Edward hasn’t gone into the basement in awhile, the stairs as old and rickety as he is. He trembles, stares at the door.

Something on the other side wants out of the basement, into the house. It knocks, politely. At first.

Edward turns to run as the door groans open.

Madeline Mora-Summonte reads, writes, and breathes fiction in all its forms. She is the author of the flash fiction collection The People We Used to Be. See more at her blog.