Back Into Darkness

Simone raised her head at the sound of shattering glass. She had fallen asleep at the keyboard again whilst painstakingly typing away at arguments she had started on the internet. Her state of mind sluggishly drifted to conscience, even as her eyes begged her not to see. She had knocked her mouse with a jerk and her monitors had begun to glare at her with what seemed to be a trillion tiny suns. Reflexively she quickly hit each of their power buttons, rubbing at her eyes.
She glanced as briefly as she could at the old digital alarm clock on her nightstand, it read 3:59 for an instant before flicking to t:00 (which would be 4 o'clock but one of the LEDs had burnt out, or something). She heard a fainter sound of a door being unlocked, and then a sound like somebody trying to soften glass scraping along the ground. All at once her senses seemed to flare up, a surge of adrenaline came upon her. Fear. The sounds were of somebody (or something) breaking into her house. She grabbed her phone, fumbled with the buttons momentarily, and swiped across the screen. Light flooded the room once more, but this time she was ready. Squinting, she managed to find the phone app, but... nothing. The room went black again. Dead. How had she not remembered. The cord was sitting within 10" of where her phone had lain. She fumbled to find it, knocking it off into the vast darkness.
There were noises coming from outside her door, where the hallway lead to her 'living room,' though it was more of a home-theatre than anything. The noises stopped moving, reaching an intersection in the hall. Simone held her breath.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
The noises moved away, and she dared exhale the slightest to refresh herself. Groping in the darkness she found... not the charger, too thick. Another, too much tension. She heard a muffled gasp come from outside her door, where apparently the thief had found her belongings quite to taste. She wondered, what if she were to scream and shout for help? Surely the neighbours on either side would hear, or the other tenants of her split-level abode. She dared not risk it. This thief could be armed or worse. The glass breaking had been noise enough to wake her, any more would only alert the thief to her presence. She touched the end of the charger briefly, knocking it aside again. She swore silently. She needed light. She needed a monitor.
Reaching ever so gingerly toward her bank of screens so as not to bump one against the wall, she felt the cool touch of the plastic shell. Tracing it to the button she had so eagerly snapped to earlier, she gingerly pressured it, hoping to dull even that barely-audible click. Success! Light flooded her again, as the last page she was working on her browser came up to meet her. Facebook.
The idea was as ridiculous as it was dangerous. Her eyes darted to the top of the page.
"What's on your mind?"
She ignored it. Instead, glancing around for the charger she so desperately needed. Finding it with a foot, she brought it toward her. The phone beeped. The noises had stopped. When had they? She hadn't noticed. Adrenaline rushed through her once more. She pleaded with the phone.
Please, faster. silently, in only thoughts. The phone was unmoved. She remembered, when it boots up there's a musical tone played. She shoved it in her armpit to muffle the noise. Too late. A single tone escaped. The clock read 4:00 AM. The real time. The time she lived her life to, and all that mattered. The doorknob turned. The clock read 4:00 AM. She raised her phone to her head. Even if she hadn't used it, it might be enough to fool the robber. Except... the door opened. Behind it stood in silhouette, a faceless figure. She reached for... whatever she could. Anything. Her hand found the glass of scotch she had nursed to empty that night. It was heavy, it would do.
Halfway through the thought of throwing the glass she froze. The silhouetted figure... disintegrated. "Shit." she said aloud. A moment later the shadow that wasn't flowed across the hall, over the glass, and out the door. She knew whoever it was, no police would help her. She was alone.