The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd70T0Nyey6

I check my watch. 3:17 in the morning.

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMjIiAg98o

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6Z8aLZoLr

Then comes another sound.

BANG.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTysBdwqNv

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKetbIatom1

I get up, quietly moving to my closet and grabbing my shotgun. My hands are shaking a little, but I tell myself it’s nothing. Probably just the wind.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkkkKY5Tth

I open my bedroom door carefully. The house feels heavier at night, like the walls are holding their breath. I keep the lights off and walk toward the front door, every step measured.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Pl4a3iKZq

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5h7ryQYqdK

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWxdXZc4we

I sigh. Those damn kids.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKelSTVMtM

That’s when I notice it. A note lying on the porch.

The handwriting looks familiar.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SfLVFKAOV

I pick it up, shut the door, and lock it again. I turn on the light and sit at the table, setting the shotgun down beside me.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufGyMelNYm

I unfold the paper.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12siML03gU

BEHIND YOU.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3yvG3URiy

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxszxDHgdU

I turn around.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRnpuJ7h3d

There’s a tall figure standing in the corner. Its face is completely white, like a sheet of paper stretched too tight over bone. Its mouth is smiling, wide and wrong, its teeth wet with blood.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn4pDFlAU0

It isn’t human.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJUPa8BHae

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwflPjukwqS

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMDeBACRAU

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ594tfpbuPR

I race to my room, nearly tripping as I reload. I slam the door shut and lock it, my hands trembling so hard the gun almost slips from my grip.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gFlhkfWM8

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7pmiRJg7g

I turn around slowly.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLA3ayDIfn

It’s there, smiling.334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAtILSefXg

Oh, fuck.

ns216.73.217.9da2