• A young man, no older than thirteen, was home alone with his pet dog. The power was out, so the only visibility the boy got came from the circle of light beaming out of his flashlight and the occasional headlights of a passing car. Rolling the flashlight over the top of the coffee table in front of him, the boy sat on his couch, hoping the TV would come back on. Suddenly he heard a loud scratching coming from his back door. He jumped in fear and immediately pointed the flashlight towards the terrible noise, and there sat his dog. A 90 pound blonde female lab mix, scratching at the door in eager desperation to get outside.

    "God, Lizzy. You scared me half to death," the boy said as he got up to let her out. As soon as he opened the back door, the dog shot out into the night towards the right hand side of the fence, jumping and barking. The boy guessed it to be a Raccoon or something like that. He took a seat in a nearby lawn chair and watched his dog. A few moments later he caught the outline of what seemed to be a man limping towards the fence. The boy got up and shined his light at him, but still didn't get a good look. The injured man seemed to notice the light, because he stopped moving. Once the boy got close enough to see the stranger, he looked like something right out of a horror movie. His skin was dead pale, his eyes were glassy, and his clothes were bloody and torn. The boy, at first didn't know if he should ask for help or run back into the house. Against his better instinct, the boy spoke.

    "Sir, do you need help?" With that the stranger jerked to attention, and leapt at the boy, making a terrible hissing noise. The boy fell to the ground, the stranger landing on top of him. Lizzy then lunged toward the stranger, pulling fiercely at his pant leg. The stranger looked back, and at that exact moment the boy smashed the stranger in side of the face with his flashlight, knocking him of off. The boy got up and ran to his back door, Lizzy following quickly behind. He pushed the door open, getting himself and his dog inside the house before slamming it shut and locking it tight. He ran into his room and dived under his bed, tears running down his face. Lizzy soon joined him under his impenetrable fortress and kept him company. Without power, light, and the nerve to get out from under his bed the boy was helpless. He cuddled up to his dog, and tried to sleep away his current situation.