THE REASON
By Missy
(missy@lexicon.net)

The characters that you recognise from ER are the property of Michael Crichton, Warner Bros, Constant Productions and Amblin Television and to the actors who so marvellously portray them. Many thanks must go to my editors Clotho, Susan Drake and Carolyn Delaney for their tireless and marvellous editing. Season 6 spoilers.

Spoilers up to The Peace of Wild Things or thereabouts. This story is rated R due to its content. It contains rather disturbing descriptions and is probably best read during daylight hours. My editors have informed me that it is rather chilling, creepy and does evoke some of those thoughts about things that go bump in the night and one of my editors has knicknamed it "The VeryScaryFic".

The title comes from a song "We are the Reason" written and performed by David Meece; the lyrics will be at the end of the story. I couldn't get the last verse out of my mind when I was first thinking of writing this story and I felt the title was appropriate considering where I was heading with the story.

PART 1/14

{October 31, 1999}

Kerry struggled with the trash bag down the concrete flight of stairs at the front of her brownstone townhouse, keeping her balance with the aid of the wrought iron railing. There were only seven steps but it was seven painful reminders that she needed to get another tenant for her basement. Carter had vacated within the two weeks she had demanded. Now, it was already six weeks later and she still hadn't placed another advertisement. She didn't really need the money since she had been appointed Chief of Emergency Services, but that wasn't the reason she had not leased it again. There was something else holding her back.

It was only at times like this when she was forced to face up to the fact that she needed someone to do the garbage and things like replacing the dead light bulb on her front porch. She had only allowed herself to get as far as sitting down with pen and paper before she turned her attention elsewhere, avoiding the issue completely until next time. Lately, she had forgotten about the garbage until very late in the evening and had to struggle in the midst of darkness.

The early November air was chilly. Placing the bag in the trash can at the curb, Kerry didn't take time to make sure the trash can was placed in the correct position, the cold quickly penetrating her thin woollen cardigan. Pulling the sweater more tightly around herself, she immediately turned back up the stairs and into the warmth of the centrally heated house. The stairs took her longer than usual. A faint stream of light from her hallway gave her a fair idea of the height of each of the steps. After a mis-step with last week's garbage, which had resulted in a large bruise on her shin, she was being extra careful not to miss a step without the added lighting from the porch.

Pushing open the heavy, dark wooden door, she welcomed the tentacles of warmth that wrapped themselves around her, caressing the tips of her frozen fingers into tingling awareness. Closing the door with a firm push, Kerry set the shiny double barrel lock. Collecting her crutch from beside the door, she turned down the well lit, lightly painted hallway, its large matching pastel paintings dominating the features of the walls.

The doorbell rang, surprising her as she couldn't recall seeing anyone outside moments before. But it wasn't as if she had been looking out for anyone either. The glass in the wooden door allowed her to distinguish the bulky shape of a man. Kerry slipped the chain across the top of the lock before releasing the lock and opening the door to speak with the gentleman.

"Can I help you?" Kerry couldn't place the man yet a small region at the back of her mind niggled with recognition. She tried to concentrate on it but could not bring the memory to the surface.

The man failed to respond other than by slamming his foot in between the open door and the door jam. A jolt of fear coursed its way through her spine and momentarily held her in its clutches. Her defences took over and Kerry thrust her entire weight against the door, using her crutch as a spike and jabbing it firmly down on his foot.

To her relief, his foot began a slow retraction from its beaten down position and she parried a final thrust to encourage it to completely disappear. She shifted her weight, ready to secure the lock the moment the foot disappeared. Kerry wasn't ready for the thrust against the door. The chain visibly strained under the pressure of the heavy set man, one of the screws bolted into the door jam giving a groan as it twisted and broke.

Realising the futility of leaning against the door, Kerry raced down the length of the hallway to the kitchen. In the time it took her to get there, the intruder had landed another two thuds against the heavy wooden door, each ferocious thrust slowly rupturing the strength of the interlocked slip chain.

Once in the kitchen, she grabbed hold of the phone on the wall just inside the doorway. Fear coursed through her in waves, her shaking hands managing to knock the handset to the floor. Without bothering to pick it up, she pressed the numbers for 911. Kerry caught hold of the spiralled cord as the call was connecting, pulling the receiver up to her ear. She paced back and forth as she waited for the call to be answered, listening intently for the final sound of her front door caving in under the forceful demands.

Finally, her call was answered and she informed them in low tones about the intruder attempting to break into her house. She was about to give them her address when the front door slammed against the wall with a hail of shattered glass.

"He's just got in! Please get someone here! Now! I live at....." Kerry's voice was frantic and she broke off when the source of her fears thundered into the living room. Survival instincts cut in and she hit the speakerphone button before hanging up the handset. As Kerry reached sideways for the block of carving knives, she called out her address and hoped that the operator would understand it.

With the knife in one hand, she slammed her hand against the wall desperately groping for the light switch. As soon as the room was shrouded in darkness, Kerry moved as fast as she could out of the room without waiting for her eyes to become adjusted to the new setting, cursing the tap-tap of her crutch on the wooden floor. The hall light still shone through and Kerry could hear the sound of heavy soled shoes following her. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder and find where he was.

In a last minute decision, Kerry slipped through the door to the basement. Easing the door quietly shut, she stood for a moment in the pitch blackness which seemed to surround and invade her being. Her heart felt like it was jumping out of her chest and she had to concentrate to reduce her breathing to a minimal wheeze of dread. She cursed herself for never having put a lock on the door, the fear of her tenant's safety in the event of a fire overriding the need for their privacy.

She was hoping that the intruder would simply just take her valuables and leave, not worrying about the fact she could possibly identify him. In case she was wrong, she descended the stairs, closing her eyes to concentrate more fully on the number and distance they were apart. The last thing she needed to do was fall and land on the large butcher knife she was carrying.

Kerry was relieved to reach the bottom of the stairs, not having realised how steep and dangerous they were before. Turning around past the last stair, she bumped into a large wooden box and bit her tongue to stop herself moaning at the sharp stab of pain in her shinbone. Maneuvering around the box, she wedged herself under the stairs and prayed that someone, anyone would stop the menace upstairs.

It seemed like an eternity as she heard the slow deliberate footfalls hitting the bare wood floors upstairs. The sounds echoed in the empty darkness. Time seemed to slow to a crawl with no reward of the blessed wail of a police siren in response to her garbled call. Kerry felt the muscles in her legs tightening and her feet cramping from the crouched position she was huddled in. But any temptation to move was stilled with each new footfall. The cold air tickled her throat and she kept swallowing, resisting the urge to cough.

The creak of the door above her opening and light flowing into the room, spilling forth like a ray of sunshine from the heavens, alerted her to his presence.

"Kerry? Where are you?" The high pitched voice belied the bulky frame that housed it, the tone of voice carrying forth the demented tones of not just an intruder but an invader.

Alarm filled her as she wondered about how he knew her name. Common sense told her that he probably had found it in her wallet but apprehension permeated every pore of her body as she wondered why he was calling after her.

"You do realise the police won't be coming. I spoke to them and told them of your 'problem' with alcohol. And we both know that you have been picked up for driving while drunk. Amazing the information that can be found when needed."

Kerry's blood ran cold in her veins at the intruder's words and she covered her mouth to stifle a gasp of surprise. This was more than just a robbery she realised. He knew about her embarrassing encounter with the law. It wasn't that he knew about it that worried her but the fact that he'd taken the time to find out.

"I've locked the front door and we both know there's no other way out of here. It'll be much easier if you just come out."

The last sentence hung in the air, incomplete. The inference that things would be better if he didn't have to come searching for her were plain. Kerry swallowed, trying to dispel the lump of terror in her throat growing by the second like bacteria left to breed in a warm room. She knew in her own mind that either way, in his presence, her circumstances were dire. The longer it took for him to find her was, in her opinion, a bonus. She shrunk back further into her corner as she heard the door shut, cloaking the room in darkness once again. She could still hear him moving around at the top of the stairs and knew what he was looking for.

Kerry expelled the breath she had been holding slowly as she heard the top stair groan under his weight. Her relief was palpable. The intruder hadn't turned on the light switch for the basement. It wasn't easy to locate and it meant that her position might just save her from him. She tried to keep each breath slow and steady as the wooden stairs revealled his movements to her, his heavy bulk taking each step in what seemed to be a careful, deliberate pace. Kerry thought that a snail would have moved faster. She was unsure whether he was being cautious or just using the time to expand the panic which was threatening to overwhelm her.

The intruder had reached the bottom of the stairs and she finally knew why he hadn't attempted find the light switch. A beam of light broke through the darkness, illuminating the opposite wall. Closing her eyes, she sent up a prayer to a God she hadn't thought of since her teenage years, seeking deliverance from this nightmare.

Kerry didn't even attempt to look at the man as he moved around the basement, hoping that the shadows might conceal her small frame. The shaft of light methodically travelled around the room, over the furniture, unveiling everything in its path. The silence was deafening and she froze as the beam arched its way towards and then over her secreted corner, its rays seeking out anything in the shadows. It settled on her spot and stayed there for an indeterminate period of time. To Kerry it seemed like an eternity before it moved on. She let out a quiet sigh of relief when the light finally disappeared with a snap. She strained to hear his retreating footsteps after his aborted search but there was nothing. Silence. Eerie silence.

All of a sudden Kerry became aware of a presence, a large menacing figure towering over her. In an oddly childish gesture, the intruder turned on the flashlight underneath his chin and gave a macabre smile, enjoying the horror he saw there. "Happy Halloween, Kerry."

End Part 1/14