“Thomas! I’ve told you a hundred times, close the door behind you when you go outside. Anyone could get into the house.”

 

“Sorry, Mum,” Thomas replied.

 

That night, as he was drifting off to sleep, Thomas felt a weight easing down onto the bottom of his bed, and the sound of wet, rasping breathing turned his skin ice-cold.

 

“Is someone there?” Thomas whispered.

 

“Yes,” a voice replied in the dark; joyless and cruel.

 

“Mum?” Thomas croaked.

 

The weight on the bed shifted, and Thomas heard footsteps pad closer.

 

“Not Mum,” the voice said, suddenly too close to Thomas’ face. “Anyone.”

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Dale Parnell lives in Staffordshire, England, with his wife and their imaginary dog, Moriarty. He writes fiction, mainly fantasy, sci-fi and horror, along with the occasional poem, and is featured in over sixty excellent anthologies from a variety of independent publishers around the world. Dale has self-published three collections of short stories, and his debut science-fiction novel PYR, is available now. Dale is currently working on a follow-up to PYR, and his strangest wish is to find a copy of one his books for sale in a second-hand bookshop.