Meredith sat up in the middle of the night screaming. Again. She felt tears wet her eyes at another miserable attempt at sleep. She wanted to pull her sore eyes from her sockets. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stay asleep. She wasn’t going to get any madami sleep tonight, and Meredith knew that. She pulled off the sheets and slowly stood up. She wobbled slightly and held her head. These nightmares were going to be the death of her.
    Meredith crept down the hall and into the kusina for a little snack. Maybe some warm gatas would put her to sleep. She reached into the fridge and reached for the carton – then stopped.
    “Hello?” She called out, swearing just segundos before there had been a noise coming from the hall.
    “I’m being paranoid. It’s these nightmares.” Meredith thought, shaking her head. She almost believed herself.
    Until she heard the noise again.
    Meredith knew she wasn’t imagining this. There was a distinct sound coming from down the hall. It sounded muffled. Like…
    Like footsteps.
    Fear swept over Meredith. “There’s someone in my apartment,” She thought, almost hyperventilating. She held her breath, listening for any madami noises. It came again quickly.
    “Those are odd footsteps,” Meredith pondered. They didn’t sound very specific and in rhythm with each other. More… small. The sound was very quiet, almost impossible to hear even in the complete and utter silence. Now that she listened, it didn’t sound like footsteps at all.
    Bump!
    Meredith jumped at the sudden noise. It sounded like something hitting the wall. Maybe a body part? Was the person crawling?
    Meredith held as still as possible. The noises had stopped – temporarily. She realized in horror she had to do something. She couldn’t risk this man/woman staying in her house. He could try to steal something or maybe even hurt her… Meredith gulped.
    She reached across the counter for the silverware, and grabbed a cutting knife. She held it out in front of her and started tip-toeing towards the doorway. Her whole body was shaking. As she entered the dark hallway, everything was quiet.
    Bump!
    Meredith bit her bottom lip. The sound was coming from her room.
    “Dear God, he’s in my room…” Meredith thought, paralyzed with fear. Her door was wide open, he could’ve came right in without the door squeaking. Then, in a sudden burst of anger, Meredith held the kutsilyo in both shaking hands and burst into her room,. She held her breath, reaching for the light switch and flicking it on. She screamed a girlish squeal at the sight.
    A daga stared at her from the middle of her floor.