earthy smell filled the bathroom where she was hiding. Crouched by the bathtub, barely concealed behind the toilet, she swallowed and held her breath while her body tried to betray her. The mass of shadows passed by the doorway as it stalked the hall outside. Long flowing tendrils of darkness trailed behind the creature. If it had turned its head, she assumed it had a head, it would easily spot her crouching behind white porcelain.

Peering around the toilet, her back pressed against the cold tub, she watched as the thing’s billowing trail of shadows stopped moving in the dark hallway. She braved a breath. She could still smell the creature, but it was further away. She eased herself out of her hiding place and to her feet. The cold tiles were silent under her as she crept towards the bathroom door. There was no sign of the thing in the hall. She checked both directions again for movement amongst the shadows before allowing herself to step out into the hallway and begin the journey toward the large steel door of her panic room.

She reached for the keypad and the attached screen came to life highlighting her with its blue glow. She entered the password on the keypad remembering how she had called her father pretentious for having it set to their family name. The screen flickered and displayed a new message. Password incorrect. She tried again, furiously typing C-O-O-M-B-S. Password incorrect. Sweat rolled down her back and she wiped clammy hands on her legs before entering the password again. She touched each letter of the password with careful certainty, pausing after each one to ensure that it had been entered correctly. Account locked, reset your password.

Her fingers scrambled for the large button displayed on the touch screen, jabbing and tapping it frantically with her fingers. She looked back up the hallway, searching for her pursuer but the bright screen had ruined her night vision and only blackness stared back. The screen flickered under the rapid drumming of her fingers and displayed a new message. Temporary Password emailed to owner. With the absence of a faint buzz from her phone, she realized that she had left it charging on her bedside table.

Pressed against the wall she slid along the hallway toward her bedroom door. Firmly against the opposite wall, she passed the open bathroom door. The abandoned hiding place appeared empty. She strained her eyes against the darkness fearfully searching for something hidden. The plunk of a water drop that fell from the faucet into the large empty tub sounded like a bomb blast in the protective silence. A shiver ran through the darkness as she pressed on. The moldy sour smell returned and grew stronger as she slid past the closed door of a linen closet and closer to her phone. The house grew darker. Her adjusted eyes were once again useless. Her heart slammed against her ribs and she was slick with sweat. The odor grew stronger and her stomach threatened to roll. She slid one hand around the door frame of the bedroom where she had first witnessed the creature step out of the empty shadows.

The rank odor filled her nose and the air grew cool and damp. She looked back down the hallway expecting to see the thing looming over her. The hall was empty, the far end illuminated by the glow of the screen outside the panic room. Steeling herself, she turned back toward the bedroom and slid around the door frame and into the empty room. She stopped, back against the open door, and stared across the room at her phone. No glowing yellow eyes were waiting for her, no entanglement of shadows wanting to consume her. She scanned the ceiling but there was no hovering void prepared to descend on her.

The smell lessened, the thing was moving away from her. She moved across the room, paying attention to the darkness around her, searching for any change. The phone was still lit when she reached it and opened her text messages. The smell of wet sour soil stung her nose. The message containing the temporary password had been read. Gina jumped with fright when the phone shook in her hand. It was another message from the panic room. The smell of rot permeated the air around her as she read the message. The password to your SecuraDoor Panic Room has been changed. Your new password is BHindU.