She sat at home alone. Her parents were both working. Her brother had gone out. It was just her for the night. A night in front of the television. She popped some popcorn and pulled out her homework. There was very little to do. Nothing special was supposed to happen tonight, except for an early night to bed (which, for her, was a big deal). No, nothing special was supposed to happen that night. But something did.
It was the rain that started it. She could hear the thunder from miles away, a vague rattle at the door. The lightning began, casting beautiful shadows on the wall. She loved storms. She felt happy. The sounds, the smells, the taste of electricity in the air; they all filled her, thrilled her. She sat by the window, barely looking at her homework, and not necessarily watching the storm but drinking it in. Until she saw It. But did she see It? In a split second, her entire yard was lit up as bright as day by a bolt of lightning. And in her peripheral she saw It. But the light came and went so fast. She couldn't see any more than just a shape that shouldn't be there. She searched the dark, but found nothing. Maybe It had just been her imagination. But that didn't explain the chills running up her spine, or the sense that what she really wanted to see was simply hiding just beyond her sight. A jagged line of light lit up the sky again, once more turning night to day. And there It was. A dark shape nearly impossible to describe. Vaguely humanoid, It stood on two legs with two arms hanging by its side. But the face. She only saw It for a moment, but she felt the terror sink into her heart and knew it would be there for ages. If anyone had asked her to describe the face she would have said that she couldn't. It was simply fear. Pure fear. Fear in a physical shape, the figure in her yard. But then It was gone. The lightning disappeared. There wasn't even the slightest outline or shadow to mark where It was. She thought maybe It had gone. But the fear was still there. That cold terror, the terror that wouldn't go away. She knew she was alone again, the yard empty. She began to calm down. Yet, she still couldn't shake those feelings of being watched. Lying down to sleep, she tried not to remember the figure in her yard. And it worked for a bit. But only for a bit. Because It had come inside. She just didn't know it yet.
The moment her eyes closed that night, she felt the cold drawing nearer. It rested around her body, the cold feeling of fear. It settled into her skin chilling her to the bone. A slight creak on the floor made her jump, but she didn't dare turn around.
Then she began to relax. The cold on the back of her neck began to fade away. Warmth moved in. Then heat. She gasped at the growing pain. The back of her neck burned a scorching white heat. But she couldn't move. Couldn't turn to see what was causing this pain. Then she heard a strange sound; a whining pulsing sound at her window. Her vision began to tunnel. But she was able to look at one last thing. Him. And then there was only the dark and the heat.