A bone-chilling wind howled through the cracks in the old farmhouse as Emmett lay awake listening to the radiator's incessant clanking. Outside, bare trees rattled as snow swirled in the moonlight.
Emmett shivered and pulled the quilt up to his chin. Sleep eluded him as the creaks and moans of the house set his imagination wandering to thoughts of lurking monsters.
A sudden eerie wail pierced the night, making Emmett's heart race. It sounded almost human. He crept to the frosted window and peered out into the darkness. Snow eddied in frenzied wisps, obscuring his view.
A dark figure writhed through the snow toward the house. Emmett jumped back, bumping the dresser. Clutching its side, the limping figure staggered erratically toward the front porch.
Emmett shook his dad awake, whispering shakily, "Someone's outside." Grabbing his robe and rifle, his dad headed downstairs with Emmett close behind.
Peering out, they saw only drifting snow. As his dad carefully opened the front door, icy air blasted Emmett. They searched with flashlights, the bitter wind gnawing their faces. Finding nothing, his dad finally said, "You must've dreamed it, son. Let's get you back to bed."
But Emmett couldn't sleep, unable to shed the feeling he'd seen someone. The radiator kept up its relentless drone.
As heavy eyelids finally drooped closed, images of the limping stranger filled Emmett's dreams until a loud bang jolted him awake. Heart pounding, he sat up.
Scratching came from his window. With trembling hands, Emmett pulled back the curtain. He gasped as a pale face with hollow dark eyes peered in.
The frenzied scratching intensified. When Emmett turned to yell for his dad, a shadowy figure loomed in the doorway. It rushed him, knocking him aside and crashing through the window in an explosion of glass.
Shards rained down as Emmett shielded his face. Looking up, he saw his dad grappling with the intruder. Emmett grabbed the fire poker, ready to defend his dad. But as the figures separated, he realized the intruder was...his mom!
"Why are you here?" his dad shouted, bewildered. Confused, Emmett dropped the poker. His mom had left after a big fight months ago.
"Help me!" she cried. "He's after me!" Blood seeped through her fingers as she clutched her side.
Heavy footsteps sounded on the porch before the door burst open, framing a hulking figure. Emmett's dad pushed him and his mom behind him.
"Get out!" his dad yelled. "You've done enough damage!"
Stepping into the light, Emmett recognized the man from town with his bald head, bushy beard, and piercing eyes. He was always muttering, unsettling people.
"I warned her what would happen if she left," the man growled, brandishing a wicked hunting knife.
Emmett's dad charged, tumbling to the floor in a blur of fists and blade. As the men struggled, knocking over furniture, Emmett's mom screamed.
Finally dad wrestled away the knife, chest heaving as he stood. Without a word, the intruder stumbled out into the night.
After calling the sheriff, dad tended mom's wounds. Wrapped in blankets by the fire, she explained how she'd fled her abusive boyfriend only to be tracked down.
As dawn finally silenced the radiator, Emmett felt the weight lift from the old house. With his family back together, the monsters were gone.