<div class="floatleft">(https://www.hdwallpaper.nu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/kat_dennings-5.jpg)</div>Karina's heart pounded in her chest. She could practically hear it hammering away in her ears. Panic overtook her as she raced up the stairs. An odd, yet loud, sound penetrated through her thrumming heartbeat and she had no idea what it could have been.<br/><br/>The next thing she knew, the intruder was standing at the top of her stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. The man raised his hand, the unmistakable glint of a blade reflected in the moonlight as he stalked closer to her. Karina swallowed hard, taking a step back down the stairs. Her hand gripped the railing tightly.<br/><br/><em>I won't die! I'm not helpless!</em>Karina thought. Without a second thought, she gripped the railing with her other hand and heaved herself over the side. It wasn't a long way down, but she did feel a twinge of pain shoot through her feet when she landed. She let out a cry and fell to her knees before scrambling to her feet and running down the hall.<br/><br/>She passed a few rooms and ran straight into a storage room, closing the door behind her. There were a few boxes stacked up and she crouched on the other side of them. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw one of the boxes had a label that said "KITCHEN". Without hesitation, she slipped her hand into the box. In a simultaneously lucky and unlucky moment, she felt a knife that stabbed her in the hand. Karina covered her mouth and let out a muffled whimper of pain. She managed to grab a hold of it and pulled it out of the box.<br/><br/>Karina had basically no self-defense training, but she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Her hand stung as she gripped the handle of the knife tightly with both hands. It was only a matter of time before he found her. The second he opened the door, she'd pop out and surprise him.