Josh lies awake, cuddled up under the covers. His blanket covering his chin as his legs curl more and more till the boy is basically in a fetal position. The wind from outside is ruthless. It howls like a hurricane, hurling the nearby tree branches against his window. It's almost three a.m, Josh wishes he could just sleep but the pitter-pattering of the rain won't let his brain fall asleep. Every time Josh closes his eyes he hears the water droplets splatter against his bedroom window, making it sound like someone's fingertips are tapping against the glass.

Josh's eyes shoot open for the hundredth time, he stares at his dark window hoping to see two yellow dots but there's nothing there, obviously. Monster's don't exist, humans made them up to cover up their own destructive nature. The wind splatters the rain in every direction, no pattern, nothing. It makes Josh anxious, his whole house creaks from the slightest of winds. Even now, the boy can hear his kitchen floor creak as if someone's careful footsteps slip across the flooring. Josh is used to that but it's still unsettling. He often thinks about how he should save up some money to repair his old house, which was almost falling apart. But then, he remembered that it wouldn't feel like home if he got rid of the old, antique railings and the beat-down floors, the clutter of old vintage photos and books. The cheesy floral wallpapers made it feel special and replacing it would not only take away some money from his bank account but also emotional value which the brunet cherished very much. It was his grandma's house after all.

The only room that had a different vibe was of course, Josh's bedroom. It reflected the boy's dorky, nerdy personality like a mirror. It was almost childlike with the Avengers and Star Wars posters on the walls, a Lego death star on his desk that he was proud of, funko pop figurines of his favourite superheroes and a ton of comics stacked in the shelves and in the boxes on the floor. Josh thought of getting Spider-Man sheets but then realized that that would be a bit too much.

Josh keeps lying under the sheets, a sleepless night ahead. Noises from the downstairs would come and go as the wind passed. Josh listens to the sound of coming thunder. It rattles the sky as it approaches, forcing Josh to cover his entire body with his blanket. The boy breathes heavily, listening to the wind roar, tree branches whipping the glass of his bedroom window. Each second it gets worse and worse till the only sound Josh could hear is the heavy rain, accompanied by distant thunder. Josh fears for his window, the branches are beating against it so hard that the window might break or at least crack.

Five in the morning, Josh is still wide awake. He shouldn't have gotten to sleep in the first place. An eerie feeling stings his gut when he feels the creaking downstairs ripple across his whole house, as if someone is walking back and forth, starting from the hall, ending with the living room. Josh tries closing his eyes, they won't stay closed. The pressure in the bottom of his stomach forces the boy to climb out of the bed and out of the safety of his bed. Lightning strikes unexpectedly, the small night lamp by Josh's bed suddenly goes out removing the room from the pleasant glow, drowning it in darkness. Josh's breath hitches, the power went out. All it took, was that one lightning strike nowhere near his house. The brunet guesses it had hit a power line or something, maybe a tree had fallen down and broke it. Josh shivers from the thought of having to walk to the bathroom when there was no light. Even though his bathroom is right next to him, connected to his room, the boy decided to use the guest's bathroom remembering that he might've left some candles there.

The wind had stopped, there's only rain now, calmly sprinkling down. Josh hears slight creaking from downstairs.

As soon as the boy opens his bedroom door, stinging cold greets him from the hall. The boy shivers violently, his teeth involuntarily clatter. Josh is confused, he grabs his fluffy robe and quickly wraps it around himself. He can't walk around in such cold only in his underwear. Josh closes his bedroom door and steps fully into the cold hall.

Josh makes his way down the stairs, making sure to close the door behind him. The brunet is greeted by obnoxious creaking. Josh has no luck finding any candles in the bathroom, he decides to go make himself a cup of tea and maybe search for a flashlight while he's at it. Even though he's used to the loudness of his house, it gets twice as loud when everything is dead silent. The boy shivers again, the temperature shifts to the warmer side once he's out of the hall. Josh is halfway down when something in his brain clicks.

Wait.

He eyes down the thermostat on the wall, even in the darkness he could see that the tiny arrow is set to hot, not cold. Josh remembers that he has central heating and the temperature in his house should always be the same. His eyes widen in horror, the flooring in his living room continues creaking. Soft, rapid steps. The boy immediately turns around, a ragged breath in his throat when he realizes what's might be happening. He swallows thickly and makes his way back upstairs, making as little noise as possible. Josh stares down the dark hall, there's a shiny puddle on the floor next to the window. The curtain is swaying lightly in the air as coldness seeps right in. Josh's chest tightens in fear, he approaches the open window with the intention of closing it. The lock clicks in place but loosens up again a few moments later almost like it was broken. Josh tries as best as he can to fully close the window but the frame is close to breaking, like something, most likely someone much larger than the boy squeezed through.

Josh stares at muddy footprints on the floor, he is almost greeted with a thought of relief when he notices that the dirt further away from the window has dried but then, the brunet realizes that there are no signs of the person going back. The dirt on the floor is not disturbed. The hall is quite narrow, there's no way that the person went back and didn't step into their old footprints at least once or twice.

"Da-Dallon?" the boy calls out, merely a whisper

Josh listens careful, the air is as thick as jelly, he feels blood pulsate in his ears. He can feel his blood rushing in his veins. There is no response.

Josh is sent to an immediate panic attack. The thought of someone still being in his house is so terrifying that Josh is glad that he went to the bathroom before he found out about the break-in. The boy feels his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach as he walks back to his room. He peeks through the gap, scanning the surroundings. When Josh is sure that there's no one in his room, he quickly slips in and dives for his phone. His initial thought is to call 911 but a certain name distracts him. Tyler. Josh quickly dials the number, waiting for the man to pick up. Josh almost cries out when it goes straight to the voicemail.

"Hey, you have reached the voicemail of Tyler Joseph," a cheerful voice emits from the phone "This can only mean two things, I'm asleep or I really don't wanna talk to you. Most likely it's the second option. Leave a message, I probably won't read it."

"Tyler," Josh whispers, tears streaming down his face "Tyler, please pick up, I know it's really early in the morning but I need you, okay?"

Josh dials the man's number again hoping that this time he had woken up but the brunet is greeted by Tyler's voicemail once again. Josh shakes his head, this can't be happening. He has work tomorrow. Why, from all the houses on his street, his old crusty house was the target? He had nothing to steal.

Josh reaches for his phone again, eyes scanning his room for a possible weapon to defend himself with. From all the nerdy things he has, there's nothing that could help him fight off the intruder. The boy's eyes light up once he remembers his bat. He quickly reaches of it in the closet but his hand grips nothing but empty. The curly-haired boy almost cries out realizing that Tyler had left it somewhere outside. Josh remembers the man take the bat outside but when he reached him the weapon was nowhere to be seen. Josh's shaky fingers press three numbers, he's clutching the phone like it's his last hope.

"911, what's your emergency?" a calm feminine voice greets Josh

"I think there's someone in my house..." the boy whispers, eyes darting around nervously

"I'm gonna need you to stay calm, sir," the 911 operator instructs "Is there a place you could hide? A basement or maybe a bedroom?"

"I'm in m-my bedroom," the boy utters

"Good. Make sure your door is locked, if you can't lock it, barricade it with furniture."

Josh darts for the door, twisting the lock twice. The brunet pushes a chair in front of him as well, as if it's gonna stop the intruder if they manage to unlock the door.

"Sir, I'll need your address-" Josh covers the phone when he hears more noises from downstairs

The boy pushes his clothes aside and climbs into his closet. It's quite big, could fit two. The boy presses a palm against his mouth to muffle his heavy breathing. He stares at his bedroom door through the crack, praying to God it doesn't open.

"Sir, are you there?" Josh hears the voice from his phone

"Y-yes..." Josh utters

"What's your address? We'll send an officer right away."

Josh exhales heavily, leaning against something soft at the back of his closet. 

"My address is-" Josh holds his breath, numbness shackling his chest

He hears a faint breathing. Right next to his ear. Warm air blowing on his neck. The boy swallows thickly, eyes widening in the darkness. He freezes for a moment, two incredibly strong arms wrap around him before he could dart out of the closet. A muffled scream leaves Josh's mouth, a damp rag is pressed against his face filling his nostrils with slightly sweet, solvent smell.

The phone calls on the ground as the boy struggles, the rag is pressed harder against his nose and mouth, not letting him breathe freely. The boy feels slight dizziness cast over him but he knows, if this is chloroform it'll take at least five minutes to render him unconscious so the boy struggles as hard as he can to move his face away. But the intruder is pressing his hand firmly, Josh's head falls against the stranger's shoulder where he cannot move his head anymore. The soft, slightly ragged breathing of the intruder falters a bit when Josh stomps his foot on the man's toes. Josh assumes it's a man judging by the muscular arms wrapping around his fragile waist and a firm chest, pushing against his back. The man is taller, stronger with more advantage.

Josh uses his disadvantage, hurling forward, smacking right into the closed closet door. It doesn't support both of their weight. It cracks, a few moments later they're both falling on the floor surrounded by pieces of wood. The intruder's grip loosens, Josh whips his head back, smacking the man, aiming right in the middle of his face. He hopes that he got the man's nose but from the feel of it, he smacked the back of his head into his cheek.

Josh scrambles off the floor, the intruder takes some time to get up. Josh rattles the doorknob but it won't open. It's stuck.

Josh's eyes widen in terror realizing the weight of this whole situation. Two, now familiar arms wrap around him, this time the man places his chin in the crook of Josh's neck avoiding another  possible smack. Josh let's out a moan of displeasure, the intruder's face is scratchy. The boy shudders from the thought of what could be the man's intentions. Josh's head feels light, chest tight. He guesses the chloroform had already evaporated. The brunet is still dizzy though. Not passing out, just dizzy and a tad disoriented.

Josh hears the 911 operator still talking, his phone laying on the closet floor. Josh bites the man's fingers wanting him move is hand away.

"Three-one-eight," Josh screams before the man could silence him again "Three-one-eight Patterson street!"

Josh is silenced by a large hand over his mouth, the boy prays that the lady heard him scream his address. The boy is flung on his bed, he feels tears choking him. The brunet manages to utter through his sobbing, begging the man.

"Please, no-" Josh whimpers feeling the man's weight on him "P-please, stop."

He kicks and punches, some of the hits land, majority of them don't. Josh is flipped on his stomach, the man's chest against his once again, pressing him down.

"Please-" the boy begs, feeling the man grip his hair

Josh hears his sheets being ripped, a small blade in the man's hands gives off a slight glint as it glides through the fabric.

"Don't do this, please, I-" Josh is muffled by a piece of fabric being shoved in his mouth "Mhmf-"

The boy's tears stain the mattress under him, the man rips up his sheets into thick stripes, tying up the boy's hands and feet with them promptly. Another strip of fabric goes over Josh's mouth, making sure he's unable to speak. Josh lays hogtied on his bed, unable to move, but he tries to anyways. The man seems to lose his patience.

"Don't move," he growls, his deep voice sending shivers down Josh's spine

Josh squirms, humming as loud as he can, silently begging the man to release him. The intruder now fully loses patience. His long fingers wrap around Josh's throat, squeezing his jugular veins. Once the blood flow to the brain is cut off Josh's eyes lower, he feels like falling into a bottomless pit.

The last thing the boy feels before his body falls senseless is the man's slender fingers, gently choking him unconscious.