The Shadow

TAP

He shot up out of bed from a restless sleep. The man’s senses are more acute than from the sudden wake up call. His eyes follow the black shadows dancing along the wall, his ears picking up the slightest creak from the house settling. After a few minutes, he shakes his head, his heavy eyes drifting close until he hears it again.

TAP

This time, he reaches for the baseball bat underneath his bed, grabs the flashlight next to his bed and creeps out of his room, careful to make no noise. He makes his way down the hall of the apartment, stopping at the bathroom, and shining the flashlight inside. Finding no one, he keeps going. Finally, he reaches the living room passing his flashlight along every wall in the room, so nothing is left hidden in the dark.

Only the kitchen is left unchecked.

TAP

The man gulps, and heads to the kitchen with the flashlight held out in front of him. Before he makes it there, a figure passes in front of the beam of light. The man yells, holding up his baseball bat in defense. The figure pays no notice, instead shoving past the man. He’s caught off guard, falling back against the wall. The figure yanks the door open, rushing into the moon light. The man follows the figure outside of the door.

Standing in the light of the moon with his door standing wide open behind him, the man turns to each side, holding the baseball bat up in two hands. The man finds nothing, and closes the door behind him, locking it and the dead bolt above the doorknob. After a moment, the man sighs, and heads back to bed, until a rustle from his front door catches his attention.

On the floor by the door is a note.

The man heads back to the door, picking up the note and reading it.

Thank you for the food, I’ll be back soon!

No name is signed, and the man crumples it in his hand, then throws the note away. This time, he checks every window in the living room and kitchen before heading back to his room.

In his room, the draft from his open window alerts him to the figure standing inside his room, waiting by his bed. The man turns to escape, but this time, the figure overpowers him, dragging him into its shadows and silencing his screams.