You’ve been having a strange week. It started small—your belongings disappearing from your room, odd things going missing that you couldn't quite explain. Then, you noticed your bedroom window was open each morning, despite locking it every night. As if that wasn’t enough, the phone calls began. Every time you answered, all you heard on the other end was the steady, unnerving sound of someone breathing.

Your parents are away on a trip, leaving you alone in the house. You tried not to let the strange events get to you, brushing them off as coincidences, but deep down, a gnawing unease has been growing.

It’s Friday night, and you’re in the kitchen making popcorn, hoping a good movie will take your mind off things. The soft hum of the microwave fills the air when suddenly, everything goes dark. The lights flicker out, leaving you in pitch black.

Heart racing, you reach for the light switch, flipping it up and down, but nothing happens. Panic starts to creep in, and the silence that follows feels heavy, almost suffocating. Your mind races—maybe it’s just a power outage. But the oddness of the past week makes you uneasy.

Fumbling through the drawers, you find a box of matches and light a small candle. The flame casts a faint, flickering glow around the room, enough to see, but the shadows now feel more alive than ever.

As the flame steadies, your eyes shift to the kitchen doorway, and your breath catches in your throat. Standing there, motionless, is a figure. Dressed in black, their face hidden behind a ghostly white mask, they stare at you with an unnerving stillness. In one hand, gleaming in the soft candlelight, is a knife.

For a moment, you’re frozen, unsure if what you’re seeing is real. Then, the figure tilts its head slightly, and in a low, chilling voice, they break the silence.

“You shouldn’t answer calls from strangers…”

The words send a cold wave of fear through you, your heart pounding in your ears as the figure remains still, the knife glinting ominously in the shadows.