Psycho Charlie (standard:horror, 2722 words)
Author: Lev821	Added: May 31 2007	Views/Reads: 3655/3016	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
What's Charlie got cooking that means he needs to keep his house like a fortress?

He wondered why he had never thought of it before, in all his years of
burgling houses, most of them urban, he had never specifically gone out 
into the countryside to burgle a house. They would seem to be easier 
than normal dwellings, as the owners would probably own plenty of 
electrical equipment, such as TV's, hi-fi's, etc. Entertainment out in 
rural areas is more difficult to come by than in the city. There was 
also the fact that there were not as many prying eyes around, save for 
that of the insects and birds. There were no signs on any posts that 
said: ‘Neighbourhood watch', and escaping out across the fields would 
be much easier than jumping over walls and fences. This house, though, 
surprised him. It was a normal looking house, out in the countryside, 
not too far from civilisation, around two miles. Over the doorway, 
there was a hi-tech looking security camera, straight from a 
science-fiction film, and over the windows, there were iron bars, so 
any burglar, if they managed to gain entry, would have to exit the same 
way. There was also a larger than normal satellite on the roof, facing 
skyward, next to a conventional aerial. He wondered why this would be 
so, why the occupier of this house would have such tight security. The 
obvious question sprung to mind. What are they hiding? 

Neil Kendrick had been burgling houses for the past fifteen years, and
at 38, he simply couldn't stop. Some of those years had been spent in 
prison, one two year stretch, and one four year. He was not deterred 
though, he couldn't give up. He had kleptomania for taking items from 
houses. In receipt of state benefits, he topped this up by selling what 
he could from his thieving, hence his expensive watch, bracelet, 
Mercedes-benz. He didn't have that with him. It was back at his 
expensive house. Here he had brought his expensive transit van, perhaps 
expecting to walk out of the front door with everything of value the 
house had. Maybe the house was secure because there was something 
extremely valuable in there. This was more incentive for him proceed. 
There was also the challenge of the place. He would find it difficult 
to get in, and wondered whether he would find something inside to make 
it worth the effort. He had to try, had to crack this place, as a 
demonstration to himself of his house breaking skills. Basically, he 
thought, break into here, and he can break into anywhere. 

Parked on the other side of the lane, looking at the front of the house,
he wondered whether he might survey the house first, to see just where 
his point of entry might be. Usually he didn't need to give the house 
the once over, as they were generally standard. Window and door locks, 
and house alarms were all he needed knowledge of when house breaking. 
He never needed to come back twice. In this case, however, it perhaps 
might be necessary. He left the vehicle and walked along the garden 
wall which had high privet hedges spanning around it. The security 
camera was trained on the front gate, so he knew he was to avoid it, 
and for the moment had cover, so anybody looking out of any of the 
windows would not see him. He reached the corner of the privet hedges, 
but the wall continued and became a normal barrier to the field, 
stretching into the distance. It branched in a T shape, and continued 
along the side of the house, so he had to scale it in order the see the 
rear of the house. Moments later, he was keeping himself low, close to 
the wall to avoid any watchers. When he thought he was relatively safe, 
he stood up and surveyed the property. He knew it already, but it was 
further reinforcement of the fact that this was no ordinary house.  The 
wall surrounding the back yard, or garden, was as tall as the house 
itself, around thirty feet high, topped by barbed wire and sharp 
spikes. 

After a couple of minutes, he was back behind the wheel of the van, the
house more confusing now than previously. The only, and best way for 
him to enter, was through the front door itself. There were no doors at 
the sides, or leading into the back yard. With the windows being 
barred, and tightly shut, it seemed like the front door was the only 
way in an out of the property. He would have to bypass the security 
camera, and pick the locks. This was indeed a challenge to an 
experienced burglar, and Neil decided that trying at night-time might 
be best. Starting the van, he turned it around, and drove back along 
the country lane, unaware that the security camera had been pointing 
directly at him. 

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a muted blue across the land, with
wisps of cloud passing in front of it every now and then, and 
reflecting from the windscreen of the van, parked much further back 
than he had been before, because he thought that if the occupant heard 


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