"I said shut up."

The intruder meant business. He made another small cut in Susan's arm. She whimpered in pain.

"Please stop. Please stop. What do you want?"

"I told you. I'm just here to get a good night's sleep like a husband and wife do together. Then I'll go. Your husband is tied up downstairs, and if you don't behave, I'll kill him. And then I'll come back for you."

She nodded meekly in agreement. She didn't know what to do or how this had happened. Everything was normal fifteen minutes ago. She was asleep, her husband was asleep, the house was locked, everything was fine. But then she was woken up by this intruder in her bed, her husband was gone, and he was demanding that they go back to sleep or he'd kill them. She had no clue what to do or how to react. Her first response was to scream and try to fight back, but he quickly overpowered her and cut her arm.

After that, she cooperated. She knew that there was nothing to be done at the moment. He was much stronger and armed. And her husband was in danger. She just had to go along with it and hope they could get out of it in one piece.

True to his word, the intruder curled up next to her with the knife held against her throat. She soon heard him snoring as he fell asleep, but she sat wide awake for the whole night. If she moved too much or tried to push his arm away, he quickly tensed back up and pressed it harder against her throat.

Three hours later, he finally awoke and got up. The experience was quite traumatic for Susan, but other than the several small cuts he had given her, she was physically fine. He pointed the knife at her as he stood at the foot of the bed.

"I'm leaving now. Don't call the cops or you'll be sorry." And he turned and ran out of the room.

Susan shut her eyes and wept. She strained to hear what he was doing now. He ran down the stairs, threw open the front door, and the screen door banged as he vanished into the night.

She jumped up and grabbed the phone on her nightstand, immediately dialing 911. Her breathe came in gasps as she waited for the answer. "Please, please, answer," she mumbled to herself.

But the voice that came wasn't the police.

"I told you not the call the cops." Susan's eyes rolled shut when she heard him again. "I kept your cordless phone with me to make sure you behaved. But you didn't. Now I'll have to come back and kill your husband.

"Or rather, I would have to, if he weren't already long dead. Good night."