It was a dark and windy night. I was lying in bed, reading the new Harry Potter book that had just come out. I glanced over at my clock. The bright green numbers flashed 11:00 pm. I was probably the only one still awake in my house. I stifled a yawn. I guess I should be going to bed. I reached over and turned off the lamp that was beside my bed and rolled over into a comfortable position. Just as my eyes were closing I heard a noise. It was a hollow scratching noise. Then a shuffling as if someone was walking across the roof. My eyes shot back open and my heart started pounding. There was a pause, then the scratching continued. “Maybe it’s someone knocking on our door,” my terrified mind thought. I just had to know.
Slowly I got out of bed and slipped on my bright pink, fuzzy slippers, and padded quietly out of the room, my heart still pounding. I yanked open the door with a creak and glanced outside, my blood ran cold. No one was there. Spooked, I ran back into my room and jumped into bed where I lay panting for a few minutes. Then I slowly rolled over to try to fall asleep again. Suddenly the scratching started up again, but this time louder, it seemed to be coming from the ceiling. The noise was a dull hollow scratching and digging. It sounded like someone was grating a shovel against stone.
My curious mind protested, I had to know! Before I could think otherwise, I leapt out of bed and ran over to my window. Pushing the shutter blind aside, I looked up. I could feel the cold, stale air brushing against my face. Nothing looked unusual, just the dark gray slats of my window tiles, the olive green leaves of the old magnolia tree and a tail. A tail? As I watched, horrified, the long rat-like tail whipped out of view. Now I could see a long white snout and two small milky black eyes. I shot back from the window, and landed on the soft, plush sofa, where I lay paralyzed for a moment.
” It’s nothing, Ellen, you were just imagining it” I told myself. Then the scratching started up again. Whatever was up there, I didn’t want to find out. I ran over to my bed, pulled the covers off, sprinted down the corridor, and went into my parent’s bedroom, where I would spend the rest of the night. I listened for a while, not hearing anything. But right before my eyes closed I saw a long, rat-like tail whip over the window and out of view.