Chapter 2: Walk In

Synopsis: Cassie stayed up late watching a horror movie in her room and is having trouble falling asleep. The stormy weather and the consistent thudding coming from downstairs wasn't helping – so she decides to check it out to ensure herself that everything was fine.

A flash of lightning followed by a loud boom of thunder echoed throughout Cassie's bedroom. She gripped her bed comforter and curled into a ball under the covers as she felt the tremors vibrate throughout the house. She peeked her head over at the nightstand; the clock read 2:47 A.M.

Just as well. Shouldn't have watched that fucking movie. Cassie thought to herself as she adjusted her position into a more comfortable one. She looked over at the T.V. on top of her dresser and couldn't help but reprimand herself again. All she could see was flashes of the psychopath's knife ramming into his victims, their screams…

Stop it! Cassie shook her head. It wasn't even real, it was a movie made to entertain… She tried to rationally deduce. But people have been stabbed before. God, I can't imagine the pain… some psycho breaking into your house and making his way to-

THUD.

Cassie jumped and instinctively grabbed her lamp by her bedside, aiming it at her door. She forced herself to control her breathing and listened closely for another sound.

THUD. THUD. CREAK. THUD.

"Shit!" Cassie whispered harshly and immediately leaped out of her bed as fast as she could and dove under it – right next to a sleeping Vicky.

Cassie panted with the lamp in her grip and stared at her door, her senses on high alert. There's someone in the fucking house! Vicky lifted her head at the sudden presence of her owner and let out an affectionate whine.

"Shh!" Cassie clamped her free hand around Vicky's snout and continued to listen. Vicky looked at her with drowsy eyes and gave a muffled whine again.

"SHH!" Cassie let go of the lamp and wrapped both hands around Vicky. "Stay quiet!" She whispered harshly.

Vicky either received the message or was too tired to care, for she dropped her head back onto the floor and closed her eyes. Cassie raised an eyebrow at the oblivious dog and removed her hands from her snout, wondering how the hell she can sleep through all the noise.

THUD. THUD.

Cassie gasped and snatched the lamp again, blocking out the sounds of the rainfall and thunder as best she could.

THUD. CREAK.

"Oh, fuck!" she whispered as quietly as she could. "It's coming from downstairs!"

By this point Cassie weighed out her options; she could reach for her cellphone to call her parents – but the sound of the ringing would alert the intruder. Shit! Or she could call the cops – but by the time they would get here everyone would already be dead. She could go downstairs with Vicky as backup and face the intruder herself – but what if they had a gun? Or worse, a knife…

Oh, stop it. Cassie forced her racing mind to take a step back. It could be nothing. The weather probably knocked some pictures over, or maybe blew the door open… As she logically rationalized every plausible cause for the noises in bad weather, she felt her shoulders relax and her nerves calm considerably. She crawled out from under her bed and put the lamp back on her nightstand.

THUD.

Cassie flinched. How does she expect to go to sleep with that constant thudding? If it really was nothing, she could go downstairs and see for herself. At least, to make sure if anything was broken, or if the door was really blown open… She couldn't go to bed if she knew she let the door stay open all night, thudding against the wall and letting the rain in…

Cassie heaved a deep breath and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Her mind set, she tiptoed to her door and turned on the flashlight on her phone. The house was practically pitch black – aside from the occasional flash of lightning from the windows. She kept her eyes on her toes and successfully found the top of the stairs.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Cassie froze in her descent. The thudding was getting louder – confirming her initial suspicion that the source of the noise was coming from downstairs. She resumed her tiptoeing and carefully made it to the bottom floor.

Windows are shut, the door is closed. Cassie noticed as she observed her surroundings. Picture frames around the room remained unmoving; everything was in order and untouched.

THUD.

Cassie jumped. She turned around and spotted the hallway – towards her parent's room. She lifted her phone and continued her investigation, careful to avoid any creaks in the wooded flooring below her feet.

As she made her way further into the dark hallway, she was suddenly greeted by a new sound; not thudding, but voices.

"Oh, Nate!"

"Yeah, you liked that, didn't you?"

Cassie immediately froze, her eyes widening in the darkness. That was certainly her parents, but what they hell were they doing up at three in the morning?

THUD. THUD.

Her head whirled around towards the bedroom door – there was a faint light coming from the other side. She could hear their voices… as well as the thudding. Time seemed to slow down as realization washed over Cassie like a bucket of ice. No. No way. There's no way they are…

"Move, move, Nate! Go faster!"

"– grunt – I'm going as fast as I can- "

Cassie's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Holy SHIT they are! She smacked her hand over her mouth to muffle the horrified gasp threatening to escape. A million disturbing and mortified thoughts flashed through her mind, but for reasons unknown, her legs refused to budge.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Don't stop! Keep going, keep going!"

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, yeah! Yeah, you like my moves?"

Cassie couldn't bear to stand there anymore. Oh, my fucking GOD! This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening!

THUD. THUD. CREAK. THUD. THUD.

"Almost there, Nate! Yes! Oh, yes!"

"Oh, oh, yes, hon, I'm gonna finish strong just you wait!"

OH GOD PLEASE NO! Cassie practically sprinted through the darkness to make it back to the stairs – without caring where she was going or the intense lack of light, all she knew was to get the hell out of there, now!

SMACK.

"Ow!" Cassie crumpled to the floor, her hands clutching her nose and forehead. She had run head first into the large wooden panel in the living room.

THUD. THUD.

"Oh, why me? Why does this have to happen to me?!" Cassie whined to herself as she crawled away from the wooden panel and practically limped up the stairs, no longer caring if she was making any noise. She nursed the large bruise that was most likely forming on her face and finally climbed back into bed.

She knew one thing for sure, she was not getting any sleep that night. Or any night in this house ever again…

"Oh, Nate!" Elena laughed as she watched her husband fiddle with the PlayStation controller. They had been at it for hours – she didn't even know what time it was, nor did she care. She could watch Nate try to show off what he called his 'hand-eye skills' on Crash Bandicoot all night!

"Yeah, you liked that, didn't you?" Nathan replied as he balanced on his right leg to cheekily play with the controller under his left leg, his foot in the air.

Elena fell back against the bed in laughter and tried to push him off balance – CREAK – but he swiftly bounced away on his sole leg and continued the game, laughing at her meager attempt to dissuade him. THUD. THUD.

Nathan refused to allow Elena to distract him, he was on a roll and was ready to show off his developing hand-eye skills even if it took all night – that was until he briefly got stuck behind a crate, causing the boulder behind Crash to pick up in pace. Nathan quickly hopped back onto both feet and focused all attention on the running Bandicoot.

"Move, move, Nate! Go faster!" Elena whined and erratically bounced up and down on her spot on the bed.

"– grunt – I'm going as fast as I can- " His hands began to cramp while he rapidly bashed his fingers on the buttons and control stick; that stupid fox would not die on him now!

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Don't stop! Keep going, keep going!" Elena began to scream as she and Nate jumped on the bed; the bedframe pounded against the wall loudly but neither seemed to care.

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, yeah! Yeah, you like my moves?" Nathan boasted as he smoothly collected the fruit while evading the giant boulder.

"Almost there, Nate! Yes! Oh, yes!"

"Oh, oh, yes, hon, I'm gonna finish strong just you wait!"

Elena could have sworn she heard a noise coming from the living room, almost as if someone or something fell – but quickly dismissed it as Nathan reached the finishing line and let out a triumphant whoop.

"YEAH! That's what I'm talking about! Hell yeah!" Nathan beamed and began shuffling in place, chanting 'oh yeah, oh yeah' repeatedly.

Elena laughed and cheered with him, until the final score began to tally on screen.

"Wait! Wait, look!" She grabbed onto his shoulders and hugged him from behind. "Let's see how you did."

"Yes, let's. My mad skills got you this time, I know it!"

"Your mad skills? Wow, okay then- " Elena giggled.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Nate interrupted her and gripped the controller as they waited for the final count…

Final Score: 3448

High Score: 3500

"WHAT!" Nathan screamed and dove onto the bed, hiding under the covers. "Nooo! I had you! I knew I had you!"

Elena burst into laughter. "HA! Oh snap! Who has the mad skills now?" she imitated his victory shuffle and began to chant 'Oh, yeah. That's right. It's me. Oh, yeah!'

Nathan playfully groaned and threw a pillow at her. "I swear this game is rigged! That was a nearly flawless performance!"

"Nearly flawless," She teased.

"Oh, is that how you want it to be?" He grinned evilly at her and yanked on her nightshirt, causing her to fall on top of him.

"Ahh!" Elena screamed as he began tickling her mercilessly.

THUD. CREAK. THUD.

"Submit! Submit to me, and my mad hand-eye skills!" He laughed as his hand went under her shirt to tickle her sides.

"AH! Okay! Okay you win! I submit!" She giggled and wiped away the tears that had formed from laughing so hard. Nathan laughed and pulled her closer to him, resting her head under his bicep.

"You are getting better, I'll give you that." Elena chuckled and cupped the side of his face.

"Well, I've had a great teacher. Even if her mad skills are better than mine." He playfully mumbled and curled a few strands of her hair around his finger.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Elena beamed.

"Nope. Not saying it again." He flopped onto his back and closed his eyes.

Elena curled into him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "What if I can get you to say it again?" She teased him, walking two fingers up his chest.

Nathan's eyes popped open and he grinned at her suggestion. "Why do I like the sound of that?"

Elena gave him her sexiest smile and leaned over to whisper in his ear…

"Wanna play another round?"

"Yes!"

And they did.