I sit upright wondering what noise had startled me awake. I listen carefully and hear a noise downstairs. Thoughts and images flood my mind with all the possibilities of what could be making the noise. Did I remember to lock the front and back doors before going to bed? I ponder to myself as I hear another noise downstairs. I slowly get up and stuff my feet into my slippers. I make my way towards my closet trying not to make any noises. I step over the creaky floorboard and slowly open my closet. I anxiously open the door, hoping it doesn’t squeak this time.
My heart is beating fast and hard against my chest, I take a deep breath as the closet door opens without a sound. I let out a sigh of relief as I begin my search for my baseball bat my brother had let me have after he went off to college. After stumbling over a few random objects, my hand glides over the handle of the bat. I wrap my fingers around it and pick it up, it feels cold in my hands.
Relieve washes over me as I listen, wondering if the perpetrator has left after finding whatever they were looking for. After a few moments of hearing only silence, I decide to investigate downstairs. I make my way into the hallway and peer over the railing trying to search in the darkness for any sign of life below. Time seems to stand still as I stand there in silence trying to figure out my next move. My hands begin to shake as I hear something in the kitchen. I slowly make my way down the stairs as the noise continues. I stop moving once I make it to the closet in the living room.
I slowly open the door, hoping I could use it as a hiding place for the time being. As my hand grasps the doorknob and turns it, the door squeaks. I jump at the sudden sound and a cold drip of sweat slides down my back. I shiver at the sudden icy feeling on my back and look around hoping to find a good spot to hide. I hear footsteps coming towards me, I decide to jump into the closet and shut the door slowly behind me. I dive behind all the coats and shoes to the very back of the closet. I cover myself with the throws my mother keeps on the bottom shelf to keep myself hidden.
I soon hear a voice from the living room, “honey, are you awake? Your father and I came home early from our trip. Come on out and we’ll show you what we brought back for you.” I hear the voice of a woman that sounds like my mother, I let out a sigh and start to uncover myself from the bunch of blankets. Then I realize, my mother and father are upstairs asleep. They weren’t leaving on their trip to California until tomorrow morning.
A shudder ran through my body as the realization clicks, if my parents are upstairs, then who is in the house. The footsteps start to walk back towards the kitchen. I continue to sit in the closet waiting for the right moment to get out of my hiding place. An eternity seems to have passed as I wait for sounds to waft out from the kitchen. I move out of the area behind the coats and shoes and make my way towards the door. I press my ear against it to make sure no noises are coming from the other side. A few moments of silence pass and I decide it’s safe to move. I slowly open the door, my hand shaking as the door opens. I look through the crack to make sure no one is in the room and dash upstairs.
I make my way to my parents’ room when I see that the door is closed. I try to open the door, but soon realize it’s locked. I knock lightly not wanting to draw attention to my location when no sound is heard from the other side of the door. I hit a little louder hoping to hear someone stir from their sleep. Minutes go by and still, no sound is heard. I begin to panic, wondering if my parents are okay. I start banging on the door not caring if I draw attention to me anymore. I continue to hear nothing from the other side of the door until I realize how easy it is to pick the locks on these doors.
There’s a pinhole in the center of the doorknob in case someone has an emergency and can’t get out. I quickly run to my room and stumble around my dresser trying to find a paper clip. I start to hear movement in the living room, no doubt one of the intruders is investigating the banging noise. After seeing the paper clip, I bend it, so it’s straight and rush to my parent’s door. I slide the piece of metal into the hole and push. I hear the lock disengage, my hand rushes to the knob and turns it as quick as possible. I enter the dark bedroom, rushing to my parents’ bed. I start to hear footsteps coming up the stairs, I immediately grab onto the side of the bed that my dad usually sleeps on.
When my hand grabs onto something wet and sticky. I try to look at my hand in the dark as I pull it away from whatever it touched when I feel the weight of a hand on my shoulder. I let out a horrifying scream as I am spin around to face whatever has a hold on me. I can’t see, but I can feel a warm breath on my face as the being moves closer to me.
“What are you screaming about honey? You had us worried sick; your father is making your favorite dinner downstairs. Why don’t you come down and enjoy it with us?” The woman sounding like my mother says, my eyes quickly look at the red digital clock next to my parents’ bed and see the time reading 3:25 a.m.
I turn my focus back to the woman as she pulls me out into the hallway. I can’t seem to find my footing or strength to stop her. She continues to pull me by the hand down the stairs like I’m four years old again. Once we reach halfway down the stairs, I realize the light is on and I can see. The woman in front of me does look like my mother from behind, her hair is a light brown and she’s wearing the same clothes as my mother. We soon reach the living room, I can see that all the lights are on now. Someone is in the kitchen singing in a deep male voice as pots and pans can be heard banging around. Smells begin to drift into the room, it smells like meat pies or a stew. We stop in front of the couch, my heart stops as the woman begins to turn around and face me. Her face is distorted and does not remind me of the kind woman who raised me. She looks more crazed as if something is wrong with her. The woman’s mouth is too broad, and her eyes are too big. She is smiling at me and I want to run; her gaze is terrifying me.
I’m about to scream, but the scream gets caught in my throat. “What on earth is wrong sweaty? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is this any way to react to our return home?” The woman asks sternly but continues to smile that sinister tight smile.
Scared to upset her, I let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, is it okay if I watch TV while you and dad finish making dinner?” I ask, hoping she’ll leave me alone for a while to allow me time to investigate my parents' room.
“Sure, honey, just doesn’t watch anything scary; you know how horror movies affect you.” She says as she hands me the remote and walks back towards the kitchen. I turn the TV on to a random channel and make sure they aren’t paying attention to me. Once I see that they are busy making dinner again, I quickly make my way back upstairs into my parents’ room. I turn the light on and see blood everywhere. The walls are stained red as is the white carpeted floor. I slowly walk over to their bed and see the blankets are bloody. I start to scream when suddenly lights flood my vision and I hear a male voice.
“Is everything okay, son? Did you have a bad dream?” I sit up in my bed and try to get my vision to adjust to the light. I turn my gaze towards the voice and…
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