"Close the window!" I yelled, my voice trembling . The man's head twisted unnaturally, a full one hundred and twenty degrees, its smile stretching impossibly wide, a grotesque parody of something human.
I knew it wasn't human. It never was.
"Mom, close the fcking window!" I grabbed her, shaking her out of her paralyzed state, but she stood there, her eyes wide, face ashen, frozen in place. "Sht!" I lunged for the window, hands shaking as I tried to slam it shut, but it wouldn't budge. It wouldn't let me.
"Why isn't it closing?" Panic surged through me as my heartbeat pounded in my ears. The thing outside was moving slowly, deliberately, almost gliding toward us. Its form was changing, elongating, twisting into something grotesque and wrong, limbs stretching into thorny, angular shapes that seemed to defy the very laws of nature.
As it crept closer, the dim light caught its features, revealing more of its nightmare form. My breath caught in my throat, and terror gripped me so tightly that I nearly lost control.
"What's going on in there?" Dad's voice called out, approaching us, but I threw up a hand, desperation in my voice.
"DON'T! STAY BACK!" I shouted, my voice cracking. Dad stopped in his tracks, confusion and fear across his face.
"Trish, what do we do? What is that thing?" Mom's voice broke, tears streaming down her face, her body trembling. She collapsed infront me.
"Mom! Help me close this!" I begged, my voice barely above a whisper, fear choking my words. "Please, help me."
With shaking hands, she joined me, and together we pushed against the glass with all our might. The pane felt like it was being held open by some invisible force, not budging an inch. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!!" I screamed into the night, but my cries were swallowed by the wind.
"Everyone, hide!" I yelled, bolting from the kitchen. But as I ran, my foot caught on something, and I crashed to the ground, pain shooting up my leg. "FCK! FCK!" I cursed, clutching my ankle as I struggled to stand. Dad and Kiara were already fleeing upstairs, Mom turned back, trying to lift me, but the pain was unbearable.
And then it was there, right outside the window, its hollow eyes locking onto us, its smile widening until it seemed to split its face in two. The air around us grew colder, the temperature dropping so fast that my breath turned to mist in the darkness. The whispering started, low and guttural, a chorus of voices that seemed to crawl under my skin, spreading goosebumps all over my body. We were both shaking uncontrollably, terror clawing at our insides.
"Run, Mom! Save yourself!" I cried, knowing the truth deep in my bones—once it had you in its sight, there was no escape.
"My baby…" she sobbed, refusing to let go of me, clutching me tightly as if she could protect me from whatever hellish force had descended upon us.
The lights flickered and then died, plunging us into complete darkness. The cold seeped into my bones, and I felt the bile rising in my throat, lunch threatening to spill out.
"Mom…" I whispered, tears streaming down my face. We held each other tightly. So many things I wanted to say, so many words I wanted to take back.
"I never hated you," I choked out, my voice barely audible as tears blurred my vision. I must've looked pathetic, but in that moment, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.
And then, everything went black.