(This is a one-shot story, based on a prompt I saw online.)

It began as an utterly useless day. You went on with your life as normal.  You were simply scrolling through Tumblr on your laptop, as you had been for.. hours.
..Suddenly, you heard a knock on the door.

"(This is strange..)" You thought. It was so late at night, and yet you had a visitor.
You set your laptop down.

You went over to open the door ..It was someone you had never seen before. But they looked.. nervous, almost.

"I know you don't know me, but in my world, you're a character in a book. I'm a big fan of you. ..The point is, I know how the book ends. I gained the power to come here to be able to change that." They quickly spoke.

You raised a brow at this, processing the information. You had been getting pranked almost all week by some bastard neighbor kids. ..You finally got fed up with it.

"..Do you think I'm stupid?" You questioned the figure.

"I assure you, I'm not assuming that! You need to come with me if you want to live, that's the point I'm making!"
They grabbed you by the sleeve and tried to pull you through the door. You immediately jerked your arm back.

"Hell no! This is probably another damn prank! Do you think this is funny?! Taking time out of my day to prank me and see me angry?!"
You hissed out. The visitor tried to grab you again, but you shoved them back and slammed the door shut.

They banged on the door.. but you didn't let them in. You shoved your dresser in front of the door, just in case they tried to get in.

They yelled through the door. "DON'T STAY INSIDE THE HOUSE AFTER 12:07!!"

..You felt almost tired. You glanced up at the clock. ..It read 11:49 pm. You should have been asleep an hour and four minutes ago.

After what had just happened, you decided to end the day already. It was boring, and then strange at the very end. It didn't really matter to you, anyways.

You went to your bedroom, got changed, and laid down in your bed. After that, you drifted off to sleep..

You woke up suddenly almost 14 minutes later, presumably from a nightmare.

The last thing you could remember from that nightmare was.. the time was 12:07, and something that looked like a spectre was pushing a knife through your chest, using their other hand to muffle your screams.

..You sat there in silence for a few minutes, then glanced at the clock. ..12:06.

The door slowly creaked open. The sound of metal scraping against something rang out, then suddenly went silent.

When you turned on the lights to get a better look, you saw a mortifying sight. It was the spectre. And they had the exact knife they did in that dream.

They took a small step forward, while you stepped back quickly. They ran in front of you and grabbed your shoulders, slamming you into a wall forcefully.

You struggled violently, but nothing happened. They flinched for a moment, but then covered your mouth with one of their hands and suddenly pressed the knife into your chest.

When they pulled the knife out, you slowly began to bleed out. You fell to your knees and tried to grasp the wound to make sure it didn't spurt blood, but it just kept coming.

..You felt lightheaded. You glanced over at the clock.

"..12:07.." You whispered softly. You finally fell unconscious..

..When you awoke, you were in a darkened room. Your room. You looked over at the clock. It was 12:39. Seems as if you had passed out.

When you went to get up, you noticed something. Your hands were.. transparent, almost. Suddenly, you realized. You stared over at the wall you had been pushed against.

Your body laid there, motionless and lifeless. You tried to scream, but no sound came out.

"(AM I DEAD?!)" You shrieked to yourself inside of your own mind.

...No response came.

"(..I'm dead.. s..so that's it..? I don't get to grow older? ..I don't get to make a family?..)" You quietly began to whisper to yourself.

'(...Didn't I tell you? Don't stay inside after 12:07..)' A voice said to you in a taunting tone.

"(..What.. what else do you know..?)" You responded to the voice, recognizing it at once. It was the visitor.

'(Everything that happens after you die. Before this happened. What would have happened if you.. left.. as I told you.)' It seemed rather angry, not surprisingly.

"(What can.. I do..? I don't want it to end like that.. so painful and.. disturbing..)" You began to think to yourself about a possible choice.

'(..Remember how I mentioned I gained the power to come here? I could send you back.. before this ever happened.. but. You will need to kill another person to gain their life force. The core of their being. Then you will live again.)' It calmly stated back to you.

"(Will I know them..?)" You had no choice but to believe what they were telling you.

'(You will know them in a.. different sense.)'
It quietly murmured.

"(..Alright. I'm ready. Send me back.)" You stepped over to your body, clutching the knife in its chest and pulling it out to use as a weapon.

In a flash of light, you were sent back. You were outside of your room again. Someone was asleep in your bed, snoring softly and cutely. You instinctively glanced up at the clock.

"(..12:03.. okay, this is it..)" You mumbled as you took a step into the room.

When the clock ticked to 12:06, the figure jolted up from the bed, breathing slightly heavily. They sat in silence.. then looked at the clock. You gently scraped the blade of the small knife against a wall, then pushed the door open fully.

They went over, turned on the lamp, then stared up at you. They seemed mortified and began to back up quickly.

You took a step towards them.

"(...Stay still, damn it..)" You softly said.

You rushed forward and pinned them to the wall, covering their mouth with one of your hands. You flinched, realizing that this was exactly what happened before.. you were the monster. The spectre. ..You brushed it off and slammed the knife into their chest.

They tensed up and went silent at that, falling to their knees. They looked at the clock a final time as you pulled the knife out and stabbed them again.

'..12:07..' They whispered before bleeding out.

"(..I was the monster, huh? ..wait, that doesn't make any sense. If I was, then.. who killed the first me? ..The fuck is that, a paradox?)" You questioned to yourself.

A small ball of light floated above their body. You quickly reached your hand out and snatched it.

You felt a large burst of energy.. then your world went dark.

You awoke to soft knocking at your door. You were awake, and in your own body.

"..thank fucking god for that." You mumbled softly.

They knocked again. You groaned and got up, moving over to the door slowly and opening it. ...Nobody was there.

"Damn neighbor kids.." You seemed irritated, but at the same time, relieved.

You went back over to your room after closing the door, looking up at the clock a final time.

"...7:44 am.. huh." You raised a brow, then thought for a moment. You grinned.

"Aw, yeah. 15 minutes of sleep before work." You got into your room and collapsed on your bed.

"..So glad that's over...."
You drifted off to sleep.

(..So this is my first one shot. It's pretty ok, I guess.)