A prick of fear paralyzed Abby. She stood in silence as the rain continued to beat on the cabin from outside.

Am I imagining things?

Three loud bangs against the door told Abby she wasn't.

Her voice seemed to be hiding as she tried to ask who was outside. If someone had heard her over the rain, they weren't answering.

There was no peephole on the door. Why was there no peephole?

Abby grabbed the fire poker from the fireplace and inched her way closer to the door. Her free hand wrapped itself around her bracelet.

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

The knob to the door opened with a squeak and Abby screeched, lifting up the poker.

A shrill scream drowned her out as the man at the door raised his arms over his head, his yellow slicker and hat wet from the rain.

"Don't kill me!" the man shouted.

Abby's arm froze in the air. "Wally?"

"Please don't hit me, Abby. Zachary sent me out here," Wally explained. "I tried knocking but you didn't answer and the door was unlocked."

"You scared the heck out of me." Abby tossed the poker near the fireplace and groaned. "I thought you were some kind of killer."

"Me?" Wally stomped his feet on the thick doormat outside, trying to shake the rainwater away. "I only came to bring you a generator in case the electricity goes out. Zachary insisted."

Still taken aback, Abby nodded. "I'm sorry for almost bludgeoning you with a fire poker. Thank you for bringing it out here. That's really nice of you...and him for suggesting it."

"Not really, he charged it to Mr. Carter's account. He wanted to add on a ton of other things but I told him I had to leave before the storm got worse."

"Well, it was still thoughtful of him." Abby stepped aside as Wally made his way inside, droplets of water marking his path.

"I can show you how to use it," Wally offered.

Twenty minutes and a cup of hot tea later, Abby felt a bit more relaxed.

"You're a brave woman to be out here by yourself," Wally said between sips of his tea.

"Brave? How so?"

"Not many people would want to spend the night here after what--" His eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "I should get going before this storm gets worse."

"What were you going to say, Wally? Not after what?" Abby's inquisitive gaze bore into him.

He played with the collar of his plaid shirt. "Nothing really. Just an old wive's tale about the cabin being spooky is all."

He was lying.

"Now that you mention it." Abby crossed her arms as a chill ran through her. "I could've sworn I heard someone laughing earlier."

"Laughing?"

Abby watched his Adam's apple bob up and down in fear.

"Yeah....like a little girl's laughter. I thought kids were hiding out here or something."

She watched Wally puff up his chest. "If you like, I can take a look around."

Abby doubted anyone would be intimidated by the Jack Skellington-like figure of Wally but she nodded. "I would appreciate it."

He pushed his shoulders back as he reached the staircase. "Don't worry. I'll be right back."

A crack of thunder caused him to jump and Abby stifled a laugh. He rolled his shoulders back once more. "I'll be right back, Abby."

She watched him head up the stairs and when he was out of sight, she pulled out her cellphone. She had a missed text message. It was from Felicia, Alex Carter's secretary.

Mr. Carter will be arriving in two days.

"Two days? That's not enough time!" Abby sighed, imagining herself staying up all night cleaning.

"No one else is up here, Abby. I checked every nook and cranny. Is everything okay?" Wally asked.

"Yeah and thank you, Wally. My boss will be here in two days so I have to work like Speedy Gonzalez to get things done around here."

"If you need any help, let me know. Also, if the roads don't get flooded, Chuck should be back in town to install your landline."

"To install the landline?" Abby didn't understand. "I think he already did. The phone was ringing earlier."

Wally's brows furled in confusion. "Are you sure? He's the only one who does the installations in Bayless and he's been out of town for over a week."

"Someone called me three times tonight," Abby confirmed.

Wally peered over at the phone and back at Abby. "Are you sure it wasn't your cellphone you heard?"

"I'm pretty sure. It was some creep who wanted to let me hear his heavy breathing." Abby made her way to the phone and lifted the receiver. There was no dial tone. "This is impossible. It rang. I swear it really did."

She resented the sympathetic look Wally gave her. He patted her shoulder. "It's probably stressful for you being out here alone. Sometimes we hear things that aren't there or we get confused. It happens to me quite a bit."

Abby could feel a tightness in her chest.

"You're probably right," Abby whispered. The words felt wrong but she didn't want to seem like a crazy person. Not again. "Anyway, thanks for looking around. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem. Goodnight, Abby," Wally said as he slipped his rain gear back on. She watched him vanish into the darkness, the disappearing headlights of his car the only sign he was truly gone.

Abby closed the front door and rubbed her hands together. If Alex Carter, egotist debonair, was coming in two days, she wanted to be ready. She grabbed a bag of cleaning supplies and made her way to the master bedroom.

"At least you have a job," she reminded herself. She was about to pull out some Lysol wipes when she heard a tinkling of laughter again. She stood up, afraid to look around.

Dang Wally. He must not have looked around properly.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Abby called out. It sounded like a small child's laughter so surely she shouldn't be afraid, right?

The laughter became louder. She listened intently to hear where it was coming from.

"I can hear you laughing. Do your parents know you're here? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to hang out in property that isn't yours."

Oh Lord, I hope her parents aren't hiding here too.

"Come out so I can see you," Abby said loudly following the laughter and finding herself in the pink room. It was dark. She switched on a small lamp. Its soft light caused her shadow to grow tall against the wall to her right.

The continuous laughter sounded like it was coming from the closet. There was no way she was imagining things. Abby licked her lips. "Come out now and you won't be in trouble."

It was silent except for the steady splattering of rain from outside.

"It's not funny anymore, is it? Not when you've been caught?"

Abby looked to her right and froze. She could see her shadow stretched out against the wall. Behind her was a second shadow. She couldn't be certain but it looked like the outline of a man and his hand was reaching towards her.