She didn't know what had woken her up that night, not after she had fallen into a deep slumber. However, something had caused the young teenager to stir, an uneasiness building deep within her despite the silence of her room. Even her parents were overly silent within their sleep, the snores that usually came from down the hallway couldn't be heard. It was one of the main reasons her curiosity heightened and a new seed of fear planted deep within her mind. She had always heard her parents when they slept, but for some reason, tonight she couldn't. 

"Mom!? Dad!?" 

Payslynn called out as she grabbed her black rimmed glasses from off her nightstand, the darkness stretching out before her as she tried to wake herself up a little more. 

As she swung her pajama clad legs out of bed, she pushed herself to her feet and stood on wobbly legs. Sleep still tried to claim her, making any form of movement difficult and made her look as if she just got home from a late night of partying with friends. 

With a yawn and minor stretch, Payslynn moved through her room sleepily and stopped once she reached her door. She poked her head into the darkened hallway, finally deciding to place her glassed upon her face so she could see straight. Somehow, she was blessed with poor eyesight, making things blurry without the use of her glasses. Though, in the silence of the shadowy night, even the use of her glasses was proving to be difficult while looking around. 

Ember colored eyes scanned the parts of the house she could see, hoping to find some form of movement in the hallway or sound coming from her parent's room, but everything had fallen still. Nothing made a sound, nothing moved within the shadows, it was like everyone had all vanished from within the home. 

Well, everyone but her. 

As if things weren't strange enough, a crimson colored light flashed from somewhere behind her. It drew her attention rather quickly, the loud sound of what she could only describe as a tuba being played, resounded and echoed from outside somewhere. 

Payslynn whipped around, facing her now crimson glowing window. A tired frown found its way onto her face while she stepped back into her bedroom hesitantly. She crossed to the window, pulled back her sheer white curtains and peered out into what should have been empty streets. However, the streets that passed through Payslynn's home town were filled with people, all whom were still dressed in their robes and pajamas for the night. Each one was staring upwards towards a sky that was now painted in a bright crimson, an odd phenomenon that was overtaking the evening hours. 

Fumbling with the lock on her window, Payslynn somehow managed to unlatch it and open up her window. She stuck her head out to get a better look at what was happening, noticing how the air was heavy and thick like a hot summer night. However, it made no sense as it was the middle of fall and the chill of winter was just starting to settle in. 

That wasn't the only thing she noticed. 

Not only was the sky lit up in a crimson glow, but her parents were out on the front lawn looking like a couple of turkeys waiting for the rain to fall. 

"Mom!? Dad!?" 

At the sound of her voice, Payslynn's mother snapped out of her strange daze. She looked around momentarily before her mother's eyes landed upon her, confusion and panic etched upon her sleep deprived face. 

How long had her parents been standing there, awake and in awe of the sky above them? 

"Payslynn, go back inside honey." 

"What's going on?" 

Payslynn completely disregarded her mother's demand in hopes of having her own curiosity over the matter sated. From her mother's reaction and the strange crimson phenomenon outside, it was obvious something was definitely going on. 

"Nothing is going on, now get-" 

A scream from down the street reverberated through the residential area she had called home her entire life. The very sound drawing Payslynn and her mother's attention from one another to somewhere down the street. The bone chilling sound raised the hairs upon the young teenager's skin and caused her blood to run cold. As long as she could remember, her little hometown had always been a safe one with very little crime. Why would someone be shrieking as if they were being murdered? 

"What was that?" 

Payslynn's words were no more than a whispered quiver, her ember eyes wide with terror as she once more turned her attention onto her mother. It was at that same moment, her mother had looked back to her with a look of desperation and fear filling her once sparkling hazel eyes. 

"Get back inside, open the door to no one." 

"But-" 

"Just do it, lock the doors and answer to no one, not even us. We love you Pays." 

Another scream echoed throughout the streets, stopping Payslynn from calling out to her mother and father. Instead, it sent her body trembling into fight or flight mode and her attention to shift back to where the screams were originating from. 

At this point, it was undeniable that something big was beginning to transpire, something that was sending the world into a chaotic symphony of screams that were only getting louder the closer they got to her house. 

Payslynn's gaze shot back to where her parents were standing, a wave of panic coursing through her knowing they were standing outside where everything seemed to be happening. However, neither of them were standing on the lawn anymore. It was as if her parents had vanished into thin air, disappearing as if they never existed in the first place. 

The entirety of the situation seemed to hit Payslynn like a runaway train. She didn't know what had her moving so quickly after the sudden confirmation her parents were no longer there, but she pulled herself back inside and slammed her window shut. Slowly backing away, Payslynn turned, running out of her room as if the devil was on her heels and she was trying to get away. To her, it really felt like it, especially with the crimson sky outside and the blood curdling screams echoing from outside. 

Running out of her room as fast as her feet could carry her, Payslynn rushed through the hallway to the stairs. She nearly descended them two at a time, having to focus on her steps to make sure she didn't tumble down them and land face first on the ground below. Instead, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was forced to stop herself on the door, her momentum carrying her far longer than she wanted. Her hands pressed against the closed door, but it failed to keep her from slamming into the wooden barrier at the speed she had been going. 

With each second, the screams outside not only grew louder, but they also grew in numbers as they got closer to her family's lot. As she listened though, there was something more mingling with those very screams. Sounds of deep garbled voices that spoke in a foreign tongue she could not understand. It wasn't a language she even recognized to be spoken anywhere in the world she lived in. 

Reaching up, Payslynn slid her hand to the door's lock and turned it till she heard the mechanism click into place. Her shaking hand moving only further up the door to the chain lock, sliding it into place for extra protection she prayed would keep her safe inside. 

However, just as the lock became secure, something crashed against the outside of the door. It shook the barrier between Payslynn and whatever was trying to get inside her home. 

A breathy squeak filled with surprise and absolute terror was forced from Payslynn, her body jumping away from the door as if it had caught on fire. With each pound upon the wooden surface outside, the more it threatened to splinter and break the entirety of the door right before her. 

It was in that moment Payslynn didn't feel as if she were in control of her own body, not even when she turned and rushed back up the stairs. She was almost certain whatever was trying to break in had heard her, which raised her need to find a place to hide as soon as she possibly could. Though, where was she going to find a place to hide in her little home was beyond her. There weren't many places seeing as her mother and father used whatever space they could to store all their homely necessities. 

With her brain in a rush, Payslynn darted into her room and made quick work of closing her door. She pressed her back against the hard wooden surface and slid down, situating herself on the floor as if she would be able to hold the door should the intruders outside get in. She jerked when the front door burst open and the sound of clicking footsteps managed to reach her ears, their steps clicking against the hardwood floor and radiating upstairs to reach Payslynn's quivering person. 

The garbled voices of the intruders had reached Payslynn's ears, more than one of the intruders having entered her family home. She assumed they were going to make a thorough search of the house, that only becoming more certain to Payslynn as one set of footsteps climbed the stairs to the second floor. . . which she currently resided upon. It left her completely frozen, her hands clasped over her mouth to silence the sobs attempting to break free from her. 

Listening, Payslynn counted each time a door was smashed open and a room was quickly gone through. It didn't help her panic or rising anxiety any, but it kept her aware of the location the intruder currently was. 

Just as the footsteps stopped outside her door, Payslynn slowly pushed herself onto her hands and knees knowing she didn't have much time to move. 

Slowly, she began to crawl over to her bed, ducking to slide underneath it. She hoped that she could fit with whatever junk she had pushed beneath her bed over the past week. She had barely managed to squeeze herself underneath where she slept before the door splintered and slammed open, revealing her room to whoever was breaking their way through the house. 

Whatever had just walked in couldn't have been human, Payslynn's eyes landing upon the feet of he creature before her. Its hooved feet were attached to thick muscular legs from what she could make out, the shape of them reminding her of what a goat's leg would look like if it was on steroids. 

The creature stalked around the room rather methodically as if it was searching for something important, but the thought of what that could be left the cold hand of death resting upon Payslynn's shoulder. Somehow, she knew that they weren't searching for something, but someone. 

They were searching for her. 

Claws curved under the edge of her bed, Payslynn's breath hitching within her chest as she realized this may very well be her end. Ember eyes were wide and filled with nothing more than pure terror, tears burning her eyes and trailing down her cheeks as she attempted to keep herself quiet. Within seconds, her bed was lifted up off the ground and the color immediately drained from her face making it appear as if death had already taken her over. The never ending screams from outside continued to find their way to her ears, but it only made her stomach knot and the sudden nausea to becoming so overwhelming she felt she would get sick at any second. 

Everything felt as if it started to move in slow motion the moment her bed raised. Just when she thought she was going to be found out, one of the other creatures from downstairs called out to the one seconds from revealing her hiding spot. Thankfully, the thing pursuing her looked away, yelling back down the stairs in its foreign tongue sounding none too happy. In fact, it sounded as if a fight had broken out between the two creatures, a disagreement being yelled back and forth between the two of them. 

Whatever it was that had been said, Payslynn knew it had saved her life. 

The bed had been dropped, concealing her once more from those searching her home. Like a speeding animal racing towards its prey, the creature ran from her room, leaving Payslynn alone in the sudden silence. It was a silence that felt suffocating, a silence she wished someone would come and disturb, tell her everything was okay now and that she was safe. However, that wish was never going to come true. Instead, she only listened, waiting to make certain that no one was around and she could finally move once more. 

When silence was all she heard, the sobs she had been holding in finally broke free from her. 

Payslynn's tears flowed like a flood gate being opened on a broken dam. She couldn't stop the trembling that wracked her body, feeling like an earthquake had taken over her and refused to let go. She had narrowly escaped death, but she didn't believe for a second that there would be another chance of survival like this in the future if those creatures were to ever come back for her.