It could have been her mother, or maybe just the maintenance man. All Lenorela knew was that she was not supposed to be home, and if any of them were to catch her there, she would be in for a world of hurt. When she heard the click of the front door’s lock, she did what instinct bade her to do and hid beneath her bed. The silence went on too long for her poor beating heart. It got to the point where she thought that perhaps the sound from the door had come from her imagination. Maybe it was the fear of being caught, playing hooky from school? But then as she made to investigate, there was a loud noise. It sounded as if someone’s heel smashed down into the wooden floor followed by the sound of breaking glass, as things began to fall from what sounded like the kitchen. There was a thumping noise, a bit of struggling, and then a horrible scream from someone who was not her mother. It was a man’s voice, and unlike anything she’d heard before.
