The House Intruder
I laid my head down after the lights went dark. My eyes closed as I thought of what I could be doing right now. I thought of myself cleaning, cooking, exercising, playing with my dog, and much more. I thought of every action I could have possibly done. Then, I drifted off to sleep.
I usually do that when I go to bed. I usually think of what I could be doing before I sleep, but I rarely give it my full attention. Then, it all changed one fateful night.
I had read an article on the internet about training your brain. It said that the best way to do this was to imagine things. Among the mind exercises, it listed roller coaster riding, jogging, and doing daily activities. I realized that I did one of them almost every night, but I never really imagined it. I just thought of it. I decided to do it differently tonight.
I flipped the switch to kill the lights. Then, I laid down and closed my eyes. I thought of how I should start. I decided to go inside. I imagined myself opening the front door and softly closing it, as to not awake my neighbors. Then, I walked inside my house. The fan upstairs was going, as usual. I imagined myself turning it off.
The hum from the fan stopped. I opened my eyes and looked around the ghostly-looking room. The fan had stopped humming. It was the dog. He must have pulled the plug by accident. I slowly lowered my eyelids and continued where I had stopped.
The room was too hot without the fan. I flipped it back on.
The hum started back up. Was someone in my house? I jumped out of bed and ran upstairs into the living room. The front door slammed before I reached the top. The front door was unlocked. Someone might had gotten in. I walked over and locked the door, sighing. Was I imagining it or was it real? I thought. All's well that ends well, I decided. I went back downstairs and laid in my bed, this time just drifting to sleep.
Throughout the day, the previous night's happening kept plaguing my mind. I definitely hadn't imagined it. It had to be a coincidence that the intruder decided to turn the fan on and off. It just had to be a coincidence. A very unusual coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless.
That night, I made sure to lock the door. Then, I began the nightly brain exercises. I thought of myself entering my house. Wait, the door was locked. I rolled my eyes. This had happened before. I was so forgetful sometimes. I patted my pockets, but I had no key. I must have left it inside! Luckily, I never lock the windows. I moved over to a window and silently opened it. I was mistaken for a robber once. Luckily, no one was around.
I climbed inside and saw my dog, Jack. I mouthed "Good boy!" and moved to pet him. He seemed reluctant to let me pet him, but he became his old self once he caught my scent. I decided to play a little ball with him. I found his toy and tossed it around the living room. He bounded to catch it each time.
I heard a dull thud, but dismissed it.
Then, I threw the ball downstairs. He dashed downstairs to get it.
I heard my dog run downstairs. I woke up and opened my door. He had his ball. But I took his ball away at night so he would sleep. I ran upstairs to see an empty living room. I felt a chill and saw the window was open, but that wasn't the source of the cold. It was much too warm outside. I walked over to the window and peeked out of it. No one was around. I closed it and locked it. I then walked around my house, locking every single window. That intruder was daring. Going in the window throwing the ball to distract my dog. But why didn't Jack bark? It must have been someone familiar with him. Maybe it was someone at the kennel. I shuddered. People were sick these days.
The next morning, I decided to go grocery shopping. Our town was a small town and most of the people I meet live within a mile of my house. After I dropped Jack off at the kennel, I went to the supermarket. My neighbor, Mrs. Palmer, a sweet old lady, stopped to talk to me as I went shopping.
She said that she had seen someone try to enter my house last night, but couldn't go through the door. She said he went through the window. She had almost called the cops, but he looked familiar and she thought it might have been me. Then, when he didn't come out and she saw my face out the window and no one else jumping out any other window, she was certain that it had been me.
I thanked her for the info and told her it wasn't me. I also told her nothing had been taken, but the intruder had played with Jack, which was strange. Mrs. Palmer said she'd be on the lookout for anything suspicious. I thanked her and continued on my way.
The fact that he didn't leave was what disquieted me the most. He could have left through the back window, but they were all closed. I had searched the house last night, and I didn't see a soul. Something was not right, but I wasn't ready to admit it. Not yet.
That night, I locked all the doors and windows. I even double checked them. I searched every inch of my house, just in case, and I didn't find anything unusual. I finally decided to go to rest. Tonight, I was too tired to train my brain. I fell into an uneasy sleep.
When I woke, all was right. Maybe the locked windows had deterred the intruders. Perhaps they were just the local teenagers, daring each other to do idiotic things. That would make sense. They often played with my dog at the park.
That night, I did the same thing I did the previous night. When I woke, no intruder. Slowly, the event became a dim memory and my uneasiness was soon completely gone.
Soon, I was back to training my brain. That night, I decided to skip the entering the house. That didn't make any sense. I'd be inside if I was going to do something else.
I looked around my living room. It was dimly light, just how I like it. I had left up a string of lights that seemed to float overhead in the darkness. I walked over to my stove and prepared a burner for some eggs and bacon. I went over to the cupboard that held my frying pan and took it out. I set it on the burner and put a chunk of butter in it. As I took out three eggs and several strips of bacon, the butter began to sizzle.
As I drifted off to my dreamland, I faintly heard the sound of bacon sizzling.
When I woke, I smelt bacon, pancakes, eggs, and sausage. I could hear a faint sizzle. I jumped out of bed and dashed upstairs into the kitchen. In front of me was the largest breakfast I had seen since I went to a pancake social. The table was filled with plates of bacon, pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, breakfast burritos, hashbrowns, toast, syrup bottles, and cups filled with milk and juices from orange to raspberry guava. There was pancake, bacon, and toast still being cooked.
Either someone had a key to my door and a sick sense of humor or... My door!
I ran around to my living room. The door and windows were closed and locked. How is this possible, I thought. I walked to my kitchen and finished cooking the food. I called a few of my neighbors and asked them if they wanted to have a breakfast social at my house right now. Mrs. Palmer commented that it must have taken me hours to make this much food. I replied that she had no idea. I silently added in my head that neither did I. Another neighbor said that I must have had a pay-raise to afford this much food. I just smiled and dismissed it. My inner thoughts were in turmoil. I didn't have all of this food when I went to sleep.
Someone must have a key to my house. Then why would they use the window that one time? Maybe it was different people. The other times, I had thought about the events as they happened, but this time, I didn't. I had just begun to make food when I fell asleep. Something wasn't right. This couldn't be natural. Someone or something must be doing this.
Throughout the day, several people commented on my cooking abilities. Little did they know that I could burn water almost as easily as one could burn toast. Although, once upon a time, I thought about going to culinary school, but that fell through.
That night, I decided I wouldn't think about roaming my house. However, I realized I couldn't not think about it. As I lay there, my thoughts began to go to me going around my house. Finally, I gave up and began to imagine about going around my house.
I looked around my kitchen and sighed. I was tired and I needed to go to sleep. For some odd reason, I decided to grab a knife. I decided it was for my protection. Or destruction. That thought wasn't mine. It just appeared. I wanted to go to bed. As I walked to the stairs to lead down to my bed, the kitchen just kept getting longer. It seemed like something was keeping me from getting to bed. I wanted to fight it, but I also wanted to give in and stop fighting. I finally gave in and stopped going. My vision faded and I went into a dreamless sleep.
That was unusual, I thought as I woke up. I was reflecting on what happened last night. My wanderings in my mind were almost always realistic. This time, it was almost like a dream. I had almost lost control. It was interesting to think I could have lost control of my mind before I even fell asleep.
I walked upstairs and saw a knife missing from its place. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find it. It was almost like it had disappeared. Since it was Friday, I didn't have to go to work. I went on the internet to look at the website about training your imagination to see if there were any side effects. I distinctly remember the name of the endorsing doctor, Dr. Whrinnifer. He said that a better imagination helps one in day-to-day life.
No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the website. Then, I came upon a website talking about it. I clicked on it, but received a 404 page. That was weird, but what was weirder was the complete message. It was a normal 404 page until the last bit.
It read:
I usually do that when I go to bed. I usually think of what I could be doing before I sleep, but I rarely give it my full attention. Then, it all changed one fateful night.
I had read an article on the internet about training your brain. It said that the best way to do this was to imagine things. Among the mind exercises, it listed roller coaster riding, jogging, and doing daily activities. I realized that I did one of them almost every night, but I never really imagined it. I just thought of it. I decided to do it differently tonight.
I flipped the switch to kill the lights. Then, I laid down and closed my eyes. I thought of how I should start. I decided to go inside. I imagined myself opening the front door and softly closing it, as to not awake my neighbors. Then, I walked inside my house. The fan upstairs was going, as usual. I imagined myself turning it off.
The hum from the fan stopped. I opened my eyes and looked around the ghostly-looking room. The fan had stopped humming. It was the dog. He must have pulled the plug by accident. I slowly lowered my eyelids and continued where I had stopped.
The room was too hot without the fan. I flipped it back on.
The hum started back up. Was someone in my house? I jumped out of bed and ran upstairs into the living room. The front door slammed before I reached the top. The front door was unlocked. Someone might had gotten in. I walked over and locked the door, sighing. Was I imagining it or was it real? I thought. All's well that ends well, I decided. I went back downstairs and laid in my bed, this time just drifting to sleep.
Throughout the day, the previous night's happening kept plaguing my mind. I definitely hadn't imagined it. It had to be a coincidence that the intruder decided to turn the fan on and off. It just had to be a coincidence. A very unusual coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless.
That night, I made sure to lock the door. Then, I began the nightly brain exercises. I thought of myself entering my house. Wait, the door was locked. I rolled my eyes. This had happened before. I was so forgetful sometimes. I patted my pockets, but I had no key. I must have left it inside! Luckily, I never lock the windows. I moved over to a window and silently opened it. I was mistaken for a robber once. Luckily, no one was around.
I climbed inside and saw my dog, Jack. I mouthed "Good boy!" and moved to pet him. He seemed reluctant to let me pet him, but he became his old self once he caught my scent. I decided to play a little ball with him. I found his toy and tossed it around the living room. He bounded to catch it each time.
I heard a dull thud, but dismissed it.
Then, I threw the ball downstairs. He dashed downstairs to get it.
I heard my dog run downstairs. I woke up and opened my door. He had his ball. But I took his ball away at night so he would sleep. I ran upstairs to see an empty living room. I felt a chill and saw the window was open, but that wasn't the source of the cold. It was much too warm outside. I walked over to the window and peeked out of it. No one was around. I closed it and locked it. I then walked around my house, locking every single window. That intruder was daring. Going in the window throwing the ball to distract my dog. But why didn't Jack bark? It must have been someone familiar with him. Maybe it was someone at the kennel. I shuddered. People were sick these days.
The next morning, I decided to go grocery shopping. Our town was a small town and most of the people I meet live within a mile of my house. After I dropped Jack off at the kennel, I went to the supermarket. My neighbor, Mrs. Palmer, a sweet old lady, stopped to talk to me as I went shopping.
She said that she had seen someone try to enter my house last night, but couldn't go through the door. She said he went through the window. She had almost called the cops, but he looked familiar and she thought it might have been me. Then, when he didn't come out and she saw my face out the window and no one else jumping out any other window, she was certain that it had been me.
I thanked her for the info and told her it wasn't me. I also told her nothing had been taken, but the intruder had played with Jack, which was strange. Mrs. Palmer said she'd be on the lookout for anything suspicious. I thanked her and continued on my way.
The fact that he didn't leave was what disquieted me the most. He could have left through the back window, but they were all closed. I had searched the house last night, and I didn't see a soul. Something was not right, but I wasn't ready to admit it. Not yet.
That night, I locked all the doors and windows. I even double checked them. I searched every inch of my house, just in case, and I didn't find anything unusual. I finally decided to go to rest. Tonight, I was too tired to train my brain. I fell into an uneasy sleep.
When I woke, all was right. Maybe the locked windows had deterred the intruders. Perhaps they were just the local teenagers, daring each other to do idiotic things. That would make sense. They often played with my dog at the park.
That night, I did the same thing I did the previous night. When I woke, no intruder. Slowly, the event became a dim memory and my uneasiness was soon completely gone.
Soon, I was back to training my brain. That night, I decided to skip the entering the house. That didn't make any sense. I'd be inside if I was going to do something else.
I looked around my living room. It was dimly light, just how I like it. I had left up a string of lights that seemed to float overhead in the darkness. I walked over to my stove and prepared a burner for some eggs and bacon. I went over to the cupboard that held my frying pan and took it out. I set it on the burner and put a chunk of butter in it. As I took out three eggs and several strips of bacon, the butter began to sizzle.
As I drifted off to my dreamland, I faintly heard the sound of bacon sizzling.
When I woke, I smelt bacon, pancakes, eggs, and sausage. I could hear a faint sizzle. I jumped out of bed and dashed upstairs into the kitchen. In front of me was the largest breakfast I had seen since I went to a pancake social. The table was filled with plates of bacon, pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, breakfast burritos, hashbrowns, toast, syrup bottles, and cups filled with milk and juices from orange to raspberry guava. There was pancake, bacon, and toast still being cooked.
Either someone had a key to my door and a sick sense of humor or... My door!
I ran around to my living room. The door and windows were closed and locked. How is this possible, I thought. I walked to my kitchen and finished cooking the food. I called a few of my neighbors and asked them if they wanted to have a breakfast social at my house right now. Mrs. Palmer commented that it must have taken me hours to make this much food. I replied that she had no idea. I silently added in my head that neither did I. Another neighbor said that I must have had a pay-raise to afford this much food. I just smiled and dismissed it. My inner thoughts were in turmoil. I didn't have all of this food when I went to sleep.
Someone must have a key to my house. Then why would they use the window that one time? Maybe it was different people. The other times, I had thought about the events as they happened, but this time, I didn't. I had just begun to make food when I fell asleep. Something wasn't right. This couldn't be natural. Someone or something must be doing this.
Throughout the day, several people commented on my cooking abilities. Little did they know that I could burn water almost as easily as one could burn toast. Although, once upon a time, I thought about going to culinary school, but that fell through.
That night, I decided I wouldn't think about roaming my house. However, I realized I couldn't not think about it. As I lay there, my thoughts began to go to me going around my house. Finally, I gave up and began to imagine about going around my house.
I looked around my kitchen and sighed. I was tired and I needed to go to sleep. For some odd reason, I decided to grab a knife. I decided it was for my protection. Or destruction. That thought wasn't mine. It just appeared. I wanted to go to bed. As I walked to the stairs to lead down to my bed, the kitchen just kept getting longer. It seemed like something was keeping me from getting to bed. I wanted to fight it, but I also wanted to give in and stop fighting. I finally gave in and stopped going. My vision faded and I went into a dreamless sleep.
That was unusual, I thought as I woke up. I was reflecting on what happened last night. My wanderings in my mind were almost always realistic. This time, it was almost like a dream. I had almost lost control. It was interesting to think I could have lost control of my mind before I even fell asleep.
I walked upstairs and saw a knife missing from its place. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find it. It was almost like it had disappeared. Since it was Friday, I didn't have to go to work. I went on the internet to look at the website about training your imagination to see if there were any side effects. I distinctly remember the name of the endorsing doctor, Dr. Whrinnifer. He said that a better imagination helps one in day-to-day life.
No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the website. Then, I came upon a website talking about it. I clicked on it, but received a 404 page. That was weird, but what was weirder was the complete message. It was a normal 404 page until the last bit.
It read:
WARNING:
If you have seen Dr. Whrinnifer's site and used the practices therein, you are in grave danger.
This website uses the disguise of a 404 page to hide this information.
If you have practiced Dr. Whrinnifer's suggestions for a healthy imagination, your life is in danger.
Click here to read more.
If you have seen Dr. Whrinnifer's site and used the practices therein, you are in grave danger.
This website uses the disguise of a 404 page to hide this information.
If you have practiced Dr. Whrinnifer's suggestions for a healthy imagination, your life is in danger.
Click here to read more.
I clicked the link and it took me to a simple white page with one word in black above, "think." I stared at it for a few moments until realization hit me. I closed my eyes and thought about me looking at the webpage.
I saw on the screen eight words in a foreboding sentence. "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES NO MATTER WHAT". I looked around and saw me with my eyes closed. I reached out and touched my arm.
I felt something touch my arm, but I kept my eyes closed, too afraid to disregard the warning.
I imagined myself looked back at the screen. New words were there. "If you are reading this, you are in great danger. If you can read these words, your life might very well end tonight. When you go to sleep, do not resist the urge to imagine. You will be powerless in your thoughts. You will not be able to control yourself. When you feel something touching you, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES! EVEN IF YOU FEEL STEEL PRESSED AGAINST YOUR THROAT, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES! YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED IF YOU KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED! If you look, you will die. If you make it, come to this website again. If you make it, we can help you. If you survive the night, this will end. Whatever you do, WHEN YOU ARE TOUCHED, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" It repeated those five words, "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" again and again. They started to change color. They became red. Then, the words began to run like blood, out of the screen and onto the desk
My eyes shot open. The desk was clean and website was blank but for two black words, "good luck". My heart was racing as I looked around. There was nothing here. I was alone.
That night, I locked every single door in my house. Bathroom doors and spare rooms were locked. I had the key to everything on me. I locked and covered every single window. I turned every light on. I took Jack and hid him in a room with plenty of food and water. I locked the door and laid down. The words were still imprinted in my brain. "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" It was time to sleep.
I turned off the lights and laid my head down. My thoughts instantly turned to myself upstairs. I was holding the knife. I turned around and walked through the kitchen. I began to descend down the stairs.
My eyes fluttered open. Those footsteps were real. I could faintly hear my dog whining. The room felt unnaturally cold. I closed my eyes again.
I was at the bottom of the stairs. I walked over to my room and opened my door.
I opened my eyes and rose. Jack was howling now. My door was open, still locked. My heat was racing. This was it. I laid back down.
I walked over to where I lay. That was me there, laying down. I closed the door and stood over me.
Then, I felt a touch. It touched my hand and then held it, squeezing it to the point where it seemed like my hand would burst. Don't open your eyes, I thought. Keep them closed! Then, it relaxed its grip. It began to drag its knife across my arm, its cold steel blade slowly ascending to my head. Then, it began to touch my throat. I could feel the blade marking a spot with an X. A dull, rumbling laughter began to come from the body behind the knife. I had to keep my eyes closed. The blade lifted, but it still held my hand. It almost seemed like it was trying to comfort me. No, it needed to have contact with me, in case I decided to open my eyes. It squeezed my hand again, to the point where it felt like my bones were breaking. I writhed in agony, but its firm grip kept me pinned. It was trying to get me to open my eyes. I couldn't contain my curiosity any longer. No! I thought. Don't look!
My eyes opened. I saw myself standing over me, smiling with eyes wide open, and thrusting a knife.
I saw on the screen eight words in a foreboding sentence. "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES NO MATTER WHAT". I looked around and saw me with my eyes closed. I reached out and touched my arm.
I felt something touch my arm, but I kept my eyes closed, too afraid to disregard the warning.
I imagined myself looked back at the screen. New words were there. "If you are reading this, you are in great danger. If you can read these words, your life might very well end tonight. When you go to sleep, do not resist the urge to imagine. You will be powerless in your thoughts. You will not be able to control yourself. When you feel something touching you, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES! EVEN IF YOU FEEL STEEL PRESSED AGAINST YOUR THROAT, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES! YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED IF YOU KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED! If you look, you will die. If you make it, come to this website again. If you make it, we can help you. If you survive the night, this will end. Whatever you do, WHEN YOU ARE TOUCHED, DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" It repeated those five words, "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" again and again. They started to change color. They became red. Then, the words began to run like blood, out of the screen and onto the desk
My eyes shot open. The desk was clean and website was blank but for two black words, "good luck". My heart was racing as I looked around. There was nothing here. I was alone.
That night, I locked every single door in my house. Bathroom doors and spare rooms were locked. I had the key to everything on me. I locked and covered every single window. I turned every light on. I took Jack and hid him in a room with plenty of food and water. I locked the door and laid down. The words were still imprinted in my brain. "DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES!" It was time to sleep.
I turned off the lights and laid my head down. My thoughts instantly turned to myself upstairs. I was holding the knife. I turned around and walked through the kitchen. I began to descend down the stairs.
My eyes fluttered open. Those footsteps were real. I could faintly hear my dog whining. The room felt unnaturally cold. I closed my eyes again.
I was at the bottom of the stairs. I walked over to my room and opened my door.
I opened my eyes and rose. Jack was howling now. My door was open, still locked. My heat was racing. This was it. I laid back down.
I walked over to where I lay. That was me there, laying down. I closed the door and stood over me.
Then, I felt a touch. It touched my hand and then held it, squeezing it to the point where it seemed like my hand would burst. Don't open your eyes, I thought. Keep them closed! Then, it relaxed its grip. It began to drag its knife across my arm, its cold steel blade slowly ascending to my head. Then, it began to touch my throat. I could feel the blade marking a spot with an X. A dull, rumbling laughter began to come from the body behind the knife. I had to keep my eyes closed. The blade lifted, but it still held my hand. It almost seemed like it was trying to comfort me. No, it needed to have contact with me, in case I decided to open my eyes. It squeezed my hand again, to the point where it felt like my bones were breaking. I writhed in agony, but its firm grip kept me pinned. It was trying to get me to open my eyes. I couldn't contain my curiosity any longer. No! I thought. Don't look!
My eyes opened. I saw myself standing over me, smiling with eyes wide open, and thrusting a knife.
7/26/12