Day 527

As he slept he thought himself alone.
The doors were locked, windows barred and all potential weapons were laid out around the mattress.
He slept soundly for a good four hours as the doors slowly unlocked themselves.

He slept soundly until the door he slept behind clicked itself open.
Rolling over he squinted at the vague shape standing inside the door-frame before bolting upright.
He grabbed the nearest potential weapon - a hastily sharpened chair leg - and braced himself.

The figure by the door remained hazy, like looking through the bottom of a glass.
It swayed gently, moved back into the hallway and gently closed the door behind itself.
He stood stock-still for a few moments more before curiosity got the better of him and he went out.

His uncle used to call those shapes Smoke-Snares and tried to shoot one once.
It didn't end well.
What was left of him was found draped about his room like grotesque bunting.

Still he followed this Smoke-Snare back out into the house, thinking himself alone but for it.
Thinking himself still safe but for it and forgetting what "snare" had originally meant.
He heard the house's front door click, either open or closed, he couldn't see from upstairs.

Too busy padding down to the new noise, he never checked the rest of the upper doors.
All were slightly ajar with painfully slim fingers poking around the edges.
All opened further with each descending step he took until he took no more.