He Sees You When You're Sleeping

25th December- He Knows When You're Awake

Before you start this final story, I want to thank anyone who's reading this for getting this far. Me and the others who took part in this enjoyed writing these stories, and I really hope you liked reading them. This last one is quite short, but I still like it and I hope you do too. Now, I won't stall you any longer, so enjoy the final story of this advent, and please tell me if you'd like me to do something like this again!

Gaby couldn't fall asleep. She didn't know if it was from the excitement of tomorrow being Christmas Day, or because of the sinking feeling in her gut that she was being watched. She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. Determined to stay awake, she promised herself that she'd stay up to see Santa.
      A sound broke her out of her thoughts- a scuffle in the darkness. Gaby scanned the room. What she could see of it, at least. Nothing was there. She pulled the blankets over her head. Probably the cat, she reassured herself. The one from next door. Another scuffle brought her attention to the foot of her bed. Definitely not the cat. A cold dread crept up her spine. She slowly pulled down her blanket and lowered her eyes to the foot of her bed.
      Two unblinking eyes shone in the darkness, staring back at Gaby. She sucked in a sharp breath, body trembling. It's just your imagination, it's just your imagination, she told herself. Like when you see people and it's just your clothes. Nothing to be afraid of. She squeezed her eyes shut. And opened them again. The thing was still there. But it was closer. A scream caught in her throat.
      The last thing she remembered was her digital clock flashing 1:07 am, before she felt his sausage-fingers wrap around her neck, covered in the grease of too many mince pies. Her scream choked in her throat and her eyes bulged. The last words she heard were, "You've been naughty, little girl."
      Gaby jolted awake, relieved it had been just a dream. She felt beads of sweat clinging to her forehead. She looked to her alarm clock- 1:06 am. Then she heard a quiet creak; it came from under her bed.