The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iKjlRx6HN

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnV9POleLr4

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmdMkJC7kw

Then comes another sound.

BANG.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVVKifhLpW

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJMopnLMjM

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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTwEGPmjba

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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6S0Yrq0su

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzgzOKBHEs

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguiXjvDrOg

I sigh. Those damn kids.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4Iciz3Pph

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

The handwriting looks familiar.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNqc5eRM5S

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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfjpSWUdVJ

I unfold the paper.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbeaCqCCRB

BEHIND YOU.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5gUBQfQrA

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEfcNSN8Y0

I turn around.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXpmwYEi1U

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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7YQI3wKqf

It isn’t human.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tT2hGM3E3

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIr3uhqWjh

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSui8te838

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6mC3SonCn

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.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWOdHwY0VF

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8aC63YAD8

I turn around slowly.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeBxofjTVP

It’s there, smiling.299Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNMYH4zDBM

Oh, fuck.

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