The House That Watched
Daniel had spent years designing his perfect escape—a house deep in the woods, built from repurposed steel, walls of glass, and the illusion of solitude. No neighbors. No distractions. Just him and his thoughts.
That’s why it made no sense when he woke up to footsteps echoing through the open living room.
He sat up in bed, heart hammering. The smart system that controlled the house should have alerted him if anyone had entered. The doors were locked. The motion sensors—silent.
Yet, below him, the sound of someone walking. Slow. Intentional.
He crept down the stairs, the dim glow from the LED lights casting long shadows. The glass walls reflected his own anxious face back at him. Nothing seemed out of place. The chairs were where he left them. The sleek black coffee table untouched. The massive TV screen still displayed the paused movie from last night.
But then—
The remote sat on the couch. Face down.
Daniel never left it that way. He always placed it on the side table.
His breath turned shallow as he inched forward. He reached out, barely touching the remote—
It was warm.
Someone had just used it.
The security footage. He needed to check the security footage.
He grabbed his phone, tapped into the feed, and fast-forwarded through the night. Nothing. No movement. The last recorded frame was from hours ago.
Then, the screen glitched.
And in the next frame—
A shadowy figure stood outside, just beyond the glass. Watching.
A figure that should not exist.
Because in this house, nothing came in.
And nothing should have ever… gotten out.
