Julie was terrified.  Curled into a tight ball on the couch in the den, she clutched a flashlight, her cell phone, and the cordless phone in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.  She couldn’t believe this was happening to her tonight, of all nights.  This had been her big opportunity to prove to her parents that fourteen was old enough to stay home alone at night while they went out, but, now, it seemed as though the thunderstorm raging outside would ruin it for her.

Thunder crashed and lightning slashed across the stormy sky.  Inside, the lights flickered ever so slightly and made Julie squeeze herself into a tighter ball.  Her knuckles were white from how tightly her fists were clenched together.  If the power went out, she wasn’t sure what she would do.  Other than scream and call her parents, of course.  But then, they’d never let her stay by herself again, and she definitely didn’t want that.  The next bellowing of thunder seemed to shake the house and push all thoughts of wanting to be an adult faster out of her head.

Three hours ago, when her parents had been preparing to go out for the evening, the sky had been clear and moonlit.  When her mother had asked her for the hundredth time if she wanted to just go over to her best friend’s house, Julie had refused, frustrated that her mother was so worried.

“I just want you to be safe, sweetie,” her mother had said with a hint of nerves in her voice.  “But, I guess you are old enough to stay by yourself.”

“She can always call us if something happens,” her father had assured her mother, while winking at Julie.  “After all, we’re not going too far away.”

So, after cajoling and reassuring her mother that she would be just fine, Julie had stood in the doorway and watched her parents’ car back down the driveway and head off towards town.  When she could no longer see the taillights of their car, she had shut the door, done a quick victory dance, then plopped herself in front of the television to enjoy a marathon of her favorite show.

Two hours later, the rumblings of thunder and the bursts of lightning had made her uneasy enough that she had turned off the television, rushed to grab a flashlight and the telephones, and was currently a ball of fear and nerves.  

The home that had always been her haven was now scaring her with every creak and groan it made as the storm battered against the walls and pounded raindrops on the windows.  It was a huge, rambling structure with several towers and turrets, even a hidden passage, and, though she usually loved it, that was no longer the case tonight.  Not one to usually believe in ghost stories, Julie was convinced that every creak and odd sound she heard was a monster out to get her.

“Don’t be silly, J,” she whispered to herself.  “There’re no such things as monsters or ghosts.  It’s just the wind and the storm, and it’ll be over soon.  I hope,” she added.  

She continued her pep talk, hoping that she could keep herself calm until the storm died down.  Having grown up in coastal Maine, she was used to the sudden storms that swept off the Atlantic and knew that they would die down soon enough.  They had never bothered her before, but, then, she had always had her parents around before to assuage her fears.

Now, she was alone.
    
***

Another twenty minutes passed, and, while the lights continued to flicker every time there was an enormous clap of thunder, the power stayed on.  Julie calculated that the storm had been raging for nearly two hours, and she really wanted it to be over soon.  She had relaxed just enough to contemplate turning on the television and turning up the volume to somehow drown out the sound of the storm, but she was still nervous about moving from her position in the center of the couch.  The noises the old house made were still worrisome for her.

After a few moments, she scolded herself for being silly and stretched out her legs before letting them tentatively touch the floor.  Easing herself off the couch, she quickly padded towards the television, grabbed the remote, and rushed back to the couch to turn it on.  The instant the screen flashed on, there was a sudden burst of thunder, and the room was plunged into darkness.

Julie screamed once, then clapped a hand over her mouth to contain her fearful sobbing.  Once again, she curled into a ball and rocked herself.  Where she had been just scared before, she was now out of her mind with fear and anxiety.  What was she supposed to do? Torn between the choice to call her parents or the choice to ride out the power outage and prove to them that she was old enough to handle such a situation, pride won out.  She was going to stick it out, she decided, even if it killed her.

The wind whipped around the house, and its high-pitched whistling rushed through the chimney.  The sound made Julie think of horror movies and haunted houses, and she swore to herself that she would never, ever watch another scary movie after tonight.

If she made it through tonight.

“Stop it,” she whispered to herself.  “This is just a storm.  It’ll be over soon, and Mom and Dad will be home in a little while.”

She flicked open her cell phone to see what time it was.  The glow of the display told her it was just before eleven, and she tried to remember what time her parents had promised to be home.  She was nearly certain they had said eleven-thirty, but she wondered if they would be delayed by the storm.  She really hoped they would be home on time.

“So what if they’re not?” Her pep talk continued as she clutched her cell phone in her hands, oh so tempted to call her parents home sooner.  “You’re not a baby, Julie.  You’re supposed to prove to your parents that you can stay home by yourself, remember? Freaking out and calling them ahead of time is so not going to do that.”

When she heard the stairs creaking as though someone walked on them, her heart bounded into her throat.  She was right down the hallway from the stairs, and she desperately hoped it was just her imagination and the house settling down that caused the noises.  When the sounds continued, Julie muffled the frightened whimpering sounds that emitted helplessly from her.

“Just the wind.  It’s just the storm,” she kept reminding herself, but to no avail.  Her mind was full of scenes from horror movies where unknown stalkers killed off characters in darkened homes.  She could imagine the supposed intruder on the stairs in a white hockey mask and carrying a huge knife.  It was at times like these when she cursed her wild imagination.

After a moment, the noises stopped, but Julie held herself still, without breathing, waiting to see if the sounds would start up again.  She didn’t know how long it had been, but she finally let out a long breath when the silence continued.  Outside, the thunder had died down, but rain continued to pelt the windows with a rat-tat-tat.  

Swallowing the fear and panic clogging her throat, Julie reached for her flashlight.  She flicked the switch, and a narrow beam of light hit the opposite wall.  She scanned the den with the light and found everything exactly the way it was supposed to be.  Cautiously, she stood up and carefully crept towards the doorway.

Though she hadn’t heard any further noises, she was still wary of the dark and what it could be hiding.  Her fear was edging her towards paranoia, and she trained the beam of light to stay exactly two feet ahead of her, in case there was an intruder.  She didn’t want to warn him that she was coming because, after all, she knew what always happened to the clueless female in horror movies.

Nerves strained to the breaking point, she moved quietly towards the kitchen to reassure herself that there was nothing and no one around.  Two yards from the entrance to the kitchen, she heard the rattling of dishes and the sound of cabinets being opened and closed.  The terrified shriek lodged in her throat, never emerging, and she turned to rush in the opposite direction.  

As she ran, she could still hear the sounds coming from the kitchen.  She grabbed her cell phone from the den.  She had to call the police, she thought, panicked.  There was someone in her house, and he or she might kill her.  The faster she called for help, the quicker someone would come to save her.  

Even as she dialed 911, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps echo down the hallway.  The sound grew louder, and Julie felt a rush of hysteria sweep through her when she realized the intruder was getting closer to where she was.  Panicking, she dropped the flashlight.  It clattered and blinked off.  In the ensuing silence, she realized the footsteps had stopped.  Not sure what this meant, she squeezed her cell phone tightly in her hands and crawled into a corner of the room.

Long seconds passed as Julie huddled in the corner between the couch and wall.  Lightning continued to slice through the sky outside, and thunder rumbled gently in the distance.  Through the sounds of the storm, she did not hear a single sound from the intruders.  Barely breathing, she continued to strain her ears for any sound and watched the doorway for any signs of the intruder.  When several minutes passed without a single sight or sound, she began to slowly relax.

Just as she started to edge out from her hiding spot, a flash of lightning illuminated the room, and Julie saw the silhouette of an enormous figure outlined in the doorway of the den.  She fought back the urge to scream and held herself completely still.  Maybe he hadn’t seen her yet, she hoped desperately.  Whoever he was, however he had broken into her home, she couldn’t let him see her.  Unfortunately, without any light, she could no longer discern if the figure still stood in the doorway.  Even if she had had her flashlight near her, she knew it would be a bad idea to use it.

She crouched silently in her hiding spot, hoping and praying that, whoever the shadowy figure had been, he was gone now.  Relief flooded through her when, a few minutes later, she heard the heavy footsteps recede towards the back of the house, towards the kitchen and her father’s office.  

Taking a chance and hoping she lived through it, Julie leapt up and, clutching her cell phone in her hand like a lifeline, she darted out of the den and bolted up the steps.  She made sure to step lightly on the stairs, knowing that one misstep would cause the steps to creak and would alert the intruder to her whereabouts.  As she reached the top of the steps, her panic returned in full force because she could hear the footsteps rushing through the first floor.

Forcing herself to stay as calm as was humanly possible in such a situation, Julie dashed into her bedroom and, pulling open her closet door, she dove in and let the door shut behind her.  Her closet was large enough to fit her bed in it, which made it the perfect place for her to hide.  It was big, and, because of the current power outage, it was dark.  She huddled in the furthest corner and piled extra blankets and pillows around and on top of her.

In the silence that followed, her ears were alert for any signs of her stalker.  When she heard none, she flipped open her cell phone and breathed a sigh of relief.  She still had service during the storm, and she desperately needed it.

Her hands shaking, she fought to dial 9-1-1.  Though she dialed the wrong number twice, she got it right the third time and pressed the phone to her ear.  It took a few moments for the call to go through, and she sighed, relieved, when she heard ringing on the other end.

“9-1-1. What is your emergency?” The operator’s voice came through a bit fuzzy, but Julie was ecstatic that she had gotten through at all.

“Please help me! There’s someone in my house,” she said as quietly as she could. “I don’t know who it is, and the power’s out, and I’m by myself.  I’m really scared. Please, hurry!”

“Can you give me your address?” As frantic as Julie’s voice sounded, the operator’s was just as calm.

Julie rattled off her address as quickly and quietly as she could.  When there was no response from the operator, she gulped.  She stared down at her phone and at the display that read “Call Ended”.  

“Oh, no. Oh, please, please, please don’t let this be happening,” she whispered as she dialed the emergency number again.  The call did not go through at all this time.  The display now read “Call Failed,” and, when she checked how many bars of reception she had, her stomach plunged to her knees.  

No signal.

It felt like the world stopped in that instant as Julie realized she was completely cut off from any help she could call for from the confines of her closet.  There was an intruder lurking somewhere in her home, and, for all she knew, he could be a rampaging killer.  After all, why would any sane person break into a home? Her imagination ran wild as she stayed alert for noises that would signal the intruder’s approach.

She imagined he was an escaped killer and was looking for his next victim.  Her home sat atop a cliff that overlooked the ocean, and it was fairly isolated.  True, there were other homes further down the street, but the closest one was at least a half-mile away.  She realized that the location of her home was a prime spot for an escaped convict to hide.

Julie nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her bedroom door open.  She knew the sound of her door opening because its old hinges squeaked in a specific way.  Squeezing her eyes shut, she hoped the intruder would not open her closet, or, if he did, that he would not see her.  

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” a gruff voice growled.  “I won’t hurt you, kid.”

She curled into an even smaller ball and tugged a blanket over her head.  Her heart was pounding so hard, she was amazed that he had not heard it.  She heard the man move around her room and imagined he was checking in the corners and under the bed for her.  It was only a matter of time before he opened the closet door.

“I know you’re in here,” he called out again.  “I won’t hurt you.” He chuckled a little, and the sound froze the blood in her veins.  It was an evil cackle, and Julie knew that, if he found her, she was doomed.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she held her breath and did not dare to move a muscle.  The closet door slowly opened, and she heard him move inside.  His footsteps thudded heavily on the carpet, and she could feel him move closer and closer to the corner where she hid.

“Damn dark,” he mumbled to himself.  “Can’t see a thing.”

For one, shining moment, Julie thought that maybe, just maybe, without the light, he would be unable to find her.  In the next instant, she discovered that she was very, very wrong.

The blankets covering her were pulled off, and the scream never emerged from her throat as she was lifted off her feet.  A split second later, pain exploded through her head, and the world went dark.