Shhh...

Olive giggled to herself as she read her book. It was a comedy and a rare thing for her to enjoy the genre. She had a good life that filled her with enough joy to keep her from needing to substitute with literature. Many people found it queer that she read only dark and brooding novels- mostly true-crime and supernatural horrors. Her favorite author was Lovecraft but she was pleased to read any grim tale she could get her hands on. It was late in the night by the time she marked her page and set the book down on the coffee table in the living room. She shivered from the fall air that came through the window in the room and moved to close it.
The window slid easily down and latched smoothly, it was as she was walking towards the kitchen to grab a drink when she heard the noise. A scratching noise came from beyond the window and it gave her reason to pause for a moment. She discredited it to the large tree that's branches knocked against the house on windy nights. She treaded through to the fridge and poured herself a small glass of a dark merlot and sipped at it. She enjoyed her wine but reflected on it sadly since she was alone in the house. Normally, her husband would have been home by now but he was out of town on business. She would have gone with him but work would not allow and so she was left to an empty bed for one night more.
She finished the wine and went to place the glass into the sink when she heard a hiss coming from the drain. For a moment she stood still and quiet, waiting for it to return. Perhaps it's just the pipes she told herself but this was different. She watched documentaries on wildlife when bored with regular programming on t.v. but not a great deal and the sound she heard was more akin to the animals than any noise a drain should make. She leaned in towards the drain and put her ear inches from it. The hissing came again, this time louder and more vicious. She pulled back quickly and in an attempt to scare the animal with noise, turned the water on with a heavy stream of hot water. After several minutes, the hissing was gone and did not seem to return.
She decided it best not to go straight to bed despite the late hour and picked up the phone, dialed a number, and waited for an answer. "Hello?" A man answered.
"Mark, hey." She responded. "I just wanted to make sure your flight got in at the same time tomorrow morning."
"It's the same. Is something wrong? You sound odd . . ." His voice crackled over the line.
She hesitated. "No, no. Everything's fine. It's just lonely here. I'll let you get your rest. Love you."
"Love you, too. And go to bed. Before you know it, I'll be home and we can go have a nice dinner out." She hung up and held the phone to her breast, sighing deeply. She had lied to him but did not feel the need to bother him over a silly noise in a drain. It still made her feel more at ease having heard his voice and so she put the phone up and left the kitchen, turning the light off behind her. She convinced herself it was only her imagination and would have believed it had she not walked through the living room and been greeted by another horror.
A shadow moved swiftly across the floor from outside the window. It was gone too fast for her to make out a shape but it was not human of that much she was sure. She walked to the window and attempted to peer through the blinds to no avail. Her fear came back in a wave as she noticed a featureless blob outside near the tree. She swiftly ran out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. She wasn't sure if the night air had played tricks on her or if it were just a symptom of being crazy. You've lost your sanity, it's all those novels you read. Nothing's there  she tried to comfort herself with these thoughts and found them useless. She huddled under the blankets and held her pillow close to her chest.
For what seemed like hours, Olive sat there still as can be; her breath being the only noise in the room and she felt safe. When she gained the courage to look out, she looked about the room for something to use as a weapon. She groped through the darkness to her dresser. The moonlight would normally have aided her in the dark but of no such luck did she have tonight. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness t and as she watched herself in it, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She closed her eyes tight as if something would appear and used her fingertips to trace the objects on the dresser before her. It occured to her just then that she should have turned on the light. No, if I turn on the light, they will know exactly where I am. It was a silly sentiment but one she believed in so firmly that it knocked the thought from her mind. There seemed to be nothing of use before her but an old porcelain figurine. It was a feeble weapon at best but the best available. She picked it up but as she did, something cold and thin left a trail of wet across her fingers. She gasped and pulled back, dropping the figure on the ground and backing away from the dresser.
She stood frozen. Do I call the police? No- no, they'd just call me crazy. Maybe I should tell Mark but what could he do? Mom's all the way out in Utah and Dad's no use in the grave. Although at this moment I think he may be of more use than anyone else. If I could get downstairs to the kitchen, I could grab a knife and defend myself but if it's up here with me now, won't it just follow? What is it? her mind was a whirling mess and the room was spinning.
She decided to go through with her simple plan and bolted for the door. As she passed through it down the stairs, she heard an inhuman shrieking from behind her but she dared not look back. She almost tripped halfway down the stairs but gathered her footing before she fell and made it to the kitchen- all the while feeling something following her. She ran for the wooden block with the knives and grabbed for the largest one she could reach and felt something slither up her leg and around her knee. She swung the knife against where it had been and cut only her own flesh. Realizing nothing was there, she flung the knife wildly at the air and the hissing returned- retreating to the front of the house and near the outside door.
She chased it there and stood before the door as the hissing continued outward until she could not hear it anymore. It was quiet once again and she could feel her heart beating and the pain writhing through the torn flesh of her leg. I can beat this! I chased it back. Did I? Did something else lure it away? Is it playing a trick on me just to come back later? There's no moon tonight, I wouldn't be able to see anything. I should stay inside and wait it out but how long will that take? Will it ever go away? Questions again in her head. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door. She put her hand on the knob and felt the cool brass caress her sweat stained palm. She braced herself and stepped out into the night . . .