00:00It was supposed to be a quiet Friday night.
00:02Seventeen-year-old Maya Reynolds loved having the house to herself.
00:06Her parents had left for the weekend to visit her aunt, and with all the freedom that came
00:10from being home alone, she had planned to binge-watch her favorite shows, order pizza
00:14and catch up on homework.
00:16But by the time dusk turned into night, all of that felt trivial.
00:20The house, usually filled with life, footsteps in the kitchen, muffled arguments from the
00:24living room TV, her dad's low humming, was silent.
00:28Too silent.
00:29After ordering pizza, she settled into the living room with a blanket and her laptop.
00:34Halfway through an episode of Stranger Things she heard it.
00:37A faint click, like a door settling, or maybe she imagined it.
00:41She shook it off.
00:42When the delivery guy knocked she jumped.
00:44She opened the door, took the pizza box and closed it quickly.
00:48It wasn't until she locked the door and turned back toward the hallway that she noticed something
00:51wasn't right.
00:53The back door, the one that led to the porch, was ajar.
00:56Her stomach dropped.
00:57Her hand froze on the doorknob.
01:00Slowly she walked toward it.
01:01Her breath felt loud.
01:03Every step amplified in the silent house.
01:05The hallway lights flickered briefly.
01:08Her heart pounded like a bass drum.
01:10She reached the door.
01:11It was open just enough for a sliver of cold night air to creep inside.
01:15She nudged it open.
01:16The porch light was on.
01:18That's when she saw it.
01:19A dark, glistening pool on the wooden floorboards.
01:22Blood.
01:23It wasn't a smear or a trail.
01:25It was a pool.
01:26Deep, dark red, thick, almost black in the dim porch light.
01:30It shimmered unnaturally in the corner.
01:32For a moment she couldn't breathe.
01:34Her mouth went dry.
01:36She stumbled backward, her heel hitting the doorframe.
01:39No.
01:40No, this can't be real, she whispered.
01:42Her eyes darted around the porch, searching for something, anything, that could explain this.
01:47There were no signs of struggle, no footprints leading away, no weapon left behind.
01:53Her mind raced.
01:54A neighbor?
01:55A stray animal?
01:56A prank?
01:57Or worse?
01:58The hair on her arms stood up.
02:00She backed inside and locked the door.
02:02Her fingers trembled as she grabbed her phone.
02:05Her dad's contact stared back at her from the screen, but her thumb hovered over the call
02:09button before pulling away.
02:11What if it's nothing?
02:12What if I'm overreacting?
02:13But deep inside, something primal told her that this wasn't random.
02:18She turned off the lights and sat on the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
02:23Then the noises started.
02:25At first it was a faint creak, just like an old house stretching in the cool night air.
02:29Then another.
02:30Closer.
02:31A thump upstairs.
02:33Maya's breath hitched.
02:34She stared at the ceiling eyes wide and glassy.
02:37Every muscle in her body screamed to run, but her legs refused to move.
02:41Her phone buzzed.
02:42It was a text from her friend Zoe.
02:45You good?
02:45Haven't heard from you in a bit.
02:47Stay safe.
02:49She froze then typed back, yeah, just tired.
02:52But she couldn't shake it.
02:53The noises didn't stop.
02:55A soft scraping like claws on wood.
02:57A muffled whisper, just out of understanding.
03:00Her eyes darted to the stairway.
03:02For a long time she sat frozen.
03:04But then something pushed her toward action.
03:07If something's in the house, she thought, I need to find out.
03:10With a deep breath, she grabbed the kitchen knife from the counter and crept toward the
03:14stairs.
03:15Her bare feet were silent against the carpeted steps.
03:18Each step felt heavier than the last.
03:21Her fingers tightened around the cold metal knife.
03:23The attic door loomed at the top landing.
03:26It was shut.
03:27But then, it moved.
03:28It shuddered once as if someone inside had pushed against it.
03:32Maya's eyes went wide.
03:33Her mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out.
03:36She forced herself to climb the last few steps, one by one.
03:40Her pulse roared in her ears.
03:42She stood before the attic door, which now showed signs of something pushing against it
03:46from inside, faint scratch marks near the hinges.
03:49Her hand shook as she reached for the knob.
03:52She hesitated.
03:53What if I open it and something jumps out?
03:55What if it's already watching me?
03:57But then, a low groan from inside made her jerk her hand away.
04:01She gritted her teeth and forced herself forward.
04:04Slowly she twisted the knob.
04:05The door creaked open.
04:07The attic was dark, thick with dust and cobwebs, with an old wooden beam in the center.
04:13But the air inside was suffocating, like something had been trapped for hours.
04:17Her eyes adjusted.
04:18At first she saw nothing.
04:20Then she saw them.
04:21Two eyes.
04:22Bright.
04:23What?
04:23Yellowish.
04:24Frozen.
04:25Watching.
04:26They blinked once.
04:27A face followed.
04:28Gaunt.
04:29Hollow-cheeked.
04:30Skin stretched over bone like a mask.
04:32The lips were cracked and parted, revealing teeth stained dark red.
04:37Maya's knees buckled.
04:38The figure in the attic lifted its head slowly.
04:41It didn't speak.
04:42It just stared.
04:43For a moment, it seemed frozen in time.
04:46Then it let out a guttural sound, not quite a growl, not quite a scream.
04:50Her fingers slipped.
04:51The knife fell.
04:52The noise echoed.
04:54The figure moved.
04:55It scrambled forward, its limbs bending at unnatural angles.
04:59Maya screamed and stumbled backward, crashing into the attic doorframe.
05:03The figure burst from the darkness like a predator starved for escape.
05:07The chase through the house was a blur.
05:09She darted down the stairs, heart racing faster than ever before.
05:13Her mind screamed for an exit, but the back door, the one with blood, now sat fully open,
05:18the wind blowing through like a gaping mouth.
05:21The creature followed.
05:22Its steps were fast, deliberate, and silent.
05:25Maya ran toward the front door, but it slammed shut the instant she touched it.
05:29She spun around.
05:30The attic stairs loomed like the entrance to hell, and from them came the figure.
05:34It stopped at the foot of the stairs, breathing heavily, eyes locked on her like it could devour
05:39her hole.
05:40Maya slammed the door's deadbolt and ran for the kitchen.
05:43Her eyes darted everywhere.
05:45The garage door.
05:46The windows.
05:47Nothing seemed open.
05:49Her phone slipped from her grip.
05:51It shattered on the floor.
05:52Then silence.
05:53The creature's growl faded.
05:55The air seemed to suck itself into stillness again.
05:58Maya barely breathed.
05:59She could hear only the ticking of the clock above the stove.
06:02Minutes passed.
06:04Or maybe seconds stretched forever.
06:06The attic door upstairs creaked once more.
06:08Maya's eyes locked on it.
06:10Slowly, the door closed.
06:12She sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest, frozen in terror.
06:16The blood on the porch.
06:17The eyes in the attic.
06:19The way the door moved.
06:20The suffocating silence.
06:22Was all real.
06:23By the time dawn cracked the sky with pale light, Maya hadn't slept.
06:27She sat by the door, clutching the knife, staring blankly at the floor.
06:31Her parents called at 7am.
06:33I'm fine, she whispered, voice trembling.
06:36When they arrived hours later, they found the back door wide open, the porch stained with
06:41dried blood, and the attic door locked from the inside.
06:44They broke it open.
06:45Nothing was there.
06:46Only dust.
06:48Only cobwebs.
06:49Only silence.
06:50Maya never stayed home alone again.
06:52Sometimes at night she thinks she hears scratching from upstairs.
06:56Sometimes she wonders, did it ever leave?
06:59Or is it still hiding, waiting for the next time she's alone?
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