BOOM! Thunder roared outside and rain pattered against the house. This storm had been going on for a few hours and would hopefully end soon. My room lit up as giant bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. For a split second, it looked as if a figure was outside in the yard. I climbed out of bed and the wooden floorboards creaked as I walked to the window. I peeked out of the blinds but it was so dark it was like I still had my eyes closed. I crawled back into bed, sinking back into the warm covers. It was probably just a trick of the light, the lightning is pretty wild tonight. I kept tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep but the blankets never seemed to lay quite right. As I felt my eyes begin to close, there was a faint scraping sound outside. It’s just the trees against the side of the house, I told myself. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep again hoping it would be morning soon.

The sun peered through the clouds, and I climbed out of bed. See, I knew it was just the storm, there was nothing out there. I walked to the window to see if the storm had done any damage. The big tree outside had lost a few branches and there were twigs all over the ground, but it looked fairly normal. But as I scanned the yard, I saw muddy footprints leading away from my window and off into the distance.