11

I was sound asleep, dreaming about a baseball game, when a bolt of lightning woke me up.

The flash of light made my bedroom look inside out, like a photographic negative. Then it was pitch black again and I was sitting straight up in my bed with my heart pounding hard enough to bust my ribs.

I couldn’t see a thing.

But I could hear things.

Outside the leaves were rustling. A branch banged against the house.

And then KER-WHAM! thunder exploded like a bomb, shaking the whole house.

As lightning flashed I saw a face looking at me.

A pale, tense, terrified face. The mouth was open, like it wanted to scream but couldn’t make a sound.

The face was me.

My own frightened face reflected in the mirror on the closet door.

Suddenly the sky broke open and it was raining. Raining so hard it sounded like all the oceans of the world were crashing over the roof. The rain poured over the window glass as the lightning flashed again.

It was only a storm. A summer storm. I was safe inside. Nothing could hurt me.

My pounding heart started to slow. I lay my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes, determined to go back to sleep.

Then I heard footsteps in the hallway.

Little running footsteps. I pulled the covers over my head. I was not going to get up, no matter what.

Another jolt of lightning glowed right through the blanket, making my bedroom walls look as white as bone.

Something knocked on the door.

I peeked out from under the covers.

Was the doorknob wiggling or was that my imagination?

The knocking noise came again, louder.

This was how it always started. Noises in the hall. Scratching fingers outside my door.

It wanted me to open the door and let it in. Then the horror would start all over.

Slowly the door opened wider and wider. I scrambled to get out of bed. The thing wasn’t going to find me defenseless.

My legs were caught in the bed clothes. I couldn’t get free. I kicked and pushed frantically but it seemed to take forever.

At last my legs were untangled. I looked toward the door. It was wide open now.

A dark shape came through the doorway and glided into the room.

Coming to get me.

Quickly I dropped to my knees beside the bed. There was a baseball bat under the bed if only I could find it in the dark. My fingers groped blindly.

No bat.

The thing in the doorway was a black shadow against the light from the hall. It was small but seemed to be growing larger.

At last my fingers closed around the handle of the bat.

I stood up.

The shadowy figure lurched toward me. Reaching out, trying to grab me.

Trembling, I raised the bat.