An excerpt...

Waking suddenly and without any explanation, I realized something wasn’t right. At first, I thought it might be because of a dream, you know, leftover sounds and images, that kind of thing. I squinted at my bedroom clock – 2 a.m., ugh – and figured I’d better check it out. After all, it wasn’t like there was anyone else to reassure me. The cold bedroom floor that met my feet was no help at all. Ah, the joys of renting in an old house. My quaint two-bedroom condo was usually a dream, considering that no one had rented out the upstairs. In essence, I had the place to myself.

Padding out into the dark hallway, I decided to hit a switch, nothing, that probably meant the power was out. This was turning in to one of the times I wish I at least had a roommate. A nice, big, strong roommate to scare away intruders would do, or even a small, seemingly ferocious one. It had been only three months since I had lost Little Disney. Oh Dizzy – you could scare the crap out of any would-be burglars with that bark! My friend Ben often had often remarked on that. Diz, I miss you so much! Where are you?

At least there was occasional light from the storm raging outside, brilliant flashes of lightning illuminating everything as bright as day. The downside being that it left your eyes dazzled, like having your picture taken by a thousand paparazzi at once. I should’ve probably unearthed my flashlight from the pile of laundry on my bedroom floor, but my sixth sense wouldn’t let me wait.

I felt my way into the living room, slowly peeking around the doorjamb. No strange shapes appeared near the windows, but then again, you probably only saw them in the movies. I have got to stop watching suspense movies when I’m home alone. I slowly made my way around the perimeter of the room, searching for the source of the disturbance. As best as I could tell, though, everything was copasetic in the living room, so I headed towards the dining room.

As soon as I entered the dining room, I could tell that something wasn’t right. The next big crash of lightning confirmed it – my plant stand had toppled to the floor. The jade plant I had had since freshman year was lying on its side, the oriental-style planter smashed to smithereens. No! Why? In my sleep-deprived state, I rushed over to save it, like it was somehow a goldfish in need of water. All thoughts of vicious burglars and maniacal axe-murders vanished, at least temporarily. My poor little plant! She had survived countless moves – across town, across country – only to be felled by a stupid storm!

As I bent down to pick up the pieces, something brushed up against my foot; something cold and clammy, like the shroud of a drowned ghost. Every scary movie I’d ever seen came flooding at me, and I jumped up with a scream - and then quickly yelped in pain. I suppose if I’d been more awake, I wouldn’t have stepped on a piece of the broken planter and cut a gash in my foot – or banged my head on the fireplace mantle, causing large porcelain turkey platter displayed there to fall to the floor with a terrific crash. Great! More broken pottery – just what I need!

Temporarily abandoning the broken crockery, and cradling my poor mangled plant in one arm, I hobbled towards the bathroom, leaving a trail of dirt and blood droplets behind me. I was only vaguely aware that there was still something wrong. When I got to the bathroom, I automatically hit the switch, forgetting that the power was still out. Since my flashlight was still buried, I’d have to tend to my foot in the dark. Maybe there’ll be one nice big flash of lightning – like a fireworks finale. Then maybe I could find that first-aid kit.

Suddenly someone began pounding loudly on my back door, and my heart started pounding even more frantically. That door only opened on to the back staircase. That staircase only went two places – the basement or the empty condo upstairs. Which meant that whoever was pounding down that door was inside the house!