Thirteen

I live out in the boondocks of nowhere, Oregon. You don't hear odd accounts from our little town very often, because nobody ever speaks up. For whatever reason, I don't know. Just like any other town, we have our secrets, and as taboo as it may be, I will share a series of the many events laced into our history forever.

The first time I saw it, I was still a Junior in high school. I was beginning to suffer from panic attacks, after strings of psychological abuse, mixed with my hypchondria. You see, I was absolutely convinced I would die if I went to bed, and I'm not sure why.

But it was.

I had always prided myself on my fearlessness for things such as monsters, the darkness, or the unknown. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I was thankful for this trait. Something felt off about the room, as if everything had come to a stand still. Sleep paralysis could be the culprit, but this was quickly brushed off as I realized I could move.

That's when I saw something shift in the doorway of my bedroom, just slightly, as if it wasn't sure it wanted to be seen. Taking a deep breath, I slowly rolled my head to my left, and looked to the doorway. There stood this tall, pale....THING. It had thin, pallid skin; such a cliche'. Whatever it was had horrid posture, slouching over, which made me figure that it was much taller than first perceived.

It had long claws, and a large mouth, pointed ears, emaciated. One big cliche', I thought to myself, recalling the many stories I've read on here, and other websites. Something goes bump in the night, and in walks the horrible thing wanting to eat my soul.

What struck me as peculiar was that it didn't seem harmful, not even when it opened it mouth and smiled at me with rows and rows of needle-like teeth. Not even when I stared into the vacant eye sockets taking up most of its face. It just...Was there, watching me. I don't know how anyone else would have handled this, maybe I was just a bit out of it, and you're going to laugh.

The first thing out of my mouth was "Good evening?".

It seemed to accept this as confirmation that I could see it, not upset or angry, or anything really. It just sat there, smiling at me. That part was unnerving from what I can recall, but at the time I was mostly curious. I figured the thing was curious as well, that was why it was here, right?

It really only felt like minutes, but we sat there for hours just watching one another, in a silent exchange of curiosity. It's smile was burned into my head all through the next day, it had walked out of the room and to God knows where around what I assumed was 5 AM.

I didn't see it again for a month or so, to my disappointment. Believing in things such as the afterlife, I assumed it was some curious astral creature.

But it did come back. This time I was fully awake, calming from a panic attack I'd had earlier. Once again, it sat in my doorway and waited for me to look at it, then it just smiled. What else could I do but let it stay? So I invited it in.

You're probably thinking I was stupid, inviting such a thing to come sit down on the bed, but I did. And it complied, seating itself on the edge of my bed and watching me, grinning, drool seeping through its teeth. And as if it were normal, I started talking to it. Partly to prove to it that I wasn't afraid, and partly out of my own interest.

"Do you have a name?" I remember eventually asking it. It responded to me, but in an unconventional manner, its mouth never moved. The name 'Thirteen' slipped into my mind, an intrusive thought. Thirteen accompanied me through the night once more, listening to me ramble along about my anxiety and issues.

It began to visit more often, and even started 'talking' back. It never told me about itself, just offering a few words in response to my questions. When I asked where it was from, it just pointed to the floor with one of its gangly fingers.

'Hell', I thought to myself, sarcastic. I was very, very wrong, though. At the time I thought I had it figured out, Thirteen, my personal demon. Ha!

Things didn't get troublesome until Thirteen started showing up during the day, craving my audience. It would trail me around the house as I went about daily activities, feeding the cats, making food, even when I went to the bathroom (I eventually got used to it). At first this wasn't an issue, Thirteen was calm enough, watching me go through the day. For a while, that's all it did, just watch. And later, it began to talk. A lot.

Thirteen started to bother me, because when I would have a friend over, or be on the phone with my family, it would do anything it could to get my attention. It's first trick was riling up my poor cats, who were capable of seeing it as well. I knew Thirteen was upset when they ran to my room, all fluffed up and wide eyed. Finally, I decided enough was enough, and I'd give it some attention to placate it.

Instead of waiting for Thirteen to just show up, I called it to me. "Thirteen, come here, we can talk."--My exact words. Nothing happened for about an hour, and then Thirteen came walking through my doorway, plopping down on the bed, looking pleased. For whatever reason, it started to scare me. That grin locked on me constantly, as if it were telling me I was a good pet, obedient. Good boy.

By then, I didn't know what to talk about, so I just watched it, and vice versa. Thirteen was like a child, pleased with itself, shit-faced grin and wriggling occasionally in elation. I then realized I could perceive it's emotions, which surprised me a little. My frustration faded, and curiosity set in once more as I tried to engage it to tell me more about itself.

It began to tell me that it was here for a reason, and that I was so silly for thinking the things I did. So it could 'read' my thoughts? Maybe. Or it was trying to trick me into thinking so. That succeeded, and I recoiled a bit, feeling stupid.

It assured me my thoughts were logical, but not correct. It was not curious about me, and it was not a demon. The most I got from Thirteen was that it was waiting. I tried to ask what it was waiting for, but it would never answer me, just grin and stare. I asked "Are you waiting for me to die?"

It shook it's head.

"Are you waiting for something bad to happen?"

Another shake.

"So what the hell are you waiting for?"

Thirteen finally answered me, I'll never forget. The words ripped through my mind, even give me goosebumps to this very day. "I'm waiting to have you for myself."

And since then, I started regretting it's visits.