my friend mariah was staying over because she hated being home alone. around 1 AM, while we were lying in bed scrolling on our phones, we heard scratching. scrrrt… scrrt… scrrt… mariah sat up, “ what is that?” “it’s probably the vents.” then it came again. closer. scrrt… tap… scrrt… like fingernails moving through metal. mariah laughed nervously. “nope.” i grabbed a broom and tapped the vent near my bedroom floor. the scratching stopped. “see?” i said. then we heard it again. from the vent in the living room. scrrt… scrrt… then the kitchen. then right back in my bedroom. like whatever it was moving. fast. mariah whispered, “ can rats do that?” before i answered, a voice came through the vent. soft. almost childlike. “are you awake?” we both froze. i slowly backed away. “did you hear that?” mariah nodded, crying now. then the vent cover rattled. once. twice. then popped open slightly. we ran into the living room and locked ourselves in. i called building maintenance. the guy sounded annoyed until i mentioned the voice. then he went quiet. “which apartment are you in?” “4C.” silence. then: “ that unit was supposed to stay empty.” “what?” he hung up. mariah whispered, “ why would he say that?” then came scratching. right outside the living room door. not in the vets anymore. slowly dragging down the wood. scrrt… scrrt… then three soft knocks. and a whisper right outside the door. “you let me out.” #fyp #viral #scarystories #scarytiktoks #scary - @scary.stories.js4u