Cat and Mouse ✔

14: Cornered

Trying to decide if those were real footsteps she heard and straining her ears to listen better. Closing her eyes seems it helps her hearing. Yes, it was in fact footsteps she heard. It was hard to ignore the rhythmic heavy thudding. This wasn't just leftover lingerings of her dream. 

Frozen with fear in her bed Lyla struggled to cope. Her breathing quickens. Sweat begins to dampen her sheets. On the verge of hyperventilating Lyla struggled to calm her body and slow her breathing. 

With a soft meow, Captain takes his chance and turns his back to the door. He is in Lyla's face purring. It was almost as if he wanted Lyla to focus on him and not the intruder. She wanted to comfort her companion, but she couldn't move just yet. Her throat burned with the desire to tell Captain it was going to be alright. 

Fear tightens its icy grip on her. The feeling of being pinned to the bed did nothing but fuel Lyla's panic more. Captain's meow turned into a cry as his paw swiped at Lyla. 

A jarring boom echoed through the house stemming from an unknown object colliding with the floor. Lyla jumped as a reaction to the noise she still didn't miss the footsteps that followed the ruckus. 

Captain jumped off the bed to go investigate. He softly pads out of the room, then out of view completely.

The feeling of Deja Vu settled over Lyla. Thoughts poured into her head, filling it to the edge. Overwhelmed, Lyla frees herself from the unseen forces that were holding her down. 

Pushing herself up and onto the edge of her bed, she felt nervous that if she stayed in the same place she would lose control again. 

A vibrating noise draws her attention to her night table. Her phone is skittering around. 

She doesn't reach it before it ends its little dance. Ignoring the missed call notification, she pulls up Gerard's command prompts. 

She gasps in horror when she saw that Gerard was offline. A sinking feeling overcomes her as she desperately pressed the button to bring him back. This was just too much for her at this moment. 

The realization that she was on her own was a slow and lonely one. Lyla fought it every step of the way. No one wants their worse fear thrown into their laps. Their footsteps rhythm changes slightly like something caught their attention. They slowed and remained that way. 

"You have to go out there" Lyla's soft encouragement filled the room. Working up the nerve she stood. 

"Pants," she mumbled as she moved to one of her dressers. Opening the third drawer from the bottom, she grabs a pair of flannel pants. They are soft and worn. She hopes these pants will bring her some comfort, and just maybe some luck.

Quickly putting them on, and shoving her phone into her pocket. She wants to know where the intruder is before she calls for help. There's no point if they attack her before someone picks up the phone.  Praying she isn't doing the wrong thing she makes her way to her open door. 

Being braver than she felt, she inched her way out of her doorway. 

Startled, she let out a tiny noise. All the lights she could see were on. She was Unnerved because she knew she had put the house on sleep mode. Or at least Gerard did when she laid down. That means someone turned them all on by their wall switch. 

This made Lyla uneasy. It also made her extra cautious. Shuffling to put her back against the wall facing her doorway. 

Their footsteps still rung loudly in her ears. She was sure her mind was amplifying them.  

Doing her best to be as quiet as possible she made her way down the hall. The unpleasant sound her shirt made against the wall, had her wanting to grid her teeth.