April Thompson sat in her dark living room watching TV. Her parents had left her alone to go on and overnight trip a few cities over. They thought a fifteen year old could be trusted to stay home alone with no supervision. April had begged for them not to leave without her, she didn't want to be alone, she was scared and would much preferred to have stayed with her grandmother if her parents didn't want to take her with them. She didn't trust the neighbourhood, the crime rate was far too high and she didn't trust anyone on that block.

She was deep in thought staring at the TV not taking in anything she was looking at. She would snap back and notice a commercial was playing for some toothpaste or a new toy that was coming out soon but, she didn't take in the information. Then a shattering noise coming from the basement snapped her back to her senses. She sat still listening for more, footsteps or voices from people talking. At first she didn't hear anything else and she began to calm down until she heard to deep male voiced close by.

Her heart started to race as she started to panic. She wasn't sure what to do, she was never told what to do in a situation like this. She wanted to race out the front door but, she thought the locks would make too much noise and running anywhere would make the floor creak, abling the trespassers to hear her. She stood up and started to walk on her tip toes to the stair case. She then took the lightest and slowest steps she could get while she made it to upstairs. She then quietly walked into her parents bedroom. She hid in her grandmother's old wardrobe her parents used. She moved the clothes over and climbed in sitting on the bottom, curled up into a ball.

She sat in her ball and listened to her increasing heartbeat as she heard the two men walk around her house. She also wished this wardrobe was magic and took her to another place, like in Narnia. Now she really wished this wardrobe could bring her somewhere safe, somewhere she knew she wouldn't be afraid to be. She could here the two men talking but, not the words they were saying, they were too far away for that. She could hear them move things around and taking items. She started to worry that they would come for her mother's good jewelry and some how discover she was hiding in the wardrobe. She thought that they would lock the door to the wardrobe knowing she was inside and light it on fire!

She heard laughter coming from downstairs as the men moved from room to room. Luckily they hadn't moved to the third floor where she was hiding. She heard some crashes and somethings breaking, like plates and cups. She curled up tighter into her ball, praying that she's get out of this alive. That everything would be okay. She also cursed her parents for leaving her alone in this dreaded house. With no one to keep her company, safe, no one but her. She was angry with them and hated them at that moment. She could die or be raped by these men and it was their fault for leaving her all by her lonesome!

She finally heard what she had been dreading the whole time, footsteps leading up stairs. Her heart stopped in her chest as her parents bedroom door opened and the lights were turned on. She held her breath as she heard the men walk around.

“Stupid rich people. Leaving for the night, leaving the TV on and hoping we'd think someone's home! HA! They make me laugh, these people!” said one of the men with a raspy voice.

“Hey Jo, there's some nice stuff in here! We might have just hit the jackpot tonight!” said the second man with a higher voice than the first one.

April knew they had found her mother's good jewelry, real gold and encrusted with jewels, but she didn't care at this point. She was mad at her mother and was glad these men were taking something so precious to her mother away from her, she deserved it for getting April into this mess. She wished they'd take something valuable and precious away from her father also, but they couldn't since they had taken the car on their trip also.

“You think this is all the good stuff they have?” asked the second higher voiced man.

“Not sure, there's still some rooms left, we'll check there and then leave these people to a surprise when they get back.” said Jo.

They walked out of the room and went into the bathroom and took more of her mother's jewelry. After that she heard them go into her own room, she hated these men for making her hide in fear in her own home and then go and take her things from her. She didn't have anything of much value in her room, some jewelry, nothing as nice as her mother, a TV, radio, laptop and her phone. They could have that all if they would just leave, she was tired of being home alone with strangers, she just wanted to run to her grandmother's.

She heard the men walk back down the stairs and back towards the basement to the window they broke to get in. She waited in the wardrobe for ten minutes until she thought it was safe to come out. As soon as she opened the wardrobe door, she wished she hadn't. There was smoke all around her, it was dark and thick, making it hard to breath. She realized the surprise they had been talking about was setting the house on fire! She started to really panic now, she had to call 9-1-1 but, her parents didn't have phone in their room. She ran to the window and tried to open it but, it was stuck. She started to cry and bang on the window, she was getting lightheaded and was starting to choke on the smoke. She ran back into the wardrobe and rolled up into a ball once more while she cursed her parents and the men who were just there. She hated them all, she wished they were in this situation instead of her since they all caused this. She rocked herself back and forth while she cried, wishing she could just pass out before the fire came to burn her alive.

As she was curled up in her ball of fear all alone she heard footsteps running up the stairs. She thought the men were back to get her, to rape her and then throw back into the burning house. She heard noises and someone came into the room and her heart shot out of her chest. The wardrobe door swung opened and she came out of her ball and thrashed about. She was surprised when the person didn't hurt her to stop or threaten her to stop either.

“It's alright, it's okay. You're going to be alright, you're going to be safe. Alright, sweetie? I'm here to rescue you. Please stop and come with me.” said a man with a calm old voice.

April stopped thrashing and looked up and saw a man dressed in red and yellow wearing a helmet staring at her through the dark smoke. She smiled at the man and then started to have a coughing fit from the smoke. The man lifted her up and brought her out of the house where she was put into the back of an ambulance; to be checked for smoke inhalation. She was taken care of for the rest of the night and she wasn't alone in that home and she was happy. She was happy to be with people and not alone.

She had to explain to the police what happened, about her parents leaving her alone, the men breaking in, setting the house on fire. She was actually happy to tell her story, she hoped those two people who left her all alone in the house would get what they deserved and the two people who almost killed her what also get what they deserved. She was grateful to the people she could trust not to leave her in the house all alone and would never to that to her.