There was no flying deer floating just outside the window, which didn’t come as much of a surprise by that point. I leaned closer to the glass and that was when I glimpsed a vaguely human-shaped figure standing amidst the darkness below.
In Covington where there was little to no light pollution, the nights could get unbelievably dark but I can remember the moon being especially bright that night. Even so, the figure below me appeared to be mostly submerged in shadow. The one feature I could make out clearly were its shimmering, slightly-too-large eyes. Eyes which seemed to gleem as the figure slowly tilted back its head to look up at the window…
…to look up at me. It’s been waiting for me. Waiting for me to look back. Waiting for me to let it inside. Let it past the only real barrier standing between my family and all those things that the darkness tries to hide from us. This was one of those things. and what it wanted was for me to let it inside. It won’t be using a door or a window, though. It’s going to use me. All it needs to do is hold my gaze long enough to…
“Joel, don’t!”
The panicked tone in my grandfather’s voice had managed to snap me out of my daze long enough to pull the curtain shut. I turned to look back at Pops, who was still mumbling vaguely ominous directions at me in his sleep.