Mr. David Krum, popularly known as Mr. Krum was an assistant manager in a company .The demands of being a single parent and an assistant manager of a company meant that there were only a few moments to relax, so when it came to leaving the office and going home, it would at least take him three hours, as he even needed to buy daily supplies for his house . So, whenever possible, he would try to leave the office a little earlier than usual to avoid getting snarled into the traffic.
Mr. Krum gathered up his bag and walked purposefully towards the door to the elevator. He stretched out his arms and yawned before scratching his bald head . He didn't realise that one of his employees was laughing at him.
He stepped out of the elevator, walked over to his BMW 650i and unlocked the door, then threw his bag onto the back seat. When he drove onto the motorway, the stream of the twilight traffic was just about keeping pace with the pinstriped pedestrians who , like worker ants, were hurrying towards the nearest hole in the ground.
As his car crawled round Southampton Row, he began thinking about the weekend ahead. This weekend was going to be his ex-wife Sofia's wedding and he was invited. He scratched his scruffy beard and thought about why he hadn't fallen in love with another woman even after one year of divorce . Sofia was having an affair with her brother-in-law. and he had caught them red-handed in the bedroom... None of the women in the office wanted to be in a relationship with him and some had even made it clear that they just wanted to spend the days with him and not the nights.
Mr. Krum groaned as he came to a halt at yet another red light. He hadn't covered more than a couple of miles in forty-five minutes. He loosened his tie in frustration but then he smiled as he thought about his best friend Victor while the lights changed to green . He was soon going on a vacation to Barcelona with Vicky and his partner Luis. The only difference between him and Victor was that Vicky was gay and had been with the same man from the beginning of his love life. Victor and David had even married in the same church, but it seemed as if their oaths were stronger than his and Sofia's. He opened the glove box on the passenger side to find a snack to eat, only to find some weird advertisement papers. He was about to close it but noticed an advertisement for a restaurant. He read the details carefully and, to his surprise, he only needed to take a left turn to reach his destination. He didn't wait for a second and turned left.
Even after ten minutes of driving on that road, he wasn't able to find a single restaurant . And as the more he travelled on the road , the more marooned he felt. He was surrounded by forests. He was about to take a u-turn and go back, but suddenly got a glimpse of a cottage . He felt relieved as he could satiate his hunger. He jumped out of his car at that very instant and walked towards that cottage . As he walked into the woods, he heard the wolves howling in the distance . He looked above him towards the starry sky. The full moon shone bright high up . Time had passed a little too quickly that day.
Soon, he reached that cottage. Some lamps were lit outside it. He walked near the door, 'Aunty Crusty's Kitchen.' Mumbled Mr . Krum. It was the same restaurant he was looking for . But there was something weird about it. He knocked on the door and no reply came. Suddenly the door opened .
'Hello?' Said Mr. Krum. His voice echoed inside. There were some stairs in front of him . He got no response in return, so he started to walk . Soon he reached an enormous room with a kind of kitchen in it . The room had a window through which the moon was visible . The moonlight coming into that old , rustic room gave him the creeps .
Then he saw a woman near the kitchen shelf . The woman was wearing an archaic, brown-coloured kimono with dragons glided all over it . And her hair ... her hair was as black and bushy as Medusa's from Greek Mythology.It felt as if the woman was sharpening a knife.
'Um excuse me?' Said Mr.Krum. The woman stopped and kept it beside . 'You are welcome to Aunty Crusty's Kitchen.' replied the woman without turning . Her voice was like a grating wheel . 'You may sit.' Mr.Krum hadn't noticed the dining table in front of him as if it had appeared just a second ago. He took his seat, which was rather stinky and appeared to be smeared in blood at the edges . Then, he took out a cigar from his breast pocket, lit it and started to smoke . 'You know sir, very few people visit this place . I, I...I feel really l...lonely sometimes.' The woman gave a strange sob. 'Well, that's bad.'Replied Mr.Krum sympathetically. 'I know sir, but it is not their mistake . Actually, there are some rumors like anyone who comes here never returns .'Said the woman, who hadn't turned her face even to properly greet her guest.
Mr.Krum shifted uncomfortably in his seat thinking of a suitable reply . 'Um... miss, it has been a long time since my arrival and you haven't even served me a glass of water or the menu either.' The woman gave a shrill laugh which seemed rather unpleasant . 'Oh, there is no need for either of them .' 'Why ?' Asked Mr.Krum who was rather amused .
No sooner Mr. Krum said that, the woman freaked out. Her looks included fiery quills and scales, a reptilian tail , claws and fangs for hands and teeth , smoldering crimson eyes that lacked pupils , red sclera , yellow irises and bruised body . Mr.Krum neither moved nor did he scream , he was paralyzed with fear . ' Because the rumors are true, no one ever returns because I eat them .' Said the woman in her grating wheel like voice . Soon, Mr. Krum came to his senses and ran away.
When he started running down the stairs, he realised where his muddy shoe prints would have been were blood prints . Then, he realised his socks were soaked in blood without any reason . He broke into a cold sweat . There was no time to stop, he could see the figure of the woman coming in his direction.He dashed out of the cottage, leaving the door open behind him .After a few minutes of tirelessly running , he stopped and started panting. But then he felt a shiver run down through his spine and there was that woman coming to him ,laughing dangerously.Then he dashed away and decided not to look behind him .
Soon he reached his car, where he took a deep sigh of relief . But when he put his hand in his hip pocket, he remembered that he had left the keys in the cottage . 'Damn it!' he muttered. Sweat trickled down his temples, his heartbeat getting faster with each passing second, his adrenaline level kicking in his blood . One wrong move and his life was over . But getting the keys was important or he wouldn't be able to leave that haunted place . 'Are you okay ?' Asked someone behind him. Mr.Krum froze, his heart skipped a beat as he recognized the voice . The woman came face to face with him. 'Now you won't be able to escape my clutches.' She remarked sarcastically . But before anything more terrible could happen, he ducked and the woman slammed her face on the car window . He then sprinted in the opposite direction . After two minutes of continuous running, he turned his head to the left side and saw the woman coming in his direction , then he turned his head right and now the woman was coming from his right side. He cursed under his breath and started remembering Jesus' name . After running for a few distance he saw the woman running into him but behind the woman was a cloudy figure and the next thing Mr.Krum recalled was fainting.
When Mr. Krum woke up , he was in a hall with candles burning everywhere , near him was a huge tub made of glass and had water stored in it. In the centre was a statue of Jesus Christ, but on the walls were paintings of different gods and goddesses from different mythologies. Apart from this, the room was full of dust and a thousand years of old antique stuff.
'Where am I ?' Mr.Krum murmured to himself . 'Don't worry young man you, are safe now.' Said a stern yet kind voice behind him. Mr.Krum turned around, afraid of seeing that woman again . But to his surprise, in front of him was a tall , handsome man with blue confident eyes and blonde hair touching his shoulders . The rest of his features were hidden under his black cloak. 'Who ar... are you?' Stuttered Mr.Krum. 'Oh! Do not worry my friend . My name is Lucius and l am an exorcist.' Smiled Lucius . 'And l got rid of that woman for you .' Mr.Krum took a deep sigh of relief and satisfaction .
He looked at the grandfather clock who struck at six in the morning. ' One more thing ,do you know anything about my car?' Asked Mr.Krum hopefully . 'Yes, I parked your car outside my house after bringing you here.'Lucius handed him the keys . Mr.Krum shook hands with him and thanked him again and again for saving his life while Lucius told him the path . Finally, he came out of the house and returned safely back in his BMW650i .