The Call

A man answers for an uninvited visitor.

It came at night.

“Come outside,” it whispered.

I shook my head. Not that it could see me. I think it still got the point. Twenty minutes passed. I heard a rustling outside the door.

Silence.

I breathed heavy. I listened hard. It came back, I knew it.

“Caw!”

A bird. Nothing but a bird. My heart softened. Maybe I was just going crazy earlier.

“Come outside.”

Maybe I was still going crazy.

This time it scratched at the windows.

Skritch. Scratch. Skritch.

“Come outside.”

I knew I shouldn’t do it. What reason could I possibly have to respond to its request?

Something got into my head though. It made me wonder. It made me thirst for an explanation. Like the deepest hunger I ever felt, I needed to know what called me.

“Come outside,” it shouted through the door.

I marched out.

It took me away.

I did not like what it turned out to be.

Author's Note

A quick flash horror piece. Just curious what people think!

Reviews

[NoblePariah]

I liked this a lot, especially the ambiguity of the ending. The only thing that I feel would've added to it would, in my opinion maybe be a setting of ambiance for it such as darkness when it speaks or a silence that seems to quiet in between when it speaks, though I understand it's flash fiction, and may not fit what you were trying to do. As I said I definitely liked it as is, nicely done.