Back Before You Know It

'''Tap. Tap. It was the sound of her mother’s bright blue six-inch heels, her prized possessions, making their way across the wooden floors of their home. “There’s pizza in the fridge, I trust you can heat it up yourself.” Ellie nodded, only briefly looking up before burying her head in her book. Ellie’s mother chuckled and patted her child on the head. '''

'''As the booming sound of thunder shook the house, her mother looked out the window at the gigantic grey clouds in the sky, taking in the lightning flickering within them. Ellie’s mother sighed. “I do hope this storm is nowhere as bad as they’re saying, I’d hate for the weather to mess up my hair.” she said, anxiously rearranging her hairdo. “You look fine, Mum, just get out of here already or you’ll be late.” Ellie murmured. Her mother smiled and made her way to the door. '''

'''Stepping out of the house, she turned to look back at her daughter. “I’ll be back before you know it. Don’t cause trouble while I’m gone.” Ellie waved and went back to her book as the door slammed shut.'''

'''When Ellie next looked up from her book, it was pitch black outside and the storm had worsened, wind shaking nearby trees and rain pelting down hard on the house’s tin roof. She hoped her mother had made it to her date okay. '''

'''She turned her attention back to her novel and just as she did, she heard a tiny noise. Tap. Tap. Sure it was just the wind, she ignored it, but it wasn’t long before she heard it again. Tap. Tap. She could barely make it out over the sound of the storm outside, but something about it sent chills down her spine. '''

'''She heard it a third time, this time accompanied by a horrible scraping sound, like nails on chalkboard, like nails on a window. She jumped up from the couch and spun around to look at the window, and saw nails - no, claws, scraping against the glass. Blinking rapidly, she looked again to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. And she must have imagined it, because the claws were gone.'''

'''Relaxing, she sat back on the couch and opened up her book. SCREEEECH. It sounded like the shrieking scream of a human being, like piercing cries of an injured cat, like someone or something was being tortured right outside her window, and it was the worst sound she’d ever heard. '''

'''Frozen in her seat, she was too terrified to look and see if the claws were back. When the tapping started up again, she bolted upstairs to her room, slamming the door and diving under her bed, where she lay, panting and trembling in fear.'''

'''As she tried to calm her nerves, she noticed something was wrong. Her curtains. Her curtains, waving in the wind, the wind, let in by her wide open window. Her window was open. She wanted to cry, but she knew if there truly was someone trying to break in, she had to close it. '''

'''She crept out from under her bed, telling herself that her room was several meters above ground, and there was no way any intruder could get through the window that quickly. Tiptoeing towards the window, she reached out to close it, her fingers closing around the latch. '''

'''Relief flowed through her as she pulled it towards her, when suddenly a hand closed around her wrist. A pale, deformed hand, with claws rather than nails, slime and mud dripping and oozing from it. Ellie screamed and yanked herself free before pulling the window shut, locking it in place. '''

'''The creature seemed to be balancing on a wheelbarrow, but seconds ago it had almost seemed like it was hovering in mid air, right outside her window. She couldn’t make much out in the dark, but whatever it was, it was impossibly tall, wearing a ripped and torn dress over a bruised and bleeding body, and the hair was wild and tangled by the fierce and unforgiving storm. '''

'''It reached out and began clawing and tapping at Ellie’s window. Fear running through her veins, Ellie slammed herself against the window as hard as she could, and the creature toppled backwards, screaming, before falling to the ground with a sickening thud. '''

'''Sure that the monster was dead, Ellie pulled the curtains shut and stepped back. She was searching for her phone when she heard it. The unmistakable sound she’d become so familiar with in the last hour. Tap. Tap. '''

'''Grabbing her phone, she finally called the police, only to hear that because of the storm, nobody could make it out to her until morning. As the feeling of dread settled in, she rung her mother’s phone, only to hear the faint sound of the phone downstairs. Her mother had forgotten her phone. Her screen flickered to black. Her phone was dead, and going downstairs for a charger could mean dying a terrible death. Ellie sat back on her bed and began to weep.'''

'''Hours went by, and Ellie kept her eyes open for the entire time. There was no sign of her mother, who had probably ended up stuck in town for the night because of the storm. When the sun rose over the town, she heard sirens. The police! Ellie threw open her curtains and saw police cars parked outside her house. Everything is going to be okay, Ellie told herself, as she rushed out of her room. Mum will be back soon. Everything is going to be okay.'''

'''She bounced down the stairs and flung open the front door. The joyous smile on her face slowly faded as she took in the scene on her doorstep. Police, surrounding the lifeless body of her mother. Her body, bruised and bleeding. Her dress ripped and torn, her hair wild and tangled by the fierce and unforgiving storm. Her hands, pale, and her once beautiful long nails, now claws, scratched and broken. Her impossibly tall legs, twisted and broken from a bad fall. And her bright blue six-inch heels, no longer tapping.'''

I’ll be back before you know it.

And she had been.

(I wrote this in an hour when I was meant to be doing exam prep and tbh I'll probably never touch this again.)