Our family group chat is called Fam ❤️. Five people. Me, Mom, Dad, my sister Zoe, my little brother Sam. Tonight my phone buzzed and the header said 6 members. The new one had no name. No profile photo. Just a gray circle. Mom: "who is this??" Three dots. Typing. Then it sent one photo. Our living room. The couch. Dad's mug on the coffee table, still steaming. Taken from inside the house.

Dad: "Nobody move. I'm going downstairs." Me: "dad don't" Zoe: "DAD PLEASE" We all watched the chat instead of moving. The gray circle started typing. It typed for a long time. Way too long for what came out. One line: "Tell him to check the closet first."

Dad went anyway. We heard the stairs creak through the floor, one by one. Dad: "closet's empty. living room's empty." Mom: "then come back UP" Dad: "hang on. the back door is open." The gray circle posted a new photo. Dad. From behind. Standing at the back door with his phone in his hand. Me: "DAD BEHIND YOU" The three dots started again.

Dad spun around. We heard him yell "WHO'S THERE" right through the floor. Dad: "nothing. there's nothing here." The gray circle: "He's looking too low." Dad: "what does that mean" The gray circle: "Look up." The whole house went quiet. Then Dad's three dots appeared. And stopped. And appeared again.