Francis had never stayed home alone at night. Without his babysitter, Linda, it took him all his convincing prowess to persuade his parents to leave him unaccompanied for the night.

"I don't like to leave you all alone but it's not like we have a choice. If only Linda were here," his mother sighed.

"Well, Linda's in the province now attending to her ailing mother. You can't just call her at this time of the night to coast through a hundred miles just to attend to my needs. Besides, I'd rather stay home without her. She used to scare me out of my wits," Francis explained.

"Don't be rude Francis. She may look like that but she's very nice. She's the only one who seemed to stand your foolishness."

"No, that's not what I mean Ma. The minute you walk out the door, she'd start telling me horrible stories about the horrendous green monsters lurking in the dark waiting to devour on pounds of human flesh," Francis rattled on defensively.

"Don't be silly. Those are just stories. You don't really believe them, do you?" his mother nudged him teasingly.

"Of course not! But really, I'm better off alone without her. Even Papa agress with me. Right, Pa?" Francis appealed to his father.

"I'm a big boy now. Can't you see I'm all grown up? I even have a girlfriend already."

"All right then. In case you need anything, just give us a call. I placed the numbers on the post-it tacked on the fridge door."

"Yes, Ma."

"And if you're hungry, you know where to find the oatmeal and the chichiria and..."

"Mom, I live here, remember."

"Okay, okay." she chuckled. "And remember, no slumber parties or whatsoever alright? I don't want our living room filled with confetti and junk food crumbs and wrappers else...," his Mom warned him trying to keep a straight face.

"Can't you just go now? I'm telling you, you're gonna be late if you're staying for another five minutes."

Francis finally succeeded in swaying his parents and locked the door behind them. Then he dashed into the living room and dove into the couch with a bawl. Now, the house was all his and he could do anything as he pleased. He felt like a man of the world.

Grabbing the remote control in a whirling-in-the-sofa move, he turned on the television and surfed for a good primetime TV show. But an hour has passed yet he hasn't found anything to suit his fancy. He decided to play his Final Fantasy DVD that his bestfriend Gino gave him on his tenth birthday. Then, he headed for the kitchen to get some food from the cupboard to munch while he watched the movie.

Leaving the movie behind, Francis whipped upstairs. He scoured the shelves and found prawn crackers, instant oatmeal, chippy, puto cheese, chocolate sticks and mazareal.

"This is awesome. I can eat whatever I want," he gloated.

He put a bag of popcorn into the microwave, set the timer and stood back to watch. Then he opened the fridge and got out some cheese, pickles, mayonnaise and a loaf of bread. He drooled as he sliced the cheese and scoop some mayonnaise into his freshly baked bread. When his preparation was heaped to overflowing, he popped again into the microwave, set the timer to five minutes and waited impatiently for the buzzer to sound. He grabbed two cans of soda before moving on.

Then, he raced back downstairs and slumped on the couch. "It's party time!" he announced as he opened his mouth for his first bite on the heaped up bread. Being home alone is easy as pie, he thought to himself. But he was just about to sip from his cola when suddenly, he heard something.

"Where could that noise come from?" he asked himself.

Francis frantically searched for an answer, racking every nerve in his brain when a striking realization hit him. The noise must have come from the basement!

With the cool breeze blowing around him, he tiptoed towards the basement and stood at the top of the stairs. He perked up his ears to listen once more. There it is again, he confirmed to himself.

His heart pounded fast as he remembered Linda's horrifying tales. Perhaps I should call the subdivision guards, he thought. But what if the sound stopped by the time they get here and they won't find anything if they do search? They'd think I was just fooling around. For sure, I'd be grounded again and worse yet Ma and Pa would ask Linda to babysit me again. No way!

Now, what should I do? If I stay here and do nothing, I'd get crazy over these silly thoughts creeping in my head. Should I just go down and see it for myself?

Francis felt the hair of his neck stand as he finally decided to go down the basement and find out the noisemaker. He turned the knob of the basement door and fumbled for the light switch behind the door. He flicked on the light and slowly traipsed down the stairs. He felt his stomach tighten with each step he made. In the spooky stillness of the basement, he found antique jars, old portraits, and piles of boxes covered with thick dust. Quite suddenly, he saw something moved! When he looked around, he realized it was just his shadow. "Silly me!" he laughed at himself. There's really nothing in here, he thought.

Then his heart stopped. He heard the scratching again. He surveyed the horizon and sought for the source of the noise. It's coming from the window! Mustering all his courage, he turned and stealthily approached the window.

Holding his breath, he inched closer to the windows and peered from his side to the vast darkness outside. He saw a branch near the windows swaying in the wisps of the breeze. It scraped against the stained window glass and vaulted back and away.

Francis let out a sigh. It's just the tree branches. Feeling ridiculous, he went back upstairs to finish his food. He sat on the couch and picked up his food. Just then, the telephone shrilled. He grabbed the receiver on the fourth ring.

"Hello."

Silence.

"Hello?"

More silence.

"Hey, is anybody there?"

Still more silence.

Francis hung up grimly. It must be a wrong number, he thought. He coasted back to the living room and was just about to stuff his mouth with some popcorn when the telephone rang again.

Lunging to his feet, he got to the phone on the seventh ring.

"Hello."

Silence.

"Who is this?" he yelled at the receiver.

More silence.

"Hey, why won't you answer?" he screamed, his voice harsh and cracking.

Still more silence.

He slammed the receiver with all his might. As he did, one of Linda's frightening stories immediately sprang in his head - about a boy who kept getting prank calls during the night. His parents called the police to trace the call only to find out that the number is not registered. They were forced to migrate to another place because the calls won't stop. Little did they know that the caller also moved with them.

Francis shivered in fear. "Thanks a lot Linda," he mumbled. "You're a hundred miles away but you're still scaring me to death."

"Wait," he recalled. "It must be...yes, it must be Gino! That's it! He had called earlier to invite me over to Sam's house for some movie but I declined. I should've not told him I'd be staying alone tonight. AArrrgh! That crook!" Francis gritted his teeth in fury. "How could I be so stupid!"

He could imagine the fun that his friends were having as they dialed his number and they squirmed in delight as he screamed in total despair on the other line. He was guilty of making a few prank calls himself, so he knew it was so much fun. But not if you are the subject of the prank call. He learned it much tonight.

Now that he knew who was making those calls, he felt relieved. He thought of turning the tables at the pranksters. He giggled as he concoct his scheme.

Forty minutes passed but there wasn't any more calls. He waited some more but he had waited in vain. He shrugged glumly and headed back to rescue his food. As he picked up his mazareal, his jaw dropped in fright. The scraping sound echoed from the kitchen. He was sure it came from the kitchen. But thinking it's just a product of his imagination, he dismissed his fear.

Francis walked into the kitchen carrying his empty plate. But just as he was opening the fridge door, he saw a silhouette. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and stared out the window again. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw red smoldering eyes with long sharp fangs peering in the kitchen window. He howled and seized the kitchen knife. But when he peered through the window again, it was gone.

As much as he feared seeing it, Francis thought he had to see it again just to make sure. He resolved to check back on the window to see if the creature is still there. Much to his surprise, all he saw was a reflection of his face and the dark shadows of the night outside. But he was certain he saw something. "How could that be?" Francis wondered.

"Well, it might just be my reflection I was seeing all along," he reassured himself. He breathed noisily as he urged himself to calm down. But I don't look that bad, how could I get so scared with my own reflection.

He mused for a while when, "Aha! It must be Gino's doing again. They must have came over to scare me to death. No wonder they didn't call back. If you think you can scare me, you're dead wrong Gino," Francis grunted.

Just then, the scratching started again. But this time, it was coming from the living room. Francis tiptoed out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Pak, pak, pak.

He reached towards the light switch and flicked it off. The emitted light from the television casted a stark glare in the living room. But even with the lights off, he wasn't afraid anymore. He knew who was behind it all.

Pak, pak, tap, tap. The noise continued, louder now.

Francis walked quietly towards the windows where the scratching came from. He ducked his head as he inched closer. Then he opened the drapes from his side to peek. He reached with his right hand to release the lock on the windows. He slowly pushed it open while holding his breath.

The wind rustled through his hand as he felt his skin tingle through the cold. He immediately withdrew his hand and waited for the beast to appear. He waited and waited until...

A dark shape reached under the frame and groped through the windowsill. Francis felt his heart throbbing faster than ever. Summoning all the courage left in him, he reached for the window bar and jammed it hard against the invader. He heard a hoarse squall followed by a suppressed whimper.

Dumbstrucked, Francis jumped back. Seconds later, the telephone rang up. He picked it up immediately hoping it was his parents checking on him. His knees were still trembling as he held the receiver on his right ear.

"Hhhee...hello," he spoke softly.

"Hey, Franz. It's us. we're sorry about the phone calls."

"Samuel, is that you?"

"Yeah. Listen, it was Gino's idea, okay?"

"Sam...where are you now?"

"I'm at home. We're having a slumber party here."

"Where's Gino and Jake?"

"They're here with me. We're playing nintendo. I just called to let you know it's us and we're sorry. Anyway I gotta go now. They guys are calling me to join them. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

"Wait, Samuel, don't hang up," Francis hollered but the other line had already hung up.

Gently, he placed the receiver down. His eyebrows met as thoughts swiftly flashed in his head. "If Gino and the others are at Sam's house, then who is out here with me?" he asked himself.

He turned and stared at the windows. He can feel his lips tottering to the racing beat of his heart. He felt like crying at the new information he just found out.

Calm down Francis, you'll be alright, he comforted himself. There's no one out there. You're just dreaming.

Francis forced himself to forget what had just transpired. He closed his eyes and slumped against the wall to his knees. But crazy thoughts were running wild out of his control. He slowly opened his eyes again. Then he decided to call his parents.

He dashed to where the telephone was located and immediately raised the receiver to his ear. But as soon as he was about to make the call, he froze. He doesn't know the number to dial.

"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed. "The number was stuck on the fridge door. If I go to the kitchen, whatever was out there might get in while I'm in there. What do I do. God please help me."

Batting an eye, an idea occurred to him. He replaced the receiver and searched for his father's club. He found it hanging with the rest of the other clubs in the cabinet. He opened the cabinet glass and clutched his father's finest club. He swallowed hard as he approached the opened windows.

He pulled the drapes to clear out the windows and positioned himself for a huge hit. But as soon as the drapes were cleared, he was astonished to find nothing.

Still petrified, he closed the windows and clicked on the lock. He felt relieved as he pulled the drapes back in place when all of a sudden his right arm brushed on a layer of slime formed in the windowsill.

Shrinking back in horror, Francis dropped the club and scrambled to his feet. He raised his arm and saw the wet and slimy green substance dripping all over. He stared at it feeling a throe in his stomach. He could feel his heartbeat hastened and his breath trailing off. Then his knees turned flimsy and he collapsed on the floor.

One hour later, his parents found him heaped on the floor while wiping his arms with a towel. "You're going to pay for this. Whoever or whatever you are, someday you will," he grumbled to himself.