He looked down at the paper and then back at the clock. It was almost midnight and he hadn’t written anything yet. The man went over to the sink to splash his face with some water. The doorbell rang. It was his neighbor Mr. Peterson. “Hey Jeff, you left your truck on outside,” he said. Jeff didn’t believe him, for he did not even go out for the day. Peterson led him to the driveway. The red Ford truck was falling apart. The paint was peeling off, there were dents on the fender and the right side mirror was missing. Jeff went to turn off the engine. Once he turned it off, the engine suddenly turned back on again. He tried again and the engine gave him no more trouble.

Going back into the house, he sat down to finish his work. A dog came down the stairs. It was his dog, a five-year old border collie. She came up to him and rubbed against his legs. Suddenly the lights turned off. “Darn, the circuit breaker’s acting up again,” Jeff thought to himself. He went outside to fix it. It was pitch dark and he didn’t have a working flashlight. Even the lights outside the house were off. He went to the garage and found an old candle in one of the boxes nearby. He lit the candle and went outside. He reset the circuit and went back inside. As he stepped through the door, the doorbell rang. Figuring that it was Peterson again, he slowly made his way towards the door. Opening it, Jeff found that Peterson was not there. It was a little girl.

She didn’t look much older than ten. She wore a faded red dress and her long hair covered her face. The girl’s feet and hands were covered in what looked like soot. “Hello there,” Jeff called out to her. She did not respond. “Hello?” he asked again. Again, she did not respond. Inside the house, the dog was barking. Jeff turned around to quiet the dog. When he looked back towards the doorway, the girl was gone. He stood there puzzled for a moment. The dog started barking behind him, causing him to turn around to see why. There was the girl, inside his house. She lifted her head and looked at him, revealing her face. Her eyes were yellow and narrow, like those of a cat. The dog, still barking, grew louder and louder. “Quiet!” shouted Jeff. As soon as he said that, the lights started to flicker. The little girl started to flicker with the light as well. Sometimes she was there, sometimes she was not. With each flicker, she appeared closer and closer. Eventually, she was right in front of him. Jeff backed away slowly, not wishing to startle the girl. Because of the lights, he tripped on a box that was on the floor. On his back, he looked up at the girl and closed his eyes, waiting. Suddenly, he heard the dog growling. Jeff opened his eyes to find his companion facing the girl, hair stiff and nose snarled. They stood still for a moment, unsure of what would happen next.
The dog made the first move. It jumped at the girl, pinning her down. The girl, still expressionless, did not flinch. The lights then abruptly switched off. A pitch-black darkness filled the house. Jeff stood up, holding out his hand to feel his surroundings. The dog’s snarling suddenly stopped. The silence was soon broken by a screaming yelp. Jeff, helpless to do anything, called out to his dog. The yelps soon stopped. He called out again and was met with silence. The lights eventually switched back on again. There was no sign of the girl. He looked down to see a most horrible sight. On the floor was the dismembered leg of his dog and nothing else. He fell on his knees and wept. Jeff looked up to see the little girl staring down at him, her cold eyes staring into his soul. Parts of her dress were ripped and there was a dripping red line on her cheek. Regaining his composure, Jeff made for the door and eventually made it to his neighbor’s front door. Jeff ran to his neighbor’s. Banging on the front door, Jeff screamed for him to come out.
A very tired Peterson answered the door, rubbing his eyes fiercely. “Jeff? What happened?” he said. Jeff told the story to Peterson, who was skeptical. “Look Jeff, you just had a nightmare” he said. Jeff then grabbed Peterson’s arm and brought him to the house. Opening the door carefully, he looked inside. All the lights were on and the room looked like it had always been. Jeff stepped inside, surprised at what he didn’t see. The door then slammed behind him. Hearing something on the other side, Jeff put his ear against the door. Outside, Peterson was talking to someone. What followed casual questioning was fear. “No….Stay back!” said Peterson with a quivering voice. A blood-chilling scream was heard through the door. Taking no chances, Jeff broke down the door. There was the girl, looking down at Peterson, at least what was left of him. All of his limbs were missing. Jeff ran and found a closet to hide in. The screams eventually stopped. After a few minutes of silence, he opened his eyes. In the darkness, there were two yellow ovals looking at him. Jeff screamed.
Jeff opened his eyes. He looked around to find that he was back at his desk. There was sweat dripping down his face. He looked at the clock then back at his paper. It was almost midnight and there was nothing written on the paper. Looking around frantically, he called out to his dog. The collie came down the stairs and greeted her master. “It was just a dream” Jeff thought to himself. He blew a sigh of relief and went over to the sink to wash off his sweat. Then the doorbell rang.