"Elizabeth, I never meant to hurt you. Please believe me," Steven whispered to her, then turned to leave.

She barely heard the door close and only managed to walk a few steps before she broke down crying and let herself fall to the floor. As the rest of the world continued on around her, Elizabeth was a crumpled, sobbing heap on her living room rug.

Just outside, leaning against the door for support, Steven wondered how and why he hadn't been honest with Elizabeth from the very beginning. A single, unnoticed tear slid down his cheek as he pushed off the door and headed down the stairs, back to his family.

After crying for some time, fatigue set in and Elizabeth slipped into the deep, dreamless sleep of the emotionally exhausted.

Hours slowly passed as Elizabeth slept, and then in the early hours of morning, she was startled awake by a loud crash. She jerked her head around in the direction of the noise and saw, to her dismay, that the sound was being caused by her front door repeatedly being slammed into the wall by an angry wind, driven by a raging storm. Struggling to her feet, she rushed to the door and pushed it shut, throwing all of the locks into place.

Leaning against the door, she berated herself. "Real smart, Elizabeth. Absolutely brilliant. Just invite trouble into your shattered life. It's not like you don't have enough problems right now." Pushing herself away from the wall, she said, "Let's go see if anyone decided to take advantage of the situation."

She began cautiously searching her apartment, turning on all the lights as she went, which provided the illumination necessary for her search, along with the added benefit of boosting her confidence. She had just finished checking the combination kitchen/dining room when she heard it; an eerie noise, similar to the sound made by wet flesh being dragged across a pane of glass, but at the same time unlike anything she had ever heard before.

As Elizabeth moved toward the hallway, her apartment was lit up by a flash of lightning, followed immediately by the sharp crack of thunder and then she was plunged into complete darkness as the power failed. The only relief she now had from the endless night was the occasional flash of lightning. With her outstretched hand skimming the wall for reassurance and guidance, Elizabeth headed in the direction of the strange noise she had heard, hoping it would not be repeated, but dreading that it would.

She inched her way down the hall, straining to hear any sound within the apartment over the thundering storm. Just outside the closed bathroom door, Elizabeth heard the sound of running water, which was doublely odd, because she didn't remember closing the bathroom door and she was sure that she had not left the water running within.

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