Page 142 of Trick or Stalk

She stands there, like a little warrior ready for battle.

“One... two... three.”

I flick the switch.

Light illuminates the patio.

Nothing.

No sign anyone’s been here.

I search the backyard.

It’s empty.

My fingers are poised over my phone.

I should call the police and tell them there’s a masked man outside my house.

Except he's gone.

What if they come and find nothing?

What if this really is some elaborate hallucination brought on by grief, exhaustion, horror movies, and getting trapped in a storage room?

I turn off the light, then slowly move back to the front door. The porch light is on, because I’m too chicken to sleep with it off.

But I don’t see anyone.

Penny growls again.

My gaze drops to her. “You saw him, too.”

She stares toward the woods.

My stomach turns. “Didn't you?”

Her ears remain raised. That does absolutely nothing to make me feel better.

I move to the living room windows to close the curtains.

And I swear, at the edge of the woods, a tree branch shakes. Like someone brushed against it.

I check the window locks before closing the curtains.

I keep the lamp on. There’s no fucking way I'm creeping through the dark tonight.

My eyes search the downstairs one last time before I lock my phone and ease my grip on the racket.

Penny follows behind me as I climb the stairs, heading to bed.

I close the bedroom door behind me and lock it.

But the second I put my hand on it and turn, it opens.

“Ugh! Stupid old house.”

I try again.