The Knock at 3:17

I hear a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e4sUOX2rd

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

Must be the neighbor’s kids playing pranks again.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs7JGFwa1N

I close my eyes and try to drift back to sleep.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLsWgmhi68

Then comes another sound.

BANG.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomX9zXa0h7

My eyes shoot open. My heart skips.

“What the hell?”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEXXfncW8r

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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPl7wJyXLy

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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8laHFjAkw

I press my eye to the peephole.

Nothing.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15wE4dYdxb

I slowly unlock the door and open it just enough to peek outside. The street is empty. The air is still.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJbuS5pK1P

I sigh. Those damn kids.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqir3Vxdug

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

The handwriting looks familiar.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKkDslKbDy

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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRp05IPQwc1

I unfold the paper.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAVwrOrRhz

BEHIND YOU.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwQ75PFM7q

For a second, I just stare at it. My breath catches in my throat.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNenh9tLmmq

I turn around.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZzJNjHg5o

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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwmA3jndBy

It isn’t human.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6bw5w2Tic

I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I feel frozen in place, trapped inside my own body.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQBr2iawNl

The creature tilts its head, and its smile widens. My pulse finally kicks back to life. I grab the shotgun and fire.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34MI6NyJMu

The blast echoes through the house. The creature screams, a sound like metal scraping against glass. It stumbles, and I run.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWQLn9aAvq

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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyJh5iumRc

Silence.

No footsteps. No banging.

Just a single laugh.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMTwai0Qok

I turn around slowly.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRMOX3pkqx

It’s there, smiling.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ie8NEdVmv

Oh, fuck.

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