The Man in the Window

My wife and I just checked into what's possibly the shittiest motel in the city. It was filthy and smelly and could probably collapse at any minute. Normally we would try to find a nice hotel, but we were tired and it was the closest place to our apartment. We were awoken in the middle of the night by the police, saying our building was being evacuated for our safety and for their investigation since a series of murders occurred there recently. We planned on leaving that place anyway, just not tonight. I guess its good we're out of there now, away from that deranged killer, but all I can focus on is sleep. Its the middle of the night and I’m tired beyond belief.



I get the key and drag myself and the bags behind me to the room, eyes half closed and half asleep. My lazy wife doesn't even have the courtesy to help me with any of these things, she just limps aimlessly behind me like a zombie. We eventually get to a door with peeling paint, scratch marks and a metal six nailed to it. The hallway lights flicker while I fumble around with the key until the door creaks open. As I enter our temporary home, I don't even bother to turn on the lights, with both hands occupied by bags. Besides, I don't need to see how disgusting the room is; I don't want anything to discourage me from my precious sleep. I put the bags down somewhere randomly and feel around for the bed. I guess my wife has the same idea as she just shuts the door behind her and flops onto the bed without flipping the switch. Without even time to think, my mind leaves my body as I'm engulfed by the darkness and silence and I quickly drift to sleep.



Suddenly, my eyes flash open as I'm shocked back into consciousness. I didn't hear a noise or anything, but something must have woken me up. For some reason, I can feel this strange surge of energy, as if I hadn't been asleep at all. Normally it takes me a few minutes until I can function at one hundred percent, but not tonight; there’s just something strange about tonight. I hop out of my bed and begin to walk towards the door to turn out the light. I just get to the foot of my bed when I notice a window on the wall. I look outside and I notice something strange: it's just as dark out there as it is in here. Normally a streetlight or the moon would illuminate some imagery out there, but it was just pitch black.



Mesmerized, I blankly stare out the window aw the darkness begins to forms shapes. Slowly, the body of a man forms. He's just standing out there, a few feet away from me. The energy I once had now turns into bloodcurdling fear. It's too dark to see his face, but I just know he's the killer. That twisted freak must have followed us here and waited for the right time to strike; I know he's going to mutilate me and my wife. I want to run away, I want to scream, but there's something about the way he's standing there, staring at me, that restricts any action. He won't make a sound, he won't move a muscle, he just stands out there, staring blankly at me in the dark and silence.





After a few minutes of just staring back at him, I notice something I'm surprised I didn't notice earlier. He's holding something. As I shift my focus from his face to his arm, I notice he's gripping someone's arm. Just as I begin to look at it, he pulls a large flailing shadow in view. A woman. I can see her, trying to force her arm out of his grip. No matter what this woman does, that lunatic won't for a second break his stare, he just continues to glare at me. I shift my focus from her body to her face as its face contorts from screaming and crying. That's when I begin to hear her. She screams for someone, anyone to help, but she won't even look in my direction. Though her shrieks come from outside, the sound isn't at all muffled by glass.



Gradually her cries for help and pleas for freedom become louder and louder until they just become an unintelligible shriek. It deafens me as it resonates with my brain and pounds through my ears. The noise alone is enough to drive a man insane. I want to clasp my hands against my ears and cry for that horrid noise to stop, anything to end it, but I remain paralyzed. That man just continues to stare.



Abruptly, just as quick as that shadow pulled her into view, he wraps his claws around her neck and that deafening shriek finally ends. The pounding pain in my ears and head begin to ease as I breathe a sigh of relief. That's when I notice the horrible scene occurring before my eyes. With the killer's thumb tearing into the woman's throat, she grasps onto his wrists and tries to free herself, but he doesn't budge. She reaches out and starts to carve her nails into his arms, but he doesn't react. He remains motionless, his face fixed on me. Her resistance grows weaker and weaker until, eventually, her body hangs completely limp. As the woman's body falls to the floor, the man's arms fall to his side. It's my turn now. That demon must have something planned for me. Why would he paralyze me with his hellish stare, force me to watch him torture this woman, the just leave? But he doesn't move. I'm waiting for him to burst through the window, but he doesn't. He just stands there, motionless, staring at me, while I stand here, motionless, staring back.



After what feels like hours, I remain paralyzed. His stare has a grip on my mind and I'm just as terrified as when I first saw him. Slowly, his shape begins to vague and darkness consumes my vision. This is it. This is how he's going to get me. I become increasingly blind until my eyes close and I feel my consciousness slip from my mind. That demon's waiting has finally paid off. ..

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in">I awake to find myself laying face down near the foot of the bed. It must be morning, but it's nearly as dark as it was last night, the only difference being a bright sliver of light from under the door. As traumatic memories from earlier begin to take form, I get yp and rush toward the light switch. I flip the lights on and quickly turn around to inspect the room. What I see forces me to fall to my knees as tears stream across my face. In the middle of the room lies my beautiful wife. Motionless on the ground. I crawl toward her lifeless body to see her neck heavily bruised. My eyes dart around the room in panic, in hopes of finding any explanation. Slowly, I begin to realize something that cases my mind to stir and my heart to shrivel up and sink. There are no windows in this room.

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<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom:0in">All that lies on the walls is a single mirror, hanging at the foot of the bed.