So Scary 5- Within These Walls

So Scary 5- Within These Walls

James Maxwell had been one of the most important business partners of his time. In fact, he was too young to be one, and his mother used to say that he should find a girl for himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time since he was too busy in being a bachelor these days. Most of the time, he liked to go out partying with his friends and coworkers. And other times, he had sex with numerous women. Now, he wasn't sure what to think anymore after his mother just called in to say that he needed a future wife. James sighed at the thought. He was currently driving to his old partner's home for an urgent, business matter. They were on the rise of developing advanced technology when it came to selling phones on the high market. But James had other ideas on how to push his vision further. That is if the old man named John Kenneth had to say anything about it.

He arrived at John's house for the very first time. Of course, he hadn't expected a mansion as before. But there were times on how John used to occupy himself these days. The man was old enough to leave the world at peace, and add to that, he hadn't married ever since. James thought of his mother, who kept saying that he will have to marry the right woman in his prime. Because the biological clock was ticking, and James knew there wasn't any time left. So, he decided to look for a woman the next day. It was currently evening. The front yard of the house looked big that he was about to enter the mansion itself. But it only turned out to be a regular house with glass windows and the likes of his former home. And it also had high-tech security, in case if any robber gets inside it while John was currently away on a vacation or some other business.

The door opened quietly when a tall butler arrived. He was ordered to escort James after parking his car on the front. He walked out of the car, and said, "Hello there. I assume John is still here?" The butler nodded at him and said, "This way, Mr. Maxwell." James smiled at him, but the butler didn't smile back. He sure looked strange enough to be a butler at his age, but the guy looked about 40s or 50s. So, who knew what he was actually doing here when John wasn't around.

James walked inside the house. It was much spacious as he had expected before. In fact, that was when his mother had told him that he didn't need a big house as this one. He had recently joked about having too many kids once he gets married in the future. And his mother had shook her head. Sometimes, James Maxwell never learns about the true facts of marriage. After all, he was still a bachelor.

The butler brought James to the dining room. The table was longer than the one at his home. But there were food on the table as if John had expected him to eat. But James wasn't that hungry since he had a Chinese takeout. The butler told him to sit down for a while until his master came back from his "unknown" duties. The butler wouldn't say anything much to the young visitor here.

James nodded and waited. He took himself the surroundings of the dining room. How neat and tidy, he thought. And yet, the old man still wasn't married.

A few seconds later, John Kenneth finally arrived at the dining room. "Ah, James. It's nice of you to come here."

"I'm not really that hungry. I just ate Chinese food."

"Oh... Okay. You should have told me before you arrived here. Because I figured we could discuss our business matter over dinner."

"That's fine, John. Let's just get to it. Shall we?"

"You're in a hurry? Well, I hate to say it, my dear James. But you should know that the business is quite different than you would expect."

James became confused. "What do you mean different?"

"Here, let me show you. Follow me." He turned around and walked outside the dining room. James sighed and then followed him. They both went to the living room where the fireplace was still turned on. John came closer to the blank wall. What was strange was that James thought there should be something, hanging on that wall. Like an art picture or a family photo. But it was completely empty. And the wall had been white ever since the old man had bought this house.

"Um... John? What am I looking at?"

"Look closer. You'll see it for yourself." James sighed again and looked closer. He could have sworn that something had moved within those walls. He thought he was imagining it, but it sure didn't look that way. He gasped.

"What... What the hell is that?"

"My dear friend, that is a soul who was trapped inside the wall. And he's not the only one." James realized the old man was right. There were too many of them that he couldn't even count.

"So... Soul? What is this? I... I don't get it."

John sighed and looked back at his young, business partner. "James, I assure you that these are human souls being trapped inside these walls. The reason for it? It's because hell is too full to have them. So, I was sent to guard them till further instructions. The devil himself had told me to do so. And I had no other choice. But..." He paused and looked back at the blank wall. The souls kept wailing and moving around it. Like they were trying to escape from their own prison. James shivered at the thought. Of course, when John was assigned this task, he knew the outcome of what would happen if Hell became full of sinners. After all, they weren't allowed to enter heaven or have any other place to go. So, the only solution was to keep them on Earth, and that the devil had come here and did the impossible thing that mankind would not have expected. John wasn't the only person to guard these human souls. There were others like him.

"This... This is crazy. Why do you bring me here?"

"Because James... I'm dying of a liver disease. After all, I'm just an old man. Once I'm gone, I'll be with them within these walls of my own house. You could say that I'm a sinner as well." He looked back at James seriously. "And you will have to guard us."

"Me? Oh, come on. You can't expect me to do this."

"You seem to forget that without your ideas, we wouldn't have started our own company. But I'm a man of action and I expect something in return."

"Like what?"

"Like this." John came closer to the young man, and gripped his hand firmly. James screamed painfully as he felt something burning under his skin. Then he looked at his own hand, and noticed there was a mark on it. It looked like a pentagram.

"Congratulations, James. You're now the guardian of this house. If you don't do your job, the devil will come after your friends, families, or any other person whom you love the most. Do you understand?"

"Are you fuc**** serious?! This is insane!"

"As insane as it sounds, there is no other choice. We are all sinners. And someday, you will join us within these walls. Make no mistake. And please... Don't even try to get rid of it. No matter what you do, the pentagram will not go away. Once your time ends, you will pass it on to someone else."

Oh, my God. I must be dreaming here. He looked back at his hand.

"And now, I must go." He called out his butler. James looked at the tall man, arriving to the living room. He had something on his hand, and it looked like a weapon.

"Ah, thank you." James took the gun away from him, and pointed it towards his own temple. "Goodbye, James."

James tried to stop him. "No... Wait!" But John already pulled the trigger. Blood splattered against the tile floor. The butler looked away, knowing that he had to do the job as always, even though it would turn out to be a bloody mess. James became stunned.

"Mr. Maxwell..." The butler spoke after a few seconds of silence. "We must notify the others that Mr. Kenneth is dead." But James didn't seem to hear him. He just stared at the blank wall.

Next story- Metropol.