The chill, dread of the unknown and the thud of Regan's heart in her ears was momentarily broken as the door opened. Vesper stood behind, looking every bit of someone woken up from their sleep. Her usual sleek straight hair was now disheveled, and her eyes were drowsy. She was wearing short pajamas.
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The realization that Regan was wearing pajamas too, was quick, but it didn't matter more than the eeriness that had erupted in her home.
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Her friend's eyes narrowed slightly after she yawned. "Regan? What are you doing here?"
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Regan felt ashamed to have woken up her friend in such hour. "Vesper, I'm sorry to have woken you up, but I need you to call the police! There's an intruder in my house!" The words tumbled out of her mouth with urgency.
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"Wait, what?!"
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"Someone is in my house, and my aunt is inside!" Regan repeated in panic, though she lowered her voice to not disturb any other neighbors. The night was silent, so people could wake up easily if odd raised voices were heard. That was the least she wanted.
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Vesper's eyes were darting around, her eyebrows furrowed, "Who could it be?" she asked, her voice more of conspirational than a direct answer.
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"Vesper, I don't have my phone. Please, just call the cops!"
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But her friend didn't call the cops. Instead, she wore her slippers and stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her.
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"Regan, come on, you must be exaggerating. How about I come in your house and check it?"
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"You don't believe me?"
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"No, but the neighborhood is generally safe, it could've been a stray cat or something," she said, placing her hand on Regan's shoulder, but then wincing and jerking it away in a flash.
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"What?" Regan asked, not understanding why she did so. She acted as if she burnt her hand.
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"Never mind," Vesper shook her head, already advancing forward, "Let's just go and check your house."
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"Vesper, no."
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"Come on."
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She followed her, and she could tell Vesper was annoyed. But a stray cat scenario? Oh, how much she hoped the silhouette on the wall had been a stray cat's shadow dancing across the street and whispering her name in her ear.
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Her palms were sweaty as they approached the house. The lights were already on, and Vesper entered carelessly, with a calmness that made Regan's insides twist. She felt something ominous rise around the very air. She could sense it, a weird, unnatural presence.
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"So, where's the intruder?" Vesper asked, gesturing with open arms at the peaceful and lovely living room and kitchen. "What's the point of waking me up over nothing?"
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Regan swallowed hard, "It was here, I swear. But of course, it had to leave now that you're here."
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Vesper rolled her eyes, "Yeah, it's just you who keeps noticing things that no one does," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
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Regan was about to answer, but sudden thuds of footsteps make her heart flinch.
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"What on earth are you both doing in the middle of the night?" Monica's voice was like a slap in the face, but one that sent both relief and unease.
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"You told me your aunt was sleeping!" Vesper hissed in her ear, making her flinch.
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"Aunt, I..."
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Vesper sighed, "Aunt Monica, look. Regan came in my house and told me an intruder had broken in here."
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"What?" Monica gasped, her tone incredulous, "Regan is this true?"
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"I swear it's true!" Regan protested, trying to make her aunt believe, "I saw the b-bathroom's door close itself, I heard noises and saw it's sh-shadow!" She hated stuttering but she was hell scared now. The eerie presence wrapped around her like an invisible mist that made her chest tighten. She somehow could sense it or him making fun of her. Or this was just fabled irrationally in her mind.
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"And why I didn't hear or saw anything?" Her aunt asked, slowly sitting on the couch, eyes flickering between her niece and Vesper.
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"Because you were sleeping!"
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"And why you weren't? I gave you these pills."
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"Pills?" Vesper asked in confusion, sitting on the sofa, her eyes searching Regan's.
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"Someone was in our house and you wanted me to sleep? I could still sense it's presence." Regan regretted saying the last sentence. The looks she earned from the two in front of her made her think she had gone crazy.
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"Whose presence?" Vesper asked, voice suddenly sharp.
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"I'm talking about that person who broke in." She referred it as a person, there weren't any better choices of words.
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"Okay girls, that's enough," Monica interrupted sternly, eyeing Regan with a reproachful face, "There's no person in our house. Vesper, get back in your house my dear. Forget about this."
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Vesper lingered for a moment, something unreadable in her face, before she stood up and mumbled a goodbye.
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"Regan, go to your room and sleep," Monica instructed as soon as Vesper was out.
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"But..."
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"No buts. Now go and sleep," her aunt's voice was an order now, sharp and cutting.
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Regan did as she was told, regardless her heart's palpilations when she came in front of the white door, the entrance to her so lovely room. She heard her aunt's heavy footsteps again, swallowed hard, and entered the room with shaking hands.
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Everything that she saw and heard there lashed in her mind. Wherever her eyes landed on the walls, illusions of shadows appeared. She was angry at her aunt for not even slightly believing and for looking like a fool in her friend's eyes.
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Yes, it wasn't something ordinary to be believed, but she could've tried.
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Regan placed her hand on the wall cautiously, her breath growing even more erratic. What if the 'thing' was still in her house, or worse, in her room? The bizarre energy lingered, and it took her fear of being watched on another level. If she had been watched before, she was even ignoring that now. The roses matter as well. Now everything was scarier than the other.
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The seconds ticked by, she knew she couldn't stay here. She was afraid to even stay in the house, the place she once considered perfect.
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She searched around the room for her iPhone frantically. It was on the bed, the screen flashing 3:13 AM and random notifications from social media.
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"Oh, God," Regan murmured, her voice shaking. She was sure what she had seen hadn't been an illusion, delusion, or an optical vision. She had seen it, had heard it. But how could she prove it to her aunt? Her thoughts were a labyrinth with a dark vague exit that would always make her think of the uncanniness that invaded her sleep. It couldn't be just a coincidence, she thought. These strange things in her house, and the icy-eyed creature in her dreams.
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The more she stayed in the room, the more danger awoke. The sense of negativity grew and she felt like suffocating. Her feet stormed her away, but she closed the door quietly, not wanting Monica to hear.
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Her hand found the light's key, but just as soon as they flickered on, in a flash, everything turned pitch black. The bulb's light faded. It was an energy problem, and it had found just the exact time to happen.
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"Damnit," Regan swore under her breath.
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She had her phone on hand, so the flashlight could be used, but the phone was dead. She couldn't fathom it, nor did she had time to analyse why or how the phone's battery drained that quickly.
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That was the last thing needed. Panic and fear spread again in her whole being.
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"Shit, that's not fair!" she whispered in frustration.
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She didn't know if her fear was coming from the darkness; after all she hadn't been very afraid of the dark before, but her mental state wasn't the best now. Her heart beat crazily and she could feel sweat prickling her forehead. What lay in the dark? What secrets did darkness hold?
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Naturally, these all made her even more frightened. It was like her fears wouldn't ever end.
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The most frustrating thing was that she couldn't see anything. The corridor's windows were shuttered and lights from the road couldn't enter. Or maybe even lights from the road had a disconnection problem.
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Regan felt something dark as she walked irrationally, having to trace.
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"No...no," she shook her head.
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Was that a creepy horror game?
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She walked, halting in her steps. She knew the way around, the corridor wasn't very big after all. But nothing could be seen in the dullness.
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Soon she imposed to stop because she hit a wall. At least that's what she thought. A wave of dread and mystery washed over her.
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Suddenly, she felt something stroking her hair. She jumped away immediately, but she couldn't see anything. Her heartbeats were out of place and her legs felt like ice. She couldn't yell or move, as if she was trapped and frozen.
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She knew something, that she would never forget this experience. Feeling like her who
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le being would be swallowed into the nothingness. Feeling like, if she dared a step, she'd fall into an infinite abyss....
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