Bar the door. Her hands pressed against the old hardwood floor. Her nails scraped for purchase. Bar the door. Eyes closed, breath held she shrunk farther into the corner. Bar it! Now! Brown eyes flashed open and she shoved herself off of the floor. She ran, small feet and strong legs whipping her through the hallway to the front entrance. Fear still hung in her mind, but she grabbed the wood and metal beam and locked it in place behind the front door. With so many windows around her, she couldn’t be sure of her safety after anymore than before. Hall closet. Bronze lever.
“What?”
Safety. For now.
Erin opened the door to the closet and searched through the collection of jackets. Her fingers brushed metal and she pushed the jackets apart to reveal a panel of numbered buttons and a bronze lever.
5-7-2-3-9.
“Five, three, two-“
5-7-2-3-9.
“Five. Seven.” She named each button as she pressed them, and finished quickly. Lever. Erin reached up and pulled the lever down, it stuck near the bottom and she closed both of her hands around it and pulled. The lever moved into place and metal shutters closed across the windows in the front room. The few lights she had on in the house barely lit the hall. Erin shivered, she could still hear the other windows being protected. She took a deep breath and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. Don’t go relaxing. You aren’t safe yet.
