The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWuv37oK6v

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnKPdbJXeo

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKyAA0negl

Then comes another sound.

BANG.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQAKgnYl9Z

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEQzD88yUz

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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JYj5NIwet

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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlyFnWUsAS

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWjv4LJvoX

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cYw2JUy0Q

I sigh. Those damn kids.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvF88TxQ5H

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

The handwriting looks familiar.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbl9COoxgvB

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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8ykkiEFn7

I unfold the paper.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJv9KIJIEe

BEHIND YOU.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NiJWIPghC

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQefERhZ5K

I turn around.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JsoQduAli

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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCy9UqD9Ab

It isn’t human.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4dbI8jE9l

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvh9HXWdrpB

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNMdT6shgj

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2T5aPsznP

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.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoZj5SIl1f

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp1BVAfqIn

I turn around slowly.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX6iO48giI

It’s there, smiling.280Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkPGMwaMHM

Oh, fuck.

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