She Waits by Kate Sweeney Page B

you know you're dreaming but you can't wake yourself. Someone--something--in this dream had been shaking my bed, urging me to wake up.
    I looked around until my eyes adjusted to the pitch-blackness of my room. I was awake and Chance was growling. She was no longer on the bed and, through the darkness, I saw her by the door.
    Then I heard it--a shuffling sound in the hallway. I got up and put my ear to the door. I stood for several seconds before hearing it again. I haphazardly struggled into my jeans and sweater and slipped into my shoes, thankfully not falling flat on my face.
    "C'mon, Chance," I whispered and the traitor jumped on the bed and laid there. "You coward! If I get killed, you'll be sorry." What was I saying? Nobody was getting killed.
    It was dark but the moon cast a perfect light from the hallway window so I wasn't totally in the dark, as I opened my door.
    Who the hell was I kidding? I was completely in the dark, and I knew it. I closed my door behind me and walked out into the hall. Putting my ear to Maggie's door, I heard nothing. I cautiously opened her door and peered into the darkness. I heard her breathing and snoring peacefully. I must have imagined the whole thing.
    It was on my way back to my room that I heard a noise downstairs. My heart stopped. I turned toward the staircase and took a few steps. I thought I heard Maggie's door creak, so I turned around, but no, the door was still closed. I sneaked to the top of the stairs, leaned over the railing and looked around before I slowly descended. Occasionally, a stair would creak. Of course, they had to creak, since I was trying so hard to be quiet.
    A shiver rippled through me. Someone's walking over your grave. My Irish Grandmother's words came back to me. Thanking Granny for the gruesome mental picture, I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the hallway. It was freezing. I walked down the hall and into the living room.
    Through the darkness, I examined the contours of each wall and then I saw it. The curtains were blowing wildly in the wind. The French doors were wide open. I had locked them myself. Someone was already in the house. I tried to swallow, but couldn't peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth.
    I was terrified as I walked over to the doors. Then I felt something behind me, but I couldn't move. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out.
    "You shouldn't be here,"the voice came in a wicked whisper, touching my ear.
    I do believe I may have screamed then, as I instinctively raised my arm and swung my elbow backward, catching the intruder at the head. As he grabbed me, we crashed through the French doors.
    We tumbled out onto the deck and I felt something sharp pierce my shoulder. The intruder whined like some scared animal as he tried to gain the upper hand. My adrenaline was at an all-time high and power surged through me. I was almost on top of him, surprised to get the upper hand so quickly, when he broke free and pushed me off. It was enough for him to get to his knees.
    As I struggled to get to my feet, the intruder picked up a piece of firewood and swung it in my direction. I tried to dodge the lumber, but it grazed my head enough so I saw stars and my knees buckled.
    He slipped and fell on the wet grass as he took off running like hell into the woods.
    I attempted to run after him, but fell to my knees instead. The back yard was spinning. I got to my feet and stood, bent over with my hands on my knees, trying not to faint. Of course, it started to rain--what else?--as I stood for a moment longer, trying to get my bearings. Actually, the light rain may have saved me from passing out.
    Disgusted, scared, wet and a little shaky, I headed back to the house, trying to avoid the broken pieces of glass, and ran into Hannah.
    "Good heavens," she said. "You're bleeding!"
    "Call the police, Hannah. Now."
    Hannah was at the phone before I even finished.
    Maggie rushed into the living room. "What the hell happened?"
    "Someone was