A burglar, a gun and a shot.

You figure the best idea is to get some sleep. It's already midnight and you have to be up at 7 am if you want to get to school by 9. Your drama professor isn't going to take a second tardy in a row well and the last thing you want to do is ask for extra credit. You've gotten by without it so far but you don't want to know what that'd entail.

You gulp the rest of the wine down, change into a nightshirt, and make sure the door and windows are locked. You're feeling just a bit paranoid tonight but you attribute that to the weirdness you just escaped in Austin. You sit your phone in the charger, turn on your noise app, and cut the Bluetooth speaker on. You turn the lights off and crawl in bed, drifting off to the low audio of a babbling brook.

You wake to a loud noise in the living room and jump out of bed. You grab the small 16" mini bat you keep nearby and listen at the bedroom door. You can hear something moving out there but cannot see any light coming in under your door. You lock the door and back up to your bed. Then you whisper to your nightstand.

"Siri, dial 911."

The phone still connected to the Bluetooth speaker starts to ring. You drop the bat on the bed, pull the power adapter from the speaker and it goes silent. You hold the phone to your ear with your left hand and grab the bat with your right.

"La Grande precinct 12. What is your emergency?"

"My name is Simone Stewart," you then quickly recite your address. "Someone is in my apartment and I'm trapped in my bedroom with this phone and a small bat. I'm four floors up so please don't suggest I jump off the balcony," you say as calmly as you can manage.

"Yes, ma'am. Please stay calm." The lady's soft voice certainly sounds calm, of course, she doesn't have a burglar.

"I have the door locked but it's practically made of particleboard. So it won't slow anyone down and I'd be surprised if they don't know where I am at this point," you try to keep your voice steady but you're sure it cracked a few times.

"I have your address on the GPS now. I've sent a car. All you have to do is stay safe. Is there anywhere you can retreat to?"

"Just the balcony. The only way out of the apartment is through the living room."

At that moment you hear someone try the bedroom doorknob.

"Ummm I think they found my room. I'm going to head out onto the balcony. At least someone will see what happens. I hope that car is close," you whisper into the phone as you back toward the balcony.

Then you hear a loud bang on the bedroom door as someone throws their weight against it. The door crashes open and you throw the bat at the figure coming through it. You glance back to the balcony as a light from the direction of the door shines in your face. As you look towards the figure and prepare to back up, you hear a gravelly sounding deep male voice you don't recognize.

"Such a damn waste. Good night, Tiff."

You see a flash of bright orange light, hear a thunderous boom, and a sharp pain in your abdomen as you fall to the floor. You see the silhouette of a man walk over and point something down at you. You hear another loud report. . .

You sit bolt upright in your bed, your nightshirt is sweat-soaked as you desperately feel around your stomach fearing the worst. Your breathing slowly returns to normal as you get up and turn the light on. Your bedroom door is in one piece and everything is how you left it.

You creep out into the hallway and look around. Everything sounds quiet and peaceful. You spend the next 15 minutes turning on every light in the apartment as you check every space a person could hide in, all with your little bat at your side. Lastly, you check your phone. It's 5 am and no calls were made to 911 tonight. You grab some juice from the fridge and take a big sip, happy to be alive. . . happy it was just a nightmare.