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Static on the Baby Monitor

horror◐ Teen
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Mara isn't going up there. Not yet. She texts Theo's mom: 'Quick question, does Theo ever sit up in his sleep?' The dots appear, stop, then appear again. The reply lands: 'We don't have a baby monitor in his room. We never bought one.' Mara looks down at the green screen in her hands. It is clearly showing a crib.

Mara calls the parents instead of texting. 'Get out of the house,' the mom says fast, not surprised at all. 'We never bought a monitor because the last sitter left one on. She's still in it. Don't let Theo see the screen.' Behind Mara, the green light flickers, and a small voice from the speaker says, 'Too late.'

↔ version 2 of 2 of this paragraph — hover its sides to flip. The card below is what happens next.

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Mara grabs the warm, sleeping boy and runs for the front door. It opens easy. She makes it to the lawn, gulping cold air, Theo blinking awake in her arms. The green light in the window flickers once, twice, then dies. Whatever was in that monitor, it stayed inside. She does not go back for her phone.

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Maris Vale
6 votes · future 1 of 2