The figure in the bed stirred when a light clicked on downstairs. She grunted, and thought it was something in her sleep, turning over again. She awoke only a few minutes later, this time at a loud crash from directly below her bedroom.

The girl stood up, glancing around her room wearily. She would have been quite a lovely sight, had it not been these particular circumstances that she was out of bed. Blonde hair fell over her shoulders, and her blue eyes were wide with fear. She clutched at her chest in fear; her arms wrapped around the elephant pyjamas that she wore.

Everything still appeared to be around her as it should; her Mickey Mouse alarm clock, a Minnie Mouse lamp, her wardrobe, chest of drawers, bed, various photographs. All of them were still there. The girl stared at one photograph, her name imprinted on the bottom of it. Jessica.

She slipped on a pair of slippers from under her bed, and proceeded to walk towards her bedroom door. She turned the handle as quietly as she could, stepped out, and slipped the door shut as quietly as she could behind her. Jessica stopped and waited for another sound, but there was none. She silently prayed that she had imagined the sounds from below her, but she couldn't rest assured until she knew who - or what - it was, if anyone.

There appeared to be no more sounds, and Jessica felt half inclined to turn back into her room. She could have imagined it, and she could have dreamed it. but it could be real. What if someone was downstairs? It could only be her parents, she knew, but she thought it better to check anyway. It might make her parents proud of her, for once.

All of a sudden, a sound rose up again. A crash. Hushed voices. The girl was determined that neither her nor her parents knew the voices, so she jumped to the conclusion that it was burglars. She knew she could be wrong, as she didn't know all of her parents friends and they rarely whispered anyway, but she thought she knew best. She was terrified of the thought of burglars and her heart skipped a beat.

The girl wandered downstairs, clutching carefully at the banister. She climbed down in almost perfect silence - that is, until she got to the second to last step. In her hurry, she forgot that the step usually creaked, and trod down on it heavily. As usual, it creaked. She froze.

The voices stopped abruptly, apart from one sudden voice saying something that sounded like 'What the?!' She bit down on her lip, as she heard the gentle sound of the doorknob being opened in such a way as to not be heard, just like she had done herself only a few moments before. She glanced around, and ran through the open door into the dining room, and as quickly and quietly as possible she dived under the massive table, and let the massive cloth fall down to hide her from view, but her heart was beating so loudly she was sure that all the world could hear it.