The Night

By Stephanie Horton

I sit upright wondering what noise has startled me awake. I listen closely 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 noise.

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.

Not hearing any sound for some time, relieve washes over me as I listen, wondering if the perpetrator has left after finding whatever they were looking for. I decide to investigate downstairs, leaving the lights off. 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 door knob and turn it, the door squeaks. I jump at the sudden sound, and a cold drop 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 approaching, I decide to jump inside the closet. I 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.

A voice from the living room seeping through the 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 realization hits me, my mother and father are upstairs asleep. They weren't leaving on their trip to California until tomorrow morning.

A shudder runs 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 ticked by as I wait for sounds to waft out from the kitchen. I move out of the area behind the coats and shoes, then make my way towards the door. I press my ear against it to make sure I don't hear any noises coming from the other side. A few moments of silence pass before I decide it's safe to move.

I slowly open the door, my hands shaking as the door opens. I look through the crack to make sure no one is in the room, then I swing the door open and rush 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 any attention to my location. When no sound is heard from the other side of the door. I knock 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 begin banging on the door not caring if I draw attention to myself 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 pin hole on the center of the doorknob in case someone has an emergency and can't get out. I quickly run into my room and stumble around my dresser trying to find a paper clip among the odds and ends. I start to hear movement in the living room, no doubt one of the intruders investigating the banging noise. After finding a 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 room, 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. My hand grabs onto something wet and sticky that has a coppery odor. I try to look in the dark as I pull my hand away from whatever I touched; when I feel the weight of a hand on my shoulder. I let out a horrifying scream as I spun around to face whoever has a hold on me. I can't see, but I can feel their breath on my face as they move 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 announces. 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 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 perfectly.

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 and I can see that all the lights are on now. Someone is in the kitchen singing in a deep masculine 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 and 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 appears crazed as if something is wrong with her. The woman's mouth is too wide, 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 sweetie? You look like you've seen a ghost. Is this anyway 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 awhile to allow me time to investigate my parents room.

"Sure, honey, just don't watch anything scary, you know how horror movies affect you." She says as she hands me the remote and walks back into the kitchen. I turn the TV on to a random channel and make my 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 on the light and see blood everywhere. The walls are stained a dark red as is the white carpeted floor. I slowly walk over to the bed and see the blankets are stained a bloody red. The room smells of death, the blankets are bunched up like pillows are underneath. 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 am greeted by what appears to be my father. However, I can't be sure if it's really him, I look trying to catch any subtle change. He walks over to me, messes up my hair with his hand. I smile feeling relaxed until I notice that there is a slight red spot on his pajamas. As he exits my room I notice his pajamas are on backwards, leaving me to speculate whether he really is my dad.