Army boots come stomping in. They stop short and run towards Ghost. Leaning over him, Werewolf pulls off Ghost's mask, puts it on the ground, and shakes Ghost and orders him to wake up. No answer.
"Teeeee! C'mon here! It's Ghost!" Werewolf calls out.
Mummy comes running in and gasps. He leans close to Ghost and takes his pulse. He touches the side of his head and notices the blood. From under the bed, I have a good view of Ghost's profile. He is a young man. If they lean any closer to him, I will be able to see them, but I am unsure if they will see me. It is dark under here, but Natalie's bed is small. I lay still, controlling my breathing. My heartbeat in my ears is so loud. I know it is stupid, but I am sweating balls. I am afraid they might hear it.
"He's been knocked unconscious," Mummy informs Werewolf.
Still talking in hushed tones for some reason, Mummy's voice confirms my suspicions that he must be a teenager. Maybe their little brother.
"You think the kid did it?" asks Werewolf befuddled.
Silence. I stop breathing and grasp my bat a little tighter.
"No. No, it's her! She's still inside the house!" Mummy exclaims, getting up.
"It's impossible! She went out the window! We should get outta here! Forget your stupid plan! She's missing! Her kid is missing! They are probably calling for help right now!" Werewolf argues.
He gets up and kicks the closet door shut with his foot. I startle but do not let out a sound. If ever they find me now, they will kill me. I need to get back to Nat and get the hell out of this house. Mummy walks over to him, and the resounding slap of someone hitting someone else startles me again.
"What the—"Werewolf reacts, but Mummy interrupts him.
"Did you check the basement?" he asks him.
"What?" says Werewolf.
"Before you called us down there, did you check to see if she was still in the basement?" Mummy explains.
No answer from Werewolf. In response, Mummy breaks the silence with another slap.
"You useless idiot!" Mummy tells him.
Mummy slapped Werewolf twice, and I brace for his violent reaction, but to my surprise, it never comes. This puny kid hit him twice and insulted him, and no response from Werewolf? Werewolf, who explodes at my whimpering. Who are these people, and why is the teenager leading all this?
They run out of the room, no doubt heading back into the basement to search for me. This is it! This is my window. I wait for their footsteps to confirm their intentions, and once their stomping boots are running down the stairs, I slide out and run towards my bedroom again.
I rush to the closet, open it, pull out the Ikea box. It is still intact. They either did not notice it or did not think to look in here. I pull the blanket off, take off all the sheets and find Natalie still curled up in a ball. At the sight of me, she jumps into my arms.
"Momma!" she exclaims.
Her eyes are red and puffy.
"Shh-shh-shh. We don’t have much time. Hold on to momma, we're getting out of here," I tell her, grabbing her and wrapping her legs around my waist.
She wraps her small arms around my neck and hides her face on my shoulder. She senses we are about to run for our lives. I get up and run out of the room, down the stairs. Passing through the hall, the door to the basement is opened. Mummy and Werewolf are still down there. I am barefoot, and with the wreck those two are making downstairs, my footsteps are practically soundless on my wooden floors. I am almost at the door. We're almost free!
"Toby!" my daughter calls out in my ear.
I was not expecting this. The scare it gives me sends shudders of electricity down my spine all the way to my feet, and I almost lose my balance. Natalie is pointing behind us, and I turn around. Toby is having another convulsion. Natalie is two seconds away from crying, and I press my hand over her mouth and shake my head. She nods hers.
Damn it! The door is just there! But if they notice the dog is still alive, they will kill him for sure. Maybe even torture him to make me or Natalie come out of our hiding place. I close my eyes and shake my head. It's just a dog, it's just an old dog, Luce! Get out of here with your daughter!
His sacrifice will be remembered, but the sadness and despair in my daughter's eyes say everything. She has already suffered enough. She has already been through so much trauma. Damn it!
The wreck downstairs has died down, but their voices are echoing up the stairs. I do not have much time. Putting my daughter down on the floor and grabbing her hand, we run towards Toby, who has stopped convulsing and is now awake, but his body is still limp. Perhaps sensing we are still in danger, and he cannot protect us, he keeps quiet and lets me lift him up from the floor. I tuck him under my right arm and grab Natalie's hand with the other.
My first idea is to run back up, but the voices are getting closer. There is no way we can make it up in time to hide without being spotted. The spare bedroom downstairs it is. They have already searched there. My guess is they will be heading back upstairs to check on Ghost again.
We run towards the bedroom. We enter it, careful not to move the door. I hide Toby far underneath the bed, right next to the wall. I hide Natalie in the closet behind some cardboard boxes taken out during the assholes' initial search for me.
Noticing I will not hide with her, Natalie protests, but I signal to keep quiet. The few boxes are scattered all over the closet's entrance and near the bed. There is no way I can hide in there without being the first thing they see if someone opens the door. Out of options, I hide behind the semi-opened door. Not the best hiding spot, but the room is small, not many places to hide.
The window! Stupid, stupid, stupid! You had time to shimmy both down the window and have Natalie run to Julie's house! Brilliant! I bite my lower lip, close my eyes, and shake my head. I can only rely now on them going back upstairs, and maybe that will give me enough time to at least get Natalie out.
Like I predicted, Mummy and Werewolf come back from the basement arguing and head back upstairs. I tip-toe out of my hiding space, head towards the closet, grab Natalie, and walk towards the window. I open it but running footsteps and angry voices are coming back downstairs. Did they hear us? I do not have enough time, so I lie with Natalie on the floor between the bed and the wall.
"Where's the fucking dog?" Werewolf demands his voice coming from the living room.
Mummy does not respond.
"Where is the fucking dog, Tee?" he asks again, elevating his voice.
Still, no response from Mummy, but footsteps are coming and going from the living room to the hall. They are freaking out, and so am I. Dammit! Why didn't I leave Toby where he was?
"All right, that's it! Fuck you and fuck this! I'm outta here! You hear me? This was a stupid, sick plan to begin with, and I'm done!" Werewolf tells Mummy.
Mummy shushes him, and silence ensues. From under the bed, I notice the door is almost closed. Darn it! I must have pushed it coming out from behind it. Sensing they are making their way over here, I hesitate on my next move. Should I still try and get Natalie out, or should we both hide under the bed? The creaking of the door seals it. We both crawl under the bed. Natalie is shaking right beside me, and I put my hand over her mouth. I can touch Toby with my feet, and he squirms a little. Please, pal, stay silent!
Army boots enter the room and walk first towards the closet and then towards the open window. A loud tap on the wall is followed by Werewolf's frustrated grunt.
"Great! This is just great! Not only was this bitch able to escape us. She was able to come back for her kid and her fucking dog! You really know how to pick 'em, don't you?" says Werewolf laughing.
Mummy shushes him and walks over to the other side of the bed, and Werewolf stays put. Crap! We're trapped! They know we're down here! I reach for my bat, but I do not have it. I left it upstairs! Darn it! I cannot let them take us. They will kill us. I must fight our way out of here. My best bet is to take on Mummy and have Natalie run for the front door. He is lightweight. I am sure I can take him, but Werewolf is just on the other side. I do not think I can fight both off. There is no hope for me anymore, but I can buy Natalie some time for her to run away.
I move over towards Mummy's side, planning on coming out the foot of the bed towards him, and prepare myself for the fight of my life. I cannot risk explaining anything to Natalie. I will just yell at her to run.
The silence lingers, and my heart is pounding in my ears. Natalie looks at me. I put my finger over my mouth. She is trembling, but she stays put. Brave little warrior!
I crawl even nearer to the foot of the bed, still hidden and summon the courage to come out with a fury.
Bang!
The door slams open, and another pair of boots appears at the doorway. I jump, so does Natalie, but both Mummy and Werewolf run towards the entrance recognizing Ghost tumbling forward. I slide back to my previous position under the bed, right beside Natalie. That was pretty darn close! I lay my head on the ground, and I focus on calming my shaky breathing. Too darn close!
Over us, Mummy and Werewolf lay Ghost on the bed.
"That bitch! Sh—she's still here! Sh—she hit me!" Ghost informs them, panting.
It must have taken him quite the strength to tackle those stairs. His speech is a bit slurred.
"We know! But we think she's gone with her kid!" Werewolf tells him.
"N—no. Sh—she was alone when I saw her. St—still looking for the kid," says Ghost.
"What?" asks Mummy.
Ghost's breathing is heavy, but he manages to keep talking.
"Her fu—fucking kid! Sh—she wasn't with her fucking kid!" he tells him with a grunt.
Mummy gets up from the bed and heads towards the door.
"No, no, no, no. Tee, we're done. Okay? We're done! We had a plan, but it failed. Now we fucking stick with plan B, and that's saving our own asses!" Werewolf interjects.
"Fuck you! I'm not leaving her here! If there's a chance she's still in the house, I'm looking for her. The cops aren't coming, Gee. They're not! They would have been here by now! That means they are both here! Let's finish this!" Mummy argues in hushed tones still.
He walks out the door, and Werewolf follows, grunting and muttering something under his breath, leaving once again Ghost behind and me hiding under a bed.