She paused on the third step. It creaked and the darkness fell around her again as the candle light settled. The noise from above continued knocking. The house went silent. Shadows flickered up the staircase as she moved to the fourth step. Four more to go. The knocking started again. It was coming from the right. That was her brother's bedroom. She gathered her strength and moved to the fifth step. The noise stopped.
Taking a breath, she forced her legs to move pushing herself to the sixth and then seventh step. Her stomach gurgled. She hadn't eaten all day. Her party was to be tonight and here she was stuck on a dark staircase listening to a strange noise.
The power was out and she couldn't find a fuse to fix the breaker box. Her father had taught her when she was eleven to change the fuse. An invaluable lesson he said but where was he now? Her mother had gone out with her brother to his basketball practice. They should be back soon. It was soo dark. And getting late. It was a special day and they were ruining it.
On the last step she paused again and cradled her hand around the candle to protect its light. A door slammed and she heard a gasp. Something ran right across her path to another room. She lost her footing and fell backwards into the dark. The candle extinguished and she crumpled into a heap at the bottom landing once her gymnastic tumbling routine had stopped. The room spinned and she passed out.
She awoke and peeked out under her eyelids to see several feet surrounding her. The lights were on and shining brightly, she put her arm over her eyes to block the light. Murmurs arose around her and one figure knelt down and smiled at her. Another picked her up and carried her to the couch.
There were balloons and ribbons decorating every corner off the living room. She stretched out and recognized her family and friends. It was a party and they wanted to surprise her. She smiled and laughed not wanting them to realize how scared she really was. A huge cake was on the dining table. Happy 16th Birthday Kelly! was writing in green icing. She thanked everyone and hugged her brother, congratulating him on the great surprise and noting the fall didn't hurt a bit.
In the back of her mind, she heard a knock and absentmindedly peered upstairs. She thought she saw a dark shadow between the stair rails. She rubbed her eyes and it disappeared.
