David Buchan lives in the UK. His stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies in the UK and the US, including Champagne Shivers, Doorways, the BFS Journal, and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Visit David online at: www.davidbuchanwriting.wordpress.com.

david buchan

Night Call

Carrie opened her eyes, woken by a sound coming from somewhere nearby.

In bed, alone, she sat up and listened.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... tap.

She stretched out her arm and switched on the bedside lamp. The light stung her eyes. She rubbed them, and looked toward the bedroom window.

A pale face, male and grotesquely misshapen, looked back at her from the other side of the glass. Huge, blackened fingernails tapped the pane, hitting it in sync, again and again.

But there was no ledge outside the window for anyone to stand on, she realized, confused. And her apartment was six floors up.

A crack appeared in the glass, spreading outwards.

The man outside smiled.

END