The sudden fall of rain shattered the silence of the night as Jason huddled further into the corner of the shed. The heavy footsteps of the precipitation marched atop the tin roof, and Jason found a succor calmness in the sound of the steady flow of water running down from the corrugated metal.

Outside, a branch snapped.

Jason gasped quietly. He could almost feel his ears tingle as he strained to hear any more sounds outside his sheet metal safehaven. As he did, it dawned on him that the rain may drown out any potential warnings.

Another branch snapped, followed by a pile of leaves shuffling. Jason would not be so unfortunate to have whatever was outside surprise him. Instead, each silent second felt like a cord drawn too tight for too long, leaving Jason waiting for it to snap.

Another crack.

His breath shuddered. The thing outside was getting closer to the door. Every time Jason blinked, his breath stuck in his throat in fear of missing the sight of whatever was outside. His eyes were glued to the thin metal door, his last bulwark between himself and whatever lurked in the deep, rainy darkness. He focused on the hole where a doorknob once fit, now serving as a miniscule window into the world outside. Jason watched the rain as it fell, illuminated by the dim light above the door.

The light from the doorknob-hole went out. Jason’s eyes widened and he clasped his hand over his mouth, trying to hold in the sounds of sobs, screams, or anything else from whatever was directly outside. A terrible silence seemed to radiate from the behind the door, drowning out even the rattling of the rain. Clutched to his face, Jason’s hand shook as he waited for what came next. Fear rocked his body. It was as if all his cries were trapped inside and wanted to claw their way out. His heart thundered in his chest. Warm tears began to roll down his cheek. He shuffled his feet towards him, his knees squeezing against his chest. He tried to back deeper into the corner but found there was nowhere else to hide. He wished he could shrink into a speck of nothingness, a tiny thing that could never be found or afraid.

The metal door flew open with a shriek and darkness flooded into the room.