The Last One Home

Part 4

Earlier

Just minutes before sending those last three messages, Lana heard the banging on the door. A staccato succession of six loud raps. The doorframe appeared to swell with each beat. Instinctively she knew something was wrong. It was as if the pressure in the room changed. The air became heavy and still. The only sound she heard was her own breathing.

Her mother stepped back from the stove and strode towards the front door.

"Mom." She didn't want her mother to go anywhere near that door. Her mother paused with her eyebrows raised. Lana wasn't sure what else to say. She knew she was being ridiculous.

Normally a knock at the door wouldn't have incited any sort of reaction, but this knock was not produced by the frail hand of the elderly neighbor lady. This was much louder and more insistent. Whoever was behind the door was angry.

As Mrs. Landon grasped the knob, the pounding came again. It was so ferocious that Lana wouldn't have been surprised if a fist came through the door.

With a small cry, Mrs. Landon jumped back in fear. Because she had already begun to turn the knob, the door was now unlatched and slowly opening. The old hinges creaked and popped in the quiet living room.

Lana jumped up from the table to get to her mother. Mrs. Landon was in the process of pushing the door closed again when a large hand wrapped around the edge of the door and violently shoved it inward.

Mrs. Landon pitched backward. Lana clutched her mother's arm before she could be knocked completely off of her feet. Had she not fallen backward her nose may have been broken by the heavy door.

A large figure filled the doorframe. The man was dressed in black. A blank mask with a wide leering grin obscured his face.

"Get out! Get out of here! Lana was screaming hysterically. Her mind had gone blank. Her nerves were white hot. The air vibrated around her.

The figure stepped across the threshold. His movements were silent and methodical. In his right hand was a black handgun.

Now it was time for Mrs. Landon to grab her daughters arm. She pulled her close to her with trembling arms. Lana wondered if her mother would cower in fear to the intruder. Tell her to sit down and shut up.

But she did something unexpected. She shoved her daughter away from her towards the kitchen as she backpedaled towards the dining room. Her mother was splitting them up. The intruder wouldn't be able to get to both of them at once. 

Lana turned and ran through the kitchen. A chair scraped across the floor as her hip glanced off of it. She barely noticed. Out of the corner of her eye her mother was disappearing around the corner into the dining room. Lana dreaded hearing the sound of a gunshot, but none ever came.

Was he coming after her? Was he chasing her mother? She had no idea. In her hasty exit she hadn't heard a single footstep that wasn't her own.

Ducking into the small den off of the kitchen, Lana streaked towards the closet. Her shoulder slammed painfully into the wall as she ripped the door open. Not risking a glance behind her, she dropped to her knees and scrambled on all fours towards the back of the closet. The smell of cedar and dust invaded her nostrils. She could make out the shapes of coats hanging just above her head.

Feeling along the back wall she located the small sliding door that would allow her to crawl into the space behind the closet. She struggled to wiggle through the tight opening. She hadn't hidden back here since she was ten years old.

With a small scrape, she slid the door back into place. She allowed herself to exhale. Her heart finally began to slow its insistent thump in her chest.

She listened intently. Nothing but silence in the house.

She carefully withdrew her phone from her pocket. After making sure her phone was on silent, she quickly dialed 911. The dispatchers voice was steady and firm.

"Miami County 911, what is the nature of your emergency?"

Lana didn't speak. She didn't dare make a sound.

"Hello, is anyone there?" The dispatcher continued.

Lana disconnected the call. She hoped that at the very least someone would be sent to investigate the 911 hangup. Suddenly she was overcome with urge to tell her brother what was happening just in case. She quickly typed the frantic messages.

Someone's coming in the house

Just clled teh police

Hel

It was the scream that caused her to nearly drop the phone. Normally she would've corrected the spelling errors and been to embarrassed to send the texts as they were. But none of that mattered now.

Her mother's scream seemed to slice through her conscience. She heard the muffled thumps of a struggle. For a second her heart skipped a beat and she felt a heaviness in her chest. She steeled herself once again for the sound of a gunshot, but none came.

No longer concerned about making noise, Lana ripped the hatch open and wiggled back through the door. With trembling fingers she called 911 again and dropped the phone in the space behind her. She didn't wait for the dispatcher to pick up. Now they would have no choice but to send help.

Getting to her feet she plowed through the clothes ripping them off of their hangers and exploded out of the closet into the den. More sounds of a struggle and cries for help carried through the house. Lana ran towards the sound of her mother's screams.