The Basement Door Opens

I'm on the phone with Marcus when something moves past my living room window.

Just a shadow, but wrong. Too tall, too thin. I keep talking,

try to ignore it. Then it's at the side window. Then the back. It's circling the

house. Marcus hears the scratching through the phone and goes dead silent.

My porch light flickers. Every window now, all at once, something pressing against the glass.

I back into the hallway. The scratching stops. Total silence. Then my doorknob

starts turning, slow and deliberate. I never gave anyone a key. Marcus whispers

run, but it's too late. My basement door opens from the inside.