Knock Knock

The sound cut through the silence of the living room. Holly looked up from her position in the armchair and closed her book. Joan, who was already standing, walked over to the window, looking to see who was on the step.

“Who is it?” Holly whispered, creeping up behind Joan, who was still looking out the window.

“There’s no one there Hol.” Joan walked over to the door and opened it. A piece of white paper fluttered to the welcome mat. Joan picked it up and closed the door, locking it behind her. 

“What does it say, Jo?” Joan opened the paper.

Many nights when I am alone, I think only of you

You are my light, my world, and my one true love

And I will be your demise, my love, for I…

I am Death and all that follows

May you rest peacefully, for I will be watching

“What is this?” The girls looked at each other before looking back at the door. 

“Are you sure there was no one outside?”

“Yeah, the entire front yard was empty and so was the street.” Joan was starting to panic, questions spilling through her mind. Who left the letter? Who was it for? What does it mean? WHO LEFT THE LETTER?

“Maybe we should call Kevin and ask him to come over.” Holly went to grab her phone, ready to call over her brother.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Joan walked over to the window, she could hear Holly talking to Kevin on the phone, and looked out at the yard. The street was empty except for the occasional car in the distance. About 15 minutes later, a car pulled into the driveway and Kevin got out.

Nothing happened for the next week or so; nothing except for Kevin’s car crash. He was fine, only some minor injuries, but no one knew who hit him. 

It was another night just like any other. Joan and Holly were home alone. Joan was in the kitchen making dinner, while Holly was finishing up some work that she didn’t get done that day at the office. 

“Hey Hol, dinner’s ready.”

“K, I’ll be there in a minute.” 

Joan put down her wooden spoon and turned on the TV, switching the channel to the weather. 

“It looks like it's gonna be cold for the next few days. We should bring in the plants in the morning.” Joan turned toward Holly as she walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah that’s a good idea. I can grab them before I go to work tomorrow.”

“K.” They sat in silence eating dinner with the TV the only noise in the house. They were almost done with dinner when they heard a knock. Joan got up and walked toward the door.

“Did you hear tha-”

Thwack

Joan spun back towards Holly, frantic. Together they both walked towards the window and looked out. There was no one in their backyard and the neighbors’ house was dark. Joan opened the window and Holly reached into their plant pot, pulling out another piece of paper. Joan closed the window and drew all of the blinds in the room. The front door was already locked so there was no reason to worry about it, but she still checked. Holly laid out the paper on the table and when Joan came back into the kitchen, Holly was already sobbing, looking for her phone, presumably to call Kevin or maybe to call the police. 

“Holly, look at me.” Holly looked up at Joan, still in hysterics. She was shaking her head, her whole body was vibrating.

“Is it bad Hol?” Holly could only nod.

Without you, I am lost, but you run from me

You try to call others, but I do not agree

I am enraged that you called that Swine over 

So I took care of him, it's a shame he can still walk

When will you learn you belong to me?

Now Joan felt like she wanted to cry as well. This guy just confessed to Kevin’s accident, he did this to Kevin because they called him. Holly walked over to the fridge and poured herself a drink. 

“Who is this guy Joan? Who is he and what does he want with us?”

“I don’t know man, maybe we should call the police.” Joan ran her hands through her hair and put her head on the table. Joan and Holly both knew calling the police would be useless- what could they do? Joan pondered these questions over the next few days and Holly tried her best to forget. 

It was a Friday after work when the next letter came. They had decided to watch a movie that night and were just setting it up. Joan was in the kitchen, she could hear Holly fighting with the TV in the living room. Joan smiled to herself as she made popcorn and grabbed some sodas from the fridge. In the living room, Holly had quieted down.

“What the Hell? JO, GET IN HERE!” Holly sounded panicked so Joan set down the food and jogged into the living room. The light on the table was on and the TV was on. 

“Take a look at this, I can’t get it off the screen!” Holly was frustrated, pounding every button on the remote to get the message off the screen. This time it was not handwritten like all the other had been, but reading it it was definitely the same person. Joan could only stare at the screen, barely processing what she was looking at. She could try to tell herself that it was just an error, their TV had them all the time, but she knew. Deep down in her gut, she knew what this was.

All will be well my love, for tonight you will be coming with me

I have waited for so long, but now you are ready

We shall be together for eternity for I control death

Sit patiently my love, I will be coming soon

Joan was barely functioning at this point. He was here or going to be here… tonight. The lights started to flicker then all at once, they went out. Holly looked around frantically before going to the lamp and trying to turn it on.

“It’s no good Holly.” Joan took off running towards the front door, stumbling through the dark hallway until she reached it. When she went to grab the doorknob her hand hit nothing. The doorknob was gone. Joan practically sprinted back into the living room.

“Holly, the doorknob is gone!” Out of breath, Joan grabbed her phone from the table and tried to call the cops. 

“Come on! COME ON!” Nothing, the screen remained black. Both girls made eye contact with each other before heading towards the only door that could still be ok, the basement door. Joan went down the stairs first. It was dark, which made the stairs more perilous than normal. When they got down the stairs they could feel a faint draft coming from the far side of the basement where the door was. Holly approached the door first, finding it open.

“Did you leave it open last time you came in this way?” Joan whispered from behind Holly.

“No.” That was all Holly had to say. Then they heard a sound coming from upstairs. Holly threw open the door and they both sprinted out, trying to put as much distance between them and the house as possible. When they were at the edge of the woods, Joan turned to look back at the house. Her breath caught in her throat, there was a large dark figure in the kitchen window. Holly followed her gaze before heading into the woods. Joan followed suit, and they ran off into the night.