Nowhere by Joshua David Page B

went to the kitchen and opened the freezer to get a dinner out. It was between Fiesta Cheese Enchiladas with rice and beans or Fried Rice with General Tso’s Chicken.
                  He chose Mexican over Chinese and threw it in the microwave. Then he poured himself a glass of orange juice and added some ice.
                  The TV was talking about the armed robbery of a small express bank downtown. There was one suspect who was shot in the ankle and captured, but two others were apparently on the run. Richard decided to get up and lock the balcony. Just when he got to the door, he heard the sound of another owl, but now it sounded as though it was right outside on the balcony. Then from farther back, somewhere in the distance he heard what he thought was another.
                  Slightly creeped out by this, he quickly flipped the deadbolt on the door and stood there for a moment listening, but he heard nothing. He flipped open the blinds, half expecting to see some giant owl perched on his balcony, but there was nothing there.
                  He breathed a sigh of relief and laughed a little at himself. Even though Steven believed they were fighting an invisible war against aliens and Richard was getting to the point that he almost whole heartedly believed him, he now laughed, believing himself to be just a little over paranoid.
                  Fear of owls… he wondered what phobia that was.
                  He went back to the kitchen and decided that before he sat and ate, and connected to the news again, it would be best to rinse off in the shower. It would feel healthy to wash the nerves of the day away. After all, he had jogged about a mile and a half home. October or not, he had done some sweating. He took another swig of orange juice and then went back to shower.
                  He started the shower to let the water warm up, then he got a towel and some PJ’s to change into.
                  It was strange, but he thought he heard the sound of another owl just as he stepped into the shower. Then as he rinsed he could have sworn he heard a loud thud and the sound of yet another hooting owl.
                  You’re just being paranoid… he tried to convince himself, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he had. It was as though this was something to take note of and his brain wouldn’t let him erase the sense of danger.
                  Surely there’s not one perched outside the tiny bathroom window he thought. He rinsed the shampoo from his hair and then wiped his face so he could see. He raised the blinds that covered the semi opaque bathroom window. There was nothing visible in the light outside the window. He was about to go back to bathing, when he heard the sound of yet another owl, a big one, except it was lower in pitch than the others and Richard could hear a series of clicks projected after the hooting that almost sounded insect like.
                  It came from behind him…
                                within his apartment…
                                              outside the bathroom door…
                  He tore open the shower curtain just in time to see a shadow move across the bottom of the door.
                  “Steven?,” he yelled, he could hear the fear in his own voice. “Steven is that you?”
                  There was no response, no sound at all in fact and no movement from below the door.
                  Richard looked towards the mirror and now saw a cryptic message written in the steam.
                  "The owls are not owls," it read.
                  Richard wanted to scream. He thought about leaping out of the shower to lock the door, but it was too late. The knob silently turned and Richard could only watch