Duolingo x A Naughty User

1) He's Coming

There's no going back now. The red light of my alarm clock lit up my face as I counted the seconds to midnight.

23:59:55
23:59:56
23:59:57
23:59:58
23:59:59
00:00:00

My phone lit up beside me, the Duolingo notification arriving.

"You broke your streak. I'm coming."

Terror reached inside of me, gripping my insides and holding me tight. I couldn't run, I couldn't hide, he would find me. He always found me. Every time. He was practically omniscient, he was everywhere all the time. He was like a god. A dangerous, murderous god. He was my god.

As I lay, eyes fixated on the ceiling, not making a sound, I momentarily held my breath; waiting in silence for the telltale beating of wings, or the scratch of feathers against a window.

And then it came. The grating noise of a beak against the door. The rhythmic, muffled beating of the small body hopping up the stairs. The creak of my bedroom door.

A shadow emerged from my doorway. My breath hitched. "Duo," I spoke, "please, don't do this, I'm sorry, It won't happen again" I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. "That's what you said last time." He growled, pulling out a glock. "Please, please no I didn't mean to it was an accident," I begged, "I'LL BUY THE STREAK FREEZE!"

That seemed to satisfy him. He returned the glock to the depths of his feathery pocket. "I'll be back. Soon you'll see. You'll remember you belong to me." he whispered into my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck. He licks my face before leaving me, quaking in my bed.

As I regained my breath, I wondered when he would next visit me.