The hour of midnight fell upon the high country. A bright full moon sat just above the tops of the snow-covered pines, and the wind blew as gentle as a baby’s sigh. Very little sound resonated through the forest that evening, except for one unexplainable sound: A gunshot.

The horrid sound struck my ear right as the clock hit 12:01AM, waking me abruptly from my peaceful slumber. Looking around the darkened room confused, I finally decided to get up and investigate the mysterious sound’s origin. Tiredly, I crept my way to the window and drew back the drapes; hoping to find the cause of my worries. Unfortunately though, only the glistening snow and the statuesque pines lay before my weary eyes. Maybe I am only having a dream, I thought.

As I slowly tip-toed back toward my bed, ready to shut my eyes, a second brutal gunshot sprang forth from the forest. This time, knowing the gunshot was definitely real, I grew quite alarmed. Completely alone out here in this cabin, an hour from help and without electricity, I felt especially vulnerable to even the slightest of threats. The dark roof above me would surely help to reflect the milky glow of the moon and act like a beacon to any would-be thieves or murderers.

Breathing deeply and swiftly, I sat at the edge of my bed and conjured up multiple crazy ideas in my mind. Could the noise have been from a hunter? May be someone was only attempting to scare off an animal? Perhaps only a weak branch had snapped? All of these scenarios seemed plausible, if not likely, allowing me to gradually calm from my anxious state.

Lying back down on my pillow after the brief scare, I pulled up the sheets and gradually fell back to -

A loud knock echoed from the front door!

The sudden sound shuttered my heart and rattled my nerves

The knock repeated!


Now completely terrified, I propelled myself up from the bed and proceeded very slowly and cautiously to the main doorway down the hall.

“Who’s there?” I asked.
No one responded.
Carefully, I moved my eye to the peephole and looked outside. The porch sat empty before me.
“How could this be?” I muttered under my breath, entirely baffled by the situation, “Who could be doing this to me? A friend? A foe?”
As I thought about the unfolding events, I noticed that the chair beside the door began to look like a good place for me to sit and rest until morning; just in case the mysterious knocker returned. Though frightened, I also started to become quite curious as to the identity of this individual. Could someone be playing a joke on me, or was I actually in serious trouble? Regardless, I knew something I definitely should not do is go outside. One too many horror movies have taught me that when you open the door to a mysterious sound, you often do not live for much longer, so I certainly was not willing to take any chances tonight.
After thinking about the situation for a while, I finally decided to shut my eyes and try to get some additional sleep. It had to now be somewhere in the vicinity of 1:00AM, which meant I should have a good six or so hours of rest until first light. Hopefully by then the troublemaker will be long gone so I can go collect a new bundle of firewood for the fireplace. The wood will desperately need collecting in preparation for the big snows expected tomorrow, and without it, I could easily die.

After considering the grim possibilities, I dozed off for about three hours of blissful sleep before unexpectedly awaking to the sound of wind lashing against the flimsy walls. Quickly running to the window, I saw that the moon no longer looked upon the forest; it had since been replaced by a thick and puffy layer of gray. The pine trees also now seemed to dance with each new gust under that darkened roof of the world, and large flakes of white clung helplessly to any patch of exposed ground they could find. The storm had arrived early, and any hope of me getting firewood had disappeared unless I decided to act quickly. Secure by the fact that I had not heard from the stranger in some time, I decided I would courageously take my chances.
A bit panicked, I quickly ran to the door, flung it open, and – I paused. Right before my eyes stood the most terrible thing I had ever looked upon. The horrid beast rose nearly eight feet in height above the ground, had coarse black hair, and sported piercing red eyes. Two bullet wounds also adorned the center of the monster’s chest, each bleeding a bright green and disturbingly fetid substance.
Terrified, I stood as still as I could, hoping my life would somehow be spared. The beast seemed to have other, more ghastly, plans though. It grabbed me from the doorway with a tight grip and began to squeeze with full force. I could feel each rib bone buckle as its grip increased, and I no longer could manage to take a breath. With the tightness of its hands increasing second by second, it became excruciatingly painful to bear. I could hardly take it!
Luckily, after what seemed like hours, the beast finally released his painful grip and flung me to the icy ground. Crippled with pain and unable to move, I had no choice but to stare up directly into the eyes of Hell’s spawn. Watching me suffer made the beast grin with delight, each one of its jagged yellow teeth exposed to the wind, and it made my heart quiver with fear. This was undoubtedly going to be my end, and there was nothing I could do about it. I lay there as helpless as a newborn calf!
Right as I took my last sweet breath of life, the creature majestically lifted its right foot over my head and stomped downward. With a sudden gush and pop, my skull and brain exploded into a hundred pieces, coating the virgin snow of my satin white porch with a layer of bloody evil that would remain until it was to be covered up by nature’s white ice within the hour. Due to a truly careless mistake, I will now never again walk the Earth alive. Death has found me, and the afterlife is my new, somber home.