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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Mimic at the Window
\nMy blood turned to ice. I stared at the glowing screen of my phone, the words burning into my retinas. Why are you holding a bat? And why are you outside my window?<\/p>\n
My hand twisted the doorknob, and I threw the door open.<\/p>\n
Chloe was backed into the far corner of her room, her knees pulled tight to her chest, trembling violently. The phone was clutched in her hands like a lifeline. Her terrified eyes darted from me, panting in the doorway, to the window across the room.<\/p>\n
I followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
Standing on the lawn, illuminated by the sickly yellow glow of the streetlamp, was me.<\/p>\n
The figure outside wore my exact oversized gray cardigan and faded sweatpants. In its right hand, it gripped a wooden baseball bat, mirroring my own white-knuckled stance. But its face\u2014God, its face was a nightmare of wrong proportions. The eyes were too wide, unblinking, stretching the pale skin tight across its cheekbones. And it was smiling. It was a jagged, impossible grin that seemed to stretch from ear to ear, revealing too many teeth.<\/p>\n
“Mom?” Chloe whimpered, her voice cracking as she looked between me and the window. “Which one…?”<\/p>\n
“Don’t look at it,” I ordered, my motherly instinct violently overriding the paralyzing terror. I stepped fully into the room and locked the door behind me. “Chloe, get up. Grab your shoes. We are leaving through the front door right now.”<\/p>\n
Tap. Tap. Tap.<\/p>\n
The sound was sharp against the glass. The thing outside was casually rapping the windowpane with the tip of its bat, its head tilted at an unnatural, broken angle.<\/p>\n
Then, my own voice filtered through the thin glass. It sounded distorted and hollow, like a recording played over a busted speaker.<\/p>\n
“I’m coming, keep your door locked! Open up, sweetie. Mom’s here.”<\/p>\n
Chloe clamped her hands over her ears, a sob ripping from her throat.<\/p>\n
I grabbed her arm, hauling her to her feet. “Come on. Keep your eyes on my back and run.”<\/p>\n
We bolted out of her bedroom into the dark hallway. Just as we cleared the doorframe, the tapping at the window shifted to a violent, deafening smash. CRACK. The sound of shattering glass and splintering wood echoed through the house. The heavy thud of boots hit the bedroom floor.<\/p>\n
It was inside.<\/p>\n
I pushed Chloe ahead of me toward the front door, my heart hammering against my ribs. Fumbling frantically with the deadbolt, I heard the dragging sound of the bat against the hallway walls.<\/p>\n
“Where are we going, Chloe?” the thing called out from the darkness of the hall, its voice now sickly sweet and sickeningly perfect. “Don’t you want a hug from Mom?”<\/p>\n
The lock clicked. I ripped the door open, shoved Chloe out into the cool night air, and followed her. I pulled the heavy front door shut behind us, wincing as a pale, heavy hand slammed against the wood from the inside.<\/p>\n
We didn’t stop running until we reached the car. I threw it into gear and sped down the street, leaving the house\u2014and whatever had just stolen my face\u2014far behind in the dark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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