Prompt: A 12 year old boy, home alone, who heard a voice from the other room
Oliver’s head snapped around in the direction of the kitchen. He was sure he’d just heard a voice, but he knew no one was home with him. Mom and Dad were at the Johnsons, Jenny was with friends. He was supposed to be alone.

Heart thumping in his chest, the options raced through his mind. He could run upstairs and hide. But then, he could be followed. He could run out the door to the neighbors, but it was dark outside. 12-year-old logic kicked in: the best way forward was attack. Keeping his eyes trained on the swinging kitchen door, he threw his arms behind him to grab the table lamp. The dark, cool metal felt like the perfect weapon. Bonus: the top was pointy and sharp.
He shimmied along the wall like a mouse, careful not to make a noise, when he heard the voice again, sort of crackly and from a distance. “There’s no one here, let’s go.” Ollie felt something warm trickle down his leg, but swallowed his fear.
He snuck along the wall until he was next to the kitchen door. Pausing, he listened. He couldn’t hear anything, but he swore there was a voice. He knew heard it. And he was going to scare it away.
Raising the lamp stick over his head, Ollie pushed open the kitchen door and ran into the kitchen screaming to find a walkie talkie in the middle of the empty counter. (242 words)