The Thing Behind You
424 Words
Tunde’s breath stopped.
The phone slipped slightly in his shaking hands as he stared at the screen.
The figure… was now right behind him.
He could see it.
But he could not feel it.
No footsteps.
No breath.
No presence.
Just… there.
Slowly, with every ounce of courage he had left, Tunde turned around.
Nothing.
Empty room.
His chair. His desk. His half-open wardrobe.
No one.
A sharp whisper suddenly crackled from his phone speaker—
“Don’t turn your back again.”
Tunde gasped and spun back to the phone.
The camera view was gone.
Now it was just a black screen… with text appearing letter by letter.
“It can only move when you don’t see it.”
His heart slammed against his ribs.
“That’s not possible…” he said, backing toward the wall.
Buzz.
Another message.
“You already saw it once. That means it knows you can see it.”
The lights in his room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Darkness.
Total.
Complete.
The power was gone.
“NEPA?? Seriously??” he whispered, panic rising.
His phone was now the only source of light.
Buzz.
“Do NOT let the phone go off.”
Tunde’s hands tightened around it.
“Why?!” he whispered urgently.
No reply.
Instead…
The camera turned on again.
Tunde forced himself to look.
And there it was.
Closer than before.
So close that he could now see its face—
Except… it didn’t have one.
Just a smooth, shifting surface, like darkness trying to imitate a human head.
Its arms were too long.
Its fingers… dragging lightly across the wall behind him.
Scrrrrttt…
Tunde heard it this time.
A real sound.
Right behind him.
His body went cold.
Tears filled his eyes as he whispered, “Please…”
Buzz.
“It learns faster when you’re afraid.”
The creature tilted its head on the screen.
Then—
It raised one long finger…
And pointed directly at the phone.
At him.
The screen glitched violently.
For a split second, Tunde saw something that made his blood run cold—
The figure… was holding a phone too.
And on its screen…
It was watching him.
Buzz.
Final message.
“Now it sees you from both sides.”
The phone battery dropped suddenly:
5%… 4%… 3%…
“No, no, no…” Tunde whispered, frantically looking for a charger.
But then he remembered—
There had been no power for hours.
The room grew colder.
The scratching sound got louder.
Closer.
Right at his ear.
To Be Continued…
- Writer
