(even if the light doesn't shine)

the squealing of the faucets
and rushing of the water awoke him
sitting up in bed
looking through blurry eyes
his wife was washing her hands
the cold water on her fingers
and soap suds in the sink
he now could hear the toilet
refilling with water

"what time is it?" he asks
"about 2:30." she answered
"why are you up?"
"i had to pee."
he lays back down
stuffing the pillow tight under his head
she says "i'm gonna go downstairs
and get a small snack."
he grunts an okay
she walks out of the room
he slowly
slowly fades
back into the realm of sleep

mintes later he hears a crash
a SCREAM
his heart jumps to his throat
his body jumps out of bed
"debra?!... debra?!? honey?"

silence...
silence...

his hearts pounds
his blood races
his hands and body shake
kneeling down he braces himself
with one hand against the bed
the other hand reaching underneath
"sweetie, is everything okay?!"
something shatters
as his hand grabs the gun
slowly creeping towards the door
he hears a commotion downstairs
another SCREAM

he swallows his heart
puts it back where it belongs
and rushes down the stairs
he gets to the kitchen
flips on the light
to see...

debra is lying on the floor
chocolate ice cream and an empty bowl laying next to her
blood oozing from her throat
she doesn't move
he stands there looking down at her
he's almost convulsing


suddenly a hand grabs him from behind
he is stabbed in the side
he throws his weight back
and flings the attacker aside
and turns around and fire two shots
both hit the attacker
in the chest

he stands there
looking down at this man
trying to breathe
then looks at his wife
who can no longer breathe
his eyes are still blurry
"is this a dream...? a nightmare?"
he steps forward
and fires one last round into the attacker's face

he drops the gun to the floor
and walks in a daze
back upstairs
clutching his bleeding side
back to his bedroom
over to the sink
he looks down to see
the soap suds still there