Whatever You Do, Don't Go Outside

I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the window. It was loud - almost deafening. I looked at the digital clock on my alarm. *03:45*. I looked over at Tom, my boyfriend. He didn't stir, but then again, he never did when he was sleeping. I had to physically shake him most of the time to get him to wake up.<br><br>He moans softly and rolls over. "What?"<br><br>"It's raining," I said.<br><br>He looks over at me and yawned. "So?"<br><br>"It's raining *really* hard. I think you should check the basement."<br><br>He groans, but rolls out of bed and walks to the closet. He opens it, then walks to the door that's hidden behind all the clothes. He opens it, then disappears down the stairs. After a minute or so, he comes back up fully dressed. "Bathroom's flooded. I need to go check the catch basin. Can you check the deck?"<br><br>"Okay," I say. I tossed on a t-shirt and some shorts, then headed out onto the deck.<br><br>The rain was actually letting up some. It was still a torrent, but it had slowed down a great deal. I'm not sure how, but our cheap vinyl deck wasn't leaking at all. The same couldn't be said for the roof. I squinted my eyes and looked up, but there was no leak. My eyes wandered over to our neighbors house, and that's when I saw her.<br><br>It was Sarah, the neighbors daughter. She was about eleven or so. I saw her standing at her window. As I watched, she wrote something on a piece of paper, then held it up.<br><br>*Don't go outside.*<br><br>I wasn't going to anyway. It was like her and I both knew I wasn't going to. I smiled and waved, but she didn't smile back. Instead, she kept holding the paper up. I kind of felt stupid and awkward. I nodded, even though I knew she couldn't see it, and went back inside.<br><br>"Tom, you need to see this," I said, walking into the living room.<br><br>Tom came in a few seconds later. "What is it?"<br><br>"Look," I said, pointing at the neighbors house.<br><br>"Where?"<br><br>"Her window."<br><br>Tom squinted. "What am I looking at?"<br><br>At that moment, Sarah held the paper back up. *Don't go outside.*<br><br>"Oh, that's what you mean," he said. "Is she okay?"<br><br>"I don't know. She looks really scared, though."<br><br>"She probably is. The rain really freaks her out."<br><br>"Hm."<br><br>"Hey, why don't you go make some coffee? I'm gonna check the gutters really fast."<br><br>"Okay," I said, but he was already out the door.<br><br>I was terrified. Something was wrong. Sarah wouldn't just put a note up to her window like that for no reason. I turned around and walked into the kitchen. As I walked in, I looked out the window over the sink.<br><br>Tom was dead. His body was twisted in ways that it wasn't supposed to twist. His neck was obviously broken. I could see blood running down his face from his hair. I started to scream, but then I saw them.<br><br>They were creatures. I'm not sure what else to call them. I can't describe them. I just know they were there, and that they were pulling Tom's body away. I saw his arm disappear into a sewer drain.<br><br>I continued to scream as I ran through the house. I actually ran *into* the wall of the living room trying to get to the front door. I opened it, but saw more of the creatures standing on our front lawn. I slammed the door shut, then ran upstairs.<br><br>I ran into the bedroom, then shut and locked the door. I ran over to the window, where I pulled the blinds open. I was hoping against hope that Sarah was still at her window. She was, and when she saw me, she wrote another piece of paper and held it up.<br><br>*I'm calling the authorities. They should be there in twenty.*<br><br>Twenty minutes. I could do that. Twenty minutes and help would be here. I nodded and smiled, and Sarah smiled back. I sat down on the bed and watched her. She never moved. She was looking at me, and I could tell that she was watching me.<br><br>After about five minutes, which seemed like an eternity, I heard something thudding into the door. I turned around and saw that the door was slowly opening. My heart leaped into my throat as the door slowly creaked open.<br><br>I saw a foot come into the room, and then the rest of Tom's body followed. His head was twisted at an awkward angle, but he was still walking. I stood up and backed away, into the window. I guess when I did, the window opened, and I fell out.<br><br>I can't describe the pain except to say that it was the worst thing I have ever felt. I could feel my spine snapping, and my internal organs squishing. I groaned, then moaned in pain. I saw Sarah run out onto my lawn, crying and screaming. She was cradling my head in her hands. She looked like she was in agony.<br><br>She forcibly frantically looked around, and then all of a sudden, she started screaming. I followed her gaze, and that was the last thing I saw.<br><br>Tom was walking across the lawn, towards where Sarah was holding my head. He was still twisted up, and there were large red spots on his clothes. It looked like there was something under his shirt, but I couldn't tell for sure. I saw that he was holding something. It was a gutter that had been ripped apart. It was twisted up and covered in blood.<br><br>I knew then that he was going to kill her. She was the only one left.<br><br>I couldn't watch any longer. Life slipped from my body, leaving me in death.