Premonition

Awakened

It was past one-thirty in the morning. The news of the escaped convict was all but forgotten as Trina stood slowly and Billy feigned a yawn. Darcey was surprised that she actually felt tired. She would let them off easy.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you're tired or whatever," she said before adding, with a smile, "Don't forget the condoms."

Color flared into Trina's cheeks. Billy coughed.

"Condoms? For someone as innocent as me?"

He almost managed to finish without a smile. Almost.

"If your innocent, I'm mother Theresa. Goodnight, you two. Try not to be too loud."

She turned and headed up the stairs. After brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower, she curled up under her blankets in record time. She was asleep before her head even touched the pillow.

Sometime later she woke. It was still dark out. She strained to listen. The only sound besides her own breathing was that of Billy lightly snoring in the other room. She realized what had woken her. It was the air in the room, suddenly having turned cold.

She opened her eyes and could see, by the filtered light of the moon, faint puffs of mist every time she exhaled. She sat up and clutched her down comforter, yanking it to her throat. There was condensation on the window pane.

"Kyle?" she whispered.

Unlike in her night terrors, there was no sudden appearance; no apparition. The final fog of sleep lifted and she suddenly wondered where the cold was coming from. Had Trina and Billy left a window open? Was the heater broken? Uncertain, she climbed out of bed.

Her steps feather-light, she made her way to the guest room. The rise and fall of their chests, punctuated by Billy's soft snores, let Darcey know they were sleeping. A quick peek at the window revealed it was closed. She looked in to her father's room as she passed. His windows were closed. So, too, was the bathroom window.

With deliberate slowness, she made her way downstairs. The air was colder here. She checked the front door, the windows in the living and dining rooms. They were all closed and secured. She entered the kitchen. The breath left her as her stomach became a block of ice. She stared unbelieving at the backdoor. It wasn't simply standing ajar, it was wide open.

She rushed over and pulled it shut, turning the bolt with almost preternatural speed. Her mind rushed almost faster than she could keep up. Billy had been the last person to come in. There was an escaped convict, a murderer. What if he was in the house? Hadn't Kyle tried warning her?

An overwhelming urgency to get back up the stairs compelled her to move. She was halfway to the stairs when she stopped and sucked in a sharp breath. It had been unmistakable. She heard the faint but undeniable sound of a floorboard overhead creaking under someone's weight. She thought of Trina and ran, taking the steps two at a time.

"Guys,"she shouted, "get up. Someone's in the house."

She hit the light switch at the top of the stairs and sounded the alarm again. She heard a muffled groan as she reached the guest bedroom. Billy was already standing and pulling his pants on. Trina was sitting up.

"What's happened?" Trina asked.

"The back door was wide open. Someone's in the house!" she yelled again.

Trina bolted up.