Only At Night

Chapter 5

Red and blue lights reflected off of Ms. Howell's home. There were many police cars around the home when Peter got there. He got out of his car and ran to the front door. Whitman stood in the doorway to the home.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"Not sure." Whitman said. "From the looks of it, she ended up like the rest." Whitman said as he nodded toward the hallway that connected the kitchen to the front door.

Laying on a small rug, was Ms. Howell. Peter walked closer and pulled out his flashlight. When he clicked it on, he froze. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at the ceiling. Blood was splattered on the floor and wall. Peter looked just below her face and nearly got sick. Her throat had been ripped out. There were claw marks on her right shoulder and hip. Her stomach was torn open. Her left arm was bent under her back, appearing to be broken. Peter stepped back, shocked with how gruesome it was. He hobbled to the front door, almost getting sick. He propped his right arm against the doorway as he doubled over.

"What's wrong Pete?" Whitman asked.

"It's so……" Peter started. "bloody."

"Well, the other ones were like this." Whitman said, confused.

"What happened to her throat?" Peter asked.

"There are bite marks around her neck, so we believe it was ripped out with by biting it." Whitman explained. "Why don't you walk around the rest of the house?"

Peter stood up, took a deep breath, and walked into the living room, which was to his left. He walked past the picture hutch and toward the kitchen. He stepped into the kitchen, his flashlight on. On the countertop sat her purse. Peter turned to go upstairs, but slammed into the basement door. Peter took a step back. He saw the door was wide open. He shined his light down there. Was is this open? He thought to himself. There was a quiet shuffle sound from the abyss.

"Hello?" He called into the darkness. "Is anyone down there?"

The house went completely quiet. Peter stared down the stairs for a second, questioning if he should go down. Something broke the silence. A low, short growl came from the basement. Thud thud thud thud! The footsteps got louder as they got closer to the top of the stairs. Peter jumped, dropping the flashlight accidentally. Peter panicked and reached for the door. It was too late. He heard it just three steps away. Peter spun around and dove over the countertop. He landed on his butt. He scooted to the counter, pressing his back up against it. The footsteps stopped as they reached the top of the stairs. He heard the floorboards creak as the thing stepped onto the wooden kitchen floor. There was another low growl. Peter peered around the edge of the countertop. There was something standing at the entrance to the basement. Whatever stood there had the shape of a human. There was long, wiry hair that hung down over its shoulders. It let out a low moan. Peter’s blood ran cold as he heard whatever it was began to sniff in the air. Peter hid behind the counter again, pressing himself up against the cabinets. Thump thump thump. There were heavy thumps as whatever it was left the kitchen. Peter looked around the countertop. There was a figure crawling away. Peter jumped up and ran to the hallway, looking for whatever it was. There was nothing but Ms. Howell's body. Peter let out an annoyed sigh.

"What's wrong Pete?" Whitman asked.

"Something came crawling in here." Peter said.

"Nothing came crawling through here." Whitman frowned. "You need sleep Pete."

Peter looked down at the ground. He saw a handprint in Ms. Howell's blood. Peter bent down and began to analyze the print. Something caught his eye. He stood up and walked to the bloody handprint. There was another print a few feet away. Peter looked and noticed there was an entire path of prints. Peter ran along the path. It led into a long hallway. Peter stopped in the hall. It continued to the closed door at the end of the hall. Peter slowly crept to the door. He stopped just outside of it. There was a shuffling sound from inside the door. Peter threw the door open. He looked inside and was instantly greeted with a slight breeze. He looked to the window against the far wall. A figure hopped out the window, landing on the grass.