He sat up and looked around the room. The large clock on the far wall said it was 10:05 pm. He had fallen asleep for four hours. ‘Security update,’ he said passively.

‘Security update: One intruder on foot inside the outer perimeter,’ came the female voice of the residential computer system.

He leapt up from the couch over to the wall-mounted control screen. After a few swipes, the screen relayed what the security cameras could see. He watched as a black-clad figure stalked towards the rear of the lodge. Their face was hidden beneath a black balaclava, with every other part of the body covered in dark clothing. So, the time has come, Marco thought to himself.

He casually walked over to a nearby cabinet, opened it up and removed a long-barrelled weapon. He checked the charge status of the gun before placing the butt of the weapon in his shoulder. He was surprised at how calm he felt, although he had known this day was coming for a while now.

There was a safe room in the lodge, hidden in the basement, where he could safely hide from the intruder. However, he didn’t feel like hiding away. If he didn’t face this now, he would be forever hiding.

At that moment, the power to the lodge failed. Only the amber light flashed as the rest of the house was placed into relative darkness. Marco held the weapon tightly, his eyes darting back and forth, searching for his intruder.

The seconds ticked by like minutes. The orange glow of the security light cast intermittent shadows across the room. The shadows grew and died as the light warned of an intruder.

He saw the intruder then. They were standing on the other side of the large glass bi-folding doors, staring directly at him. Marco stood frozen to the spot, staring back, the fear now growing inside him.

He watched as the solitary figure raised both arms and brought them down on the tempered glass of the door. The security glass should have held tight, but it shattered like ice. Shards of glass flew inwards and littered the solid stone floor before him. The figure stepped inside the lodge, dressed head to toe in black, showing only their eyes.

Marco could see it was a man. Standing at well over six feet and with a muscular build, the figure delivered a terrifying sight. Marco regained his composure and aimed the gun at the intruder. ‘What do you want?’ he said, although already knowing the answer.