The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIUUuVzIb6

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kz7AXqS2c

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJIBm93uKg

Then comes another sound.

BANG.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Tz0bhD5fT

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQ2A8p1GKN

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.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0OHeTtfFI

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.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFh4B6t4Fu

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Mkz7IQZWA

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLeatSCaXL

I sigh. Those damn kids.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw75XVyOixI

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

The handwriting looks familiar.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvuqyBCaj4

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.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc2QJhKnhZ

I unfold the paper.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxX63RcDMC

BEHIND YOU.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡru6mmgknbX

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOFIQIGBMJ

I turn around.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojSZu43bGk

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.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQCfsZCUDQ

It isn’t human.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfo45OVVRwj

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGqxHwhgSv

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEjyE2ZZ4l

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsV9sr5F4h

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.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXWtmiw1Gc

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1Jh18ON0k

I turn around slowly.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTenN5paRSo

It’s there, smiling.286Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6eGpSTzGJ

Oh, fuck.

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