A crack of lightning followed by the rumble of thunder sent a shiver down Ed's spine. The storm had been raging for the past 4 hours and the UPS had run out as well. Ed could not find his way into his own house despite having stayed there for the past 12 years. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, a gust of wind blew out the matchstick, and Ed began searching for another one to light up. He reached into his pockets, only to find an empty matchbox.
As he felt his way through the hall, another crack of lightning gave Ed enough time to find his way to the kitchen. Rummaging through all the drawers, he found a matchbox. Carefully removing one matchstick, Ed struck it against the side of the matchbox, but to no avail. Visibly frustrated, he continued striking the matchstick repeatedly, his patience waning slowly. A knock on the main door had Ed distracted. Ignoring the fading sound, Ed pulled another matchstick to light the candle. The third crack of lightning led to an increase in the intensity of the knocking. Ed's knees began to shiver.
Mustering his courage, Ed walked up carefully to the door as the sound of the repeated knocking resonated through the hall. He felt the door and finally managed to open the door. A fresh blast of wind blew into Ed's face, followed by heavy rain slashing into his house. Completely drenched, Ed looked up to see who had knocked, and to his surprise, a girl stood at the door.
Ed asked the girl who she was, but she just pushed Ed to the side and walked into the warmth of the indoors, mumbling something to herself. Visibly confounded, Ed pressed the girl to reveal her identity, but she continued mumbling and ransacking the living room. Heaving for breath, she muttered, "I need some water". Ed stood mum, staring unabashedly at the visitor's silhouette, mesmerized by her hourglass figure.
The visitor made her way to the kitchen, groping around for support. The ear-splitting sound of the utensils falling down pulled Ed out of his trance. As he made his way to the kitchen, he noticed a faint light coming from the kitchen. There she stood, with a candle in her hand. Ed moved closer to catch a glimpse of her face. He reached out to grasp her shoulder, and everything that followed was a blur. The candle slipped out of the woman's grasp, and Ed instinctively bent down to catch the candle. Ed was yanked to the side and held at gunpoint by the lady, his now aching back flat on the wall. He had heard of the news circulating of a dreaded gang barging into random houses and looting them, but never had he dreamt that he would be a victim. Beads of sweat rolled down his temple. The lady whistled softly, and four hooded figures appeared out of thin air, seemingly waiting for orders. With a snap of her fingers, the hooded figures began looting the apartment. Ed looked on helplessly, unable to process the events that had unfolded right in front of him. His mind was racing, hard at work trying to formulate an escape. Ed pushed back hard, freeing himself from the lady's grip. He tried to yank the gun from her hands but to no avail. Roaring menacingly, Ed pointed the gun away from him.
Bang.
The sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the street.
Ed opened his eyes and heard the creaking of the fan and the rain pattering on the window. He frantically ran to the living room, realizing he must have dozed off. He heaved a sigh of relief and started to walk up the stairs. As his hand rested on the knob of his room, a loud knock resonated through the house.