Roxanne loved her new home and her new life in suburbia. She lived in a beautiful house, with many rooms, a pool, and both a front and back yard. So why was she so miserable today? Well, it had something to do with Halloween. More specifically, being alone on Halloween.
Roxanne and Eric bought their dream house a few months ago, after Eric made partner at his law firm. The only drawback was that he worked many nights, many long hours. Sure, making seven figures by the age of thirty-five was huge, but Eric was hardly home anymore. Even on their first Halloween in the new house, Roxanne spent the night alone.
The neighborhood trick-or-treaters were long gone. It was approaching ten o'clock and no one had been by the house for half an hour. There wasn't much candy left in the oversized pumpkin beside the front door. Roxanne was going to help herself to what was left while watching television. She had hoped to be awake by the time Eric came home. She didn't know what time that would be and she was completely wiped out. She sat on the couch, remote in one hand and a fistful of candy corn in the other.
The doorbell rang and Roxanne ignored it. It rang again. Roxanne ignored it again. The ringing stopped for about a minute. Good, they finally got the message, she thought. The bell rang yet again. Roxanne looked towards the front door and saw nothing. Again, it rang.
"No more candy! Sorry!"
Everything got quiet again. Roxanne even muted the television to make sure that no one was at the front door. The bell rang again. This time it startled Roxanne. For the first time, she was afraid.
"No more candy! Try next door!" She listened closely. Waited. Nothing.
Then the bell rang again. Roxanne went from afraid to terrified to plain old pissed off in about two seconds. She was confused, not knowing how to feel or what to think. She stood by the front door. She saw the knob turn, the door being pushed, but not opening. Her jaw hung open, Roxanne's feet felt like they were cemented into the floor.
"Crap," she said to no one in particular. Then the bell rang again. Roxanne let out a gasp. She tip-toed away from the door, as the knob-turning, door-pushing, and bell-ringing continued in concert, growing louder by the second.
Roxanne let out a shriek and ran toward the back of the house, hoping to get to the back door. She was tackled from behind as a black leather glove covered her mouth. The other hand pinned her to the floor. A menacing voice growled at her. "Make another noise and die." Roxanne turned her head to see who it was, but couldn't tell. The assailant wore a bloody ghost mask, perfect for Halloween. She wanted to scream at that very moment, but Roxanne held it in, although she couldn't stop shaking.
"Come with me and don't make a sound." The masked man helped Roxanne to her feet. He grabbed her by the arm and forced her toward the bedroom. Roxanne didn't know why they were going to the bedroom, but went without protest.
