The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMv2aXQIDl

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufatURjKmb

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYZh5bPHxG

Then comes another sound.

BANG.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ANKV9ZZSz

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHTURPNJV1

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.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoceNJ3hEcu

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.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdFVCt3rvn

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXcxhElOU4

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPajkqTl7u

I sigh. Those damn kids.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeo0wI82lS3

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

The handwriting looks familiar.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFMA4mtrJH

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.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOmEiPlJaM

I unfold the paper.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43xdTeDexa

BEHIND YOU.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk14uweJaLU

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02AQ2UxjL0

I turn around.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcScK5pagl

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.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMXrS23xpY

It isn’t human.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW06xaiaaXQ

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rpy3pYDVh

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6s54Dzcs3

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeOI25OuC3

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.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vKycjsD5B

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJGCo2GkrW

I turn around slowly.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xLu5XfYdR

It’s there, smiling.296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaycpJ13hg

Oh, fuck.

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