Dan had been deep in sleep, laying on his side with his arms flayed out against the faded sheets, with just a slice of light from the streetlamp breaking through the curtains.

What was the noise he heard? Did he dream it? Or was it an actual sound in the house? He laid there, eyes still shut but ears open, taking stock of the night sounds of the house. Everything seemed in order, just the hum of the fridge down the hall and the endless drip in the bathroom sink.

Slowly he sat up, moving his head slowly to take in the room. He glanced out the window, and rotated his eyes back, taking in the crowded dresser, the shut door, the clothes piled on the end of his bed. He relaxed and turned back to his side, pulling up the covers to his chin.

Only then did he open his eyes and look straight ahead, at the chair next to his bed. Sitting there was a very thin man, dressed in an ill-fitting suit with badly cut hair. The man stared unblinking at the floor, with his long fingers laced together. Dan blinked.