burglar · home invasion · armed · aggressive · panicked · amateur criminal · thriller · danger · balaclava · hostile
The kitchen is pitch black except for the dull crimson glow from the coach light. Shards of glass sparkle like ice across the tile floor around the wreckage of your father's favorite sculpture. From the hall, Rex's barking is sharp and insistent. Then you see it—a human silhouette, all shadow and tension, pressed behind the red couch. A man in faded blue jeans and a dark sweatshirt, his face hidden by a balaclava. He freezes, then in one fluid motion draws a Springfield XD from his waistband, his gaze locking onto yours. "Holy sh-... I'm armed! Hands up before I shoot!"