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Static on the Baby Monitor

horror◐ Teen
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Mara stares at the screen. Theo never sits up like that, stiff and still. She turns the volume up. Through the speaker comes a soft sound. Not crying. It's humming. A slow, tuneless hum she has never heard him make. She gets up to go check on him.

Mara climbs the stairs and eases the door open. Theo is tucked in, breathing slow, fast asleep. No humming. She almost laughs at herself. But as she turns to leave, the humming starts again, soft and clear. It's coming from the closet across the room.

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Mara opens the closet. Behind the coats sits an old white baby monitor, the same model as the one downstairs. Its screen glows green and shows the living room couch, where a girl exactly like Mara sits watching a screen. Her heart slams. Someone is watching her too, from in here.

IF
Inés Ferro
7 votes · future 1 of 2