Help!

Help



It all began one lonely evening.

The rain was falling hard. It was bouncing off the path outside. The wind howled, and the leaves

were falling like tears from the trees.


Jane was glad to be inside, she felt protected and comforted by the glow and warmth of the

fire. The flames were dancing to the sound of the logs crackling. She closed the curtains and sat in her

chair by the fire with her favourite book. After a while she thought she heard a noise coming from one of

the bedrooms upstairs. It sounded like somebody walking slowly in the rooms. She sat up abruptly and

froze, she didn’t move, her heart was beating fast, she strained her ears to see if she could hear it again,

but she heard nothing, everything went silent again. She gently shook her head and convinced herself it

was just the age of the cottage, so she returned to reading her book , but still listened ( just in case).


About twenty minutes later there was a knocking on the front door. She stopped , and listened, she

heard the knocking again. Jane stood up and placed her book down on her chair and went over to the

window and tried to move the curtains gently to see if she could see who or what was on the other side.

Jane could see a outline but it was to dark The knocking came again .Jane made her way slowly to the

door. She opened the door slowly, making sure she had the safety chain on it first. Standing there was her

old mate Sam. Jane felt relieved. Quickly she closed the door and released the chain and reopened it . Sam

was standing there drenched.

“ Come in out of the rain ” Sam walked in and put a small case on the floor.

“ Look at you , your soaked”

Sam entered, and her coat seemed to be hanging on her like it was to big . .

“Right you get your coat off and I’ll go and get you a towel”. Sam removed her coat and Jane gave her the

towel.

“I thought I’d never find you, you never gave your address to anyone. It took me ages, so I thought I

would come up and see you. I wondered if I can stay for a few days as we haven’t seen each other for a

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while? I know it’s cheeky but… ” She said as she was rubbing her hair trying to get the worst of the wet

out. They gave each other a big hug.

“Well, how did you find me?…. and its great to see you. . . . You go and sit by the fire and I will get us a

hot drink.”

This had taken her mind off the noise she had heard earlier and was pleased to see her old friend

again.

Sam wondered into the front room and sat by the fire , it was very warm and cosy.

Her eyes wondered around this warm and cosy room . Just then Jane walked in with two cups of hot tea

and handed one to her.

Sam remarked that it was good to see her again.

.Jane looked at Sam and smiled. “It’s good to see you again. Where do you live now ? Do you

still….. ”

She was so glad to see someone that she just could not stop talking, she would not slow down either,

“ Slow down” Sam told Jane after she had taken a sip of her drink, then answered her.

“ Well, I still live in the same flat in London and now I work as a receptionist for an electronics firm in

the city. It’s a good job and the pay is ok as well. ”



Jane sat there listening to Sam talking about the place where she works and helping Jane catch up on

the gossip, and everything that had gone on since she had left several years ago. She felt good to hear a

friendly voice again.

“Hey, guess who I saw the other day ?” Jane gently shook her head, and frowned, wondering who it might

be .

“ Christine Baker . You remember her don‘t you?” Sam said as she looked at her.

Jane was trying to think for a moment. Then she looked back at Sam.

“What you mean that toffee nosed one who thought she was better than anybody else ?” Sam smiled.

“Yes,. . her , she now works in the supermarket down the road from me . . . On the checkouts . You

should have seen her face the other day, I went in there, on purpose to do my shopping .I also made sure I

went to her till. When I said hello to her and said ‘long time no see’ and asked how long she had been

working there. You should have seen the look on her face. The expression made my day. All that
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afternoon at work I kept thinking of it and smiled to myself every time”

Jane gave Sam a big smile.



After drinking her tea Sam asked Jane if she was still seeing the boyfriend she had before they lost

touch with each other. Sam had forgot his name.

“NO.” Jane replied quite abruptly. Sam looked at her. She could tell something was wrong by the way

Jane spoke, but what?.


Jane put her empty mug on the coffee table by her and made her way over to the window, with her

back to Sam, and slowly rubbing her arms.


“There’s something up I know there is, I’ve known you long enough to know when something

isn’t right ”

Sam made her way over to her , she could hear Jane sniffling . Sam laid her arm on her

shoulder and turned her round and gently wiped Jane’s tears away. She guided her back over to the settee ,

sat her down and asked her again, softly what was the matter.

“ I couldn’t help it… I had to do it… I had no choice… I had to leave him. You understand , don’t you ?”

More tears ran down her face. As Sam started to rub Jane’s arm caringly her sleeve began to ride up and

Sam saw marks on her arm. Jane tried to pull her sleeve back down before Sam saw the scares on her, but

it was to late, Sam had already seen them.



Sam just looked at Jane for a moment then asked her how she got the scars? Jane told Sam it was her

own fault, how she sometimes fell over or bumped into the wall, but Sam knew that wasn’t right. All the

time she has known her she was happy and always laughing ,so she knew something was wrong.


“Tell me, what’s wrong? Please ” Jane slowly looked at Sam then looked down . The tears began to roll

down her face. Sam put her arm gently around her trying to comfort her. After a few moments Jane raised

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her head .

“ It was Adam who did those marks on my arm….. but I don’t think he meant to…. he was just in one of

those moods like he sometimes was.”



Jane hoped Sam understood and realised that she still loved him then . Sam could feel herself getting

angry inside but wouldn’t let Jane see. Jane said how loving and romantic Adam was when they first met.

He would buy her flowers every week and they would go out for dinner, and she told Sam of all the places

abroad they had been.


She explained that after a while they had decided to moved in together. The new life they had started

was every woman’s dream, but after about a year things started to go wrong, Adam’s work was

sometimes getting on top of him as he was having to bring his paper work home with him to

get it completed for the following day or the next week if he was lucky enough.

The work used to take it out of him, and he started to drink, it began with a small amount but gradually

increased to a few bottles of whiskey or wine every night. He would sit at the table with his work

sprawled out across the table and a bottle of alcohol in his hand.


As soon as he had finished that bottle he would shout Jane with a demanding voice to get him another

bottle, if she said she was doing something, and that she would get it in a moment, he would shout with

a fierce voice and threaten her. Sam was listening deeply to her, thinking . . . why Jane?



The wind was starting to calm down now and the rain had stopped. Sam told Jane to wipe her tears

away and she would go and make them another drink, so asked where the kitchen was. Jane wiped her

tears and could hear Sam in the kitchen making another cup of tea . Jane stopped dead , she heard a noise
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like somebody was walking in the house .

“ IS THAT YOU SAM?” Jane shouted to Sam.

Sam never heard her as she was singing to herself while making the tea.


A few moments later Sam walked in with the hot drink.

“Here you are. Now this will help you calm down.”

Jane asked Sam if she had heard anything while

she was in the kitchen. Sam said she heard something but

thought it was Jane. She told her not to worry because it was probably the wind making something bang

against something else, Jane agreed so they both forgot about it.



As Sam handed Jane her drink she sat down and asked Jane to continue telling her about Adam. Jane

continued.


“One night Adam didn’t come home till very late, and his dinner was ruined. I was dreading him coming

home cause I knew what to expect .”

Sam looked at Jane and shook her head slowly, she seemed to know what she was going to say next .

“ He banged on the front door demanding that I open it . So I did. You could tell he was drunk.. Then he

pushed the door wide open and staggered in holding a bottle of Vodka that was only half full. His breath

stunk. He kept saying . . . Where’s my dinner you bitch . . . When I gave it him he swore at me and then

he threw it at me because he said it was ruined , he pressed his lighted cigarette against my shoulder and

said that that was for not doing it right.



Jane gently pulled back the neck of her jumper and there were several round scares of burn marks.

Sam looked at them. Jane also showed her the others on her arm and back

She could feel tears coming but tried to hold them back.

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“How could anybody do this.?“ Sam asked if he had done anything else to her?.

Jane hesitated.

She bowed her head down and started to rub her hands together, nervously . After a few seconds of

silence she told Sam how Adam had raped her several times and then locked her in the spare room with

no food or water until he was ready to let her out which could be a few hours or a few days. Sam held her

hand tightly.
“
Why did you put up with it ? Surly you could have called the police and they would have got you out .”

“No I couldn’t. We never had a home phone, he had a mobile and he never left out his sight, and he got

rid of mine. I stayed in the house 24x7. The doors and windows were always locked. ” She began to cry.

“So really all you were then was his slave! But surely after a while people would start wondering where

you were? Sam asked with a puzzled look on her face.

Jane nodded and said that Adam would make up a perfect excuse.


Sam asked her how she got away from him and managed to get this cottage?.

She told her that one night Adam told her he was going out and she was ordered to be in the bedroom

ready for him when he got back because if she didn’t she would get what was coming to her,… and off he

went slamming the door behind him and locking it, he went away sniggering to himself.



“ Then one night I couldn’t take it anymore. When he left to go out and get drunk again and locked the

door I ran upstairs and grabbed as many clothes as I could and put them into a suitcase I had found a few

days before, and hid it in the cupboard under the stairs, behind all the boxes in there. Then I waited for

him to come back.”



Sam could see Jane starting to get very annoyed. Her voice had changed from a sweet voice to a person

being wound up like a clock waiting for the alarm to go off.


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She got up from the settee and started to pace the floor up and down, like a soldier on duty.

“I heard him coming up the path and singing with a slurred voice. I knew I had to do it this time or I

probably wouldn’t have the nerve, or have the chance again, so I took the vase from the table near the

door and held it.”



Sam gripped her hand tightly, you could see the anger building up on her face.

“He tried to unlock the door and I could hear him shouting to me. He said that he hated me and wanted to

kill me and started laughing. It was a laugh I will never forget.


When he had eventually unlocked the door he staggered in, nearly falling over, and just kept saying

where are you , you bitch, so I slammed the door shut and before he turn around and could do anything I

kept hitting him with the vase. Jane seemed to be re-acting.

She continued. “He collapsed on the floor, there was blood all over him. Just before he passed out he said

he would find me and kill me. What happens if he does find me ? I’m scared Sam.”


Sam got up from her seat and went over to Jane, she put her arms around her to comfort her.

“Don’t worry, he wont find you, he cant, I’m with you”

Sam left the front room and wandered down the hall into the kitchen to make an other drink, telling Jane

to sit and try to calm down.

Jane sat but found it hard now to relax after re-living her past. You could hear Sam in the kitchen

rustling around. All of a sudden Jane ran into the kitchen and cowered by Sam.



Sam turned round quickly “ What’s up ?” She was puzzled.

“I heard him ” Jane was holding on to Sam’s arm.

“Who ?, I don’t know what you mean ”

Jane looked into her eyes and said she heard somebody upstairs.

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“It’s HIM, I know it is ”.

Sam tried to re-sure her that there was no way he could come back, and that she was most probably

hearing things now she had been talking about her ordeal.



By now the rain seemed to be stopping, only a few drops could be heard on the window sill, tapping

like Morse-code



After calming Jane down as much as she could Sam tried to change the subject.

“How old is this place , it’s beautiful ?”Her eye’s drifted around.

“ Um m It’s about three hundred years old” Replied Jane.

The oak beams in the hall seemed to sag a bit. A tall post stood proudly at the bottom

of the stairs. The steps were worn with age .

As they both made their way up stairs the steps creaked. Jane pointed to the old pictures hanging proudly

on the wall.

“Who are they” Sam asked. Jane looked at them.

“They were there when I moved in. I asked around and I was told that they were of a family that lived

here ages ago and all the people who have lived in this house since then have never moved them. I don’t

know why ?, so I have just left them.”

The pictures seemed to be yellowish with age.

One picture was the parents of the family who once lived here, sitting proudly dressed in their finest

clothes and the other further up the stairs was of their children, one boy and two girls all quite young.

“ This place is beautiful ”Sam remarked as they made their way up and reached the landing.

“ I’d love to live in a house like this , it’s like stepping backing time”.



Just as they got to the top of the stairs Jane stopped suddenly and gripped Sam’s arm, not allowing her

to go any further.

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“Shush,….. did you hear that noise ?” Sam listened hard.

“ I cant hear nothing. Its probably the house, after all you did say the house was old, and you were

talking about Adam , so with that on your mind it just made you think you heard a noise.”

“ It sounded like somebody walking about.”



After Sam reassured her that it would be impossible for someone to come into the house without

them knowing Jane felt a lot easier .

Sam gently nudged Jane onwards to see more.

On the landing the walls were white with oak beams running through them. One of the walls had bowed

with age .On it hung another old photograph, this time of a middle-aged woman sitting up-straight on a

wooden chair with her arms crossed in front of her. Her hair was tied back very neatly. She looked very

strict.

“ Who is that ?” Sam asked as she pointed to the picture.

“Well as far as I found out that is Victoria Barkley, she was the headmistress of the village school down

the road from here.

Sam looked at Jane with a smile on her face.

” She reminds me of that teacher we used to have for History at school.” Jane thought for a

moment .

“ Oh yes. Miss Smith. You couldn’t do nothing without her moaning at you could you?

Remember some of the boys used to follow her down the corridors walking like the German army.

Sometimes I used to feel sorry for her.”



Beside the picture was a small window which looked out into the back garden. On the window sill

was a vase of beautifully scented wild flowers.

Jane was standing by one of the oak doors which had old latches still left on them . She opened it gently

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and put the light on .

“ This is my bedroom Sam.”

Sam stood by the door smiling to herself, trying to take in the feeling of being taken back in time by the

things that were there. The wooden floor shone , the old fashioned dressing table stood at the bottom of

the bed against the wall. On it were some trinkets and a big mirror. Jane left Sam standing still looking


around the room and made her way across the landing to another room.

She opened the door.

“ This is your room , I hope it’s ok for you ?.”

Sam turned round and walked over to room Jane was standing by.



The room was as beautiful as Jane’s. It had a pink laced bedspread and flowered curtains to match

which looked lovely against the white walls that had the black beams running through it. In the corner of

the room stood a wicker chair and beside that a dressing table with a vase of flowers that scented the room

with a soft perfume.

The smell made it felt very relaxing.

Sam walked in carrying her bag with her clothes in and laid it on

the bed.


Time seemed to rush by and they decided to call it a day and catch up on some more things in the

morning.

“ Goodnight Sam, sleep well .” Jane said as she began to close the door and made her way to her room.

“ And thanks “

“ What for “ asked Sam.

“For listening to me “.

Looking at her with a loving smile on her face Sam said “ Well that’s what friends are for, and you know

you can always talk to me”
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Jane again said thanks and closed the door slowly.

It wasn’t long before Sam and Jane were asleep.



At two a.m Sam was woken by a noise that seemed to be coming from downstairs. It sounded like a

mans eerie voice calling Jane. She wondered if she had just had a dream. So she just lied there for a

minute listening.

She heard it again. She sat up quickly and listened hard. A few seconds passed . It came again …..

“J..A..N..E” Then silence.

All of a sudden Sam heard Jane scream with all her might. Sam got out of her bed and

went to Jane’s room as fast as she could. The landing was lit by the full moon that shone through the

landing window. As she approached her bedroom door she noticed it was ajar , but she heard her close it

when they went to bed, so why ?. Sam pushed the door open slowly, she saw Jane sitting up in bed with

her back against the headboard, her knees brought up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them,

rocking to and fro. She was shaking and mumbling to herself.

As soon as Sam like that as she entered her room she rushed to her bedside. Sam sat on the bed and

wrapped her arms around her trying to comfort

her.

“ It’s alright Jane, it’s over, it was just a bad dream that’s all. Come on lay down, don’t worry I’ll

stop with you, your alright.” she said as she gently stroked Jane’s forhead.

Sam seemed to calm down a bit and gently laid back down on her pillow.

“ Don’t go Sam please don’t go. Stay here with me please.”

“ Don’t worry I will , now just lie down and try to go back to sleep.”

Jane laid back down still holding on to Sam’s hand and gradually drifted back off to sleep.



Sam pulled the chair over to her bed and sat down. She leaned over on the bed and laid her head on her

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arms and fell asleep.



Sam only had a few hours sleep before she woke up again. It was only 5.20 a.m. Sam sat up in the

chair and rubbed her neck as it had gone stiff due to the way she was sleeping. Jane was still asleep, she

looked so peaceful.

The sun was beginning to rise and she could hear a few birds singing. It was going to be a lovely day

…….. Or so she thought.!



Sam quietly went back to her own room and put on her slippers and dresing gown as she was cold.

She held the back of her neck as it had gone stiff because of the way she was sleeping.

She eventually made her way quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen although still not fully

awake. Sam filled the kettle and switched it on, got a mug from the cupboard above and a tea bag from the

tea caddy. The kettle seemed to take ages. While waiting for it to boil Sam opened the kitchen curtains. It

was getting lighter now, Sam could see the flowers in the back garden dancing to the gentle rhythm of the

Breeze. A path leading to the bottom of the garden seemed to dissapear amongst the fruit

trees.


“ At last” Sam said to herself quietly as the kettle boiled, but before she could do anything a hand seemed

to come from nowhere and cover her mouth then another across her chest enabling her to move her arms.

She tried to scream but it only came out muffled. The more she tried to release herself or scream the

tighter the hands seemed to get. She could feel someone’s warm breath on her neck. She was shaking but

tried not to show she was frightened .Sam tried to turn so she could see the reflection of the person in the

window but the sun was beginning to shine on the window so it was impossible. The mans voice spoke

quietly but sternly in her ear

“ Where is she ?” He nudged her and asked again and again more demandingly each time.

He eased his hand from her mouth just enough to hear her speak.

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“ I don’t know who your talking about” Sam said .

She tried to say it calmly.

“You know who I mean ------ Sam”

Her eyes opened wider. He knew her name --- how ?. She thought for a moment.

“I don’t know what your talking about . I’m the only one who lives here”

Sam’s voice was beginning to change as she was becoming more frightened. She knew she had to do

something. ….But what?

Her eyes were wondering around the room trying to find something she could use.

He spoke again.

“I said I would find her and kill her ----and I will. I always keep my promise !

“ That bitch won’t get away from me THIS TIME.”

What he just said made her realise who it was. It was Adam.



Sam still tried to convince him that this was her house and that she had never heard of Jane

but it seemed it wasn’t working. She was trying to think of something else. Just then she saw a rolling pin

on the draining board and tried to reach it, but he was to strong and pulled her back.

“Now that was silly wasn’t it, or do you want me to kill you first---and just see the look on your beautiful

little face you suffer”

He gave her a sudden grip

Adam walked backwards to the drawers and was opening them one by one trying to find a knife, his other

hand was still over Sam’s mouth . He found the drawer with the cutlery in and quickly grabbed a knife, a

bread knife, and held it against Sam’s throat.

Sam was now crying with fear.

“SHUT UP WOMAN” Adam shouted as he gritted his teeth .

“Don’t hurt me” pleaded Sam. Tears were beginning to roll down her face.

“Well, tell me where she is then BITCH and I might think about letting you go”.
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“I don’t know who your talking about , I keep telling you that but you wont listen.”

By now Adam’s temper had overtaken him.

He swept his free arm across the worktop sending things falling things to the floor.



Upstairs Jane was woken by the sound of the things breaking. She could here Sam crying with fear.

Then she heard Adams voice. Jane began to shake with fear as she knew what he was like and she knew

what had come back for……HER…. But she knew she had to help Sam.



Jane got out of bed and walked slowly over to the dressing table and removed the dried flowers from

the vase and began to creep as quiet as she could out of the bedroom,across the landing and to the top of

the stairs hoping that the wooden floor wouldn’t creek. Her heart felt asthough it would explode out of her

body at any time, her hands were shaking. It was a mixture of being frightened because of the memories it

bought back of the times Adam hit her or locked her in the house like a prisoner, not knowing what will

happen next, and the temper she felt boiling up inside her.



Jane crept slowly over to the top of the stairs gripping the vase tighter and tighter. She got to the top

of the stairs and stopped. The noise in the kitchen was still continuing, plates smashed, Sam crying, then

all of a sudden thing went quiet. Jane was starting to come down the stairs slowly , taking a couple of

steps at a time. then stopping perfectly still.



The next step creeked loudly.

Jane stood motionless but still holding the vase tightly .

She closed her eyes and prayed he never heard her and that she could get downstairs. Then she

heard his voice.



“WHO‘S THAT” he shouted.

She heard Sam trying to convince him it was nothing, but Adam wouldn’t listen
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“It’s her isn’t it……, that bitch.”

“No, no, I told you there is only me here” Sam said trying to protect Jane.

“I’m the only one who lives here”

Adam was getting very impatient.

“You’re a liar…. She’s here… now get out of my way….I am going to get her and watch her die, very

slowly.” The look on his face was a very nasty one.

He pushed Sam out of the way.and she fell to the floor hiting her head on the edge of table. She laid

silently on the floor.



Adam, still with the knife in his hand made his way from the kitchen , kicking the mess on the floor

out of his way as he made his way to the stairs . Suddenly he stopped and looked up the stairs. Their eyes

met.



Jane froze on the spot.

Adam started to walk slowly up the stairs with a fierce look on his face, getting one step closer every time

and slowly swaying the knife from side to side.

“You wont bloody well get away from me this time. I am going to kill you. I promise. And I always get my

own way don’t I! He said.

Jane was ready for him, she was just waiting for the right time.She stayed still with her eyes fixed to his.

He took another step then another and another getting closer all the time still repeating that he was going

to kill her.

All of a sudden Jane knew it was the right time, she produced the vase from behind her. She raised it

above her head and before Adam could do anything Jane brought the vase down with anger on to Adam’s

head.

“I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU” she shouted at him with anger on her face.
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She hit him again ,this time his head bled.

Adam was starting to loose balance but gave her one last fierce look so Jane gave him one almighty push

and he fell backwards , the knife left his hand and bounced down the stairs. It all seemed as if it was in

slow motion.

Adam’s body went tumbling down the stairs and he landed on his back. He saw the knife falling towards

him and it stuck into his chest.

It all went silent.



Jane stood still on the stairs looking down at his body and saw the blood oozing from his body

and slowly creeping over the floor.

Still shaking and crying with relief she slowly made her way down the stairs, she had to see for herself

that he was dead and could never hurt her again.



She finally reached the step above him and slowly looked down at him, his eyes were open and he

seemed to be still breathing . Jane tried to step around him still watching nervously when his hand

grabbed her foot making her nearly fall, she screamed and quickly removed his hand and finally got down

the last step, she looked back at him, he gave her a last evil look before his body went limp and he took

his final breath and closed his eyes. Jane felt free at last, no more hiding away or being frightened in case

he saw her.


Jane looked towards the kitchen door which was open and saw some of the mess.She made her way towards the door and entered carefully,
“Sam…Sam are you alright?”. Her eyes scanned the room slowly seeing all the mess everywhere, then she saw her laying on her back on the floor in the corner of the room.
“Oh my God” Jane said putting her hand across her mouth. She made her way over to her kicking and 17
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moving things out of the way and knelt down beside Sam, pushing her hair off of her face. By gently nudging her Jane kept asking Sam to wake up while tears were rolling down Jane’s face.
“Come on, wake up. Don’t do this to me please!”.
She looked around and found a clean tea towel amongst the mess on floor and used it to try and wipe some of the blood off of Sam’s face and then gently layed her head on her lap and kept quietly asking her to wake up.

Just then Sam moved, her eyes began to open slowly and she turned to Jane and told her that her head was hurting and she couldn’t move her left leg.
“ Ok. Just lay still a minite while I go and call an ambulance.”
Jane placed the towel under her head and laid her on the floor and went in the front room to use the phone but when she lifted the reciever she noticed the wire had been cut.

Jane started to worry how she was going to get help then remembered she had her mobile phone upstairs in her bedroom in her handbag. Although she didn’t want to do it but she had to pass him again on the stairs but this time he couldn’t hurt her , so she went upstairs as fast as she could into her room and get her phone and made the call then went back down to Sam.
“Everything will be alright now, I’ve called the ambulance, they will be here in a minute.”
Sam had managed to sit herself up with her backup against the cupboard then rememberd
“Where is he ? Has he gone. I’m sorry, I tried to keep him away from you but he was to strong for me” Jane sat down beside her.
“Don’t worry he wont bother us anymore”
Sam turned to Jane “You mean he’s …….”
“Yes, he’s dead. It’s all over” Jane replied with the sound of relief in her voice.

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They both sat silent feeling so relieved. They knew they were safe now.

The ambulance and police car’s siren was heard coming towards the cottage. You could hear them hurrying towards the door and forced the door open .
“WE’ER IN HERE.” shouted Jane.
The ambulance men came into the kitchen with their medical bags and stretcher and asked if they are ok. Jane said she was and that Sam needed the help more than she did. They bound her head and put a splint on her leg then laid her on the stretcher. They had a look at Jane’s hands to see if there was any glass in her but there wasn’t, just cuts on one hand that were bleeding a bit, so a bandage was put on her hand. A blanket was wrapped around them both and they were taken to the ambulance.

As Jane and Sam were being taken out of the house they could hear the police making calls to the station and see several of them walking around the house.
When they passed the stairs they could see his covered body being put on to a stretcher and the pool of blood on the floor.
They both just looked at one another for a second and then just continued walking out of the house to the ambulance.

One of the policemen came up to them and said that when they had been to the hospital and got sorted out would they come down to the station to give a statement. They both said they would.
As they got to the ambulance they took one final look at the cottage and asked themselves …. Why!……..

Ten years on and the cottage remains empty . The windows are dirty and cobwebs hang like torn curtains. The front door still needs repairing.

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Weeds and long grass camouflage the once beautiful garden.
All that was left is was an eerie silence. Nobody has lived in that cottage since that stormy night and looks like no-one ever will.