"House of Glass" by Bridget Saw~ Prologue

She creeps through the woods, silently, like a ninja. The black ski mask covers most of her face, revealing only her icy blue eyes. She grins underneath the mask as she spots her target house. The glass house. It’s beautiful; the whole house is made of glass, gleaming in the moonlight. Inside shows an expensive looking living room and a first class kitchen. She can’t see much more, but she assures herself that the rest of the house is just as amazing as what she can see. She creeps closer, her steps soundless on the dirt path. She’s careful to avoid piles of dead leaves. She knows they make a loud crunching sound. She’s proud of her experience. She’s proud of her bravery. No other robber has dared to even go into perimeter of the glass house. The house was close enough to touch. She sneaks in around the side and snatches the key from under the mat; just as she’s seen the owners do a million times. She checks her cell phone for any new texts from the others. Nothing. Silently scowling, she carefully opens the door and slips in. It’s dark and a repulsing smell meets her unsuspecting nose. She tries not to let it affect her and holds her breath. “Maybe Taylor and Ricky already got to them.” she thinks, smirking. Taylor and Ricky were good partners in crime. They would chew the fingers and toes off their victims and watch with amusement as they tried to crawl away. Then they bled them, slowly, painfully. It was the best part of their jobs. She stalks around the living room, proud of how well she knows her way around, especially since this was her first time in the house. Suddenly, her foot thumps into something, something hard, something large. “What?” she thinks; her head spinning. “That wasn’t there before.” She ignores the horrible feeling creeping into her gut and continues to tiptoe, making her way stealthily to the stairs. She climbs them, hopping two at a time. Yet she never makes a sound. She finds her way to the master bedroom. Her hand wraps around the doorknob and she’s about to turn when a message goes to her brain. “Don’t open it.” it says. She shakes the feeling of fear off and twists the knob, slowly. The minute she enters, the same repulsing smell she smelled from downstairs is back at her nose, only this time it’s stronger. She feels like vomiting, but holds it back. “The mission. The mission is important.” she reminds herself. She starts to go across the room, to the bed, when suddenly she thumps into another large, hard thing. This time, she bends over and feels the unknown object, trying to figure out what it is. It feels sticky, wet, and the vomiting feeling is back. “Blood.” she realizes. She knows from past experiences. She grabs the mini flashlight from her pocket and shines the light on the object. It’s a body. She shines the light to the face, trying to figure out who it is. She can’t. It’s badly mutilated, the eyeballs gouged out and the nose and mouth twisted and ripped open. She’s about to leave the body when reality dawns on her. “Taylor.” She thinks, her heartbeat picking up. “It’s Taylor. Taylor’s at my feet, dead.” Suddenly, she feels hot breath, going down her neck. The breathing gets heavier, as if the person is having a hard time getting oxygen in and out of their lungs. She pauses for a moment and then bolts. She flies down the stairs and darts across the living room. Her only mission now is to get out alive. She’s halfway to the door, her flashlight shining the way to her escape. Then she trips, landing face first onto the mahogany floor. She shines her flashlight back, trying to see what she tripped over. The light shines into another mutilated face, this time, the ears and eyes are completely ripped from their place and stuffed in the victim’s mouth. She’s about to call for Ricky when she realizes who’s lying before her. “Oh my god.” she breaths, barely managing to find her voice. She stumbles up, dropping the flashlight. She runs to the door, she’s almost there, her fingers brush the doorknob. Then a hand grabs her ankle and she’s back on the floor. She’s breathing hard, can barely make out a face. His hands go around her neck and her vision turns red. She tries to call for help, but it comes out as a gurgle. She tries again, but before she can scream, everything goes black.