I sat up in my bed. It was the sound again, that's what woke me from my slumber. In the darkness I feel a presence. It's wants me, I can feel it. I reach over to the lamp on my bedside table and pull on the small gold chain. It dangles and hits the sides of the lamp as I let go. I look all around, high and low. I even roll over and look under my bed. Nothing. My dresser sits across from me, and beside that is an empty chair. There is nothing but the ticking of my grandmothers old grandfather clock reminding me that time has not stopped. I heard it; I know I did. I pull back my covers and get out of bed. Sound or not, I need a drink. I move my little feet down the carpeted stairwell. Every step making me regret getting out of bed. Grandma's clock is getting louder the closer I get. I step into Grandma's dark galley kitchen. Walking over to the kitchen table on at the other end, I pull a chair to the sink. My cup from earlier in the day still sits on the counter. Turning on the tap, I fill it up. Once the cup is full I bring it to my lips. My salty mouth waiting for the cool refreshment of the water. That's when I hear it. A loud, heavy, woody scraping noise; coming from upstairs. I set my cup down, not having taken a drink. I hear it again, SCRAPE. I climb down the chair and make my way to the bottom of the stairs. The clock standing right behind me. It chimes and I jump. Dong, dong, dong! It's three AM. SCRAPE. I begin to climb the stairs. With every step I hear it, SCRAPE. My heart starts to beat faster in my chest. SCRAPE. I make it to the top of the stairs. The hallway that divides my room, the bathroom, and my Grandma's room is pitch black. The only light is the one coming from my room. SCRAPE. "Grandma?" I yell. I don't get a response.
I rush to my Grandmother's room and open the door. My grandma is on the floor, pulling up the carpet. "Grandma?" She turns to look at me.
"what are you doing up?" she stands and rushes over to me.
"That's loud. What are you doing?" I rub some of the sleepiness out of my eye.
"I'm changing the carpet, darling," She says in a soft tone. I look at her, her face is soft, but it looks like she's hiding something. She runs her fingers through her white curles. Looking past her, I see a dark stain, it's too dark to tell what it is.
"In the dark, in the middle of the night?" I ask her. I continue to look past her. That's when I see something strange. I can see some carpet rolled around something, sticking out of it is some white hair.
"The important thing is that everything is fine, and everyone is safe," She tells me. Kneeling down, she continues to speak, "It's late, you should go back to bed. I'll try to be quieter."
"Okay?" I turn around and walk back to my room. I must be seeing things. It is after three AM after all. Putting the covers back in the right place, I climb back on to my bed. I grab my blankets and drape them over my legs. I reach over and turn out the light. That's when I hear a noise come from underneath my bed,
SCRAPE.
