Click

I blinked my eyes, half asleep I lied down for what seemed at the time like just a second.
I always have this bad habit of trying to catch a few seconds more of sleep when I wake up, each time I lay down, what seems like a few seconds turns out to be in all reality an hour or so.

I opened my eyes what felt like a second later to the sound of the door knob turning back and forth.
I figured it was just my brother coming back in late, my dog started to whimper and I’m not sure why but the only thing I could think to do was to hold her tight as whatever it was kept jiggling the doorknob. The door opened and my eyes closed as a dim light turned passed me. I opened them and saw a large sweaty man holding a rifle or shotgun with some kind of dim light maybe a flashlight. He had a sadistic grin with long teeth his hair was matted and oily, he looked like a mishmash of the slimy traits in every psychopath and murderer I’ve ever seen on television.

As he came closer to my dog and me I covered her face almost crying just praying that he wouldn’t come any closer to me. Praying that he wouldn’t see me and my dog were awake. I couldn’t see, I had closed my eyes tightly and put my face down against her head but I know he came right up to me just based on the smell alone. He started to laugh and wheeze at me.

he went around the corner and cocked the gun. The sound made me shiver uncontrollably, he mockingly said “who’s there?” after turning the corner, he then started taking things out of the entertainment center he started down the steps. My dog ran out and I jumped up to get her I grabbed her and pulled her away from the hallway as he fired a shot at the door. He laughed to himself a little…

I still held my breath though I felt like he knew I was there. He continued taking things from anywhere he could until his hands were almost full. I heard him set down the gun and pick up something. I could see in the hallway mirror it was a large sharp kitchen knife, he started to make his way down the stairs. I couldn’t let him hurt my family, I worried if I left they’d be dead, some part of me worried if I stayed still he’d simply come back and kill me.

I saw my chance and took it when he was all but two steps from reaching the basement. I grabbed the shotgun and cocked it, Saying “get the hell away from there!” he grinned and put his hands up the knife still in them as he started slowly stepping up the stairs. He was halfway up as I centered the gun on him. I had never fired a gun before in my life, especially not at a person. He grinned even wider as he started up the steps again knifed still gleaming in his hand. “I don’t want to shoot you but I will!” I stated as loudly as I could with my voice still shaking and cracking. He calmly replied, almost sarcastically “ oh sure you will…” I started shaking more and more I could barely hold the gun steady as I started to squeeze the trigger, I expected it to be so much easier, so much lighter, my finger hurt as I clenched it harder and harder trying to fire I closed my eyes tightly not wanted to see the result, though I couldn’t see I knew he was right next to me again… I screamed and clenched my fist around the gun and the trigger so hard I thought my finger might break clean off, I felt it move back and time slowed down as it seemed to knock against some lever or lock deep inside the gun. I waited for a response, I waited and readied myself for a blinding flash, a scream, a loud thundering deafening shot. I heard what felt like the loudest and most frightening sound of all

“Click”

By. Greenbrair