“Knock knock,” says a strange voice as he knocks on the large house’s front door. The young boy goes to get the door; he has to look up because the man is very tall.
“Hi Mister,” the boy says.
“Hello, are your mommy and daddy home?” the man asks.
“Nope, I’m home alone like a big boy!” he exclaims.
The man smiles mischievously and gently pushes past the boy into the house.
“I’m their good friend, I will wait until they return,” he explains.
“O-okay” the young boy responds with uncertainty. He then walks back to his toys on the rug and continues to play.
The man watches him with such content that the little boy looks up and asks him his name.
“Call me Ted, what’s your name?”
“I’m Teddy,” he says with a smile. The man pauses, his mouth open, watching Teddy. Teddy once again is interested in his game, so, he doesn’t notice. Ted then stands up and begins walking around the house. He thinks to himself, “I remember this...and this...” as he looks from antique to antique around the dining room. “This is all so familiar” he continues to think to himself. Teddy then enters the room, breaking the silence.
“Um, excuse me? Please don’t touch anything, Mommy will be mad,” he says, and Ted can clearly see the fear in the boy's’ eyes.
“Mommy will be really mad...” Teddy whispers, almost silently. Ted looks down at Teddy, concerned. He places his hand hesitantly on the boy’s shoulder, nervous to scare him even more. The boy continues to mumble.
Ted kneels down and looks at Teddy; “it’s going to be alright, Teddy...” Teddy sits on the floor crying.
“Teddy, it going to be alright. Try to relax, okay?” Ted says. The little boy looks up at him and wipes his eyes.
“Can we play?” Teddy asks.
“Of course,” Ted responds. Teddy leads Ted to his Batman action figures.
“I’ll be Batman, you can be Joker, okay?” Teddy looks at him.
“Okay, Teddy.”
As they play, the sun traded places with the moon, and still, Teddy’s parents did not return. Teddy doesn't seem to notice because he’s too busy playing with Ted. The bare branches on the trees outside scrape against the window in the living room. The whirling wind picks up. And a high pitched whistling sound can be heard from outside. This doesn’t seem to faze Teddy. Ted, on the other hand, tries so hard to ignore these distinct sounds, but finds himself constantly whipping his head around every time he hears just the slightest sound. The door creaked open.
“I guess the wind is really strong,” Ted thinks. He gets up to close the door, when suddenly, the wind blows which such force Ted falls to his knees. It continues to blow until the entire first floor is destroyed. When everything seems to be scattered, the wind stops.
Ted whispers to Teddy, “We have to leave, Teddy.” Carefully, and gently, he grips the boy’s arm.
Teddy looks up at him, “it’s just a little wind.”
“No, we have to leave, right now,” he begins gently pulling on Teddy’s arm. Teddy follows him uncertainly.
“Where are we going?” he asks.
“My house,” Ted replies.
He continues leading the boy down a pitch-black street. Teddy continues to follow Ted. They walk through dark alleys, down completely dark streets, they even walked through a small area of brush.
“We’re here,” Ted says
Out of nowhere, he points to a petite, old-looking shack in the middle of the woods. Teddy walks inside. Ted follows behind staying eerily silent. Teddy looks behind him to look at Ted, but he’s nowhere in sight. Teddy begins shaking. The next moment, Ted appears in front of him, holding something behind his back. Teddy watches him. “What are you doing?” he asks him. Ted’s hand begins to tremble. The little boy has no idea what’s going on, but he continues to try to help the man standing before him. Teddy watches the man carefully. He notices the gleaming object in the sliver of light cast from the window, and he screams. The next moment, all Ted could hear was the blade slicing the air. And then silence.