'Why does this house always feel way too empty when I'm the only one here?' Sydney thought. She sighed and sat up in bed.
The moon seemed to be trying to pry open her closed blinds with its flood of eerie light. Sydney glanced at the nightstand. It was well after midnight -- 12:36 A.M. to be exact. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her hyperactive brain to calm down. The college freshman had just finished her first year at Eagleton University. Sydney Nash was about 5'6. Her athletic body sported long and straight chestnut-brown hair, green eyes, and modest breasts that were nonetheless larger than she gave them credit for.
With a sigh, she swept out of bed. The girl wore a pair of 101 Dalmatians pajama bottoms and a loose white tee borrowed from her brother, Max.
'I might as well go grab a snack' Sydney decided. As she walked the halls of the two-story house, the house where she'd grown up, she heard every comforting creak and sound the house made. Still, it felt so empty. With her brother off at summer school and her parents gone on a vacation to Cozumel, she was all alone in the family's 4,000 square-foot plus monstrosity.
'I can't believe they didn't take me with them' she thought, still annoyed. Yesterday had been her birthday even. She'd just turned 19. And yet she wasn't surprised: This was a tradition her parents had been doing for years, going on a trip, just the two of them. Whenever she and Max griped about it, they always got the same exasperating answer from Mom: "Babies, we love you, but we need a break from life now and then--and that includes you. Mom and Dad need alone-time, if you know what I mean." Then she would waggle her eyebrows and the two mortified siblings would either flee in disgust or quickly change the subject.
Now Sydney whisked her way through the kitchen and found herself standing in front of the stainless-steel fridge.
"Let's see... I think it's time for ice cream. No, no." She had barely made Eagleton's volleyball team. She couldn't afford to gain a ton of weight and then not qualify in the fall. Reluctantly, she took out a Honeycrisp apple instead. Her long, elegant fingers used the nearby kitchen knife to easily cut up the apple, placing the pieces on a little china dish before she started to carry them back to her room. As she did so, though, she thought she heard a thud.
She paused, listening. Had she just imagined it? She waited another ten seconds. Ten seconds stretched to fifteen. Nothing. She did a mental shrug. 'I guess I'm letting this empty house play tricks on me' she thought. She reached her bedroom door, turned the knob, and carefully closed the door behind her. Then, slipping back into bed with the plate on her lap, she reached over, grabbed her smartphone, then her ear buds, and slipped them into her ears. Maybe listening to some soothing instrumental music would help her wind down to fall asleep.
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes passed when suddenly her bedroom door flew wide open.
She was so engrossed in her music that the college student didn't notice anything at first. But now two men burst into the room. Both were covered head to toe in black clothes with ski-masks obscuring their faces.
Oh fuck! Sydney's heart rate leapt through the roof. She dropped her phone, the ear buds slipping to the sheets, and sprang out of bed.
"Who are you!? W-w-hat do you want!" her trembling voice demanded.
The taller one had broader shoulders and he seemed more muscular too. He pointed a gun at her.
"Scream and I pull this trigger, bitch."
"Please don't hurt me!" Sydney yelped. She put up her hands on instinct. A chill like acid in her spine made it impossible to move.
The taller one turned to the other one. The smaller one now swore.
"The house was supposed to be empty, man. This is no good."
But the taller one, who had a deep, masculine voice, argued otherwise.
"Nah, bro. This is beyond good. We not just gonna rob the place tonight. We gonna get lucky with some PUSSY. Ain't that right, white bitch?" The more muscled of the two burglars stalked forward, viciously keeping his gun trained on her.
"Strip, bitch. Out of them clothes. NOW."
Sydney felt like this couldn't be real. This had to be a dream... no, a nightmare. Surely she'd wake up any second. Surely life couldn't be this unfair. When the girl hesitated, Mr. Muscular charged forward and waved his gun viciously. "I'm not playing, girl. Get them clothes OFF. You fuckin' heard me. You want to get pistol-whipped?"