A Night at the Opera

              "Yeah, Tom. I'll be there tonight. Yes, I will. I promise." Marie said as she tried to put on her black evening gown. It was always such a bother when she had to multi-task. She only had about twenty minutes before she needed to be out the door and headed to the opera hall. She still couldn't believe she scored that date with Tom Henson, that cute dentist from the business complex across from her office building. If it hadn't have been for Jennifer's fear of drills, Marie wouldn't have even knew the guy existed.
             
              "So you won't ditch me mid-date, right?" She could sense the smirk on Tom's face.
             
                With a sigh and a smile on her face as well, she replied, "No, Tom. Honest to God, I won't."
             
              "Okay. Then I'll see you tonight." The receiver clicked on the other end.
               
                Marie yelped and flung herself on her bed. She was so ecstatic to have a date for the first time since she and Frank broke everything off. To now think back on it and realize she was going to marry that asshole. She hoped he was happy with that sleazy secretary he fell head over heels for. She put the phone back onto the charger and continued to ready herself for her night on the town.

                A click of the lock at her front door made her jump. She didnt' expect anyone to be coming over tonight, especially since she was going out for the evening. The door creaked open slowly. The sound raked against Marie's already jittery nerves. She grabbed a bottle of perfume to use as make-shift mace. She creeped slowly and cautiously out of her bathroom and into the bedroom. As she crossed over to the bedroom door, heavy footsteps tramped into the living room. Marie quickly rushed over and hid behind the bedroom door, hoping not to be seen.

                The culprit couldn't have been more than twenty, twenty-one at the most. He sauntered in without much of a care, the tramping of his boots giving him away to anyone inside. He didn't care, though. He planned to search the house for any person unlucky enough to still be in the premises. He fingered the trigger of his Desert Eagle. One blast from that, and the parents are going to have to identify the victim by their dental records.

                From what Marie could see through the crack in the bedroom door, the trespasser was about drinking age and probably some college student out to pull a prank. His hair was silvered, his eyes like the baby blue diamonds in her earrings. He looked like he was stick-thin, but he also looked like he could hold his own if he were in a jam. He was probably a bit taller than Marie, too, which she found kind of sad considering that she was about ten years older than he was.

              'What the hell does he want?' Marie thought as the perpetrator continued to size up the penthouse suite.

                As if he could hear her thoughts, he turned towards the bedroom door. He didn't look the least surprised. In fact, he wore a disturbing smile on his light tan face. He lifted up the gun high enough for Marie to see it. He knew that she was behind the door.

                "Now you can either come out of there yourself, or I can drag you out. I don't mind dragging you out, you know." He said, still retaining that eerie grin.

                Marie was conflicted now. She didn't know whether to keep herself in her spot between the mahogany bedroom door and the chalky white wall, or give herself up to the intruder. Either way, she saw the situation ending in rape and subsequent death. She decided to do the only thing she could and walk out to face the man who had broken in on her apartment. The man chuckled lightly. It would have sounded friendly if it weren't for the dark look on his face and that grin that shattered any barriers Marie held up and thrashed through her soul, leaving her cold and fearful.