Terrorized by a Mutated Chimpanzee

Benjamin was strong, but he couldn’t even beat that chimpanzee.

Sebastian was slender and skinny, there’s no way he could handle it.

Panicked, I called him, desperate to tell him not to come upstairs.

But he didn’t pick up.

I sent him a voice message.

“Sebastian, don’t come up! There’s a mutated chimpanzee at the door!”

“I’ve called the fire department, just wait until they get here!”

Still, there was no reply.

Then, through the rain, a taxi pulled up downstairs.

My phone rang. It was Sebastian.

“Jessica, what nonsense are you talking about? A chimpanzee?” he said, sounding confused. “If you want to see one, wait until the weekend, I’ll take you to the zoo…”

I cut him off.

“This isn’t the zoo! It’s one of the chimps from Sophia’s research lab, it escaped and now it’s trying to skin me alive!”

“Benjamin tried to save me, he’s already dead! Don’t come up here, or you’ll die too!”

I choked back a sob, thinking Sebastian would finally understand.

But instead, after a moment of silence, he exploded in anger.

“Jessica, are you hiding a man in your apartment? And now you’re making up this chimpanzee story to cover it up? Do you think I’m a three year old? That I’m that easy to fool?”

“I even bought you a gift on this business trip and now you’re making a fool of me. I’m going upstairs right now. I’ll catch you both red-handed!”

He hung up.

I couldn’t even cry.

If Sebastian came up now, he would die for sure.

I had to stop him, somehow!

Benjamin had already been killed saving me.

I couldn’t let Sebastian suffer the same fate.

I quickly dialed him again.

“I'm getting into the elevator,” he said coldly. “If you have something to say, say it to my face.”

I broke down and screamed, “Don’t go in the elevator! Sebastian, I’m not lying, there’s really a chimp outside the door! It’s mutated and dangerously smart, normal people can’t handle it!”

“If you don’t believe me, call Sophia. The lab exploded, they’re searching for it now! There’s no need to risk your life just to prove something to me!”

Sebastian scoffed.

“Everyone knows you and Sophia grew up practically wearing the same pair of pants. Getting her to vouch for you proves nothing!”

I was frantic, desperately trying to find a way to make him believe me.

Then, a breaking news alert popped up on my phone:

[URGENT: A chimpanzee has escaped from a local research institute as of 9 p.m. tonight. It is still at large. Residents are advised to lock all doors and windows and not approach the animal if spotted.]

I froze. It was Sophia’s institute.

Without a second thought, I forwarded the alert to Sebastian.

“Even if you don’t trust me or Sophia, you believe the news, don’t you?”

“I swear on everything I own, if I’m lying, may lightning strike me down!”

Sebastian knew I valued money like life itself.

If I swore on my fortune, it meant the situation was truly dire.

Sure enough, he finally believed me.

“There’s really a chimpanzee outside your door? What are you going to do? You can’t just sit there and wait to die. I’m coming up to save you!”

I quickly stopped him.

“You’re not strong enough!”

“The fire department and institute security are on the way.”

“Find a safe place to hide. If you can’t, go to the storeroom. Just don’t get hurt!”

Sebastian finally agreed and I let out a sigh of relief.

But something still felt off.

Why was it so quiet outside the door?

I hesitated, then crept to the peephole.

All I saw was a puddle of black blood.

Where had the chimp gone?

Had it been caught already? But then, why hadn’t I heard any fighting?

Just as I was puzzling over it, a foul stench wafted into my nose.

Then a clear, sticky liquid dripped onto the back of my neck.

My mind went blank.

I instinctively looked up and what I saw would haunt me forever.