Case File #137: The Door

Tales from the Bureau

Previously —

It came apart in a tangle of limbs and rushed forward.

Mike screamed.

---

First did not stay. It had seen enough. It understood the mechanics now, and it understood something else — something about the way the man had stopped and turned and spoken first. The man had not been afraid, not immediately. He had been curious. He had moved toward the shape, not away from it.

Curiosity was a door.

First moved through the trees, low and fast, its body compressed into the serpentine configuration, flowing over roots and under branches. It moved away from the bar, away from the freeway, toward the neighborhoods that spread south of the interchange — the subdivisions where engineers and project managers and men with badges lived behind trimmed hedges and closed curtains.

It found a street. It found a house.

A window glowed blue with the light of a television. The door was not locked.

It opened the door just enough and slipped inside.

For a moment it remained low. Then it raised itself slowly, pressing itself against the wall. It stayed still, curving its body to follow the shape of the lamp light on the wall as it studied the sleeping man on the couch.

---

His name was David Holbrook. He was thirty-six years old. He had two children asleep upstairs in their rooms. He had a meeting early in the morning and had not intended to fall asleep, but the bourbon was strong and the night was hot, and it had been a bit too quiet without Karen. He’d drifted off waiting for her to call from her mother’s in Birmingham.

He’d left the door open again. Karen hated that but it was too hot not to. His breathing quickened and his eyes rolled as he dreamed.

The creature leaned over him.

It studied his face, the planes, the recesses, the way the jaw connected, the brow. Its shadow passed over David’s face and he flinched. The creature jerked back. It tilted its head and waited until the man stopped muttering and rolled over on his side.

Moments later David’s breathing had slowed again and he relaxed.

The creature pushed forward and studied him again. After a moment of hesitation it reached out and caressed the man’s cheek with a finger that wasn’t quite a finger. It traced a soft line from chin to ear.

David stirred. Inhaled sharply. His eyes darted about, breathing heavy. “Damn”, he said. “Crazy ass dream. I thought…” He rubbed his temples and shook his head. He sat up and looked at the clock. Late now. The room was a mess. He groaned. He yawned, stretched deeply and started for the stairs. Better check on the kids, and then he needed a few hours of sleep before that meeting.

He clicked the TV off and padded upstairs. Nicky and Samantha were sleeping soundly. He smiled, closed their doors, and retreated to his bedroom. He kicked his shoes off and collapsed on the bed. The numbers on the alarm clock were blinking. Power must have gone off. He sighed and sat back up.

For a moment it didn’t register that something was standing beside him.

He blinked. Looked at it without comprehension.

Then it moved.

It was everywhere. He couldn’t find its center.

It pulled him to his feet and dragged him into the air. Limbs wrapped his arms and held his legs together. Something coiled tightly around his throat.

He screamed but all that came out was a gurgle.

Sharp pressure against the base of his skull. He struggled and thrashed and tried to break free as the skin broke with a pop and he scream-gurgled again. Blood bubbled from his mouth.

The sharp thing pushed in further, deeper and then with a jerk, swiftly downward. He coughed, choked. He felt a pressure as something reached inside and began to pull. He heard ripping and tearing and then popping sounds. The resistance built, then released with a sharp crack, followed by three quick snaps and a rapid succession of popping sounds.

Something thick and heavy fell loose at his side, hanging like wet fabric.

His eyes rolled, darting rapidly back and forth and scanning for nothing. He felt the pressure building behind his eyes and his ears and he knew that he wouldn’t stay conscious for long.

He realized he hadn’t been breathing.

(Breathe!)

Something squeezing inside him.

(Inside??!)

Not around.

Inside.

It forced his lungs to breathe.

It was pushing more of itself inside. Squeezing further and further in. He could feel it squirming and shifting and shoving things aside, filling up the space in his chest and jostling things around to fit.

He no longer saw it. Only felt.

Bones snapping back in place.

Wet muscle and skin closing around it.

The last thing he heard before the dark took him was the sound of a door opening down the hall.

---

CASE FILE #137

Observation Log — Initial Infiltration

Subject demonstrates successful transition from environmental adaptation to domestic penetration.

Entry vector selection favors unsecured access points and low-resistance thresholds.

Notable: Subject identifies and exploits behavioral openings (curiosity, routine, neglect).

Host acquisition achieved with minimal external disruption.

Recommendation: Continue passive observation.

— No intervention required.

---

End of Installment Two — The Door

Next: First Appraisal

---