Noises

(WARNING: general horror)

Sometimes the things that scare us most aren't works of fiction. More often than you would think they are the things that we have lived through. I'll share with you, whether you choose to believe me or not, one of those tales.

It was summer the first time it had happened. I was home alone that night. I was watching a favored show when the noise started. It was so soft and subtle at first that I hadn't really noticed it. It wasn't until the commercial break that I heard that soft tapping more fully.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I still remember the way it sounded. It seemed to echo off the walls in that dark room before finding me again. I naturally thought I had just scared myself into hearing it. After all it was a scary program I had been watching. I still felt terribly uneasy but I shoved the feeling aside when the show had started again.

I didn't notice the noise again for the rest of the airing. By the end of the program I was content again and comfortable. I could feel sleep starting to seep into me. It was late. I could tell just by the inky blackness that was cradling me. I gave the TV one last smile before shutting it off.

My bed was impossibly comfortable that night. It was perfectly warm as the blanket gave the weight of safety. I could feel my body growing more and more relaxed as I settled in more. My eyes felt heavy as they adjusted to the darkness around me. I closed them slowly and let myself start to drift off into sleep.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I remember for a brief moment not really understanding what I had just heard. It was such a soft familiar noise. Slowly though it dawned upon my foggy brain that the noise was the same as it had been before.

My eyes snapped open more out of surprised fear than anything else. I felt my heart leap into my chest and for a long moment that was all I could hear. Each loud fearful drum of it rang in my ears. My body stiffened reflexively as my eyes scanned the room. It was a half moon out but it didn't leave much light to help me see. Instead it worked to cast odd shadows across the room. The small trinkets on my dresser made impossibly large foes as I watched the darkness. It felt so heavy now. That once comfortable weight that had kept me before was now gone.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

This time I knew it couldn't have been my imagination. No. This time I could more clearly hear it in the wall above my head. My eyes shot up to gaze at the blank space. I felt sick as I tried to calm myself. Each nerve so frayed from the fear that I couldn't even manage to move more than I had.

What in the hell was that noise? It had sounded again, like someone softly knocking on the wall. If I had lived in an apartment at the time it would have been nothing but...this was the second story of the house. I sat in silent fear as my eyes passed over the room one more time. Nothing was there.

A cold damp sweat had started to form over my pale skin as I listened closer.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

This time it sounded closer to me. I could feel a dull ache in my body from keeping my muscles tensed for so long. I couldn't move though. It had sounded like it was inside the wall further down now. Unfortunately enough for me that soft sound was followed by another. I could hear something move. The noise was similar to the sound of someone shuffling along the floor. However it didn't come from the room but instead inside the wall.

I know what you're thinking. I thought the same thing too. It had to be something like the pipes right? I had thought so too. The relief that washed over me as that thought held me was comforting. I had just been scaring myself. I had smiled to myself as I closed my eyes again. The fear had finally ebbed some.

I could feel that perfect comfort starting to pull me back into sleep. The sheets were so soft on my skin and the room was perfectly cool. My mind was starting to fall away into the all too familiar darkness of sleep. Even the cool hand on my cheek was so very nice.