The Visitor

One day, on a day that started off like any other, Patrick Valentine had just came home after a long day at school and a pretty intense basketball practice. It seemed to be a typical Thursday afternoon. He had a little homework and half the city was bracing itself for his school's basketball rivalry game against Butler HS. But later that evening around 5:30; things took an unexpected turn. He heard a knock on his front door, and when he opened it he saw a mysterious stranger standing on his porch wearing a large, bulky black-hooded coat with the hood coming down over his face to where you couldn’t see his eyes. He was standing back a few feet from the door and when he spoke he sounded grim. He told Patrick his name was Brian Harrison and he lived about seven houses down the street. He also said he was throwing a party later that night for his brother Brandon, who is a U.S. marine, in commemoration for his safe trip back home from Iraq. A bit puzzled, Patrick politely declined his invitation because it was a school night, but as he was talking to the person he knew there was something not right about this guy. He kept asking himself questions like, “Why would someone I don’t know randomly show up at my door one day and invite me to a party?” “And who throws parties on week nights anyway?” The scary thing was, when Patrick refused his offer the man appeared to be somewhat upset as he was leaving.

So later that night Shean, Patrick’s best friend and teammate, called him up and told him he was on his way over. And about 15 minutes later he pulled in the drive. So Patrick and Shean hung out at the crib for a little bit before deciding they’d hit up Blockbuster and rent some old movies and some Xbox 360 games. They were planning to stay up late that night because Patrick’s parents were gone out of town on a business trip and wouldn’t return until Sunday. But when they stepped outside, they noticed a lot of cars parked at a neighbors house down the street. The residents and their visitors were being very loud and obnoxious, but as usual nobody really seemed to care. So anyway they got in Shean’s black 2010 Dodge Challenger with 24-inch rims and a ice cream paint job :-) and started to back out of the driveway, when all of a sudden this strange car came speeding down the street and crept by really slow as it came up on Patrick’s house. It appeared to be an 06’ or 07’ navy-colored Mitsubishi Eclipse with windows tinted up so much you could see your reflection. This vehicle appeared as though it was headed to the party down the street, but instead… it drove off very aggressively making a suspicious scene. Shean said, “Let’s go park at that party and run back here and hide around the property, and see if it comes back.” And being slightly worried, Patrick liked the idea so it was on. So Patrick hid up in the big Sycamore tree in his front yard while Shean decided to hide under the neighbors carport in the shadows, and about 10 minutes later that suspicious Eclipse came thru. This time it parked on the side of the road in front of Patrick’s house. There was a brief pause in the action and then both the driver and passenger side doors opened, and two goons in dark clothing stepped out of the vehicle and approached his home.

Once they got to the front porch, Patrick and Shean snuck up behind them startling them and causing a scene. One guy came at Patrick with a 7-inch long Jim Bowie hunting knife, but Patrick sidestepped him and tossed him to the ground. And both guys ran off and drove away. The police were called by a neighbor who happened to see what was going on, and Patrick explained everything to them. So the police were now wary of the situation. And to add to the excitement, one week later it was reported on the news that two mysterious suspects were arrested after a high speed chase and police discovered they were wanted in Mississippi for a large number of armed robbery home invasions and murders where they would stalk victims, getting into their personal lives, and wait for the right time to execute their evil intentions. Word is, they would always announce themselves before robbing and killing a victim in a game of ‘cat and mouse’. Shocking news for Patrick…who was very relieved, knowing what could’ve happened, and that by the grace of God he wasn’t a victim of these shady psychopaths. So anyway, as time went on things seemed to be normal. One year had passed since then, and Patrick had not seen any suspicious activity around his neighborhood nor heard anything about this mysterious Brian Willis character who was apparently in federal prison now. Everything was smooth sailing, Pat finally graduated from high school and was now focused on becoming successful in life and all that good stuff.

All seemed blissful until one night when Patrick’s parents went out of town yet again, this time on a vacation to the Bahamas. It was about 11pm, he was home alone and was getting ready for bed. He flipped off the lights. It was a beautiful, pleasant, starry night with a full moon. And Patrick just lay in his bed listening to the creaky sounds of the house and watching the shadows dance across his wall from where the trees outside were shaking in the moonlight as a gentle breeze blew through the area. Pretty peaceful, nothing to concern you. Especially not Patrick, he’s 19 years old and as many scary movies as he’s watched, he’s seen it all and fears nothing. A while later Pat finally drifted off to sleep; then he hears a knock at his front door in the middle of the night. He glanced at his alarm clock: 2am. “Wow” he thinks.
“Who the hell’s knocking on my door at this hour?” He crept down the hallway into the living room; then he peeked out the window and saw no one. He then opened the front door and scanned the surrounding area…nobody to be found. So he decided to go back to bed assuming it was really nothing serious to worry about. Then all of a sudden he heard a loud clang in his his living room. He gets up, and cautiously makes his way down the hall toward the living room, holding his breath, he looked in it and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then the phone rings. He exhaled, and hesitated for a few seconds, then picked it up and said, “Hello.” There was a moment of silence, then a deep grim voice replied, “Hello. My name is Brian Harrison, and this call is coming from…inside the house.” Click. :-)

*This story is based on true events. Thank You to all who read and enjoyed my first suspense story. I plan to write many more. Follow my Twitter account(@iamcalvinleach) to recieve updates about possible "next episodes" to my stories and to offer suggestions. You guys are great. Peace :-)