Sons of Night

Andy’s POV
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Dad said. I looked up as I struggled to put on my boots.
“It’s a long explaining process that I don't have time for,” I said slowly after a pause. We had purposefully left out the fact that I had kidnapped a girl, so my parents had no idea that Mayden existed. I avoided his eyes and tied my bootlaces into durable double knots.
“There’s something you're not telling us, Andy” Dad said. I looked up, he was giving me the don’t-lie-to-me-I’m-your-father eyes. There was no place to begin explaining it to him. I broke away my eyes and tried to ignore the tightness in my shoulders that came with lying to someone you cared about.
“Andy,” the simple statement of my name made me feel even more guilty.
“I promise I’ll tell you when this blows over but it’s not worth explaining right now,” I said. Essentially I laid it on him that I had secrets that I wasn’t telling him, and I didn’t want to tell him. It was a social chasm from how open we used to be. There was a thick silence as I stomped on my boots and pulled my coat over my shoulders. My hand jammed into the pocket of the coat and I felt the soft cotton of a ski mask. I reached for the door handle, I didn’t want to leave the conversation in silence, but I wasn’t going to continue it.
“Andy,” His voice was stern. I froze.
“Yeah Dad?”
“Just keep yourself safe, we can’t handle losing you again,”
“I will,” I said as I pulled the door open and stepped out into the cool darkness. It was about nine o’clock and pitch black. Ohio winters usually looked like midnight by five thirty, so this wasn’t surprising, and it felt much later than it was. I took a quick glance around just to be sure that no one saw me and I slipped into the shadows. The crisp night air wrapped my face in a blanket of ice. I shivered and pulled up my hood. The slight protection from the wind made me feel ages warmer. I kept my eyes on the ground beneath my feet, only looking up occasionally to check that I was going to the right place. As I entered the main street area a car drove past every now and again, but most people were snuggled up at home. My nose ached with cold as I passed the stone wall that indicated the entrance to Mayden’s neighborhood. Flecks of snow darted past the spotlights that illuminated sign that read Maple Valley in curly letters across the stone.
The houses where all dark and quiet. My feet seemed to make unnaturally loud slapping sounds as I made my way down the street. A right at the first intersection, and straight for a long time, then left at the big rock, and the next right into the cul de sac. There it sat as I peeked around the corner. Mayden’s house was big and thankfully empty looking. The news reporters that had swamped her house where all gone and the windows were dark. An family exhausted from the public eye trying to get some extra hours of sleep. With my luck not a creature would be stirring except for Mayden when I woke her up.
I skirted down the street as quickly and quietly as possible. I walked on my toes and kept my knees bent to cushion the impact of my steps. I walked at a low run with some glances over the shoulder sprinkled in for pizzaz. I had no solid plan, other than get in and get out without anyone but Mayden knowing that I had been there. I took a quick stock of the things I knew. Mayden, her parents, and a bunch of kids who were younger than her lived in that house. I didn’t know which rooms they were in or if they had pets, or alarms, or guns, or anything like that. I could walk in there, get busted by an alarm, attacked by a dog, or shot in the head for all I knew. It was going to be rough, but I was going to stick to the side of stealth, and if there was an alarm, or a dog, or a gun I was going to run as fast as I could and not look back. That was the plan.
I got to the house. The ski mask was out of my pocket and on my head before I set foot on the driveway. One could have said that I crawled up the driveway but my hands barely even touched the ground other than for balance. My first step was to make sure that there was no one awake on the first floor. Made a quick first circle of the house searching for any signs of life inside. I didn’t see any lights. Not even a phone screen. A cursory glance up to the second floor windows seemed to show the same result. Finding a way in would be a bit more difficult. I got a bit more up close and personal with the house upon my second circle around. My fingers pried at every window that I could reach and tugged at every door. It seemed like it would be fruitless, until I looked down. There was a large basement window. I got down to my belly and pulled at the window. It slid up, I judged the space. Surely I could slide in through that space and get in.
I started feet first. With hands gripping the window frame I twisted my legs to the side so that my big feet got in. I shimmied down into the darkness. I couldn’t see anything below me, for all I knew I was jumping into a vat of snakes. I slid my hips through the wet mud and leaves that had gathered in the window well. I wondered if the window would hold my weight because in a few minutes I was going to be hanging by just it. Once my hips were through I had just a bit more to go before my centre of gravity was in the house and I was going in. I shimmied just a bit and the small of by back scraped against concrete. Finally, that was the tipping point. I clung to the window frame as my feet scrambled for something solid to stand on. Suddenly my legs extended far enough that my toe stopped on a flat surface. I pulled my toes back, mustered some courage and let go.
A few inches of a drop lead to a concrete floor. It was the basement. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, what I wouldn’t have given for a box of matches right then. I walked forward like a blind man, with my hands out infront of me. The dark was as thick as a blanket and the musty smell of the basement was nearly suffocating. As I moved I saw flashes of horror monsters in my head, but I kept going. I slid my feet slowly along the ground so that I didn’t trip over anything and inch by inch I made it across the basement until by an act of God my hand met a bannister. The smooth wood was a welcome feeling, it meant stairs. I slid my feet around the bannister and nearly tripped up the first step. The stairs where noisier than trying to sneak a bag of chips before dinner.
Every wooden step moaned in protest as I made my way up. I had one hand out in front of me waiting for the door out of the basement. Unfortunately I was moving a bit too fast and my fingers crumpled against the door. I was a burglar who had essentially knocked on a door for entrance. I wait for the sounds of footsteps coming from above until my legs started to cramp from being bent for so long. A long quiet breath escaped my lungs in the darkness. My hand reached out and tried to find a door knob. My fingers met the cool metal and I sent a nondenominational prayer to the God that I didn’t believe in that it wasn’t locked. I twisted the handle and sure enough the door popped open. The door glided soundlessly over a wooden floor.
It was slightly brighter up on the main floor. Light streamed in through the windows from a street light and the moon. Compared to the basement it was a bright, sunny day. To my left was a kitchen and connected living room, they both were spotless, clearly someone in this family was a massive neat freak. To my right was the front door and in front of that door was the stairs leading up to the second floor. I could feel myself starting to sweat, this was when it could really all go to hell. To the left of the door was an office or a library type deal, it was scattered with kids books and toy microscopes and things of that nature that made me realize that some of the kids in here who where a third my age were probably more educated than I was. To the right of the front door was a playroom of sorts. I made sure to take note of the brightly colored tripping hazards that had escaped from the room and were standing in my walkway.
After inspecting for anything else that I could trip over and finding nothing I tiptoed out of the doorway and into the walkway. The smooth floor was new and didn’t make any sort of a creaking sound. I could place my feet lightly and the only sound would be the soles of my boots touching the floor. I could have chosen a more soundless shoe, but I hadn’t been planning that far in advance. As I neared the steps I could hear the roaring snore coming from who I could only assume was the father. That made me feel a bit more confident, surely his snores were blocking out the noises of my blunders and making it easier on me.
I reached the stairs was relieved to find that they were covered in a thick, white, sound absorbing carpet. I essentially crawled up those, slowly and carefully I made it to the top with almost no noises.To my left was one door, the roars of the snores where coming from that direction, so I turned the other way, where there where three bedrooms. I padded across the carpeted hallway, trying to work out how I would know which room was Mayden’s. Suddenly my day was made a whole lot easier. The kids had their names written across their doors in bubble letters. The first door was covered in soccer balls and baseball paraphernalia, pasted across the door were big blue letters that spelled out the name Bryan. I turned to the one across the hall. Pictures of rattles and mobiles scattered across the door that was labeled Baby Lyam. I smirked, they were one of those families. I turned to the final door. Half of it was covered in princesses and tiaras, pink and makeup. The other half had just a few photos, they looked like awkward homecoming pictures and science fair award pictures. The door read Ryder and Mayden in big purple letters. Of course she shared the room.
I put my ear to the door. The steady snores of the father still came from the door that was way down the hall, the door I was entering was silent. It was working. I just had to wake up Mayden, without waking up Ryder or anyone else. I turned the door handle. As the door swung open the room was revealed, it was a big room and it was well lit by several night lights and a lava lamp. The difference in the halves of the room was obvious. The right side was decked out in pink princess things. Also toys that were meant for boys like dinosaurs and racecars, but it was obvious that that half of the room was clearly for a girl under the age of ten. The other half was a desk, a bookshelf, a dresser, and a bed. Clearly a teenager who was more bent towards studying than gaming.
I crept across the floor towards the bed, still trying to figure out if I could wake her up gently or just go for it and make sure that she didn’t make any noise. I went for it. I pressed my hand hand over her mouth and threw my body on top over hers so that she couldn’t struggle her way out of my arms.
Mayden’s POV
I was happily sound asleep without a care in the world. Suddenly I was awoken by a pressure forcefully jamming my teeth back into my skull. My first thought was that I was tangled in a blanket and it was wrapped around my head, but blankets didn’t have muscles. I started struggling but his body was on top of me forcing me down. I tried to scream but the freezing cold hand over my mouth was muffling the sound. All I could see above me was a black ski mask. I tried to push on his chest with my hands to get him off but his other hand grabbed mine and forced them above my head. The masked lips came to my ear.
“Mayden stop it. Stop struggling. I’m not gonna hurt you,” He whispered. Fury suddenly boiled up in me. I recognized his voice and I hated him so much, I wanted to beat the life out of him. I fought back harder. Kicking out with my feet and trying to bite his hand. I clawed at his hand that was wrapped around my wrists.
“Please stop it. I really just need to talk to you, I need a favor,” He whispered again softly in my ear. I fought for as long and as hard as I could, but he was much stronger than me. There were a few times when I almost overpowered him but he quickly regained control over me. Eventually I let myself go limp in his arms. His body laid on top of mine. He was breathing heavily just like I was. My jaw ached from his hand and all of my muscles were sore from the fight I’d been putting up
“Are you done?” He said after a moment. I said nothing, I couldn’t, his hand was still smashing my jaw. I glared at him in the low light. After a moment of silence his hand started to loosen from my mouth. Finally it came away enough for me to be able to talk.
“I should tear your head off for showing your face here. You asshole you made my school life worse than it ever was and you don’t even care about me. All you do is use people for your own advantage, I don’t owe you any favors. Fuck you, get out,” I whisper yelled at him. I was shaking with rage. He used his hand that wasn’t still pinning me down to pull off his mask. His head was sweaty and seeing his face made my muscles go weak again. I hated that he had that effect on me. In the low light from the lava lamp his features were exaggerated and his blue eyes looked even more angelic. His body was draped over top of mine and our faces were very close together. I was still beyond angry at him, but the situation was making it so that I couldn’t catch my breath.
“I’m sorry,” He said, his eyes looked away from me and down to the side of the bed.
“Get out,” I spat, I didn’t need him doing anything that would mess me up any more than I already was. He looked up at me again he was sucking on his lip ring and staring into my eyes softly. He was still pinning me.
“Do you even realize what you’ve put me through?” I said my voice breaking as tears spilled over. He looked at me with what could only be described as concern. I hated it because it made me feel bad for hating him, but I was almost certain that it was fake.
“I need your help,” He said staring at me.
“You don’t care, of course you don’t care, because all you care about is yourself. You don’t care that I’m hurting worse now than I ever was because of you,” I choked out through a tightening chest.
“No, I do care. I care a lot about you. In fact I love you, but I can’t let that get in the way of what I need to do,” He rasped.
“You love me,” I said condescendingly.
“I do and I’m so sorry that I kept hurting you in the woods, but I was trying to keep my head about me, and I felt so bad for hurting you. I want to be with you, and love you forever but I can’t right now, but I will. When this is all over and if I’m not in jail, and if you’ll still have me, I want you,” He said. I wanted to believe him with all of my heart, but I wouldn’t.
“You’re only saying that to get what you want from me, you think that love will make me do things for you. I’ve fallen for that trick though, and I won’t again,” He leaned away from me unpinning me and untangling our legs. He sat on the edge of the bed, the palms of his hands pressed together and his head rested on his thumbs almost like he was praying, but I knew he wasn’t. He was just trying to hold himself together. He was breathing hard and his hands were shaking, I could see the sweat glistening on his forehead.
“Please, Mayden. I need you. It’s simple, and then if you want me gone, I’m gone for good. I won’t come back, you’ll never see me again. I do love you, and I do need your help. We’re so close, we just need one more piece and you have it,” He sounded like he was struggling to keep his voice steady. He stood up and paced running his hands through his hair.
“Fine, what do you need,” I said sharply.
Andy’s POV
That’s when the little one started to scream. Who knew a little girl could make a sound like that. You would have thought that she was being brutally murdered. I had forgotten about her, and she was about to ruin everything, I panicked.
“An official school schedule, I need a school schedule,” I yelled over the screaming. Mayden leapt up and started rummaging through a drawer on her desk. I heard a hustling in the hallway and the door burst open. I woman in her mid forties opened the door.
“Ryder it’s just a nightmare,” The tired voice of a mother said, then she saw me, and screamed louder than Ryder.
“Mom no!” Mayden yelled.
“Jared get your gun, he’s attacking Mayden!” Her mom screamed. I heard shuffling and rummaging from down the hall. Mayden shoved a paper into my chest, in the dark I could only guess if it was the right thing. I pushed past her mom in the doorway and ducked as she swung a desk lamp at my head. I made a break for the stairs but a muscular arm smacked me in the chest. The lights came on in the hall and I looked up to see a man in his pajamas with a pistol pointed straight at my head.

Notes

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope your having a good time doing whatever it is that you do. Consider this my present to you: an extra long and dramatic chapter. I hope that you you enjoy and leave me a comment to let me know what you think. I could kill Andy if I wanted to. I haven't decided how this is going to end yet.