Page 20 of Claimed by the Fallen
No!This is not the time for my stupid muscles to contract and causepain.
I hear a door close and someone murmurs, “There aren’t bedrooms down here. She must beupstairs.”
Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh,crap.
Are they talking aboutme?
I hear a different voice reply, “Shut up,Gabe.”
I lift the bat behind my shoulder and readjust my hold. I inch away from the bannister to make sure no one can see me if they lookup.
I know at least two men are in my home, but there could be more. I’m already outnumbered. I need to hide. There is no way I can defend myself against the intruders. I curse the fact I didn’t think to grab my cellphone before I went searching for who was in my house. I blame the medicine and my still-weak body and mind for my poordecision.
My bedroom is farther down the hall. I decide to slip into the bathroom instead, but I leave the door open to hopefully throw off suspicion. Careful to keep quiet, I slip behind the navy-blue shower curtain. I raise the bat again, ready to swing if anyone should look behind thecurtain.
I hear the familiar squeak of the third step from the top landing. My pulse spikes. I hadn’t heard any footsteps before that one. I’m thankful Dad hadn’t gotten around to fixing the stairstep. I tighten my hold on the bat, waiting for the intruder to enter the bathroom and find my hidingplace.
The seconds pass at a painfully slowpace.
I realize the intruder has passed the bathroom, but the only signs I have of his progress are the occasional squeal of hinges or the strike of the latch as he opensdoors.
Periwinkle barks, and I know the intruder has reached myroom.
To my shock, the barking stops. And I hear a male voice speaking softly to my dog, “That’s it. Good girl. I’m not going to hurtyou.”
I envision Peri’s waggingtail.
Normally, I brag about my dog’s friendly disposition. But for the first time in my life, I wish she was a fearful German Shephard or DobermanPinscher.
Two voices begin to speak. I think they are the same voices from downstairs, so I assume there are only two intruders in my house. I consider my options and decide my first goal should be to get out of thehouse.
I try to pluck up my courage to leave the bathroom and make my escape. If the intruders are near, or inside, my room, I might be fast enough to run down the stairs and out the door before they can reach me. If I’m quiet, they might not even notice where I am until I’m already at the frontdoor.
I inhale, ready to move, when I hear a familiar whine close to the showercurtain.
Crap!
I see Peri’s shadow as she nudges the curtain. Her whimpers increase; she wants to get tome.
The voices have stoppedspeaking.
I know what’s about tohappen.
I say a quick prayer, asking God to protect me, as a human-shaped shadow is cast on thecurtain.
My heart is nearly in my throat as the shadow reaches forward. I see four fingers curl around the edge of thecurtain.
I don’twait.
The moment the intruder pulls the curtain, I close my eyes and call on all of my strength right before I swing the bat towards the man’sskull.
Nine
Thwack.
The bat halts mid-swing.
My eyes fly open and I’m staring into the intruder’s sea-blue eyes. The hue of his long, tied-back, black hair looks familiar, but my attention is dragged away from his looks as I take in the fact he is holding the softball bat in hispalm.
