The Intruder
A Serial in Five Parts
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Episode 3
She looked around the room in panic. She had to do something now! Quickly she flattened herself and slid under the small bed. Again all was silence, except for her beating heart, loud in her ears. She strained to hear as she breathed through her mouth. She could smell the dust that had collected on the slats that were holding the box springs. Her nightgown had ridden up around her hips. She pulled it down. It felt incredibly thin, offering no protection.
She lay under the bed and watched the bottom of the door for any movement. The passing seconds seemed like hours. Three minutes passed—an eternity. Her breathing slowed and her heart now beat at a more normal rate. Hiding under the bed. How ludicrous. If the situation were not so dire, she would have laughed.
As she looked around the room, she could see very little from her hiding place. The bedspread reached to within inches of the floor. She noticed Davie’s baseball bat leaning in the corner of the room. Quickly, she scooted out far enough to reach and pull it back to her. At least now she had something to defend herself with, even if only a bat. She felt the smooth, cool wood in her hands and let her cheek rest against it. There was no room to swing it, but she felt better with it in her hands.
She lay and waited. Several times she thought she could hear someone moving around, but wasn’t sure. Time stood still as she lay in the dust holding the bat to her cheek.
She saw the door move. No sound, but the door slowly inched open. She held her breath; her heart resumed it’s thunder. She watched shoes move into the room, then stop. He must be listening. Surely he could hear her heart pounding. She breathed in short quiet pants through her open mouth.
The intruder moved to the closet door and opened it. She could hear the rustle of clothes. He stood for a moment, moved back to the door, hesitated and went out. He left the door open. She could hear him moving around. First in the hall, then back into the master bedroom. She lay under the bed, hoping that he would get tired of looking and leave.
As she lay there, she heard him open a window. Probably to see if she were on a roof outside, she thought. He moved into the guest room. Again the window. Now back to Davy’s room. She watched the shoes as he moved to the window. The sound of the opening window seemed loud. The intruder moved back to the door, but just before going out he stopped and turned. Long seconds.
She could see him dropping to his knees to look under the bed. Though she couldn’t swing the bat, when she saw the face she thrust the bat with all her might, hitting his cheek. Quickly she scooted out from under the bed, and ran for the door. Almost out the door, she felt the tug on her nightgown, pulling her down. The bat went flying from her hands. She felt the weight of him falling on top of her, knocking the wind from her and mashing her face into the carpet. As the rough hands turned her over, she struck out at him with her fist, only to meet a solid chest. She couldn’t breath. The hard back hand knocked her head to the side. Again he struck and then again. Things started to go dark,
To be continued
