I was the man of the house for the night. Our parents were away on a date- or was it a dinner party? I no longer remember.  

We heard the wind howling against the frigid windowpanes. It warned us, like an air raid siren, to remain indoors. The frozen tree branches thrashed against the building while snow rustled across the ground. A woman’s voice softly called up to us from outside. 

“Hello?” 

With our comfort shattered, we sat in silence beneath the canopy of the blanket fort we had built together. My sister grabbed my arm as we heard the voice grow louder. 

“Hello?” 

It was moving closer to the window. My sister squeezed my arm and let out a shriek. “Hello!” the woman growled. Her voice was overshadowing the wicked weather. It called to us, but now, from directly beneath the window. As we blew out the lantern in a panic, our last source of erroneous safety disappeared, fleeting into darkness. A dreadful clawing noise replaced the calls. 

Thud! 

We jumped to our trembling feet. My voice was quivering as I told my sister to stay hidden. I inched frightfully through the dark toward the window. “I’m the man of the house,” I reassured myself. My shaking hand peeled back the tiniest portion of the curtain. I lost control of my body. 

“Ah!” 

I compulsively yelled. To my horror, a woman with dark eyes peered into mine as she scaled the building. She was crawling up to us with her hands gripping the bricks. Her boots searching for a foothold, banged against the building. 

I let the curtain go but was too petrified to move. My throat closed up, my head spun in circles, and my heart beat out of my chest. 

Bang! 

 The noise continued outside. I tore a path back to my sister. I ripped my bat down, supporting the fort. I ran back to the window. I hesitated before mustering the courage to peek at the curtain.  

She was gone. 

Bang! A body hit the front door. The doorknob twisted and the lock released. “Hello, we’re back,” my parents said while stumbling in clumsily.