Even at four years old, I've always prided myself in having quite the imagination. Thanks to The Twilight Zone, I can evaluate the possibilities of unusual circumstances surrounding regular people like me. Making a deal with the devil is never a good idea, and if I'm ever the last person alive in the world, I'd better take extra special care of my glasses so I can still read books during the apocalypse. It's my favorite show to watch, and it's right up there with The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. The Twilight Zone, of course, is strictly for daytime consumption. Getting spooked at three in the afternoon is much easier to overcome than getting scared after dark.

After an eventful day pretending to be Astronaut George Taylor fighting off those darn dirty apes, I found myself relaxing on the couch in the living room. It's a rare occurrence to catch me hanging out with my much older siblings Larry and Susan. They both decided to join me after a few minutes of solo entertainment provided by my Spider-Man coloring book. It's a fun nighttime activity, and all on my own, I discovered that I could trace the pictures and color them as much as I wanted. Crayons and paper always piled up around me close to bedtime.

Before long, my brother and sister struck up an interesting conversation. They seemed pretty excited over a recent newspaper article, and even with my superpower of blocking out unwelcomed distractions, curiosity prevailed, and I abandoned my task. My interest peaked when I overheard them mention the word alien. Evidently, someone spotted an extraterrestrial in Salem, and the sighting made the paper. By now, the wind picked up outside, and I could hear branches scraping the side of our house, making the whole situation even creepier. Larry explained how a neighbor on Mellon Road admitted seeing one of the creatures just before sundown. That's about the time I heard Rod Serling's famous intro in my mind and felt a sharp jolt of terror streak from head to toe.

"What happened? Did the aliens hurt anyone?" I asked, anxiously awaiting an answer.

Susan said, "They shot at it, maybe wounded it, and it took off running toward our house."

Fear released its poison into my young body, transforming my sun-kissed skin into milky white as Larry handed over the newspaper and pointed at the sketch. Those dark black fishbowl eyes hung above two tiny holes for his nose and a small mouth that is undoubtedly hiding some sort of suction tongue and a set of fangs for eating my brains. The monster's enormous, strangely shaped head rested upon a spaghetti-sized neck and boney frame held together by leathery skin. The creature obviously would not think twice about snatching me up to take home as some sort of scientific experimentation offering.

Lightening crept across the sky, creating a web of electric veins decorating the atmosphere. During the brief flash, I noticed something through the window under the catawba tree. It could have been something tall and lanky with a giant head and enormous eyes, eyes that I could possibly see my own reflection in before the last breath ascends from my lungs. How could this be? No one else in the room saw anything! It must be how Captain Kirk felt when he looked out the airplane window into the storm on episode three, season five of The Twilight Zone.

After screaming, "What are we going to do? They are coming for us!" Larry and Susan agreed to go outside to investigate. As soon as I heard the screen door slam, I felt alone and more vulnerable than ever. Within moments I listened to my brother and sister cry in agony, unable to escape the impending doom that would more than likely be my fate as well. Once the shrieks faded, silence loomed. Quiet is never more resonant than when it's following the bluster of despair and torment. With my back to the window, I stared at the television, doing my best to ignore whatever lurked from behind through that thin glass.

"Tap, tap, tap," came from behind, and in an instant, I froze, wanting nothing more than to be somewhere else on the other side of the planet. Convincing myself that hearing the tap again would be more intense than facing the beast once and for all, I decided to peek. With a quick jerk, I swung my head around and peered out into the night. Before even having the chance to capture a single sigh of relief, two lights popped on out of nowhere through the glass. For a moment, the creature's diabolical eyes worked a bizarre spell but only for a moment. Like the Flash himself, I streaked to the safest area of the house, my bed, under the covers. Here I have outlasted many aberrations, and here this nightfall, I shall take my last stand. The early evening soon turned into midnight, and sleep became too much to fight any longer.

"Chris, come eat your eggs before they get cold," is the precious sound that snapped me out of my hex. Everything should be fine if Mom is up preparing food. Larry had already left for work, but Susan sat having breakfast at the kitchen table. At first, everything seemed normal, but I knew the truth. My sister had a look on her face as if she was hiding something. There's no doubt the strange visitors from last night took over the bodies of my siblings, and for all I know, they have possessed my mother as well. All there is left to do is act like I don't suspect anything. I only hope I have learned enough from television to survive this nightmare.