It was in November, a week before Thanksgiving. My aunt had asked me to watch her animals while she went away to Arizona for about ten days. A whole ten days off of work (which was a living hell at the time thanks to the holidays), out in the country, away from people? Sign me the fuck up! The only downside was slow and crappy Internet, but at least she had TV I could watch.

Anyway, it was the second day at my aunt's house. I had just finished morning chores, which were pretty easy. Just letting the horses out in the pasture and cleaning up the shit they left in the barn yard, nothing too complicated. I decided to go for a walk with her dog, Casey. My aunt owned a ton of land, and it was always fun walking around and exploring it.

We walked through the field and finally into the woods, and once we reached this wooded area, I couldn't help but stop, looking around. The trees were all colored in many shades of orange, red and yellow. It was really quite pretty! I took a deep breath and sighed. "I never want autumn to end..."

I heard Casey start to growl, which surprised me. I had never heard him growl before. He was growling at something, staring in the darker part of the woods, the fur on his back standing on end. "C-Casey? Hey, boy, what's wrong?" I tried to make out something in the woods, but I didn't see anything that caught my attention. "Come on, Casey, there's nothing there..." Nothing I can see anyway... "Let's head back home, huh?"

Casey wouldn't move. It took about five attempts before he finally started to walk next to me, still glaring in the woods. I looked back once more. Maybe it was a squirrel or something...but he never reacted to seeing an animal by growling threateningly. It unnerved me. Worst case scenario, it was some psychotic madman who was going to follow me back to the house and kill me in my sleep.

What happened in the woods stayed in my thoughts the rest of the day. I finished the evening chores, cooked some dinner, and made a huge pot of coffee. Why coffee so late in the day? The more I thought about the idea of a maniac breaking into the house, the more paranoid I got. So, I was going to stay up all night, or attempt to anyway. I sat in the living room, sipping my first mug of coffee as I flipped through channels, settling on a 'Bigfoot Marathon'. The coffee wasn't helping, much to my dismay. My eyes were starting to feel heavy. "Come on, stay awake. You're able to stay awake until 3:00 in the morning when you gotta work. So why all of a sudden do you feel-"

I froze. Casey was growling again. I didn't move. I knew he was behind me and he was looking out the window. Whatever or whoever was out there could see me if I made any sudden movements. My aunt's large window didn't have curtains I could close, and there was a window right by the door as well.

A knock at the door. Casey lost it, starting to bark. I did jump a little, but I refused to leave my spot. More knocking, this time it was harder. It sounded like someone was using a rock instead of their fist. Finally, realizing that whoever it was wasn't going to leave, I called out. "I have a gun! If you keep harassing me, I will use it!"

No more knocking. I sighed with relief, but Casey was still barking and spazzing out. I reached over to grab the phone next to me when suddenly...CRASH! I let out a startled scream and shot up, turning around. The door was knocked right off its hinges, and now miserably laid on the floor. But that wasn't the reason why I gasped and dropped my phone...the reason was because of the man who now entered the house, a grin plastered on his resin and scarred face,

"Why hello!"