The bright light of a monitor screen was the only thing that lit up Jason’s room. He yawned and set down his controller to stretch. He had spent a good majority of his night grinding away at one of his current favorite games. Gathering materials, leveling up characters, fighting bosses, it was just another night for him. He glanced over at the digital clock on his bedside table and saw the time read 3 am. A weird shiver went down his spine anytime he saw that specific time. He had grown out of the superstitions he had as a child, but something about that specific time still managed to creep him out.
Jason reached for his controller, but stopped when he heard something from the hallway outside of his room. He glanced over at his bedroom door and caught a glimpse at the shadows of his room which brought a strange memory to his mind. Something he had not thought about in years. It was a story he had heard as a kid. One of those stories’ adults tell kids to keep them in line. The story was about a creature that would sneak into a child’s room at night and if it caught them awake, it would steal their eyes. For a few years it was effective in keeping Jason asleep, but eventually he just stopped worrying about it.
He snapped back to reality, confused by the sudden memory but deciding to mark it off as the lack of sleep getting to his head. Jason could still hear the weird noises coming from outside of his room, it was like an animal clawing at the walls. It sounded like it was further down the hallway, and closer to the kitchen of his apartment. Jason muttered a swear, knowing that it was probably another squirrel that had gotten in. Squirrel infestations got really bad around this time of year, probably because the poor things were looking for safety from the frigid cold.
He got up from his gaming chair and reached for his phone and turned on the flashlight. Quietly he opened his bedroom door and crept out into the hallway. He didn’t want to make too much noise because it would probably scare whatever had gotten inside and just make his pathetic rescue attempt futile. As Jason walked through the hallway of his apartment, he noticed something engraved on the walls. He shined his phone flashlight at the wall which revealed long jagged claw marks. Jason grumbled, knowing he would probably have to tell his landlord about this, which might raise his rent.
Jason inspected the scratches more closely, realizing they were very similar to the layout of a human hand. Five marks in total, with one lower than the others where the thumb would be. His attention was quickly taken away from the claw marks as he heard more clattering in the kitchen further ahead. He continued further down the hallway and stopped in his tracks when he felt shattered glass under his feet. He shined the phone flashlight at the floor before shining it over to the window beside him. A fist sized hole had been made in the window, like someone had punched their way in.
The ruckus in the kitchen got louder, and he shined his flashlight in that direction. Jason’s stomach churned as he saw a brief glimpse of what looked like a pale, human adjacent arm peeking out from behind the wall. Its fingers were long and bony, with sharp claws capable of making marks like the ones he saw earlier. His stomach twisted even more as he realized the arm was not moving further into the kitchen, but instead out of the kitchen.
Jason spun around and quickly ran back to his room and slammed the door behind him. He pressed the small lock in the knob and quickly rushed over to the farthest corner of his room. He needed to do something, call someone, anyone. The sound of scratching had gotten louder, and closer. Jason let out a shaky breath as he heard claws scrape down the other side of his bedroom door.
With shaky hands Jason dialed 911, constantly glancing at his bedroom door as the scratching got louder. After what felt like an eternity an emergency dispatcher picked up.
“This is 911 speaking, state your location and emergency.” A woman’s voice came through on the other end.
“Uh- There’s someone- or something that has gotten into my apartment,” Jason managed to stutter out as he glances back at his bedroom door. “I live in the Rosendale Apartments, on Mirfield Avenue.” The doorknob began to jiggle as the door shook violently, it was like the creature had gotten impatient. Jason glanced around his room, desperately trying to find a place to hide.
“Try to remain calm, what’s your name?” The dispatcher asked. Jason could hear her typing away at her keyboard on the other end of the phone.
“It’s Jason- please hurry, send someone, anyone please.”
“Okay Jason, calm down. Have you seen the intruder? Did they show any signs of aggression?”
“Yes! Yes, please hurry, its right outside my door, it’s trying to get in…” Jason looked at his bed before squirming underneath it, having to shove things out of the way to get under.
“Okay Jason, I need you to tell me where you are in your apartment and what the intruder looks like.” The woman spoke calmly on the other end. The door and the doorknob had stopped shaking now, and the apartment fell silent. Too silent.
“I’m in my room… And I- I don’t know. All I saw was its arm.” Jason whispered, keeping his focus on the door.
“Was that all you saw? Did you see anything else?”
The door burst open, slamming into the wall and knocking down a picture frame with his high school diploma in it. Jason’s breath caught in his throat as he heard the scraping of claws drag across the doorframe and walls of his room. All Jason could see from the small sliver of space under his bed was its decrepit feet as the creature crept in. He covered his mouth as he felt tears form in his eyes.
“Jason? Jason are you still there?” The dispatcher asked. Jason quickly muted the call and laid his phone down on the floor as he cautiously watched the creature’s feet. First it walked to his gaming set up and stood there for a while making weird crackling sounds before turning around and walking to another part of his room. He watched as its feet got closer to his bed, and now it was right beside his bed. It was so close he could hear its breathing.
Jason closed his eyes and prayed, prayed to anyone willing to hear. Tears slid down the sides of his face as he laid there shivering like a scared child. His breath was sporadic and shaky as he desperately tried not to make a sound. He could hear the snap and crackling of the creature as it began to crouch down. He opened his eyes, and he could now see its hands, those long, disgusting fingers and gnarly claws.
“Jason I’ve sent police to your location. Jason are you still there?” The dispatcher asked.
“Jason?”
The only response she got was the beeping from the other end as the call was cut off.