Knock, Knock at Midnight
Story
by Erin Bennett
The baby had fallen asleep in Carla's arms. She had to shift
her weight while climbing the stairs to his bedroom. Carla loved to
babysit, even if she had to spend the night.
Humming in his little ear, Carla turned the door handle and pushed it
open slowly, waiting for the creaks to pass through. The air was dense.
It was very warm. Before laying Joey down, Carla cradled his little
fingers in her hand and kissed his forehead. Joey didn't stir when his
head touched the pillow.
Carla turned on the baby monitor then stepped out into the lit
hallway. She inched the door shut. A loud click followed after and Carla
sighed with relief that Joey didn't wake.
"Well, I'll go watch some TV," she said out loud. She quietly
traveled down the stairs into the living room.
A loud chime from a grandfather clock scared Carla out of her
twilight phase of sleep. The TV had a fuzzy screen so she turned it off.
Suddenly, a jolt of lightning and thunder crashed forth from the clouds
sending her nerves over the edge. Heavy rain hit the roof with unseen anger
as if trying to break the barrier of the house.
Carla took a breath to calm herself. She was surprised that Joey was still asleep.
To steady herself even more, Carla sprinted into the kitchen, pouring
herself a glass of milk.
"Hmm. The parents should've been home by now," she whispered between
drinks.
Then a knock came at the door. Carla was so unprepared for it that
she jumped spilling some of the milk on the floor. She wanted to clean it
up, but her curiosity made her more nervous. It was midnight. Who could
be at the door?
It must be the parents. They probably lost their keys
or something. And they didn't want to startle her. So they knocked.
Deciding that was a good explanation, Carla carefully walked to the door,
after setting the milk on the counter.
Knock. Knock.
"Who is it?" she called from the behind the door. There were no side
windows or peep holes. " Hello? Who is it?"
There was a long pause and at first she thought she had been
dreaming. She didn't know who this was, but it was definintely not the parents.
She became nervous.
Knock. Knock.
"Who is it?" she asked with more force hoping to get an answer.
"Please..." a lost sounding voice came from behind the door. "Mah-my
car broke down. I need to use a phone."
Carla figured it was a male. She swallowed nervously. "I don't have a
phone," she lied.
"Well, can I come in? It's raining out here."
"No, you can't. Now please leave."
A pause passed over. Carla didn't hear a peep. 'Good. He's gone.'
Knock. Knock.
"Please..." that lost voice again, "I'm so lonely."
Freaky! Now Carla's heart was pounding with fear. "Go away."
" I want you, Carla. I've been watching you. Coming over here.
Babysitting. Beautiful."
"Go AWAY!!! I'll call-" she caught herself.
"Call who? You don't have a phone."
Carla started crying. What does this psycho want?
A few more seconds passed and there was no noise. She sighed with
relief. He was gone.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from the living room. Carla screamed. She
ran into the kitchen grabbing a knife. Fear traveled up her spine
making every hair stand up. Not just on her neck, but her whole body.
Carla held the knife at chin level panting quietly with the cordless
phone in her hand. There was no dial tone. The wires were cut.
'Little Joey!' she screamed in her head remembering the baby. Carla
dropped the phone, sprinted toward the staircase, and ran up. She didn't
see the muddy trail of footprints on the steps.
Another thunder sound came from the clouds. Carla burst into the hot
room with so much panic that she almost tripped. Except for the rain,
the room was really silent. Joey was there, in his crib, oblivious to
what was happening. Carla sighed in relief again.
'Okay. I'll grab the baby and head to a neighbor's house. Just. Grab him. And go.'
Just then, two arms shot from the darkness wrapping themselves around
her neck. Carla screamed, thrashing her body about trying to remove the
grip.
She did her best to keep the knife at a safe distance from
herself. Doing her best, Carla maneuvered herself away from the man and kicked
him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. This gave her the
opportunity to grab Joey who was behind the crouched man.
Carla jumped over the man but to no avail. He reached up grabbing her
by the ankle causing a major fall. Once again, she screamed and
thrashed. He thrashed too trying to get a hold of her. After a minute of
struggle, Carla regained strength, reached for the forgotten blade , and
buried it within the man's neck. Blood sprouted over her face and hands.
The rain poured down harder and Joey was now crying.
Carla calmed herself before grabbing Joey. She pushed the dead man
off of her. Sirens of blue and red flashed on the ceiling. Then, a knock
knock came from downstairs. Carla picked Joey up cradling him in her
arms keeping the bloody knife away from him. She slowly made her way down
the stairs towards the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Miss? Open up. Police. There was a disturbance reported. Are you
alright?"
Carla didn't answer even though she heard every word. Joey stopped
crying and was sucking his thumbs. It was defense, right? Not murder. He broke
in. He harassed me. The warm blood was tickling her face.
She just stood
there, dumbfounded. The carpet was starting to stain.
Knock. Knock. "Miss?"
Carla wiped some blood away from her eye.
Knock, Knock at Midnight© COPYRIGHT 2005 Erin Bennett. Reproduction prohibited without permission from the author. 06/27/05
