The Monsters Outside My Door

Following a marathon of horror films, I went to bed. After taking a shower, I put on my grey pyjamas and lied down on my bed. Seeing the films again brought up memories of how leisurely and non-threatening they typically are, which made me laugh. Like how some of the main characters act whenever something supernatural or scary happens. I thought to myself that I would never do stupid things like that. I relaxed as I felt the wind from my air conditioner sweep past me every so often. I was out in no time flat.

A loud bang outside my flat jolted me. I could make out a faint glimmer of light even though it was still dark outside. I sprang out of bed and hurried to the sliding glass door leading to the balcony, which had been thrown open. As soon as I opened the balcony door, the cool night air slammed into my face. I walked out onto the cold concrete balcony floor and noticed many blazes in the distance.

All I saw was chaos, with screams echoing throughout the city. I was horrified to my core. I froze, before soon waking myself and running to the front door of my flat. I looked out through the small slit beside my door that was meant to be patched because I heard some commotion happening outside. I felt a chill run down my spine as I saw my opposite neighbour getting swarmed by these distorted, bloody figures, ripping her to shreds as she screamed for help. There was blood everywhere in the hallway, and the once-white carpet now wore a dark shade of red.

I wanted to save her, but there was nothing I could do as there were more and more things coming in through the emergency stairs. Without any warning, the front door of my flat started to shake, and loud bangs sounded through my flat. They had seen me peeking at them. I quickly looked around for something to barricade my door and saw my drawer. It was an antique drawer made with real wood, not the kind that turns soft at the touch of water. As the banging got louder, I rushed to empty the shelf and push it to the door.

Before I knew it, there was a hand sticking out the side of the door. I panicked and slammed the drawer against the door. I heard a cracking sound coming from behind the drawer. I started stacking the drawer with whatever heavy items I could find around the flat in front of the door. After I felt satisfied with the barricade, I went back to the balcony and looked out to see if I could maybe call for help. A chill ran down my spine when I saw that there were bodies everywhere with blood flowing down the streets. I fell to the ground and huddled myself in the corner.

Moments later, my phone started to vibrate. I took it out and saw that my family was calling. Without any hesitation, I slid the green button and answered the call. "Hey! Why weren't you picking up your phone? We've been worried sick! Are you okay? The news said that there was some kind of emergency happening in your area, "said my father. I replied, "I'm fine now, but it's chaos out there. I just saw my neighbour getting ripped apart in front of my door, and the things that did it to her are right outside my door. I'm trapped inside now."

After going back and forth for a bit, we decided that I should stay put since I was safe in the flat for now. They were going to try to contact the authorities and see what they could do. I went back to the slit at the front and peered out. From what I could see, the bloody figures were still there, standing around not doing anything. As that was the case, I decided to rest for a bit and lay down on my couch in the living room.

Moments later, I was fast asleep. As I slept, the door started to bang again, but softly. The banging slowly got louder and louder until it woke me up. I quickly stood up and rushed to the door. I could see that the drawer had moved from where I left it and the door was slowly opening up. It felt like I was a deer in headlights, the way I was frozen where I stood. One last hit to the door sounded out as the drawer toppled over, sending everything I stacked on it tumbling down. Just then, I remembered I left the key to the balcony in the outside lock yesterday. I took off down the hall to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me as the heavy footsteps rushed in the front door. I ran out to the balcony and locked the door from the outside.

I hid behind some tall plants that I had as decoration on the balcony. It felt like an eternity waiting to see what would happen and as I feared, they broke into my bedroom. I could now see the figures. They had no facial features and dark red skin with blood all over them as well as long sharp claws on their hands. They walked around my room looking for something, most likely me. As they did that, I saw at least five of them. I was helpless and could not do anything. I prayed that what I had seen in the movies the night before had just given me a nightmare and that it was not real. I prayed that they did not find me and that I could escape. I was so scared that I almost choked on my own saliva.

Finally, they reached the sliding door that led to the balcony. It was the most nerve-wracking 60 seconds I had ever endured. They began to pry at it with their claws, trying to gain entry to the balcony, all the while I was terrified that I was about to be eaten. Just when I thought I could not take anymore, I heard glass shatter. They broke through. The only hope I had was that they hadn't seen me. Two of them stepped out into the balcony. I could see the blood trailing behind them, most likely my neighbour's. I held my breath and stopped moving so they wouldn't hear me. But, it seemed like it was for nothing as one of them turn to face me and started screeching. The bloody monster grabbed me with one of its claws and stabbed me with the other. I watched as my blood gushed out and in the end, I lost consciousness.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the ceiling. I was in my bed with the same grey pyjamas from before. I scanned the room and there wasn't anything amiss. "It was just a nightmare!" I thought to myself relieved. Then, a familiar bang and screams entered my ears. I sat in silence numbed thinking of what's about to happen.