Will You Let Me In?

Mel would go to his family’s vacation house by the lake during the fall. It was a peaceful community with retired inhabitants. He arrived just as the sun rose over the tree line, having made the late-night drive to avoid traffic. Turning the car into the driveway, he parked it and turned it off.

Mel opened the car door, taking a moment to stretch out. Going to the back of the car, he opened the boot, gathered his bags, and took them inside. His parents had left a note on the counter. Walking over, he glanced at the note briefly.

The note stated that the pantry and fridge were restocked.

If the power were to go out, use the generator in the basement. What confused Mel was a scribble at the bottom left by his sibling, leaving a warning.

Whatever IT says, and no matter what IT does, DO NOT let it in.

Was this a joke since it was close to Halloween?

It was customary for them to play jokes on each other around this time of year. For now, he shrugged and unpacked. When he finished, Mel was ready for lunch, so he made himself a meal.

While sitting there, though out of the corner of his eyes, he could have sworn that he saw something move outside.

Was it an animal?

The neighbors have pets. It could also be some of the local wildlife. His dad has reported seeing deer in the area.

Though it certainly did not seem animal-shaped.

After finishing his lunch, Mel cleaned up. He then took his dishes to the kitchen, rinsed them off, and put them into the dishwasher to be washed later.

Placing a hand over his mouth, he yawned, looking at the grandfather clock in the kitchen. Should he go for a walk or lay down for a nap? Mel figured staying inside with whatever was looming outside would be best.

On his way through the house, he checked the windows, pulled the curtains closed, checked the doors, and closed the sliding door shades.

Stepping back from the sliding glass door, Mel could have sworn that there was a slight tapping against the glass. He decided it was just the shades moving from being closed and went to the bedroom.

Before long, he was fast asleep. After some time, the sun had gone down considerably, so Mel opened his eyes.

Getting up from his bed, he reached over and clicked on the lamp on the bedside table. He took a moment to rub the sleep from his eyes before he stood up. Upon entering the living room, the automatic lights lit his way, but he stopped halfway when he noticed a silhouette outside the sliding glass door.

A pair of hands and a face pressed itself to the glass, staring inside.

Mel was thankful he had closed the blinds. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back slowly, only to see the figure’s head jerk in his direction.

“I can hear you in there. Won’t you let me in?”

He kept quiet, not answering.

“I know you’re in there! Why won’t you speak to me?!”

Mel heard scratching on the glass as if it were trying to make its way inside.

Should he call the police? What exactly would they even do?

IT banged on the sliding glass door, and the whole thing ratified and shook.

“LET me in…”

“Let ME…in,”

“LET ME IN!”

Retreating to the primary bedroom, he crawled under the bed. Mel pulled out his cell phone, tapping 911 onto the screen.

Waiting for someone to pick up, the glass shattering made him jump. He lost his grip on his phone and dropped it. Mel could only watch as it bounced and slid from under the bed. Going to reach for it, he quickly retracted his hand upon hearing footsteps as if someone were dragging their feet.

“Hello, 911; what is your emergency?” a man’s voice spoke from Mel’s discarded phone, which was out of reach.

The man repeated himself and sighed, clearly annoyed. He then mumbled about prank callers and how this happened every year.

His heart felt like it jumped into his throat, making it hard to swallow as those footsteps were now in the primary bedroom with him.

Staying still, Mel heard the bed creak as if someone or something was crawling across it. Holding his breath, he wished it would just go away.

Slowly, the side of the comforter rose.

It first lowered its long black hair, and then its face appeared. Its features contorted with a matching twisted and upturned smile.

“Why wouldn’t you let me in?” it hissed angrily.

Mel screamed, fainting from shock. He did not know how long he had been out and awoke when his sister Wynn called out for him. Opening his eyes from his place under the bed, he saw that it was now daylight. Had IT left him alone?

Crawling out from under the bed, he went to the living room, where his sister was cleaning up the shards scattered on the carpet from the broken sliding glass door. Wynn looked at him over her shoulder as he approached.

“There you are, Mel! I tried calling your cellphone, but you did not pick up.”

“Sorry, sis,” Mel apologized.

“Say, um… Wynn, about that warning you left with the note on the counter,” he inquired.

Wynn was silent for a moment before frowning.

“Oh, that? When I was here a few weeks ago, I thought… I saw,” she shook her head before asking, “What happened to the door?”

He wanted to tell her what she had warned him about was real. Knowing Wynn, she would brush it off, saying Mel was trying to prank her since they did every Halloween, but not this year. Whatever was outside, desperately wanting in and had gotten in, left Mel alive.

Next time, he may not be so lucky.