Tap. Tap. Tap.

Something was wrong. The room feels cold for a mid-September night. Impulsively, I brought my blanket over my head. 

Tap...tap...tap...tap...

Was that a knock on my door? I peered from my blanket. The room was dark lit. But I live alone. I looked around my room. Everything was in place. Nothing unusual. Shrugging it away. I went back to sleep. 

Tap...tap...tap...tap...

No. It is impossible. The sound seems to be coming under me. Beneath my bed. Must be the neighbouring cat, she always creeps up to other people's houses. I tried checking under the bed. 

But I can't move. Why I can't move? My body feels so heavy. I tried to move my limbs. No, they are stuck. I tried to move my head. It is stuck too. 

Suddenly I heard growling. Not the type of growling that your pet does. It was inhuman. It growled again. Like it was satisfied with its doing. I opened my mouth to scream. Nothing came out. Just some faint whisper of nothingness. I tried to move again. To scream. I don't want to die like this. 

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH..." I screamed and sat up on my bed. I perspired so much that my t-shirt was sticking to my body. Was that a dream? But all seems too real to be just a dream. I checked the clock. 

12.45 am. 

My throat was hoarse. Without giving much of a thought, I went down to the kitchen. As I was gulping down the cool liquid, something caught my attention. The kitchen door was open. So was the kitchen window. I noticed that every door of my kitchen appliances was open. Weirdly, every door and window of my house was open. But how? I don't remember opening any single one of them. Quickly I closed everything.

Should I call someone? The police? But what should complain about? As I turned around, a wind came gushing on my back and a shiver ran down. I turned back around.

Upon seeing the scene, blood drained up from my face. Every window and door was open. Again. But I closed them. How is this possible? Am I dreaming? Am I going insane? Is someone playing a prank on me? 

I ran to my room. I have to call someone. I closed my door behind me and looked for my phone. Where is my phone? I checked my dresser. It was lying there with notification of battery low. I ignored it and opened the lock. 

Was my mind playing tricks on me? The time displayed on the screen was 12.45 am. I checked the wall clock. The same number stared at me. May be batteries are drained out of my clock and there is some glitch on my phone. I tried to reassure myself. 

Sweat was dripping from my forehead. 

Two notifications came to my cellphone. Voice messages from my mom and work manager.

 I opened the one from work first.

 

 " Where are you for the past two days? Neither you answer your calls nor you reply to any of the emails. If you don't submit yourself within 24hrs, then we have to take some serious action towards this insincerity."

I played the second one.

"Where are you? I came to your house today. There was no one. You even left your front door open. Call me ASAP. We are all worried about you."

What is going on? What the hell are they talking about? What two past days? Mom came to my house? But I was here sleeping. I checked the date.

15 September 2020.

How it is 15? Shouldn't it be 13th? 

What is going on with me? I am going insane. Tears sprouted from my eyes and I called my mother.

Tring...tring... tring... 

Why is she not picking up? I tried calling again. But still the same result. Suddenly, the screen went pitch black and my own reflection stared at me. The battery died. I put the phone on my dresser and wore a jacket. I am not spending one more night here. I am going to my parents' home. I can't shrug off the uneasy feeling. I went to the front door and opened it. 

 The surrounding was pitch black. Maybe the light is out of the whole neighbourhood. As I abled my eyes to focus more. I spotted a familiar frame. I went near it and touched it. It was my bed. I scanned the room around me. I was in my bedroom. The dresser, the bed, the phone I kept on it, the clock that displayed 12.45 am. Everything was intact and same. I was horrified. 

I ran to the front door again and closed my eyes before entering outside. But when I opened it, I was welcomed with the same familiar sight. The bed, the dresser, the phone, the clock. I ran again to the door and tried again. Still the same.

 

I tried the kitchen door this time. Maybe I am dreaming. This is all the part of a dream. Again I was back to my bedroom. I went to the window. All I could see was darkness. Neither my eyes could perceive anything nor my ears could detect anything. I screamed.

HELP ME!! IS ANYONE HERE?!.... PLEASE HELP ME!! CAN SOMEONE HEAR ME??!

I was gifted with nothing. What is going on? What is happening to me? I cried and cried. I can't charge my phone. The power was out. I tried to escape from the windows. To scream at the top of my lungs. Nothing happens. Nobody responds. I was always welcomed back to my room. Despite all this turmoil, the clock is still displaying the same number. It was like I was stuck in another dimension. Time stops here. You can't go out and no one can come in. 

I was laying on my bedroom floor. Exhausted from all this. Mentally and physically. Tears have dried up on my face. My throat was dry and cracked up. I closed my eyes. 

Suddenly I heard growling. No, this can't be happening. The same growling, I heard in my dream. My eyes fell on the darkness under my bed. The growling came louder this time. The hairs on my back stood up. I was pale. Fear crippled me and my mouth was dry. 

From the darkness, I could see two red dots. It was his eyes. And then I saw it. He flashed his smile. The smile that stretches from the corner of its face to the another. The creepy smile that tells you that it is the last thing you are gonna see. It grew bigger and bigger. So it's dagger-like teeth. It was not an animal. It was like a human but nothing like human. I blinked my eyes. I couldn't believe this. I blinked my eyes again. No...no...no! I blinked my eyes again. 

NO! the more I blinked, the more it came nearer me. I can't blink more. He was sitting face to face to me now. And smiled deeper and more hauntingly. Teasing me to blink my eyes. I wanted to scream and push it away. But I was stuck in my position. Nothing moves. Just my eyes, dying of the dryness. 

So I closed my eyes. And swore to never open it again. Never again. And prayed for it to go away. To be left alone. His image haunts me. The lopsided grin has taken up all my mind. I was crying and begging it to go away. Everything was wrong.

The policeman came to the one storey house. He checked the address once again. Yes. He was in the right house. The owner seems to be missing. For two consecutive days. The complaint was filed by her mother. The phone went off and no answer of any of the messages. A typical missing story. He went to the front door. It was open, so he stepped inside. Everything seems normal. He checked the door and windows, they were closed. He went to the bedroom. Upon seeing the sight, he called up the station immediately. 

"I found her, she was in her bedroom. She is alive and there is no sign of assault. But she is not saying anything. I tried to ask her. She is not even opening her eyes. It would be better if you send some psychiatric help. She is also restraining to be moved. "

The policeman scanned the room and his eyes fell on the clock. 

12.46 am. Strange.

He checked his watch. The same number displayed. But it was a Sunday morning. He moved the curtains, pitch-black darkness welcomed him. He turned around and opened his cellphone. No network, a notification came. Suddenly, he heard something.

Tap...tap...tap...tap... 

The sound was coming from the bed. The girl laughed. A growling sound came beneath the bed.

Something was wrong.