1. Half Past Five

Sue woke up abruptly from her sleep as a massive smash came from downstairs. She looked over at her bedside clock – it read 05:27. She tapped her husband to alert him to the noise which, somehow, he'd managed to sleep through.

"Sue," Pete mumbled, as he too glanced at a clock, "it's five thirty!"

"Yes, I know that," Sue replied sarcastically, "there was a noise from downstairs. Could you go and see what it is please?"

Pete sighed and put his dressing gown on as he left the room. He crept down the stairs, not wanting to ruin the element of surprise for any potential intruders. He could hear hurried footsteps in the kitchen as he grabbed an umbrella from the under stairs cupboard to use as an impromptu weapon. He entered the kitchen to find a broken window near the computer.

"Ben," Pete whispered, suspicious of his 8 year old son, "did you break something?"

No reply came, so Pete carried on walking silently across the kitchen and through the double doors into the living room. He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. Before he had time to react, he was punched in the nose by a gloved hand. He collapsed to the floor as his vision blacked out.