Faded Lights

My name is Brooklyn and I am 16 years old. I live in Beverly Hill, in a nice big home on a lovely little street. I am home alone right now. I normally live with my mom because my dad died before I even saw him. My mum is working late. She is one of those people who assist the elderly and she was called in because someone is sick. I am not sure how long she will be gone for but I will have to make do with the time she is not here.

I jump on the couch with a bowl of chips and a large coca cola, turn the television on to the weather man going on and on. I mute the television and grab my phone out to send a text to my best friend, Alisha, asking here whether she would like to come to my place for a while. I don't get a reply straight away so I guess she's busy. I unmute the television. "Yes!" I yell Pretty little liars is on. I start singing in sync with the television "got a secret can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save".  Then all of a sudden, the lights go out, I sat in shock for a few seconds then I began to investigate. I walked over to the front door and opened it as I look outside I can see that all the other houses on my street have power, I had no idea what was happening. I grab my

phone and run upstairs to my room and sit on my bed, turn my phone on and send a quick message to mum. Almost seconds after I sent the text I get a reply "Yes sweetie I paid the power bill yesterday I am sure everything will be fine I will be home at 2 am so don't get to bed too late". Knowing that she had paid the bill is making me worried. I get another text from mum "run downstairs and check the power switch xoxo"  I jump off my bed and head to the stairs as I reach the top of the stairs I hear the back door handle turn. I start tensing up, then the door opens slowly, letting out a loud creak, I can't breathe there is someone in the house. I try and calm myself down, I walk backward into my room trying not to make a sound. I turn and decide to hide, but where? I think to myself. In the bath, I walk to the bathroom but I don't close the door so it looks like I am not hiding in here. As I am getting in the bath I am shaking like a vibrating phone on repeat. I can't stop thinking that I am going to die. Closing the curtain, I place my phone on the bottom of the bath. I can hear them still they are downstairs rummaging around in the draws. All of a sudden, I can hear a ching ching, ching ching. It's a knife being sharpened. I can't stop shaking I can barely breathe. Buzz buzz my phone goes off, the noise of vibration goes through the whole house. Everything goes quite I am just hoping they left.

There is slight creaking coming closer and closer "I know you're here," says someone with a deep voice. As fast as a cheetah I jump out of the bath and run to the window, jumping out the window I start climbing to the roof. I can't stop myself from just wanting to jump off the roof and die right now but I keep climbing. Reaching the top is a great moment of relief until I can hear him through the bathroom window. "you can run but you can't hide". That sounded like a lady that time. It was a light and calm voice, I am really starting to freak out right now are there two of them? once again I can't breathe. I panicked and started to slip keeping in my scream. My leg was caught on a nail and was cut badly, luckily the gutter had saved my fall. Pulling myself back on the roof not realizing that there is blood dripping from the roof onto the bathroom windows edge. Struggling I limp up to where the chimney is so I have somewhere steady to sit I realize how stupid I really am. Throughout this whole time I have not bothered calling the police. "oh, no my phone is in the house" I could not bear another moment. I started climbing down the front of the house not realizing that they were climbing up on the other side. Reaching the bottom, I turn the handle slowly and peeped my head in the door. There is no sign of movement. Trying to keep my breathing under control. I grabbed the home phone and hid in the corner behind the coffee table. "991 what's your emergency? Yes um, all my power has turned off and now there are some people in my house with knives. Ok, who is home with you? No one. Ok, where are your parents? My mum is working and will not be back until 2 am. Ok then we will be right on our way, where do you live? 724 Alpine Dr, Beverly Hills. Ok, we are on our way". I creep over it put the home phone away and...

I wake up and I am sitting on my couch tied in ropes. l look around and see a shadow of a man standing in the passageway. I try screaming but for some reason, I just can't, because there is tape on my mouth. The man starts walking over and takes the tape off my mouth. And fires questions at me. "Does your mom know about this? Do you know why I am here? What was the last thing your mother did before your father died? Have you called the police? No, no, no and" I pause knowing that I have. "no" "good" I sit in silence. "what should I do with you now," says the man. "kill you" he places the knife on my neck. Then the sound of the sirens shouts through the air. The man drops the knife and grabs me and flings me over his shoulder, he runs out the front door and we are surrounded by the police. I fall and hit the ground hard.

I wake up to sirens bleeding through the air "nooo" yells the man from the back of the police car. I look at where I am I am sitting next to my mom in the back of an ambulance. I look at my leg and it is all bandaged up. I look up at my mom and she was crying. "I should have never left you home. I will never do that again. I really hoped that you would never see him like that" "who was it?" I said "your father".