December Frost (A Southern Romance Monthly) by CJ Hockenberry Page B

 
    "That's not surprising, given that most of the state is out of power…but you don't think that's it, do you?"
    "No."  
    "I'm calling the local police, Cece…but I don't know if they can get there."  
    That's when she heard the generator turn on outside and the lights came back on.  
    "Bro…we're not alone—" A noise brought her attention behind her and she ducked from instinct. Something clipped the side of her head with enough force to knock her off balance. Cecelia pitched forward over the coffee table and rolled to the floor beside the fireplace.  
    Her head hurt but she didn't have time to see how bad she'd been struck. She saw a shadow moving above her in the light of the fire and rolled into the coffee table, under the edge.  
    Something struck the wood floor just past her shoulder. She had enough time to see it was the blade of an axe. The attacker made a small grunt noise as they tried to yank the axe out of the floor. That gave Cecelia enough time to put both of her hands under the edge of the coffee table and shove it up. The edge caught the attacker in the head and knocked them back.
    Cecelia put the pain aside and scrambled away, using the edge of the sofa and what little light came from the fire as her guide to the hallway. She needed to get to Thomas and protect him because she knew if this crazy asshole was able to get past her, then Thomas was next.  
    He was the main target.  
    But before she could round the corner something grabbed her hair and yanked her backwards. She yelled out, spun to her left and bent her body down at her torso coming under the attacker's arm, rammed her fist into the soft area of their stomach.  
    They let go of her hair. Cecelia dropped further down to stay out of striking range and braced herself on her hands. She swept her legs out and knocked the intruder on their ass.  
    Once they were down she launched on top of them and started hitting. But the attacker wasn't going to give up. They brought their knee up and got a hard knock in to the back of Cecelia's back. The strike was enough to cause her to hesitate and the intruder took the advantage.  
    She reached between Cecelia's arms and grabbed her neck. Cecelia grabbed their wrists and squeezed. The attacker tried to rock her off so she could flip their positions, but Cecelia knew she couldn't let that happen. If the attacker got the advantage, it lowered her own chances of surviving.  
    The intruder started kicking her in the back by raising a leg and knocking her in the back of head. One of the hits struck the wound and she faltered. The attacker intensified the hold on her neck and Cecelia saw stars. She lost her edge and fell over.  
    The attacker rolled with her and squeezed harder. Cecelia felt panic set in as she kicked and struggled to get this person off of her. But her vision had blurred and the edges were darkening. She struck at where she believed their face was and kicked, but the combination of losing oxygen and her wound was taking its toll.  
    She struck out one last time before those darkening edges swallowed everything.  

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

    Thomas felt himself jerk awake. He lay still in the dark, listening for sounds in the other room. After a few minutes he didn't hear anything. A minute more and he realized none of the lights were on.  
    Not even the light from the porch that'd been filtering through the window while he and Cecelia had…
    The memory made him smile like a love-struck school boy. He quickly pushed the warm glowy feeling aside and took stock of himself.  
    Shit. I feel like shit.  
    He thought he heard something fall in the other room, followed by more knocks and bangs. Thomas groggily pushed himself up into a sitting position and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He reached over out of habit to turn the lamp on—but nothing happened.  
    Right…power. He shut it off.  
    He rubbed his eyes and listened. The noises stopped. He thought he heard footsteps move