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"Caught"

I want to start out by saying that what I'm about to tell you changed my life in the worst possible way. It was a day guided by curiosity that ended in pure torment. It all started when I saw my neighbor, Mr. Morris, checking his mailbox. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him to do so, as he did it every day, even days he knew the mail was never delivered. He'd often show a look of disappointment when he saw his mailbox empty. Today, however, something was definitely off with him. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself as he walked to his mailbox. Perhaps it was the blank look on his face with eyes darting from side to side in a paranoid fashion that drew my attention. No matter what it was, something was definitely off.
He checked his mailbox like normal, but when he saw nothing inside, he didn't react at all. Instead, he closed his mailbox with a blank unchanging face and made his way back to his front door. I turned back from the window when his eyes quickly darted toward me without his head shifting in the same direction. Why was he acting so weird today?
I left my bedroom to tell my mom what I'd just bore witness to, but she paid no mind to it, telling me that he was always acting weird. She told me to ignore him, all the while she never lifted her eyes from the seemingly endless scrolling on her phone. I rolled my eyes and made my way back to my room, wishing that for once my mother would pay attention to me.

That night, I heard a noise coming from what I believed to be Mr. Morris' house. I ran to my window and peered outside. There was nothing going on outside, but my gaze quickly turned to the neighbor's window as I saw his silhouette moving frantically from behind his closed curtain. Was he in trouble? I had to find some way to help him. I ran downstairs and saw my mom on the couch. She had fallen asleep to a movie that was playing on the television. I grabbed her arm and shook her. She awoke with a groan. She lifted her head and looked down at me, jerking her arm away from my hands.
"What is it, Charlotte?" she asked, her voice still groggy from the sleep she'd just escaped from.
"Something is wrong with Mr. Morris, I heard him screaming next door." I replied. She groaned before telling me to go back to bed with exhaustion in her voice.
I knew I couldn't just sleep knowing someone was in trouble. I made my way to my bedroom, shut the door behind me, and listened to make sure my mom wasn't following behind to see if I was actually sleeping. When I heard silence behind my bedroom door, I carefully and as quietly as I could, opened my bedroom window, carefully placing the screen in my bedroom. I crept out the window and tiptoed my way over to the neighbor's house. I snuck in through the garage door that was open with a light I saw had turned out only a few moments before. He was just out here. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight. In that very instant, I heard the sound of the garage door closing behind me. I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized how bad of a situation I was in.
I made my way to the door on the side of the garage that lead inside and slowly opened the door in hopes that it wouldn't make too much noise. The moment I had just began opening the door, I felt it jerk wide open, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground, right in front of Mr. Morris' shoes.
"Oh my, what do we have here?" he said in a creepy higher pitched voice you could tell was hiding behind a smile. "It appears we have an unexpected guest." said Mr. Morris again. Only this time his voice was lower and rougher, like he was straining to get words out.
I looked up to see a man with wild, unkept hair with a crazed look in his eye.
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked, terrified. He replied, throwing his head back in a maniacle cackle before saying, "Oh, my dear sweet girl, you're in for a real treat."
He began scratching violently at his face before letting his hands down, revealing a bloody skull, appearing as though he had completely ripped his entire face off. In the familiar rough voice, I heard him say, "Do you believe in monsters?"

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