As a muffled dial tone droned from my mobile phone from where it lay on the carpet, I opened my desk drawer, rooting around desperately. There were no more sounds from inside the house, only the frenzied car alarms from outside. In my panic there were all I could think about. What was going on?
I found what I was looking for and pulled from the drawer an old penknife. I selected the largest blade - still no longer than my finger - and took a slight comfort from the familiar feel of it in my grip.
I gingerly made my way out of my bedroom and started down the stairs, aware that a creaking floorboard could give away my presence to...whatever was downstairs. I felt like my beating heart was as loud as a train rushing through a station at full speed.
At the bottom of the stairs was the entrance to the kitchen and to the right of that was the doorway into my small living room. From where I was I couldn't see into the entrance-hall from where the sounds had come from. A slight breeze reached me, confirming my fears that I definately had left the front door wide open in my haste.
My brow was damp with sweat by the time I reached the entrance-hall, my trainers tread quietened by the thick red shag carpet. Apart from some muddy scuff-marks on the floor, there were no signs of any intruder, but I knew I wasn't alone. More than the crash I had heard from my bedroom and the glimpse of movement I had spotted by the flash of streetlamp light, I felt in my bones that someone, or something, was in my house. I wasn't safe in my own home.
The tiny blade on my hand was my only defence but agaist a real-life threat I didn't know if I could bring myself to use it. I forced my breathing to slow down as I approached the kitchen door.
Now that I was closer, I could make out a shuffling sound from the other side of the door. it was slightly ajar, but all beyond it was in darkness. Odd that whoever had entered had not thought to turn on the light. Probably trying to remain undetected. Very slowly I reached out to the door with my left hand, with my right clutching the penknife tightly.
Suddenly I stopped. If this trespasser was trying to be stealthy, surely that plan failed had failed the second I heard the loud crashing sound? Why also would they choose to break into a house in the middle of the night when the owner was clearly home and awake? Perhaps there were more than one of them and they thought that anyone home wouldn't be a problem for them to incapacitate?
As I was pondering tis disturbing train of thought, a strong gust of wind from outside caught the front door and slammed it open, banging against the wall inside. It shattered the eery quiet that had settled in the house, but what happened next was much worse.
I intruder burst through the gap in the open kitchen door in a furious blur of mangy ginger fur. I yelled in surprise and alarm, jerking back - right into the grasping arms of the dark figure that had been advancing on me from out of the lounge.
Hope you enjoyed that! They'll be more or the usual, plus the next installment, soon!
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