Owen woke up drenched in a cold sweat. Something had awoken him, he was sure, but he didn't know what yet. Owen wasn't a particularly deep sleeper, and waking up in the middle of the night wasn't uncommon. Tonight was different though, it was as if he knew something was off. His body reassured that thought, he knew something was not right about this. A feeling of dread weighed down on him like sandbags on his chest.
In a panicked state Owen got up and walked over to his door. He placed his hand on the knob of his bedroom door when he heard it. A rumbling sound, the sound of furniture and objects being tossed around. Had someone broken in? Owen felt the blood flowing through his veins, he felt like his heart would leap out of his chest. A feeling of immense curiosity drove him forward. Owen silently inhaled. He clutched the doorknob and swiftly swung the door open.
The familiar sight of his hallway was all it took to send an paralyzing chill down his spine. Owen drew a sharp breath. It took a moment for his brain to process what he was seeing before he could calm down. Then he realized his hallway was unchanged.
He started down the corridor. One step at a time; the end of the hallway drew nearer. The house was dead silent except for the noise and himself. As he went onwards; his thoughts went wild. Hundreds of possibilities began flooding his mind. What could happen, who could have broken in, what he would do.
Suddenly, he he froze in place. His mind exercised a thought that Owen was too terrified of to further nurture. What if it isn't somebody that broke in. But something. It was enough to completely stun him. It felt like his heart was radiating terror throughout his body with every beat. Even the thought of an unknown entity residing in his home was enough to potentially drive him mad.
Owen attempted to breathe deeply, silently coughing the air out halfway through. He had started to pick at the skin under his fingernails; partially consciously, partially unconsciously. It was as if he could feel the adrenaline seeping into his blood.
Finally, Owen continued walking down the hall. He began wincing at every change in volume coming from the noise. A primal sort of instinct was beginning to govern his actions. His body tensed. Owen's mind was now experiencing a sort of tunnel vision, there were no thoughts that were not completely relevant; He wouldn't dare question the nature of the situation, he would only think of how to get out.
He noticed now that the skin under his fingernails were now very sore, though he continued to pick at them.
When he reached the staircase he swiftly went down the stairs. At the bottom, he briefly glanced back. Owen didn't see anything up the stairs. He had been in almost complete darkness this entire time, but he dared not turn on a light, as if knowing that would alert something of where he was.
The noise had grown louder; he could infer the noise was coming from his basement.
Owen cautiously advanced down his main floor hallway. This time at a steadier pace. When he reached the end Owen grasped a door handle. The door led into his basement.
By now, he had drawn blood from under his fingernails. Skin was not meant to be picked at he realized, but that wouldn't stop him.
Owen squeezed the door handle. He wouldn't turn it, nor would he turn back around and leave. Every atom in his body urged him not to open the door. Every instinct he possessed screamed at him to turn around and run. Something malicious and twisted was behind door, and entity which he could never unsee. But Owen finally decided to twist the handle and he pushed the door open.
The sound became more distinct now that he was near the source. He determined that it was a clattering noise. Owen could not see what was causing it in the dark, but he could hear that it was coming from the corner. It was now that Owen felt completely helpless, trapped; As if turning around and leaving was no longer an option. He felt that he had awoken something, and now no matter what he did, that something would find him.
Unable to see any other options before him, Owen progressed towards the noise. About halfway there he felt the dangling cord indicating there was a light above him. He knew the only way to see what had been causing the noise.
He clutched the cord and yanked it down. With an almost satisfying click, the light turned on, flooding the room with blinding light.
At this moment Owens heart nearly stopped. Fractions of a second later Owens eyes adjusted and he could finally see the "twisted malicious entity," causing all of the noise. Now he was face to face with his monster.
It was the broken washing machine the whole time. He forgot he wasn't supposed to be using it.
