The door swung open without a sound as Lizzie stepped in. She curled her nose at the offensive smells trapped inside. A smell like raw meat mixed with garbage clogged the air, making it hard to breathe. Lizzie turned, looking past Matt's empty bed.
The unlit room was filled with shadows, but there was enough light for Lizzie to see someone standing in the furthest corner of the room. It wasn't Matt, because the figure was too tall. There was something wrong with the figure, but Lizzie couldn't identify it immediately. It took her a second, but then she realized that it was missing its left arm.
Lizzie slowly reached up and turned on the overhead light, instantly illuminating the room in the warm yellow light. The person standing in the corner of the room looked up.
Lizzie recognized the face. It was Andrew Hanson from three houses down. He was two grades above her; she had a crush on him when she was in fourth grade. He was a star basketball player for his team in high school, but that was over now. His left arm had been torn off at the shoulder. Blood and black ichor stained his clothes, what was left of them. His carefully groomed dreadlocks were now in a complete state of disarray with bits of bloody flesh sticking to them.
He looked up at Lizzie when the light came on. One of his eyes had been torn from its socket and now hung down his face, swinging grotesquely. His mouth opened letting escape a moan of pain and hunger. He started to shuffle towards Lizzie, his steps almost uncertain.
Lizzie looked around the room, Matt's baseball bat was right beside the door. She picked it up and hefted it in her hands.
"Stay back!" Lizzie backed out of the door. She pulled the door closed and kept backing down the corridor. She stood in the center, holding the baseball bat like a samurai sword, not sure what she was waiting for, but prepared.
A thump on the door signaled that Andrew was now at the door. Another thump, like he was pounding on the door, trying to get out. Lizzie couldn't figure it out, what was wrong, why were people wandering around her house at this time of the morning? Where was Matt?
The thought of her mother and father made Lizzie lower the bat just a little. Tears came back to her eyes; she blinked to try to clear them. She stepped backwards a few more steps and was even with her bedroom door. She took one more look at Matt's bedroom door. The thumping continued.
Lizzie went into her room and locked the door behind her, like she always did. Laying the bat on the bed, she quickly threw off her pajamas, grabbed some clean underwear and a bra from the dresser. She got dressed in her clothes as quick as possible, all the while wiping the tears from her eyes. The thumping on Matt's door continued. It was almost hypnotic in its staccato rhythm.
Lizzie almost screamed when there was a thump on her door. She listened and heard the thump on Matt's door, but there was another thump on her door right after that. Her eyes widened at the thought. There were more people out there! Standing beside the door, Lizzie whispered. "Hello?"
The only reply was another thump.
Speaking louder this time, another "Hello?"
Another thump.
She snatched the bat from the bed and crossed back to the door. A hardened resolve built in her; she wouldn't let these people invade her home. She had to find Matt. She couldn't help her parents, but she would help Matt, no matter what she had to do. "Hello?" she said.
Only more thumps from Matt's bedroom door and hers. The thump from Matt's door was accompanied by the sound of wood cracking.
Standing to the left of the door, Lizzie steadied the bat in one hand, reached over and unlocked the door. One shaking hand slowly turned the door handle until the next thump pushed it out of her hand and the door opened without a sound.
One mud covered foot stepped down on the beautiful soft yellow carpet. The body that followed was wet and smelled like wet dogs and garbage.
Backing away from the wall, she kept the bat between her and the intruder. She didn't recognize the face that gazed back at her without recognition.
"Get out of my house!" Lizzie's voice sound high and screechy in the room and maybe it was, but she couldn't tell. She was terrified beyond all comprehension. Whatever was standing in front of her shouldn't be able to stand, much less walk into her house and pound on her bedroom door. Bloodied hands missing fingernails and some fingers still bent backwards reached through the air towards her. A face with half of the lower jaw missing yawned in anticipation. A steak knife was plunged in the creature's leg, buried to the hilt. No blood ran from the knife wound, even though Lizzie could see the torn and aggravated flesh around the blade.
The creature stumbled towards Lizzie, still reaching out, trying to grasp her. Lizzie swung the bat with both hands. The swing managed to knock the creature's clutching fingers away, but did not stop its determined march towards her. Stepping back with one foot, Lizzie brought the bat up and behind her shoulder, like she remembered from phy-ed class. Moving her back foot forward she swung with her hips and shoulders, temporarily stepping inside the creature's reach as the bat cracked soundly into the man's ribs.
Bones cracked and fluids splattered from the hard blow, Lizzie could feel the solidness of the strike. The monster teetered off balance and fell towards the dresser. It toppled down to the floor in a clatter dragging Lizzie jewelry box down with it. Taking the opportunity, Lizzie stepped over the creature and raised the bat again. She swung as hard as she could and connected directly with the creature's skull.
A dull "bonk" sound came from the wooden bat. She raised the bat again and aimed for the same place. She didn't count the number of times she hit the body on the floor. She kept hitting until it stopped moving. Her pants were covered in spattered blood and the bat was uniformly coated in shiny red fluid.
The bed sank a little under her as she sat down. The area in front of her closet was in sharp contrast to the rest of her happy room. Mud streaked tracks from the hallway led into her room where they ended in a blood and gore spattered scene of violent death. Lizzie couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Through it all, the pounding from Matt's door never stopped. Now Lizzie noticed it was no longer there. Lizzie looked up from the bed and saw Andrew standing at the doorway to the bedroom. Surprised she still had the strength, Lizzie charged across the room with the bat raised above her head. A hoarse cry came from her as she landed a frenzy of blows on Andrew's body.