Annabelle retreated back into her house and locked the door behind her. Her hands shook, her heart raced and her throat begged for moisture. Standing in the kitchen she reached for a glass in the cupboard above the coffee maker. The jitters in her fingers were uncontrollable and she held tight to the glass as is if it were covered in oil. Securing the glass she turned on the faucet and a trickle of water streamed down. Frozen pipes she thought to herself and she stood bracing herself against the sink waiting for the glass to fill. Her mind wandered back to the street.

What on earth was going on she ruminated. Who did she know well enough to call and inquire? What cold have possibly happened that would warrant so many emergency vehicles.

She slowly moved back to the front door and then thought I need my glasses. Her glasses lay on the end table next to the recliner where she spent the vast majority of her hours. As she slid them over her ears, she heard a knock at the door.

“Everything okay in here?” a baritone voice blasted through the door.

Wrap, Wrap, Wrap, the knocker clanged against the door.

Young people are always in a hurry. In her mind she could move quickly to the door, but her steps were slow as the weight of her body shifted from leg to leg.

“Hello!” Wrap, wrap, wrap, went the knocker on the door again.

Annabelle peeped through the see hole to view the intruder on the other side of the door. A man of six feet plus inches stood outside her door. He was dressed in a police uniform and he had a large walkie talkie in his hand. She made out his name from the metal pin he wore on the left side of his chest. J. Universal it read.

Seeing the officer she unlocked the door and opened it enough to stick her face through the door but still remain shielded from the cold and from the vulnerability of being a woman of advancing age.

“Yes, I am okay.” She stated.

“Mam, may I come inside.” Officer Universal requested.

“What is the matter?” Annabelle nervously inquired.

“There has been a little trouble down the street mam, and it is customary for us to ensure everyone is safe.” He reported.

“What sort of trouble sonny?” She retorted in a desperate for information voice.

“Mam, I am not at liberty to discuss anything at this point. All of the facts are not in.” he replied.

“Is someone hurt?” Annabelle demanded.

“What would make you think that?” he questioned.

“All of the ambulances and police cars make me think that.” Is this guy a quack she thought to herself?

She allowed him to enter the house and he toured each and every room. She was too old to follow him from room to room so she chattered away as he made his way through the modest home. She could hear his presence in the kitchen. He was opening and closing cabinet doors. She heard the pipes roar as he turned the faucet on and off. The rustling of papers was the next sounds she noticed and then he suddenly reappeared with a sealed white bag with something cylindrical inside.

“Everything seems to be in order. I may be back, but at this point, I advise you to keep your doors locked and do not open the door unless you are absolutely confident you know the person exceptionally well.” He was still talking as he was exiting.

Annabelle wanted to ask him what was in the white envelope but he out talked her and he was gone before she could say anything.

Annabelle’s heart pulsated violently and she collapsed into her recliner. Her head whirled with all of the pieces to a puzzle that she couldn’t piece together. The young couple, the ambulances, the police cars, the officer’s visit, what did it all mean? In a panicky fashion she picked up the phone and began to dial.

“Hello” she mustered.

Da na na…All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later. The recording repeated twice before Annabelle realized she had no way to connect to the outside world. She glanced around the room and stood up to make sure all of the doors and windows were securely locked.

She flipped through the channels until she reached the local news station. Thankfully, she had power. She waited anxiously to see if some word would appear on the news to satisfy the mystery of her day.

“A family of five was bludgeoned to death in a suburb just outside of Chicago. A young couple had recently moved into the neighborhood and was attempting to get to know their neighbors by going door to door with welcome tins of cookies. When they arrived at the home of the Johnson family, they rang the doorbell and waited for the family to respond. As they were about to walk away, they heard cries of anguish from inside of the screen door. Fearful for their own safety they attempted to flee the home, when a man in his 20s thrust his body against the screen door and nearly knocked the young woman over with the weight of his body. He reportedly attempted to give the couple a message, but passed away before he was able to finish his utterance. Anyone with information is asked to contact the local police at area code 312.555.5555.”

“Oh my goodness Annabelle thought to herself. Who would have done such a thing? Never before had there been this kind of violence in this neighborhood. At least not since the death of her husband twenty years before.

A tapping noise on the outside of the window startled Annabelle. Tightening in her chest and momentary paralysis settled over her. Instinctively, she sat still as a statue but turned her eyes toward the large picture window which was obscured by the snow, over grown bushes and the sheer darkness of a wintry night. Despite all of this she could not help but make out the figure of a woman. Feeling a little less vulnerable but still refusing to move she attempted to getter a better view. Suddenly, the woman pasted her face against the window and with a look of terror in her walnut colored eyes looked into Annabelle’s house hoping to rouse her into action.

“Help me, please” she cried in an almost inaudible voice.

“What in the name of heaven is that girl doing?” Annabelle’s mind was flooded with sheer confusion and her heart was wrapped in a cloak of fear. A sharp, piercing pain ran along the left side of her upper body. Stunned by all of what she was witnessing she sat motionless as if a magnetic force held her glued to her chair.

“Please” the woman mouthed the word through the window.

Annabelle reached for the phone and the woman tapped the window slightly louder than before.

“No, No, No” she mouthed the words against the window.

Fearful but trusting the eyes of the woman before her, Annabelle rose from her seat and went to the door.