“Please help,” screamed the caller on the other line. “There is a six feet tall praying mantis in my bathtub and it’s just staring at me…”

Those words would haunt Jaden for years. The fear in the caller’s voice was so vivid, so real, as if the creature stood right beside her. “To think this was going to be a normal Tuesday,” Jaden mused. Little did he know, he would never see Tuesdays the same way again.

Jaden parked in front of 320 Top Hill Road at exactly 9:12 PM. He remembered the time vividly because, without fail, his car’s digital clock would glitch on and off about eleven times every time he switched off the engine. This odd little quirk had trained him to always be aware of the time, almost obsessively. He exited the vehicle with almost no need to brace himself before knocking — the caller was already out front, frantically waving him over in a silent plea to hurry.

“Are you alone?” she asked, her tone a mix of urgency and fear.

“Yes, ma’am!” Jaden replied, trying to mask his confusion.

“I’m Lilly Ann, by the way,” she continued, ushering him inside with quick, nervous gestures.

The house was immaculately decorated, filled with whimsical statues of moose, turtles, and birds. Stained glass cardinals glinted softly in the dim light. Despite the charming decor, a sense of unease hung in the air.

“Right there,” Lilly Ann pointed, her hand trembling.

Jaden peered into the bathroom. Steam lingered in the air, and the window was wide open, curtains billowing gently. The tub, where the life sized praying mantis had allegedly been, was now empty.

Lilly Ann’s eyes searched Jaden’s face for reassurance. “It was real,” she insisted, her voice shaky. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I believe you,” Jaden replied, knowing how dismissive people could be about the inexplicable. “Let’s check outside. Maybe we can find where it went.”

They stepped cautiously into the backyard, the grass cool and damp beneath their feet. Jaden swept his flashlight across the area, his mind racing. Jaden thought that he either about to get robber for filth or Lilly Ann truly encountered something otherworldly.

The beam caught something unusual—a series of impressions in the earth, triad like footprints of something large and insect-like. Jaden crouched to examine them, his heart racing thumbing progressively quicker and quicker.

“Look here,” he called to Lilly Ann, who hurried over, eyes wide with anxiety and vindication.

“You see?” she whispered. “I wasn’t imagining it.”

Just then, a rustle in the bushes caught their attention. They both froze, eyes locked on the spot. For a brief moment, they caught a glimpse of it—a flash of green, a spindly limb disappearing into the shadows.

Jaden turned to Lilly Ann, both of them understanding without words. “That wasn’t from Earth,” he said quietly.

Lilly Ann sighed, glancing at the open window. “I guess I better reseal that window again.”

As Jaden left, he knew that they should never speak of this situation to anyone. He also couldn’t help feel that this was only the beginning. The creature had vanished into the night, but its presence lingered. The Universe is weird.