So I went back. It was eh-d, eh-d, eh-d, eh-dark by the time I g-got back, but I’d thought to, eh, b-bring a flashlight with me. I checked to make s-eh-sure that nobody was watching me, and then I eh-w—eh-w—eh-went through the window again. I kn-knew right away that I’d made a huge mistake. The air was eh-w, eh-w, eh-w, eh—warmer than before, even though it was, eh, F-February, but just as musty. I looked around, but the eh-w, eh-w, eh-w, eh-w, eh-w-webs were old and full of d-dust. If there eh-w-were any spiders, they were h-hiding pretty well. I eh-th, eh-th, eh-thought the most i-interesting part of my trip would be getting a-arrested.
Then I heard a s—eh-s—eh-s—eh-sound, like a rustling. It sounded like m-movement, but not much. Now, I-I’ve done as many of these eh-f-f-files as the rest of you, I kn-eh-know following the sound is a b-bad idea, but—i-it’s our job, isn’t it? I di-eh, di-eh, di-eh, didn’t want to, but I thought I should look into it. A-after all, I usually, eh, c-come out of it all right in the cartoons, right?
So I, eh, m-moved toward the sound with the light held in front of me. I-it seemed so much weaker than before. Well, you kn-know how that goes, too, i-it always seems like the, eh, the flashlight starts to d-d-die right before the, eh, the big scary monster appears behind us. I wasn’t w—eh, worried then, not, eh, not yet, so I, eh, k-kept going. The light was only just showing eh-sh—eh-sh—eh-sh—eh-shapes on the walls, and I was j-just about convinced that it was going to, eh, c-catch on a pair of g-glowing yellow eyes and I’d have to r-run. Instead, though, it fell on a fi—eh-fi—eh-fi—eh-fi—eh-fi—eh, person standing there.
I-it looked like a woman. She was eh-l—eh-l—eh-l—eh-looking away from me, facing the c-corner, with long bl—eh, black hair, although it was, eh, p-pretty dirty, so I’m not sure it was the original color. She had on a grey overcoat like, eh, like the eh-Big Bad Wolf used to wear, but her legs were bare underneath. It eh-l-looked like they were covered in spots, too. She was eh-h, eh-h, eh-holding a handkerchief, a g-green one, I remember that, but it was, eh, really badly stained. That’s honestly how I eh-kn, eh-kn, eh-knew she wasn’t a T-Toon—our handkerchiefs get w-wet, but never d-dirty. She just—stood there. Didn’t seem to n—eh, n-notice the light. I didn’t move, either, just w-waited.
Suddenly she put the handkerchief to her mouth a-and…coughed. That’s, that’s a really bad w—eh-w—eh-w—eh-w—eh-word for it, because it l-l-looked like a cough, but it eh-s, eh-s, e-eh, sounded like when, when—y-you know in the, eh, the T-Tom and J-Jerry cartoons when actually eh-c-c-catches a-and eats Jerry, and the eh-d, eh-d, eh-dog punches him in the s-stomach to get him to spit him out? I-it sounded like that. And it, i-it looked like that, too, because she sp—eh-sp—eh-sp—eh, threw something up.
I-it was—it was another of those worms. Wet, and eh-s, eh-s, eh-slimy, and moving. It eh-h-hit the ground, and I r-remembered that, you know, in the, eh, the c-cartoons where I come out u-unharmed, it’s usually because, eh, s-someone else is there to trigger the traps or catch the villains.
I screamed. I-I’m not ashamed to admit it. We’ve all d-done it, but…eh-w, eh-w, eh-well, this w-wasn’t a c-cartoon, w-was it now? This was eh-r—eh-r—eh-r—eh-real. Usually the, eh, the b-bad guy has already seen us b-before we scream, but…that’s how I got her attention.
I did not want her attention.
She sn-eh, sn-eh, sn-eh—l-looked around at me, almost as fast as a-a Toon might have. Her eyes were—b-badly drawn, is the b-best way I can, eh, p-put it. Not, not like she was being animated to be c—eh, crazy, but like the i-ink smudged at the, eh, the p-pupils. And when she smi—eh-smi—eh-smi—eh, grinned at me, her teeth were eh-ch—eh-chipped and broken. She reached up and eh-le, eh-le, eh-le—
[DEEP BREATH]
Y-you know how, when there’s a, eh, a-a fancy lady in a, a fur coat, sometimes she just—l-lets it drop? I-I think Bugs did it a few times, a-and there’s that scene in A-Anastasia…well, sh—eh-sh—eh-sh—eh, she did just th-that. The overcoat just—d-dropped away. She wasn’t eh-w, eh-w, eh-wearing anything underneath, a-and her skin was—i-it was g—eh-g—eh-g—eh-grey, and f-full of holes. Each one had a w—eh-w—eh-w—eh-w-worm in it, the s-silvery ones with the b-black tips like I’d, eh, s-stepped on outside.
She eh-t, eh-t, eh-t, eh-t-took a step towards me, and I b-backed up. The w-worms started , eh, f-falling out of her in a w-eh, w-eh, w-eh—wave like eh-s-somebody pouring m-marbles out of a sack. I th-thought I should, eh, t-take a picture for you, so I was r—eh-r—eh-r—eh-reaching for my, eh, ph-phone. I-I thought you’d never believe me if I d-didn’t. E-except I dropped it. Right as I g-got the camera app up, one of the w-eh, w-eh, w-eh, w-worms sprung right at me, a-and I threw the phone at it and ran.
You know, I-I never thought about it, but…I-I think I mostly expected it would just eh-re—eh-re—eh-re—eh, reappear in my p-pocket or my a-apartment when I needed it. E-even though I’d already realized this wasn’t a c-cartoon, there was still a, eh, a-a part of me that thought it would w-work like that. So I ran for the t—eh-t—eh-t—eh-t-Tube station as fast as I could, a-and I just made it. I ch—eh-ch—eh-ch—eh-checked every inch of the seat for w-worms before I sat down.
My fl—eh-fl—eh-fl—eh-fl—eh—m-my apartment is at the other end of the N-Northern line, so by the, eh, t-time I got home I felt a b-bit safer, if completely exhausted. It’s a m-modern place, no l-eh, l-eh, l-eh, l-landline installed, so I couldn’t even c-call you. You need a phone to, eh, s-send a telegram, so I thought I’d send you an email, but I was too tired, so I just c-eh, c-collapsed into bed. I was g-going to let you know in the m-morning, m-maybe call out. I don’t how, eh, h-how long I slept for, but it was still d-dark when the kn—eh, kn—eh, knocking woke me up. A-and then it all came flooding back.
Now, I-I know some of what I did was a bit s—eh, s—eh, s—eh, s—eh, l-loony, really, but I’m not stupid. I-I know the tropes. And I know that i-if someone was, eh—eh, knocking on my door, i-it was probably her. That was also when I realized that I d—eh, d—eh, d—eh, d—eh, d-didn’t have any power. No lights, no i-internet, no n-nothing.
The knocking was s-still happening. I r-remembered that, eh, that s-statement we looked into a-a while back, with the w—eh, w—eh, w—eh, w-woman who burst into w-worms, a-and I realized it was that w-woman you told us about, eh, J-Jane Prentiss. I-it had to be. I-I didn’t have a peephole in my door, eh, b-but I looked under it, a-and I saw—I-I saw one of the worms, eh, t-trying to wriggle under it. I-I might’ve lost my mind a little. I-I stomped on it until it was d-dead, a-and then I went around and stopped up every cr—eh, cr—eh, cr—eh, cr—eh, p-place a worm might g-get in through. A-and then I just…waited.
This went on for, eh, th-thirteen days. E-every time I thought it might be s—eh, s—eh, s-safe to open my d-door, I’d hear the kn-knocking again. L-luckily there was no, eh, no p-problem with water, a-although I worried about the worms coming through the, eh, th-the pipes, a-and I had enough to eat, mostly, although I had to r—eh, ration it a bit at the end there. But I-I think the worst part was the, eh, the b-boredom. No phone, no internet, no t—eh, t-television…I only have a f-few books anymore, a-and I must have read all of them a-at least three times. I t—eh, t—eh, t-tried to remember what we kn—eh, knew about Jane P-Prentiss.