When I bought this house, I assumed the scratches on the inside of the basement door were from a dog; but the previous owner didn’t have one. This morning, the scratches multiplied. No wonder the price on the house was undeniably low. That’s the cheapest I’ve ever seen a two story, four bedroom, and two and a half bath house in a decent area. I was pulled out of my thoughts when my phone on the kitchen counter started blaring. 

I turned off the alarm and went upstairs to wake up the kids. My parents couldn’t care for my siblings, and I’m only nineteen, but I’ve always taken care of them. When I moved out, I brought them with me. My brother, Kayden, is thirteen, my other brother, Kyle, is nine, and my sister, Daniella, is eight. When I got upstairs, I went into Kayden’s room to find him playing on his iPad. I switched on the light and said, “Put that down and get up. One more tardy and that iPad is mine.” I left his room in hopes he would take me seriously. 

Next, I went to Kyle’s room, and he was also awake, but he was just laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Both of the boys have had depression for about six months now, and I was worried they were going to follow in my footsteps and end up in a mental hospital. I switched on Kyle’s light and said, “You’ve got to go to school today, okay bud? I called the principal and they said they would deal with it.” Kyle looked at me and just shook his head as he reluctantly got up. 

The kids at his school were making fun of him because he was one, adopted, two, taken in by his sister, and three, he doesn’t have a father figure. I looked at the ground as I walked away from his room, and across the hall. I opened Dani’s door to reveal her sprawled out on the bed, asleep. I turned on the light and walked over to her bed. I shook her until she opened her eyes, and then I said “Come on, time to get ready for school.” She sighed as she rolled out of bed and said, “Fine, I’m up.”

After I showered and got dressed, I started to get a caffeine headache. I finished getting ready, I walked into the living room to find Kayden making sure the kids had all their stuff for school. I memorized their schedules so I know if they need anything extra. “Kayden, your wearing boots, it’s gym day. Go get your gym shoes. Kyle, your math test is today. Go get in the car and start studying. Dani, don’t forget to return your library book. It’s due today.” The kids all went and did what I told them. 

Once all the kids were loaded up in the car, I went through Starbucks and got a pumpkin latte. Then I went to Tutors and got each of the kids a biscuit for breakfast. By then, it was time to head to the elementary school and drop off Dani and Kyle. When I went to the middle school, I had to wait a few minutes before Kayden got out of the car. They only open their doors at eight o’clock exactly and it was too cold out to stand out there and wait. 

I had the day off work so I went back home. I slept for about an hour when I heard a sudden bang downstairs. I sprung up to find out what had happened. When I got down there, nothing was out of the ordinary. Then my mind wandered over to the scratches on the basement door. I slowly walked over to the door. As I was reaching for the door handle, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my arm. I looked back to see a man dressed in all black. Almost immediately, I passed out from whatever it used to drug me. 

•••

I woke up to pain in my wrists, ankles, and torso. I was already sitting up, so I looked around to find myself in my basement. I went to get up, but then realized I was tied to a chair. “Hello!” I shouted. I heard nothing in response. I looked around a bit more. Nothing had changed. I looked at my watch to find that I have to pick up Dani and Kyle in an hour. “Let me out!” I screamed. “I have to pick up the kids!”

That’s when I saw it walk in. It was too tall to be human. It was about 12 feet tall, covered in a black jumpsuit that came up and covered it’s whole head. It’s legs literally had the same width as a stick. It was wearing black boots and gloves. Every inch of it was covered. The voice that spoke pulled me out of my thoughts. 

“I will let you go on one condition,” said a speaker I didn’t notice in the corner. “You will move you and your heathens out of this house within a week. Take all of your junk with you. Don’t leave one thing behind. This is my house. Has been for the last 423 years. That will not change.” I had no clue what to think of this. I just nodded my head. It came and untied my hands and torso. I bent down and untied my ankles. It started to walk away as I stood up. But I had to say something. 

“Who are you?” I asked. It stoped moving, and, without turning back around, it pulled out a remote and pushed a button. “The Invisible Shadow.” With that, it snapped its fingers and the room went black. I panicked and heard a loud bang. The lights flickered back to life. It, the Invisible Shadow, was gone. All that was left was a streak of blood on the wall, messily dripping to the floor.

•••

“You kids like the new apartment?” I asked. They all nodded their heads. They weren’t too happy about only having two bathrooms, but it would have to work. We moved in three days ago and just finished unpacking. I thought back to our old house, remembering the line of blood on the basement wall. I’ll never forget my encounter with the Invisible Shadow.