Through the Window

My dad has always been a nice person, making a living for my mom and I by painting houses, with the occasional construction work. However, it recently became a difficulty after he had a heart attack a month ago due to him always using to eat junk food. As a result, he tends to be around the house more, as his doctor recommended. He is a very nice man, always being able to make people laugh, minus the occasional stubbornness. But he always had a weird quirk that he did since we moved into our house.

Every day, right before it complete gets dark outside, he always looks out my window. See, we live in a house where the woods of New York is our backyard, and my room happens to have a window showing a perfect view of the woods. So if you want to see the woods, you need to look out of my window. So each evening, I am greeted by my father looking out of it. He never tells me why though, simply looking out for about 5-10 seconds, then leaving my room, off to watch TV or lay down.

I always wondered why he did this though. No one can come from the backyard, say for maybe a deer, raccoon, or any other animal you expect to find in the woods. As a result, I decided to take a crack at it one day. So while my dad was watching a episode of Cops in the living room, I let him know that I would check the window for him. My dad though for a few seconds, then gave me the thumbs up. So now I can finally see just what the hell is making my dad so paranoid for the past 6 months.

When it came to 6 P.M., the time my dad usually checked the window, I went to my room, and decided to take a peek out of my window. Nothing peculiar, just the same old plethora of trees, wrapping our house with their arms of wood. Seeing that my work was done, I decided to just report to my dad of it being nothing wrong. But just as I was about to turn away, I could’ve sworn I saw something go into the woods, a pale…thing crawl back into the overgrowth of pines. I couldn’t let my dad know about this. He would throw a fit or even have another heart attack. So when he asked if there was anything wrong, I lied that there was nothing. Surely there wasn’t a possible unholy abomination outside our house!

So the next day, I decided to quell my paranoia with DeviantArt and Youtube. But it was not very effective. I kept thinking, what was that thing. Surely it could’ve been an albino deer, but it’s eyes would’ve shined when I saw it. What I saw was only white legs retreating into the pines. Humanoid legs. To tell my dad, or not to tell my dad? That is the question. Feeling thirsty, I decided to go to the living room for a drink of water. After getting a cup of water, I checked the newspaper that happened to be on the table. The headline almost made me spit my drink: MAN MUTILATED IN OWN HOME. Apparently our neighbor’s body was found mangled in his bedroom by his wife after she returned from the bar. People suspected a homicide, but the marks on his body were like an animals, and the doors were closed. As a result, the police ruled it a cold case.

Maybe what I saw last night was the killer? It might have wanted to attack my family, but since I noticed it, it attacked easier prey. As a result, I needed to make sure we were safe. My dad has to work extra late today, and I was going to the movies with my friends. As a result, no one would watch the window. As a result, I asked my mom if she can check my window later tonight. Knowing Dad’s quirk, she agreed to my request. Now I would be able to go to the movies knowing my house was safe. So when my friends picked me up, I had no signs of dread.

I came back home at 9:17. The movie was very good, it being a horror flick. I unlocked the door, and entered my house. But all the lights were off, and there was a disgusting odor that nearly made me gag, a mix of blood and feces. Wondering what the hell was in the house with my mom, I went to the kitchen and opened the drawer. My dad always kept a spare handgun under the knives, in case there was ever an intruder. Well, even though I was only fifteen and never held a gun in my life, not even a BB, this gun would finally be used. But my moment of safety was shattered when I heard a ragged breathing noise coming from my mother’s room.

Taking the gun into my right hand, I slowly walked into my mom’s room, where the thing I saw would probably be. As I looked into the room, what I saw would stay embedded into my nightmares: my mom, on the floor in a limp state, the thing on top of her. Now I can finally see what it was. It was about a head taller than me, probably bigger due to it being crouched down and its back facing me. It was naked, being ghost white, a gray in the dark. The breathing was sickly, similar to what you would hear from a heavy smoker mixed with that woman from The Grudge. Between my mother were two, sharp rake-like claws, probably ready to hit its prey. I then coughed, the most dumbest thing I would probably do. The thing then turned its neck an unnatural angle, almost turning completely towards me. Remember how I said deer’s eyes glowed? Well, this thing’s eyes were black, all pupil, like empty pits starting into my soul. It had no nose, resembling a skeleton’s nasal cavity. Its mouth looked like it was partially melted, pale skin being where its teeth should have been. The mouth was also in a permanent smile, as if it was mocking me.

Knowing I was a threat, it began to walk towards me on all four’s, resembling a human acting as a dog. Remembering the bathroom being the only locked room in the house besides the front door, I made a run for it. The thing then followed, never making any noise except for that infernal breathing. Somehow, I was able to get to the bathroom door. As I closed the door and turned the lock, I quickly pulled out my cell phone, the thing now beginning to bang on the door. I dialed 9-1-1, telling the operator how there I was being my mom being unconscious and myself almost getting attacked by a creature. After being told the police and ambulance were on their way, I prepared the gun in my other hand. As soon as I had both of my hands on the gun, the thing made a hole in the door, it’s cadaver of a face silently grinning at me, now producing a fusion of a growling dog and a growling human. Knowing it can be my one chance, I shot it.

Emitting an abrupt screech, it fell on the floor, limp just like my mother, a bloody hole where it’s heart would’ve been. Hearing the police sirens come, I ran to the front door, feeling a sense of relief, knowing that my mother and I were not dead.

But as the ambulance took my mother and I, I saw through the bathroom window something that was impossible.

The thing was gone, only a trail of blood where its body used to be.

Credit: Vaddix Umbran