And you really needed to tell me that, like you think I’ve forgotten?

As Karli heard the sound of the front door being locked from downstairs, she stretched, got up, and walked around her room a little, before sitting back down.

Alone at last! …But that doesn’t mean there’s anything I can do that I couldn’t do if anyone else was home. How boring.

She sat staring into space for a few minutes, wondering what interesting thing she could find to do.

Hm? What was that? Sounded like the door opening… Maybe they forgot something.

“…” Not saying anything, and listening to the strange shuffling sounds, Karli waited for someone to say something.

As the minutes went by agonizingly slowly, and the shuffling sounds continued, Karli began to get anxious.

What’s going on? If they forgot something, surely one of them would have shouted something up to me. And what’s up with all that shuffling?

Wondering what to do, Karli got up as quietly as possible, and edged over to her bedroom door. She dared to peek out, and down the stairs. The door of the dining room had been left open, and when she looked, she was greeted by the sight of a shadow against the dining room wall.

The beating of her heart quickened as she realised the shadow didn’t belong to anyone she knew.

What should I do?! Okay, don’t panic, Karli, stay calm. Maybe this person won’t come upstairs.

Trying to reassure herself, she cautiously edged away from the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

If they do come upstairs, they’re going to want to get into my room. Then they’ll see me, and then… Oh no! What if they have a gun, or a knife, or any kind of weapon? It’s bad enough that someone like this is here anyway! I bet they could knock me out without a weapon anyway! Oh no! What am I going to do?!

Think. Calm down, and think.

I don’t want them to be able to get in. I have to somehow lock the door. But it hasn’t got a lock on it. Oh no!

By now, she was close to tears. Even though the mysterious person downstairs didn’t seem to be moving from the dining room, or at least from what she could hear, she was still worrying.

It opens inwards, so maybe… Barricade the door.

Still being cautiously quiet, Karli shut the door completely. Tiptoeing, she went over to her desk, and picked up her chair.

What am I doing? This is stupid. There’s no way this flimsy chair will keep the door closed.

She put the chair down, and looked at her actual desk thoughtfully.

No. It’s too far away from the door. I wouldn’t be able to get it over there. Well, I might be able to, but even if I could, it’d take way longer than I’ve got, and it’d be much too noisy.

Sitting down in her chair, she bit her thumbnail. With wide eyes, she sat staring at the door, waiting for it to open, but willing it not to.

The shuffling sounds stopped momentarily, and footsteps could be heard, along with the sound of a door opening.

The front room. The person is in the front room now. That means they’re moving. Next they’ll be coming up here…

As a solitary tear slid down her cheek, images of men wearing masks and carrying guns and knives filled Karli’s mind. She could see someone bursting into her room, pointing a gun at her, she could see the smirk on the man’s face as he looked at the helpless shivering girl in front of him, and she could see him pulling the trigger, with time slowing down as the bullet raced through the air towards her…

No! I have time. There must be a way to stop the door from opening.

Think, Karli, think! There must be something.

She thought, still staring at the door, as if her staring and willing itself would prevent the door from opening. But she knew that no matter how much she stared at the door, it was inevitable that someone was going to burst through it at some point.

The bed? It’s the only thing left, but surely, I won’t be able to move it. If I could, it’d make a lot of noise. I have to try at least.

Doubtfully, she got up, and moved to the side of the bed.

If I can push it from this side enough, it’ll be in front of the door and no one will be able to get in.

Here goes…

Pushing her doubts aside and thinking positively, Karli began to push the bed. With all of her strength, the bed moved about an inch. Karli froze as the moving bed made a loud creaking noise.

Holding her breath, she listened carefully for the shuffling noises. No matter how hard she listened, she didn’t hear anything.

Oh no! Whoever it is must have heard that noise. Any moment now, they’ll be coming upstairs…

Karli was still listening intently, willing the shuffling noises to start again when they did. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, she started to push the bed again.

As it began to move, another loud creaking noise broke the still air. Even as she heard the shuffling noises stop, and the footsteps begin to accend the stairs, Karli didn’t stop pushing the bed. She knew if she froze now, she would never be able to start moving again.

Unconsciously, she began counting the steps up the stairs, while still concentrating all her strength into moving the bed.

The bed moved another inch, letting out yet another creaking noise.

“Who’s there?” A deep, slightly slurred voice called out.

Karli thought she was going to have a heart attack, and almost stopped pushing the bed, but she told herself to be strong, and keep pushing.

Come on Karli, concentrate. You need to do this.

The bed moved another inch, and Karli’s confidence began to grow.

I can do this. If I keep pushing like this, by the time he gets upstairs, the bed will be blocking the door, and I’ll be okay.

Keep pushing… Keep pushing…

She didn’t realise it, but the effort of pushing the bed was taking its toll on Karli.

All of a sudden, the bed stopped moving, and despite her efforts, she wasn’t able to move the bed anymore. Unable to see why the bed wasn’t moving anymore, Karli broke out into a cold sweat and began to move around to the other side of the bed, pushing things out of her way, no longer caring how much noise she made.

As she began moving around, the sound of footsteps on the stairs stopped briefly, and all she could hear was the thumping of her own heart. As suddenly as they’d stopped, the footsteps started again.

It suddenly occurred to Karli that the footsteps were strangely slow, and she wondered why. Although she wondered why, she was grateful of the extra time she had to block the door, but right now the door wasn’t blocked, and the bed wouldn’t move.

After what seemed like hours, she finally reached the other side of the bed, and saw it was her chair that was stopping the bed from moving. She grabbed it and flung it down, away from the bed.

I’ve got to start pushing the bed again; I need to block the door. He’ll soon be upstairs…

In her haste to get back to the other side of the bed, her foot got tangled in the t-shirt lying on her bedroom floor, and as a result, she was sent sprawling across the room, hitting her head on her wardrobe.

Sugar! Get up, get up, get up! Hurry! Quick, quick!

“Don’t think you can block your door, little girl.” The voice from before rasped.

How does he know I’m a girl? He can’t possibly…

Hearing no more sounds, the intruder continued.

“That’s right, little Karli. I know who you are.”

Hearing this, Karli’s eyes widened in shock. As much as she told her legs to move, they wouldn’t obey her and she stayed on the floor where she was.

He knows who I am.

All sense left her, and she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. All thoughts of blocking the door were gone; she knew it was no use. Whoever this person was, he knew her.

Slowly, she turned around so she was facing the door, waiting for the inevitable.

One more step…

Only one more step, then he’ll be at the top of the stairs. Thirteen steps. Thirteen. Unlucky for some…

Visibly shaking and wide eyed, Karli couldn’t move. She continued to stare at the door, holding her breath.