[Sabrina Catherine]: 479.Dark and Stormy Contest. All Alone

It was a dark and stormy night, and the house emanated no sound, but for my beating heart, and my hastened breath. The lights had gone out just moments ago, and I hurried to seek refuge in the comfort of my room.

I sat cross legged on my bed, Snuggles the bunny clutched tightly in my arms. My eyes showed immense fear and distress. Mom and Dad always made fun of my fear of thunderstorms, but tonight, they might have supported me if they’d known what was to happen.

My parents had left a couple hours ago. They had left me all alone, knowing full well that a bad storm was coming.

“Now Penny, you know that storms can’t hurt you when you are inside the house.” said my mother.

“I know… but they are loud…. Who knows what can happen?”

“Penny…” My mom said, with a tone of annoyance.

They left without another word, and I was standing in the threshold of our two story home. I walked into the kitchen to raid the fridge. I pulled out a jug of Utterly Chocolate ice cream, and made my way into the living room.

I flipped on the TV, and an ear splitting scream came forth from the surround sound speakers. My face went pale and I nearly had a heart attack. I turned down the volume, and changed the channel. “Brian! I’m gonna kill you when you get home!” I yelled at my brother, knowing that it was impossible for him to hear me.

Brian was my little brother. He loved to scare me whenever possible. This prank had his name all over it. He was lucky that he was spending the night at a friend’s house.

Soon my nerves calmed down. I watched some TV until the phone suddenly rang, startling me. I screamed a little, my heart pounding. I eventually realized that it was nothing to be afraid of, so I got up and answered the phone.

“Hello? Penny?” It was my best friend Matt. “Are you there?”

“Hey, Matt! Yeah, I’m here. Unfortunately…” There was a flash of lightening, and a crash of thunder, and I flinched badly, nearly dropping the phone.

“Unfortunately?”

“Yeah, in case you didn’t notice, there is a huge thunder storm.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry, I forgot about that. Would you like me to come over, calm your nerves a little?

“Oh. Mum… I don’t know… My parents might not like that… but they won’t be back for a while, I’m sure they won’t mind too much….”

“Ok, great, I’ll be over in a bit.”

“Ok, see you then.”

But shortly after I hung up, there was a loud clash of thunder, and the power went out, so I raced upstairs, and hid in my room, waiting for Matt to show up. Snuggles was now in a tight choke hold, held up to my chest. I was shaking like a leaf. I waited semi-patiently, worried that he was struck by lightning.

Ten minutes passed, when the doorbell rang loud. I raced downstairs and looked through the peep hole. I froze. It wasn’t Matt. He had long black hair, pale sallow skin, and sunken eyes, and ragged clothes.

I regained movement, locked the door, and hurried round back, and locked that one too. I closed all the shades, and grabbed the cordless phone, and raced up to her room. Her heart raced in fright. The door bell rang again, and I jumped. The door bell rang again, and I got even more scared. “Oh no! I knew this was going to happen!” I sobbed a little, and then called Matt’s house. No one answered. “Oh Matt! Pick up!”

When no answer came, I sobbed uncontrollably. I called the restaurant where my parents said they were to be dining, but it turns out, they hadn’t shown up yet. I freaked and ran downstairs. The front door had been kicked open. My heart stopped. I heard the man rummaging around in the kitchen. I grabbed a nearby object off the piano in the living room. It was an iron from the fireplace. The man came out of the kitchen, a butcher knife gleaming in his gnarled hand.

I screamed, and nearly dropped the iron. “Who are you?! What are you doing in my house!”

“You’re all alone.” He grinned evilly. “Your parents won’t be returning.” He then ran at me, the glistening blade aimed at me. I screamed, and threw the iron at him, and ran. He dodged and ran after me. My heart nearly beat out of my chest!
I ran into our little music room, and grabbed the candlestick from the piano. Thankfully I had forgotten to put it out after my lesson. I pointed it at him and he stopped, no wanting to get burned. I was jubilant, for only a second, when he slashed the knife at me, and cut the candle in half. I screamed and ran to the other side of the piano. He followed, so I ran out the room, into the living room, where I had left the phone, unknowingly, and I grabbed it as I ran, and called for 9-1-1, but the phone was dead. “Oh no!” I ran upstairs to my room and locked the door again, and then I tried to think of an escape.

Suddenly, the man’s knife breaks through the door. I run for the window, leaving my poor Snuggles behind, and try to open it, but it was stuck. The knife came through the door again, and I jumped. “What a lovely game of hide and seek.” He said maliciously. Then he chuckled, like what he said was the funniest thing in the world. I, on the other hand, was not laughing at all.

Just then, I remember, my parents room and my room used to be one big room, but we had separated it, but to keep some of the “openness,” we had put in a door between the two, in the back of my closet. I ran into the closet, and shut the door, then made my way the back, and found the hidden door, and opened it, and ran through. My father kept a hand gun in here, in case of an emergency. The question was, where did he keep it? I tried the sock drawer, and then in between the mattresses. I found it in my mom’s jewelry case, fully loaded, thank god.

I gently pulled it out, and studied it for a second, trying to learn how to use it. When I believed I had the correct way, and ran out of the room into the hallway, where my door lay in tatters. The man was turning my room upside down. I waited, my palms sweaty. He finally came out, and saw me with the gun. He chuckled. “I bet ya you don’t know how to use that thing, so hand it here, and I will show you.” I cocked the gun, and aimed it as best as I could. Now he started to get worried, and began to back off. “Now just you wait!”

Any passerby, would be worried at the site that befell them outside. The door was kicked in, the lights were out, and strange noises were pouring out. But what would get their heart racing faster than mine, would be the sound of a shot gun firing, and a loud muffled boom, as the man fell down the stairs, and the clunk of the gun falling to the ground. Fortunately, someone was walking by, and called the police, and they came almost immediately. I stood, frozen in the upstairs hallway, my face pale, and my eyes wide. My whole body shook.

When they found me, they asked me a few questions, like what was my name, where were my parents, etc, etc. They then took me to the police station, so I could get out of the house, and aid in the search of my parents.

Fortunately, the police found them that night. Unfortunately, then man had gotten to them, and they were defenseless. Their murders were too gruesome to show me. I sobbed when I heard the news. Then I remember Matt, and asked the police if they could find him too. They found him, two days later, in Lake Cattongue. I was all alone in this world now, with no one there beside me, and the future ahead of me was unclear, and my past, now, is a distant memory.