Everything was going well, or one could say normal at Gray Residence, except that it was already 8 p.m., and Mr Gray was still busy with his PowerPoint Presentation, which he had to finish till next morning, and now he wanted a coffee.

In the kitchen, Mrs Gray kept a pan with water on the stove, but as soon as she turned on the stove, she heard something smash the attic window with a loud crash. It wasn’t the sound that comes when a stone or any object crashes with a window; it was almost like someone punched down the window. Honestly speaking, she was horrified. She recently heard some news about the town's constant thefts and kidnappings, making her even more anxious. She crept off to Ethan’s Dad and whispered, “David! Did you hear that? I think someone just trespassed in through the attic window. Should I call 911?”

“I heard that, Anna,” David mumbled. “But I think we should not directly come to a conclusion and call 911. Bring me my shotgun, and I’ll go check if everything’s all right.”

David cocked his shotgun and crept into the empty attic. Well, it was empty until now. Dust was flying all over, and a musty smell reached his nostrils.

“Is anyone in here?” he screamed, his voice echoing across the cardboard boxes and the dusty air. “Show yourself! I have a gun.”

“That won’t harm us.” said someone from behind the cartons.

The words, ‘That won’t harm us.’ sent shivers down the spines of David and Anna. David yelled again, “Show yourself, or I’ll shoot!”

An awkward silence fell all over the attic. David now had it enough. He gathered his guts and slowly went towards the cardboard boxes. One step forward, then another, still no response from behind the boxes. David was just a few steps away when he heard a noise all of a sudden; it came from somewhere below, maybe from the kitchen. It was the sound of a utensil dropping on the floor. Anna, who was entirely terrified by now, guessed that someone else, too, came in through the kitchen window and knocked the pan with water, which she kept on the stove a few minutes back. With his shotgun in his trembling hands, David was utterly perplexed, lost, and in deep thought.

But not for long.

A muscular man with violet eyes came from behind the boxes. He had short black hair and a well-kept beard. He was dressed all in black from down to top. Before David could do or say anything, the grim-looking man drove his shoulder into David’s chest, slamming him into the wall. David felt like all the air in the world had been sucked into outer space.

The man hit him again in the face, and David tasted blood. It was a heck of a shot. The blood pounded in his ears, and his heart thudded in his chest. Everything started to blur out. Patchy dark colours, like grains of sand, began to cover his vision. The last thing he saw or could remember was a girl who came in afterwards, but not from the attic window but downstairs. She was short and had olive skin with brown hair. The girl grabbed Anna’s head and lifted her until she was dangling on the tip of her toes. She slammed her hand in Anna’s ribs, and she winced. That was all. He felt a sudden pain in his right shoulder that rippled across his chest; he knew his hour had come.