The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzgcZTIy9Z

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLE9LkVMdN

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTw8UDj7hSz

Then comes another sound.

BANG.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIpeEI2unC

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIoDNbqe72

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.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWBfyBWjLL

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.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbdL2AMFQQ

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cwpS3jCrK

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfLcw0YIuu

I sigh. Those damn kids.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIAXEXNz6A

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

The handwriting looks familiar.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Rgn59GfXM

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.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZUW7bYSCa

I unfold the paper.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0dhnzFlFr

BEHIND YOU.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AjlCb1jL9

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeqfq0W85T

I turn around.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lGywDojLj

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.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvHcjJGrJ0

It isn’t human.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpluJNyEIV

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdizp3iqFVT

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtawn4E2v12

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUqBmBh5Aq

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.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡth6l4g8t6j

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIER2CJiZli

I turn around slowly.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3212oTuSzl

It’s there, smiling.281Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDLs3OOPLq

Oh, fuck.

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