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The Window (pt 1)
"Goodnight Lucy," I said as I returned my gaze towards the bright screen in front of me. Lucy, my housemate, hummed in reply before she retreated into our room, closing the door behind her.
It was a Friday night – well, technically Saturday morning. I glanced at the time in the bottom right of my laptop's screen, the time showing 2:30 AM. I let out an exhausted sigh, pushing myself away from the table as I lightly stretched my arms. I looked around at the living room where I sat.
It was dark, only the light from the kitchen illuminating the small hallway that led to the door; the second bathroom and another room located by its side. I lived in an apartment-like hostel with nine other girls; Lucy, Anne, Alyssa, Hazel, Jade, Rebecca, Fawn, Nicole, Avery, and myself. And each room was divided into 4:4:2 between us.
I was up this late because I was editing a video for Jade; it was an assignment video that has to be submitted by next week. I was almost done with the video – I only had to edit a few minutes of behind the scenes bloopers so it was interesting for the lecturer to watch.
Being one of the few people who knew her way around technology, Jade had asked me to burn her video into a disk earlier that day, and I accepted her request. I even went the extra mile to edit her bloopers seeing as I didn't have anything to do – well as recovering from a sprained ankle. And it was also because I love editing.
It was a sort of passion that I discovered earlier this year – which was mainly because of how I admire YouTubers edit their videos, the way they added certain effects and amazing sounds, funny clip inserts and creative intros and outros, just so they can create their channel's content for people around the world to enjoy. I was always inspired by these YouTubers; they sacrificed a few hours in their day to record and edit their videos. Some hire an editor, but majority of these creators self-edit their videos.
It was the type of inspiration that had pushed me to dive into the YouTube creator community a few months ago. I had created a few videos that would be enjoyable for people to see, but most importantly it was worth spending time on as these videos I made would eat my day, sometimes a week to finish. However, I rarely update my channel as I didn't have a good laptop to begin with.
The device I'm currently using is a standard student laptop; it's main functions strictly to work applications and low-spec games such as Minecraft. It's quite sad that I couldn't record and upload great games such as Home Sweet Home or DreadOut on my laptop, as I fear it would crash it or even worst; fry my device. That is why I tried to find a way to create some videos while at the same time making sure my laptop would last until I finish my studies.
I let out another sigh as I run my hand into my hair. Cracking my neck to release the tension building there, I returned my gaze towards the screen. I glanced at the time once again.
2.40 AM.
"I'll just finish this bit here real quick," I muttered under my breath before I leaned close, my right hand vigorously clicking the mouse while my left hand pressed the keyboard shortcuts. I felt my eyes burning, sleepiness gnawing its way, begging me to sleep. I shook my head, refusing to give into the temptation as I was determined to finish editing the video by tonight. I also reminded myself of how I could sleep the day away tomorrow after I finished; a whole day where I can just lay in bed and venture into Dreamland.
Almost done.
And I stopped.
Not because I had finished the video, but I felt my body warming up. More specifically, I felt my back warming up, as if something was standing behind me. I glance from the corner of my eyes to see who it was. Maybe it was one of my housemates trying to surprise me; revenge for the countless times I had surprised them.
But there was no one.
I moved my shoulders a bit, trying to ease the tension I felt, the beating of my heart loud in my ears. Something was off. Some plastic bags were heard shifting in the kitchen, filling the quiet house – no, the void apartment - with light noise.
When did everything got so quiet? I wondered, now realizing that everything was still. No cricket sounds filled the night as it usually does, and not even a single vehicle – that constantly passes the road located in front of my apartment – could be heard. It felt like I was the only one to exist in this world.
Creeeeeeeeak...
There is was. A creak. I turned my head to where the noise came from; the windows at the far end of the small living room area. And sure enough, I saw it.
A hand, slowly prying opened one of the windows. I felt my heart leaped into my throat as I watch, horrified. The hand was small, as if it belonged to a child, but had blood dripping from its fingers and palm. Sharp claws protruded where its nails should've been, dark liquid tainted the tip of the sharp claws and gleamed in the dim light.
The claws scrapped against the glass, creating a light screeeek, accompanying the sounds of the opening window. It was fairly opened now, just enough to get an arm through. But instead of the arm, I watched as an eye peeked through the small opening. Its yellow coloured iris glowed from the dark beyond, moving around, examining the room before it finally stopped. And looked directly at me.
I felt my blood going cold, my heart stopped. By this point, I was frozen in my seat, unable to move or scream as I watched the eye and clawed hand moving once again; slowly prying the window opened. Cold sweat dripped from my forehead while the creaking and scrapping continued, the window opened wider and wider with each passing minute. I could feel the cool air entering my house, followed by a stench that made me sick.
It smelled like a rotting corpse.
The hand was inside now, and slowly, a foot made its way as well. Its conditioned was the same as the hand, except sharp black claws replaced where the toes would've been. It was a matter of time before this creature entered my home, showing its full form before me.
I turned my head quickly towards the room closest to me; the room Lucy had entered minutes before. If she hasn't locked the door, then I could make a dash for it. I didn't care for my injured ankle; my life was on the line here.
Without a second thought, I quickly got up and ran for the room. A loud screech could be heard from the window, followed by loud banging on the glass window. It was mad, but I could care less.
I hastily opened the door, fumbling on the doorknob as my hands were covered in cold sweat. My ears catch another screeching from the creature before loud footsteps could be heard. It was running towards me.
Tears swelled up in my eyes before I finally managed to open the door. I was about to dive into the dark room before I felt it grabbed my injured ankle. I suppressed a scream, letting out a quiet squeak instead as I felt myself being yanked away from the door and towards the window. I didn't dare to look at it; I fear for what I might see but I struggled against its burning grip. Using my good foot, I started kicking wildly at the creature, hoping that I would be able to free myself.
And it worked.
The creature's hold on my ankle loosen, and I used every ounce of energy I could muster to stand up and run towards my room. Once in, I slammed the door behind me, locking it. The creature screeched once again, and before long I felt it banging on the door, trying to force its way into my room and to capture me.
I leaned my back against the door, using my body to barricade the wooden material. I looked around the room, slowly adjusting to the darkness as I made sure there was no opened windows that the creature could get through.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It continued to bang and scrap the door. I covered my ears, trying to drown out the noise and prayed it would go away soon.
*****
"Naomi? NAOMI!" I jolted awake, eyes wide as I looked up. Jade loomed over me, her arms crossed as confusion plastered on her face. The first rays of sun light entered the room, lighting it from the darkness of the night before.
"Why are you sleeping here?" I looked around, realizing I was sitting on the floor, my body still leaned against the door. I must've fallen asleep there. I was so tired, my body ached all over and the creature-
I widen my eyes when I remembered the terrors of the night before. I hastily got up and opened the door, limping out into the living room, my heart beating rapidly once again. Jade followed me, confusion still evident in her eyes as she looked around the living room.
The space we were in was empty, my laptop still running on the table where I had left it. Everything was where it was supposed to be; nothing was amiss. All except the window.
I slowly made my way towards it; touching the opened panel and feeling the cool glass against my skin. I felt the cold, refreshing air of dawn entering our house – this time, no unpleasant stench followed it. The roads were gradually filled with people walking, and the sound of cars passing by filled the air. It looked almost a perfectly normal day, as if the terrors of the night before never happened.
But I knew, it had happened. That everything I experienced was real. The blood-stained hand reaching into the house, the glowing yellow eye beyond the darkness, the scratching and screech of the creature as it tried to capture me. But, most importantly...
Was the bloody handprint stamped against the glass window.
© Nanie Nicholas
It was a Friday night – well, technically Saturday morning. I glanced at the time in the bottom right of my laptop's screen, the time showing 2:30 AM. I let out an exhausted sigh, pushing myself away from the table as I lightly stretched my arms. I looked around at the living room where I sat.
It was dark, only the light from the kitchen illuminating the small hallway that led to the door; the second bathroom and another room located by its side. I lived in an apartment-like hostel with nine other girls; Lucy, Anne, Alyssa, Hazel, Jade, Rebecca, Fawn, Nicole, Avery, and myself. And each room was divided into 4:4:2 between us.
I was up this late because I was editing a video for Jade; it was an assignment video that has to be submitted by next week. I was almost done with the video – I only had to edit a few minutes of behind the scenes bloopers so it was interesting for the lecturer to watch.
Being one of the few people who knew her way around technology, Jade had asked me to burn her video into a disk earlier that day, and I accepted her request. I even went the extra mile to edit her bloopers seeing as I didn't have anything to do – well as recovering from a sprained ankle. And it was also because I love editing.
It was a sort of passion that I discovered earlier this year – which was mainly because of how I admire YouTubers edit their videos, the way they added certain effects and amazing sounds, funny clip inserts and creative intros and outros, just so they can create their channel's content for people around the world to enjoy. I was always inspired by these YouTubers; they sacrificed a few hours in their day to record and edit their videos. Some hire an editor, but majority of these creators self-edit their videos.
It was the type of inspiration that had pushed me to dive into the YouTube creator community a few months ago. I had created a few videos that would be enjoyable for people to see, but most importantly it was worth spending time on as these videos I made would eat my day, sometimes a week to finish. However, I rarely update my channel as I didn't have a good laptop to begin with.
The device I'm currently using is a standard student laptop; it's main functions strictly to work applications and low-spec games such as Minecraft. It's quite sad that I couldn't record and upload great games such as Home Sweet Home or DreadOut on my laptop, as I fear it would crash it or even worst; fry my device. That is why I tried to find a way to create some videos while at the same time making sure my laptop would last until I finish my studies.
I let out another sigh as I run my hand into my hair. Cracking my neck to release the tension building there, I returned my gaze towards the screen. I glanced at the time once again.
2.40 AM.
"I'll just finish this bit here real quick," I muttered under my breath before I leaned close, my right hand vigorously clicking the mouse while my left hand pressed the keyboard shortcuts. I felt my eyes burning, sleepiness gnawing its way, begging me to sleep. I shook my head, refusing to give into the temptation as I was determined to finish editing the video by tonight. I also reminded myself of how I could sleep the day away tomorrow after I finished; a whole day where I can just lay in bed and venture into Dreamland.
Almost done.
And I stopped.
Not because I had finished the video, but I felt my body warming up. More specifically, I felt my back warming up, as if something was standing behind me. I glance from the corner of my eyes to see who it was. Maybe it was one of my housemates trying to surprise me; revenge for the countless times I had surprised them.
But there was no one.
I moved my shoulders a bit, trying to ease the tension I felt, the beating of my heart loud in my ears. Something was off. Some plastic bags were heard shifting in the kitchen, filling the quiet house – no, the void apartment - with light noise.
When did everything got so quiet? I wondered, now realizing that everything was still. No cricket sounds filled the night as it usually does, and not even a single vehicle – that constantly passes the road located in front of my apartment – could be heard. It felt like I was the only one to exist in this world.
Creeeeeeeeak...
There is was. A creak. I turned my head to where the noise came from; the windows at the far end of the small living room area. And sure enough, I saw it.
A hand, slowly prying opened one of the windows. I felt my heart leaped into my throat as I watch, horrified. The hand was small, as if it belonged to a child, but had blood dripping from its fingers and palm. Sharp claws protruded where its nails should've been, dark liquid tainted the tip of the sharp claws and gleamed in the dim light.
The claws scrapped against the glass, creating a light screeeek, accompanying the sounds of the opening window. It was fairly opened now, just enough to get an arm through. But instead of the arm, I watched as an eye peeked through the small opening. Its yellow coloured iris glowed from the dark beyond, moving around, examining the room before it finally stopped. And looked directly at me.
I felt my blood going cold, my heart stopped. By this point, I was frozen in my seat, unable to move or scream as I watched the eye and clawed hand moving once again; slowly prying the window opened. Cold sweat dripped from my forehead while the creaking and scrapping continued, the window opened wider and wider with each passing minute. I could feel the cool air entering my house, followed by a stench that made me sick.
It smelled like a rotting corpse.
The hand was inside now, and slowly, a foot made its way as well. Its conditioned was the same as the hand, except sharp black claws replaced where the toes would've been. It was a matter of time before this creature entered my home, showing its full form before me.
I turned my head quickly towards the room closest to me; the room Lucy had entered minutes before. If she hasn't locked the door, then I could make a dash for it. I didn't care for my injured ankle; my life was on the line here.
Without a second thought, I quickly got up and ran for the room. A loud screech could be heard from the window, followed by loud banging on the glass window. It was mad, but I could care less.
I hastily opened the door, fumbling on the doorknob as my hands were covered in cold sweat. My ears catch another screeching from the creature before loud footsteps could be heard. It was running towards me.
Tears swelled up in my eyes before I finally managed to open the door. I was about to dive into the dark room before I felt it grabbed my injured ankle. I suppressed a scream, letting out a quiet squeak instead as I felt myself being yanked away from the door and towards the window. I didn't dare to look at it; I fear for what I might see but I struggled against its burning grip. Using my good foot, I started kicking wildly at the creature, hoping that I would be able to free myself.
And it worked.
The creature's hold on my ankle loosen, and I used every ounce of energy I could muster to stand up and run towards my room. Once in, I slammed the door behind me, locking it. The creature screeched once again, and before long I felt it banging on the door, trying to force its way into my room and to capture me.
I leaned my back against the door, using my body to barricade the wooden material. I looked around the room, slowly adjusting to the darkness as I made sure there was no opened windows that the creature could get through.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It continued to bang and scrap the door. I covered my ears, trying to drown out the noise and prayed it would go away soon.
*****
"Naomi? NAOMI!" I jolted awake, eyes wide as I looked up. Jade loomed over me, her arms crossed as confusion plastered on her face. The first rays of sun light entered the room, lighting it from the darkness of the night before.
"Why are you sleeping here?" I looked around, realizing I was sitting on the floor, my body still leaned against the door. I must've fallen asleep there. I was so tired, my body ached all over and the creature-
I widen my eyes when I remembered the terrors of the night before. I hastily got up and opened the door, limping out into the living room, my heart beating rapidly once again. Jade followed me, confusion still evident in her eyes as she looked around the living room.
The space we were in was empty, my laptop still running on the table where I had left it. Everything was where it was supposed to be; nothing was amiss. All except the window.
I slowly made my way towards it; touching the opened panel and feeling the cool glass against my skin. I felt the cold, refreshing air of dawn entering our house – this time, no unpleasant stench followed it. The roads were gradually filled with people walking, and the sound of cars passing by filled the air. It looked almost a perfectly normal day, as if the terrors of the night before never happened.
But I knew, it had happened. That everything I experienced was real. The blood-stained hand reaching into the house, the glowing yellow eye beyond the darkness, the scratching and screech of the creature as it tried to capture me. But, most importantly...
Was the bloody handprint stamped against the glass window.
© Nanie Nicholas
