_(Authors note: Happy birthday to the co-founder!!)_

I keep hearing it.

The rough knocking of a wooden door.

But there are no doors here…right?

I glance around at the cars theamed birthday party. Little kids running around playing tag. Or trying to take a bite of the hot pink race car cake.

My little brother runs over and tugs on my shirt, “Issac play hide and seek with us!”

I glance behind him to see his little friends, all of them looking at me with almost pleading eyes.

Pleading… bloody eyes?

I see their eyes dripping crimson, dripping down their cheeks. Dripping down onto the floor one drop at a time.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

But then I blink. And everything is back to normal. Just little kids staring up at me looking really annoyed.

“So?” Ben says loudly, “Will you play with us?”

I nod, distracted. The knocking is back and I just can’t ignore it. But I have to play with my brother so I nod again and put my head in my heads. Counting to 10.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1…

I turn around and trip on something heavy. I crash to the floor, scraping my hands on the once smooth floor. I feel something slowly trickling into my sock and that’s when I see what I tripped on.

I stifle a scream and scramble away as fast as I could possibly go.

It’s a body.

And not just anyone’s body.

Ben’s.

The lights overhead start flickering on and off. Each time the yellow fluorescent lights turn on, more and more bodies appear.

Little kids with blood soaked eyes. All in grotesque positions, their mouths open in silent screams.

I stagger further back, my heart pounding. The knocking sounds growing louder, more insistent, begging for my attention, and I realize that the knocking is coming from the floor beneath me.

Desperate I shakily rise to my feet and run towards the exit. The walls seem to close in on me, and the once cheerful decorations, warp into nightmarish figures.

My fingers tremble as I try to open the door of the exit, but it won’t budge. The knocking becomes overwhelming loud and I feel a cold breath on my shoulder.

I turn around to see a dark figure emerging from the shadows. It’s soulless eyes staring into mine.

“Please,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face, “Let me out.”

I blink and suddenly everything shifts. The knocking is gone, the dark figure has vanished, and I’m back at the party. Laughter fills the air as I watch the cake being served.

My brother tugs on my shirt once more, “Come on! Let’s have cake!”

I sit next to Ben and observe everything around me. The cheerful chaos and the once haunting scene is now just an ordinary birthday party, with no trace of the nightmare that felt so real.