I had half a mind to go wake someone up, but what if none of this was really happening? What if this was a nightmare? Or what if this was just my imagination playing tricks on me? You know, there's too many "what if"'s there for my comfort.

That familiar sound of boots clapping on hollow wood rang through my ears and I figured he must've been on the porch again. I felt myself shake involuntarily. This wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my evening at the Armstrong residence.

I dashed into the room next to the living room (which I was guessing was some sort of lounge), as far away from the front door as I could go while trying to make as little noise as possible at the same time. I noticed a metal bat sitting perfectly in the corner, apparently for display. And out of instinct, I grabbed it. Gripping it so tight that my knuckles turned white, I made my way towards the entry room again. I felt my hands begin to sweat out of fear, and because of the tight grip I had on the bat.

I exhaled a very shaky breath before reaching over to the lock, and as quietly as possible, turned it. I heard it click silently, and winced, hoping no one heard it, especially the man outside. Slowly, I moved my hand downward and grabbed the doorknob. I hesitated for a moment, wondering why I was doing this in the first place. I was basically signing my death warrant.

Taking in a sharp breath, I turned the knob and gradually pulled the door open, hearing the rain pouring down onto the ground; most likely blocking out the sound of the creaking door. I peeked around the corner to my right and saw nothing; I did the same on my left and once again saw nothing. Tip-toeing, I stepped outside and inaudibly shut the door behind me. Lightening flashed through the sky, giving me a momentary light and searched the yard as fast I could before the dark returned, followed by a loud clap of thunder. The wind blew slightly, directing the rain towards me. Now, I was scared and soaked. Not to mention very cold. My teeth were actually chattering. But I wasn't quite sure if it was because of the temperature my body suddenly decreased to, or because of how scared shitless I was at that very moment.

Noticing the coast was clear, I walked further out onto the porch, getting even more soaked than before. I looked down and noticed my white shirt was now see-through. Luckily I was still wearing my sports bra. Hearing a twig snap to my right, I glanced up quickly and turned to face in the same direction the noise was heard. I brought the bat closer to my front, readying myself to swing if I had to. My eyes wandered downward to the glistening grass and saw a brief shadow beneath the streak of lightening of a head before it disappeared around the house. I jogged to the corner of the house and looked down the side, seeing nothing.

I knew I had seen it that time; this was definitely no trick of the mind's eye. Thump! I turned back around, hearing a boot clack on the porch. The only thing I saw was the back of a coat (which from what I could see, it was brown leather) dashing down the other side of the house and out of sight. I had no idea how I managed to see that though because of how large this house was. I made my way to the other side this time, glancing behind me every now and then just in case.

I stepped off the porch, knowing it'd be easier to run in wet grass than on wet wood if the man began chasing me to my very death. I looked around the left side of the house (Me: If you're facing the house, then it's the right side) and once again, saw nothing. It was then that I realized this crazed man was playing with me... either trying to confuse me or trying to direct my attention away from whatever he was planning to do.

Oh, you're good... I thought to myself, shaking my head slightly. I backed up a few feet, now standing in the very middle of the front yard, getting rained on like no other. I couldn't see as clearly as I usually could since it was nearly pouring, but I did notice the shadow that made a dash across the backyard. I couldn't explain it in detail; it just looked like a black shadow. I walked down the side of the house; bat still in had, and looked around the corner to the backyard. Nothing.

Now I was starting to get a little annoyed. But the terror in the pit of my stomach was still there, making uncomfortable turns here and there. I wandered around to the front of the house again, having half a mind to shout at the man while the other half begged me to run inside and call the police. Damn, I should've done that first. I looked over to the front door and noticed I had a clear path to run inside. And when I could've sworn I felt a swarm of hot breath hit my neck, it gave me the confidence to run forward.

Maybe there were footsteps behind me, I didn't really know. I couldn't exactly comprehend anything, for my pounding heart was the only thing I could clearly hear besides my heavy breathing. When I made it to the door, I threw it open and quickly closed it behind me, still managing to keep quiet. I turned the lock and ran--well, more like slid--into the kitchen, making wet footprints in the process and grabbed the phone. I dialed 911 and turned myself to face the front door, keeping a close eye on it as the call went through. I made sure to keep a firm hold on the bat as well if the man decided to make his presence more known and knocked the door down or one of the windows.

"911, what's your emergency?" A woman's voice asked on the other line.

"We need help," I said to her, trying to keep my voice down so no one heard. "Someone's here... I'm not sure what they're trying to do, but they keep messing with me." I explained to her as quickly as possible, noticing a shadow pass the kitchen window. My grip on the bat tightened--I didn't even know that was possible.

"Slow down, miss," the woman said in a comforting tone. "Now, you said someone's there? Someone who's not welcome?"

"Yes, a man... I keep seeing his shadow in the windows and hearing his footsteps on the porch... I think he's trying to play with my mind or something. He keeps going all around the house, confusing me a-and... please, just send someone over here. I don't know what he's planning to do next." I felt tears brim my eyes, and only one escaped, colliding with a rain drop that cascaded down my cheek from my drenched black hair.

"Alright, you're going to be just fine, what is your address?" she asked me. I gave her the address and gasped silently to myself upon noticing the knob trying to be turned. Then another set of footsteps were heard and that same shadow was seen walking past the living room window again.

"We'll be there as soon as possible. Just stay inside and keep away from any openings." I agreed, but didn't know that I actually would, and hung up. I put my other hand on the bat and held it to my front once again and crept over to the front door. I unlocked it and opened the door once again. At least this time I knew someone was coming to help. This time, I accidentally left the door open but didn't notice that until I was in the front yard once more, bat at my side.

I looked around furiously for the man. I was so sick of him doing this... I just wanted him to come out and put up a fight. I felt the anger boiling up inside of me and held my bat up.

"Come on..." I whispered. "Where are you? Come on out now, it's just you and me." I spoke a little louder to where he could possibly hear me. "You want to fight? Let's fight then..." I gritted my teeth and stared around, waiting for him to appear. And then I said something that I knew I would immediately regret afterwards, "I dare you." There was a soft chuckle somewhere behind me and I turned around, swinging in a swift motion, not quite sure if I had hit him or not, seeing as how the scene was quite a blur.

"What's going on?" I heard a weak voice ask from behind me. I looked forward, gaping. Where did the man go? I turned around to face the voice and saw Jakob standing on the porch, rubbing his eyes and yawning tiredly. I gasped and made my way over to him.

"Jakob, what are you doing out here?" I asked him in a hushed tone, letting go of the bat with my left hand and putting it on his shoulder.

"I heard noises," he said, looking around through his heavy eyelids. I tried pushing him back into the house, but noticed his eyes widen before he screamed and I felt a hand in my hair, pulling me back. I winced as I fell to the ground, hitting my head on a rock that was sticking up in an odd manner out of the ground. I groaned and put my hand to the back of my head, seeing blood smeared across my fingers. I blinked rapidly, feeling myself fall in and out of consciousness.

Sighing heavily, I sat myself up, the pain in my head nearly unbearable as I began to feel the start of a horrible migraine. The man began making his way to Jakob, smiling maliciously at him. He reached out for him, but before he could get a grip on Jakob--who seemed too scared to move--I jumped up off the ground and took a very firm grip on the bat before swinging at the man's back. He grunted in agony and fell to the ground before the poor kid.

Another scream was heard, and I looked up to see Adrienne standing in the doorway, hand over her mouth at the sight before her with Billie huddled beside her. Stan and Joey were standing behind them.

"Go inside!" I demanded. Billie ran down to the steps of the porch and pulled Jakob into his embrace who immediately began crying in the crook of his neck. But before anyone could get a word in, I felt the bat being thrown away from me. Adrienne whimpered again and grabbed a hold of Billie's upper arm. My eyes widened and I looked down to see the man making his way to stand back up. I stepped backwards as he stood and tried running to grab the bat, but he blocked my way.

He grabbed my shoulder and sunk his fingertips into my skin and I yelled before shoving him off of me. The others tried helping me out, but I pleaded them not to. And when the man picked up the bat and tried hitting Joey who ran out to help me--being the brave little man he was--I pulled the man back and took only a few seconds to pull my right arm back and bring my fist to his nose, hearing a crack beneath my knuckles and a sticky red substance being thrown onto my hand. The man received such a blow from my punch that he bounced back and toppled over into a heap in the grass.

I screamed at the pain that surged through my hand. I must've broken at least two of my fingers in the process of breaking his nose. Billie ran over to me, followed quickly by Stan and the others were on his heel. The first thing Billie did was pull me into his arms, and I couldn't tell you how wonderful it felt to be smothered in his embrace. I actually felt safe... after all that happened that night, just the feeling of Billie's arms around me took away all the terrible memories.

And then I cried. I finally cried. I had tried so hard before to keep my tears from falling; tried so hard not to show my real emotions... how scared I was; how absolutely terrified I was. But now, it just felt so overwhelming. Like all of the things that had happened had bounced back to me four times as hard and smacked me right in the face. Billie ran his hands up and down my spine soothingly, whispering words of comfort and how everything was going to be okay. I buried my head in his neck, crying my heart out because that was all I really knew how to do.

The pain in my fingers was horrible, my head was throbbing, and both of my hands were aching from gripping the bat so tightly. My back was even a little sore from when I was pushed backward. In that instant, sirens were heard, followed by a few police cars. It's like they knew someone was going to get hurt because not once had I asked for them to bring an ambulance.

Billie lifted me off the ground, carrying me in his arms to the gurney where he softly placed me on it. Stan ran over and took a hold of my hand that wasn't injured, to give me some sort of comfort. Billie stayed by my side as well while Adrienne tended to her children that were still a little shaken up from before.

"Thank you for protecting my children, Kat. That means a lot to me." said Billie, running his fingers through my hair to help sooth me, considering the fact that I was still shivering unintentionally. "I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you for all that you've done." I shook my head at that comment, ignoring the pain in my head as I did so.

"Don't worry about it." I told him, trying my best to smile at him. He returned it, but I knew he still wanted to return the favor somehow. Thankfully, however, he didn't press the subject any further.

"You were great out there," Stan said, continuing to rub circles on the top of my hand. "Very brave."

"I didn't know you could hit that well, Kat." mumbled Billie, leaning over me with a soft smile on his face. I looked up at the both of them, continuing to smile.

"Drummer." I simply said.