Daniel woke suddenly, uncertain why. He only knew that something had brought him out of a deep, dreamless sleep. Cautiously he sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Then he sat there silently in the dark, every sense alert for anything wrong. Once again he had the feeling that had been plaguing him since he’d moved into the house—something wasn’t right.
He started to stand when suddenly he was blinded by a bright light. Covering his eyes, he tried to peer between his fingers to see who was holding what he presumed was a flashlight.
A male voice said, “Hello there, Danny boy. You are a cute one, just as I was told you were.”
“Who?” Daniel whispered in fear while he tried to figure out if there was anything close at hand he could use as a weapon.
“Who am I? A friend of the
