When Dane awoke, he got the sense he was no longer alone. He could see sunlight through a c***k in the heavy velvet curtains. The television was dead. For a moment, he lay on the couch, adjusting the cushion beneath his head. With his eyes closed, he listened for a sound that would confirm his feeling of someone else being in the house. But not a footstep nor a creak could he hear. Nevertheless, the feeling persisted, increasing and growing almost palpable until it finally forced him from the couch.
“Hello,” he called, stepping carefully towards the doorway.
Silence.
But it wasn’t the usual silence he knew so well. There was something in the stillness of the house, disturbing it, interrupting it.
He walked through the dining area and past the kitchen.
“Hello.”
He stepped into the hal
