"But there's no one at the door,” Sam said crossly.
     The knocking continued.
     "Check the door again!" Annie shouted. The knocking grew louder and louder, and the door creaked open. Sam carefully popped his head out from behind the wall of white paint chipped with age. No one was there. Sam ran out to close the door, leaving Annie behind. It slammed shut, and Sam's shriek pierced the silence that followed.
     "Sam!" Annie cried. There was no answer. "Sam! Sam! Where are you? Come back!" she pleaded desperately, her fragile voice breaking as she spoke. She burst into tears. Her brother Sam would always come back for her, no matter what. He loved her too much to do anything else. Annie called again, yet received silence in return.
     Her face still wet with tears, Annie carefully looked out. She saw nothing different: the old wooden floor of their living room, the ripped sofa that Sam slept on, and the scratch on the door from the dog that once came in. But the door was closed, so Annie knew she was safe. The knocking had stopped, so she stepped out in search of her brother.
The door flew open again. Terrified, Annie dashed behind the sofa. She sat there, hugging her knees, sweating profusely and mumbling that she would be okay. Annie assured herself that Sam would come back. He was always there for her. When she threw his phone into the pond he told her it was okay and never left her side. He always protected her from the mean kids from school and everyone else. She tried to believe that she would be fine and her life would be unchanged, but hopeless thoughts barged in place of her optimistic ones. She would never be okay. Her brother was gone, she was alone in a tenebrous room, and there was probably some maniac at the door. Annie heard footsteps. She shivered. She rocked back and forth, but the creaking of the floorboards made her stop at once. Annie’s teeth chattered. Her green eyes grew twice as wide. Annie saw a figure in front of her. A tall, ominous figure. Her eyes focused on the person in front of her. Broad shoulders, mahogany hair, and strong, defined facial features.
     "Sam!" Annie exclaimed. "Oh, you're back! I knew you would come! Sam!" Sam reached out to hug her, and she gladly accepted. Sam's cold hands wrapped around Annie's skinny shoulders. He squeezed her tightly. Despite his oddly cool hands Annie felt warm and safe inside.
     "Ow!" Annie screamed. Annie felt a pang of pain in her back that made her feel limp all over her body. She yelped helplessly, the center of her back throbbing, surpassing her pain threshold. Annie inhaled sharply but was too much in shock to express any other physical evidence of agony.  She felt blood begin to trickle down her spine. The room around her started spinning in circles. Sam's brown eyes turned red and hot like fire. What happened to him? Why would Sam do this? Annie tried to rationalize his actions but all her thoughts were swept away once Sam took out the knife. It only took one punch after that to knock her out.
     Sam looked at his sister, pale and stiff on the floor with her eyes closed and her body relaxed. He motioned for a tall boy with a dark complexion and brown eyes to enter. He walked through the door holding a black bag large enough to fit Annie inside.
     “Good job scaring her with the door,” Sam whispered to the boy, snickering.
     “Good job? It was all you, man, with the stabbing. She deserved it. She threw your phone into the pond and burned all your clothes. That’s basically your life, and if she took that away from you, she outta deserve to die herself.”
     The boys picked up a lifeless Annie and stuffed her into the body bag.