Don't Step Out After Dark

Intruder

The wind whistled through the thick grove of trees. The moon shone brightly over the town, which was wrapped in the arms of deep sleep. The streets were empty and even the dogs had gone to sleep.

The windows of all the houses were dark. No, not all. There was one, which was lit. This window belonged to a lone house, far out in the countryside. The house was situated near the highway and was technically part of the town, although no one, except for its single resident ever visited it.

In this lone house situated among the lush green fields, there was one window which still shone brightly in the dark. The light inside was still on, and it seemed that it would be that way for a long time to come.

The man who sat inside this room yawned. It had been a tiring day for him at work, but he still had to finish some more assignments before he could hand himself over to sleep.

His only reassurance was that no one would disturb him, since he was the only resident of the house.

He lived alone.

***

Outside the house, the tall grass in the porch rustled, producing a scratchy sound. The trees swayed in the wind, leaning towards the house as if to warn it of some danger. The speed of the wind quickened, turning from a whistle to a howl.

The door of the house suddenly and silently, swung inwards, although no on had opened it. The man still continued to work upstairs, unaware of this.

A pair of muddy footprints entered the house and the door swung shut, apparently by itself.

The footprints belonged to no one. They simply kept appearing one by one. Gradually, they moved towards the stairs and started climbing.

Silently, they reached the first floor.

The footprints got quicker and quicker, as if excited at the thought of reaching the lone lit room.

They stopped at the entrance of the room. The man still didn't notice anything, because the footprints were soundless...

He continued to type away at his computer, absorbed in his work.

As abruptly they had stopped, the footprints started to move forward again. They tracked into the room and stopped behind the man's chair.

***

Outside the house, the lights in the window went out.

***

The footprints appeared again on the floor outside the room. But there was one difference now.

They had been muddy when they entered.

Now they were made up of blood.

***

Next morning, the police showed up at the house, having received a mysterious call the night before. The caller could barely be heard and had just whispered the address of the house. Strangely, the call could not be traced.

There was no dead body found.