Motion Detected

The security camera notification woke me up. Motion detected.

Living room.

I checked the time before opening it, like that mattered.

The feed loaded slowly. The living room was dark, exactly how I’d left it.

What is it?

Motion alert.

Adam leaned over my shoulder. We waited for something to move.

MILA Nothing did.

Probably the heater.

I nodded, even though we don’t have one.

I locked the phone and tried to sleep. It buzzed again immediately.

Motion detected. Same camera.

This time, I saw it right away. A shape standing where the couch should have been.

Too still to be a person.

Zoom in.

I didn’t want to.

I did anyway.

The shape sharpened. It had my height. My posture. Even the way I stood when I wasn’t sure where to put my hands.

That’s not funny.

I wasn’t laughing.

The camera angle shifted slightly. Just enough to show the hallway mirror.

The shape didn’t reflect.

Mila…

Another notification appeared. Motion detected. Bedroom.

The feed switched on its own.

The camera showed our bed.

Showed us.

Adam reached for the light.

Before he could turn it on, the phone buzzed again.

Motion detected. Front door.

I knew then what it was doing. Checking rooms. Making sure.

We should leave.

I swung my legs out of bed.

The phone vibrated one last time.

Motion cleared.

Every camera feed went dark at once.

The bedroom door creaked.

Adam froze.

I realized something then. The cameras weren’t watching it.

They were watching to see when we stopped moving.

The door opened.

The phone buzzed softly in my hand.

Motion detected.

Bedroom.

I didn’t check.

I already knew who it was.