The Visitor in the Night

Written on 25th February 2006

'It' crawled into my room one hot summer night as I sat at my computer engrossed in my over-due assignment. Seems like this is the season when all creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night make their presence felt.
I never actually saw It enter but I felt It occupy the space below my chair. This is probably what you would call Extra Sensory Perception. I call it the heebie jeebies!

So instinctively I bent down to take a look at what had come to enjoy my company. And thats when I saw .....nothing. I saw absolutely nothing apart from my own hairy ankles and my slippers; one of them was turned face down. (I laughed a little inside my head thinking of how much this would have irritated my dear old Nana. Apparently slippers that have turned turtle bring bad luck. I was about to find out that Nana had been right all along.)

So I carried on with my coding assignment and tried to push the feeling out of my mind. I barely got a few lines of code down when I felt It around my foot. I nearly soiled myself with fright and I let out a pathetic yelp. Startled, I curled my feet up under myself and shook like a leaf. It took me atleast 15 minutes to uncurl myself from the fetal position and peer under my chair. Still unable to see It, though slightly relieved, I laughed out loud. I did this to try and frighten away whatever it was that had taken a liking to my hairy ankles.

And thats when I saw It! Well, I didn't actually see It but I did notice my slipper move on its own accord. I didn't waste a single second. I grabbed my keyboard, yanked the connecting cable out of the cabinet and began wielding it like a madman in the general direction of my slipper.

With the first swing I struck something. I didn't know what or how big it was but I didn't let that deter me from going gung-ho with my Logitech Easy Keybord Deluxe. I whacked and smacked for all I was worth. It made an unearthly noise which could have indicated either pleasure or pain. I guessed it was the latter and continued to let It have it. No invisible creature was going to fondle my ankles and slither away unpunished. I felt a wetness splash against my shin and I guessed It was bleeding. As the pounding continued, It lashed out at my stomach but only managed to tear my shirt around my navel. Then after about a minute of mayhem, the noises stopped and all I could hear was my heart pounding in my head.

I opened the door leading to the stairwell of my building and pushed the formless lifeless thing out into the cold night with my foot and slammed the door shut. Slowly I fell to the floor with my back against the closed door and thanked God for small mercies.I couldn't believe what had just happened.

It seemed like a couples of hours before I could get myself to stand up. Shakily, I walked over to my PC. I picked up my keyboard and the 'F1' and 'Esc' keys which had come loose. I connected the keyboard back into the socket and was about to sit down when I heard the noise. A scratching sound coming from outside the closed door....