Reader Beware

Shadow-man

It was five years ago when I experienced the chilling encounter. I don't like to talk about it much, for I feel that bringing him up might bring him back. Just thinking about it causes my skin crawl and the ends of my hairs to stand. I can sometimes feel his presence behind me, but like always, he's never there.

I've lived in that house for a couple of years before the incident. It was a nice house, big enough for my family of three and Buster, my new puppy I had gotten for my birthday. There were never any signs of the house having a bad history or anything. At least, from what my parents told me.

It began with small bumps on the walls, simple things that could be rationally explained. But as time progressed, it began to worsen.

I remember the day it all came down. I had already told my father about the bumps I've been hearing in the walls the previous nights, but he just said it was something with the pipes. I believed him and just kept on going thinking that he knew everything.

****
I had just gotten home from school and called out to my parents. No reply. I figured my father had stayed at work a couple of hours, like he usually did, trying to finish up on a big project his job had given him. My mother was at the store getting some groceries we needed. It was just me and Buster at that moment. Alone with no one else around. Or so we thought.

I walked into my room upstairs, throwing my bag on my floor, taking my shoes off, and landing on my bed with a big sigh. I called for Buster and quickly heard him running through each room looking for me. I then began to hear him barking. I called for him again but he just kept barking at whatever it is that he saw, probably saw a squirrel at the window or something, who knew.

About five minutes had passed and Buster kept on barking. I got up and went to him, looking to see what he was barking at. I found him in outside the bathroom barking at nothing. I laughed and picked him up telling him there was nothing there. I brought him to my room and played around with him for a bit before I would begin my homework.

That's when I heard a bang. Buster began to growl, something he didn't do often unless you were playing tug-of-war with him. I slowly got up and called out, "Mom? Dad?", but there was no response. I walked out into the hallway and downstairs looking to see where the noise had come from. There was nothing. I began to feel like I had imagined it or something, but something didn't feel right. I heard a door close from upstairs and thought that one of my parents must've gotten home and I missed them coming in. I went upstairs and saw the bathroom door closed and the light was on. I could see the shadows from the bottom of the door showing that someone was indeed there.

"Mom?" I called again, which was followed by only silence. I knocked on the door, nothing, but I could hear heavy breathing coming from inside. My heart began to beat faster and faster as my hands began to get sweaty. Something was definitely not right.

I leaped when I heard the front door open followed by the soothing voice of my mother, "Jack I'm home, sorry I took so long. Some old woman was fighting with the cashier about her expired coupons." She called out.

"It's fine mom. I'm upstairs.", I called from the top of stairs, opposite the bathroom door. "Dads here too, he's in the bathroom.

My mother was quiet. "Your father? He just called me saying he was coming home from work. How could he be in the bathroom?"

My heart dropped. I froze at the top of the stairs, too scared to turn around, but I did. The shadows below the bathroom door began to move and the light went out. The door slowly creaked open.

"H-he-hello?" I stammered through my quivering lips.

The bathroom door slammed wide open and all I could see was the silhouette of what seemed to be of a man.

"M-m-m-mom?" I a whispered out to my mother, not being able to speak up. She must've left to get the rest of the groceries because she didn't respond.

Buster came out from my room and began barking at the shadow-man. There was a low but powerful growl shaking the floor. Buster whimpered, and backed into the room. The dark figure stood there not making any moves. I don't know who it was, but I was not looking forward into finding out.

The figure began to laugh, a deep and spine tingling laugh. The doors began to open and close as the shadow-figured man stepped out. I stepped back, my back now against the wall. I was too afraid to run downstairs, knowing I wouldn't make it that far. The shadow-man had no true form, but looked only like black smoke forming a human figure.

I gathered enough courage and yelled out "WHO ARR YOU?" And the shadow-man rushed towards me. I covered my eyes and let out a scream.

Silence. I was too afraid to open my eyes, I didn't know if he had left or if he was waiting in front of me ready to do the worst things possible. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and felt a ice-cold breath whisper into my ear, "Death."

I screamed and pushed and kicked not knowing if I could hurt the Shadow-man or not. I heard my mom run up the stairs yelling my name. She tried to calm me down but I was still too afraid of what had just happened. My mom grabbed my face and continued to  try and calm me down telling me everything was ok.

I laid with my mother on the ground, crying, saying that I was afraid. That there was someone in the house and that we were in danger. My mother called the police and twenty minutes later they searched the house but found no evidence of an intruder.

My father didn't believe me when I explained to him what had happened. He asked me if I had taken any drugs or something. I felt appalled by what he said, and later I knew that no one would believe me. So I remained quiet and never spoke of the shadow-man who claimed he was death. I never had another encounter with the man again, and I pray that he never comes back.