The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkiSRUZT7I

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoiQkW9PDJ

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYFHbRO3UW

Then comes another sound.

BANG.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rj6d1J7wC

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWK3VvC8SPp

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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugKY0btHOP

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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCNHotpFcO

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEqssbH23G

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCo8upkBYNR

I sigh. Those damn kids.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYOFURWeE5

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

The handwriting looks familiar.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSgM4brWL2

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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoaq5SnEEV

I unfold the paper.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfhcFsaAGe

BEHIND YOU.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEhW1GV5Ua

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjEMBXCY3a

I turn around.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFnoFKsRT2

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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFWq3XFzo1

It isn’t human.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDGXD0rbxO

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0aHPhzGoU

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeWqsfw90t

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBn2Fi7SMk1

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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejRtwYHxfc

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsO9HiE8YtF

I turn around slowly.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFvdMrVsZN

It’s there, smiling.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUjgLe2ail

Oh, fuck.

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