Taemin woke with a start.  They had turned off the light hours ago, and he was sure everyone else was asleep.  But he had sworn he’d heard something.  It sounded like someone was in the kitchen.   

Puzzled, he rolled over, carefully enough so as to not disturb Minho or any of the others, and crept out of the room.

He’d never been an overly fearful person.  He’d left that job to Key and sometimes even Onew.  But now, Taemin could feel his hands start to sweat.   So much had happened today, he’d struggled to take it all in.  One minute, he was waking up for rehearsal, and now? 

Now he was stuck in some sort of alternate dimension, engaged in an uncertain competition against his band mates.

He shook his head.   It still didn’t seem real. 

But the noise in the kitchen definitely was. 

He’d heard it again, and his heartbeat quickened.  As he reached the room, he peered around the wall fearfully.  What he saw made his heart stop. 

Some sort of…being was in their kitchen, sitting at their table.  Taemin gasped as he saw the object in the thing’s hands.  A knife.  One of Key’s steak knives was resting in its hands, and the creature was sliding the knife up and down a metal rod.  Sharpening it. 

Schlink.

Schlink.

Schl—

Taemin froze at the noise’s abrupt stop, fearing the worst.  Unfortunately, he was right. 

“Hello Taemin.” 

The creature’s voice sent shivers down Taemin’s spine.  It was cold and gravely, like the sound of sandpaper scratching on a piece of wood.  Now that the thing new he was here, Taemin greatly wanted to turn on the lights, if just to satisfy his curiosity about the creature.  From where he stood, the room was bathed in shadows, and the mysterious creature blended right in with them. 

“Yes, I know you’re there.  Why don’t you come out from your hiding spot?”

Taemin gulped, but he stayed silent.  His feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground. 

“Okay, well maybe I can come to you.  With my little friend here.” 

Taemin could hear a smile in the creature’s voice, and his heart sank.   His mind was foggy, and he couldn’t think straight. 

He heard the chair scrape against the floor.    

He heard a light tread of footsteps approaching his hiding spot.

“Think Taemin, think!” he ordered himself.  He pushed through the fog and made a snap decision.

“Minho!” he shouted, forcing his feet to stumble backward into the hallway. 

“Onew!  Key!  Jonghyun!  Wake up!” he cried, bursting into the bedroom. 

Minho sat straight up, and Key rolled over.  “What!  Taemin, what’s wrong?” Minho asked, spinning to face Taemin.

“Quick!  There’s someone in our kitchen!” Taemin called, yanking Minho’s arm and pulling him up.  Minho in turn grabbed onto Onew, waking him up as well.  Key followed the pair into the kitchen, where Minho and Taemin simply stood.

Key slid to a stop, gasping, “What’s wrong?”

Taemin turned the lights on, looking around frantically.  “There was someone here!  I swear!”

Minho rolled his eyes, pushing his hair back from his forehead.  “Taemin, there’s nothing here.  Why did you wake us up?” 

“No!” Taemin protested.  “There was something sitting at the table!  He had one of Key’s kitchen knives!”

Key ambled over to his butcher block, taking inventory of his knives.  “They’re all here Taemin.”

“Maybe you were just having a nightmare or something,” Minho suggested, putting a hand on the younger’s shoulder.

Taemin turned to look him in the face, and Minho saw his eyes were wide and terrified.  “No Minho, I wasn’t dreaming!  There was definitely something there!  I swear it!”

“Was it a thing?  Or a person?” Onew broke in, entering the kitchen while rubbing his eyes blearily.

Taemin turned towards the leader and told him, “I’m not sure.  It looked like a person, but it was so dark.  I couldn’t tell.”

Key sighed.  “You were probably just imagining things Taemin.  Calm down, I’m sure everything’s okay.” 

Taemin frowned.  Maybe he did just imagine it.  “You’re right guys.  I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“That’s okay, Taemin,” Minho grunted.  “Come on, let’s just go back to sleep.”

As the other three exited to return to their beds, Taemin stalled a bit, glancing back at the now-dark kitchen.  He gasped.

It was back.

He could see it.  The faint outline amidst the darkness.  The creature held the knife up threateningly, twisting and turning the blade so that it caught a faint light.  The metal glimmered, and Taemin closed his eyes, praying that when he opened them the thing would be gone. 

He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief.  It was gone.

He smiled a little and went back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. 

From the kitchen, the creature smiled as well, but for a completely different reason.  He reclaimed his seat at the table and took out the sharpener. 

Schlink.

Schlink.

Schlink.

A/N:  Thanks for the continued support!  I really appreciate it! :)