A couple of days went by, and I continued watching my parents. My suspension was over, but I got home from school before them so I wouldn’t miss a thing. At first everything seemed normal, better even. Mom and Dad got home. They made dinner and included me in their conversations. I even suffered their awful new routine of daily family game nights.
But there was something different in their expressions when they looked at me. Their eyes seemed more cold and calculating, like they were analyzing me. Sure, they still smiled, but it never reached their eyes like it used to. They’d never looked at me this way before, and it freaked me out. What was the cause of this sudden change? Were they upset with me? Did they suspect I was monitoring them?
Regardless of my conflicting thoughts and emotions, I went along with my plan and played the part of a ‘good son.’ If I wanted to discover the source of my parents’ oddness, I’d have to play it safe. Besides, it was pretty easy to fake it given the glaring example right in front of me.
On the third night of observing my parents, I finally made a break. I’d gone to the laundry room to look around when my heart stopped. On top of the dryer in a laundry basket was my little sister’s favorite outfit folded neatly. I grabbed the smiley face shirt softly and pressed it to my chest. Immy.
Overcome with emotion, I ran upstairs, closed my bedroom door, and turned off the light. I closed my eyes hoping for sleep, but my mind was racing. I hadn’t seen anything of Imogen’s since she disappeared. What were Mom and Dad doing with her stuff? Would they give it away? She hadn’t even been gone for more than a month!
Calm down, I told myself. I didn’t know anything just yet. I’d just have to wait and see.
Over the next few days, my suspicions were confirmed. Not only were more of Immy’s clothes being folded into neat piles, but her personal items were being gathered up in little plastic bags. I couldn’t believe it.
This was really happening. My parents were erasing every trace of my little sister. But why? They didn’t know what had happened. Unless … could they possibly know about the monster that came for us on Halloween night? Even if they did, their reaction didn’t make any sense. They’d ignored what I told them the night it happened. They didn’t alert the town of the monster’s presence. No, they’d made me look like an idiot instead.
A clatter downstairs interrupted my thoughts. I snuck from my sunlit room to the edge of the upper landing. I couldn’t see my dad, but Mom was standing in front of the basement entry with the door open.
“I put it in the box labelled ‘Photo Albums’,” she whispered loudly to my dad, annoyance in her voice.
What were they talking about? They hardly ever went into the basement, and I doubted anything of Immy’s was down there.
“I can’t find it!” Dad called up to her.
“Christ,” Mom growled to herself, swiping a wavy strand of brown hair behind her ear. “I’m coming down.”
Seeing an opportunity, I crept down the stairs as quietly as possible. I had to know what they were looking for, especially if it led me to Immy. A brief moment later, my parents’ footsteps echoed loudly on the rickety steps as they came back up, and I darted into the kitchen out of sight.
“I don’t know how you couldn’t find it, I told you where it was,” Mom said. “God, this thing reeks.”
I dared a glance around the corner. Mom was holding the grey, smelly candle in the lantern that I’d found the night my little sister was taken. What was she doing with it?
“Yes, but it did the job, didn’t it?” Dad said. “At least when we give it back to the priest we won’t have to deal with this again.”
I gawked at my parents. What in the world was going on here? ‘Did the job.’ What did that mean? And since when did they talk to a priest? We’d never been a church family. I tried to find some strange reason that a priest would give them the odd, stinky candle but I couldn’t. Somehow this had to do with Immy, I just knew it.
“I’ll go check on Gregory, you gather Imogen’s stuff,” Dad said. He moved towards the landing, but Mom barred his way with her free arm.
“Wait, I think he fell asleep in his room. Why bother him? Get her things from the laundry room, I’ll call for him and make sure he’s asleep.”
Dad walked over to the laundry room, and Mom peered up the landing in my room’s direction, going up a step. “Gregory, we’re going grocery shopping,” she called softly. “Do you want anything? Pizza rolls?”
I flattened myself against the kitchen wall, holding my breath.
“Hmm, guess not.”
I heard a shuffle and risked a glance around the corner again. Dad had a large bundle of Immy’s clothes under one arm and several plastic bags in his other hand. “Well?”
“He’s asleep, just like I thought. Come on, let’s go.”
As soon as I heard the front door shut, I bolted for the back door. Mom and Dad were up to something, and I’d be damned if they were going to just drop off Immy’s stuff and wipe their hands clean of her. I had to find out who this priest was and what was so important about that strange candle. I ran outside and grabbed my bike, then edged up the side of my house cautiously.
My parents’ car revved to life and drove off, and I waited a couple seconds before mounting my bike and following them. I stayed under tree cover and out of their rear view range as much as possible, but keeping up with them on top of that was nearly impossible. At first my parents headed in the direction of the local Goodwill, but a mile later we passed it without stopping.
After nearly losing my parents several times through sudden twists and turns, I followed them into an area of town that resembled the neighborhood where Trent worked – abandoned houses, forgotten business buildings, trash-littered streets. Finally, my parents parked in a potholed lot next to a plain-looking two-story building.
I stashed my bike behind some overgrown bushes and watched them exit the car and go inside. I had to follow them, but I hesitated. Was I really about to do this? What if they caught me? There’d be no turning back from this.
Trent’s words echoed inside my head. If you really care about your sister, why don’t you prove it? I clenched my fists. He was right. I could either let my parents bury my sister and forget her, or I could man up and find out the truth. Immy deserved that.
I ran across the small parking lot and opened the door, closing it softly behind me. Inside, the building was eerily quiet. Luckily, no one was in the bare hallway that stretched in two directions. In front of me, the hallway rounded and ended at a set of double doors, not unlike those a typical church would have. To my left, a number of small rooms dotted the hall. Under one of the doors fluorescent light was visible, so I edged closer, hoping that no one would come charging down the hall and see me.
As I neared the door, I recognized the voices from within: my parents. I leaned as close to the door as I dared.
“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice,” my dad said.
“Think nothing of it,” an elderly voice said, the priest I assumed. “How have you been coping with your loss?”
“I … we…” A strange cry erupted from my mom. “It’s still really hard for me. Some days all I can think of is Imogen, how she was. How she was so full of life.”
“Oh, honey,” Dad said in an empathetic tone.
“May I be frank?” the priest said. “What you are experiencing is completely normal after a loss like this. It’s only natural for families in your situation to miss the deceased, wish they were still here with us. But with our Order comes great responsibility, and even greater reward. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed. Have you brought the lantern?”
Deceased? Sacrifice? What was this geezer talking about, and what did it have to do with that stupid lantern? I leaned closer.
“Y-yes,” Mom stuttered, followed by a brief clang.
“Um, what about the other terms of our deal?” Dad said.
“Ah, yes. You will be granted immunity for the next ten years. And as severance goes, please accept this check on our behalf. I think you will find it fitting.”
“This is … honey, look!” Dad said, shock and awe in his voice.
“Oh my goodness. I can’t believe it! With this we--”
“Should be able to live comfortably,” the priest completed my Mom’s sentence.
A loud squeal of excitement came from my parents, and I backed away from the door with a sour taste in my mouth. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My parents had been working with the priest and this ‘Order’ to get rid of my sister. And when they succeeded they were being rewarded for it? My vision blurred as I teared up. My parents were the real monsters.
I bolted outside and mounted my bike, but stopped myself. What was I supposed to do? My parents had caused Immy’s disappearance. I couldn't go home, but where else could I go? Who could I even trust anymore? I clutched my head with my fists. God, why was this happening to me?
An image of Trent throwing a torn slip of paper at me flashed through my mind. That’s right, he gave me his number. But could I really rely on him? The more I went about searching for answers, the more it seemed that I was on my own. Still, Trent hadn’t given me any true reason to doubt him. He didn’t not believe my story, and he hadn’t spilled the beans to anyone else. As much as I hated to admit it, he was my best hope.
I sighed and pedaled to the nearest pay phone.
My pulse thundered in my ears as the ringback tone rang once, twice, three times. Finally, Trent answered.
“Yeah, what is it?” he asked.
I froze. Oh god, what should I say? That my parents were responsible for my sister’s disappearance and I needed help? That they were the real monsters? That I had nowhere to go? I tried to form words, but instead an odd squeak came out from the back of my throat.
“I, I-I … My p-parents,” I managed to croak.
“Are you the kid who came by my work last week?”
“Y-yes!” I stammered. “Please help me! My parents, they … they lied to me. My s-sister, she’s gone because of them.” Fresh tears ran down my cheek, and I started to wheeze. “They did this.”
He cursed. “Meet me at the autobody shop in ten minutes. Don’t stop by your house, just come straight here.”
“Okay,” I whimpered. The line went dead, and I hung up the receiver. I took in a deep breath and wiped at my eyes trying to calm myself, but I was frantic.
All this time, my parents had planned this. How long had they been preparing? How was it even possible to summon a monster? It could've taken me or Immy. Did they even care which one of us it took? How was Trent even going to protect me from them? They were still my parents, weren’t they?
Stop it, I told myself. Freaking out wouldn't solve anything. I needed to head over to the autobody shop and figure this out before my parents got home. I forced myself back on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could.
By the time I reached Steve’s Autobody, Trent was standing in the parking lot next to an old red pickup truck. He waved at me and I stopped my bike behind the truck. This close, his concern was evident in his crinkled forehead and raised eyebrows.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was to have a mental breakdown in public, and talking about everything now would most likely put me in a frenzy again.
Trent gestured to my bike and I nodded, wheeling it to him. He raised it up into the bed of his truck.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We shouldn’t talk about anything unless we know we’re safe and won’t be heard.” He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door, signaling me to get in. “I’ll take you back to my place.”
I stood there, unsure of myself. If I went with him, there’d be no turning back from whatever information he shared. Did I really want to know what was going on around me? Could the situation get any worse than it already was?
Trent frowned. “I’m not a perv, kid. Do you want answers or not?”
Unable to protest, I got in the car.
The drive to Trent’s place wasn’t far, just a couple miles west, he told me. Still, the trip there was awkward. Country music played in the background, and he kept trying to make small talk, but I didn’t really know what to say.
Here I was, in some stranger’s truck, who also claimed that a monster took his sibling on Halloween. Yeah, nothing weird about that at all. I did finally manage to give him my name, and soon after that we rolled up to a tiny, beaten-up house with an overgrown yard and outer siding that was falling apart.
Trent laughed when he saw the look on my face. “I know it’s not much to look at, but it’s home. Come on, lets go inside.”
We entered the house and Trent told me to make myself comfortable as he freshened up. Old floorboards creaked under my feet as I observed his mismatched furniture and lack of decor on the walls. The kitchen was tiny, and his bedroom didn’t seem much bigger than that. Still, I was pretty impressed. Trent was on his own at 18. It had to be tough living by himself.
Trent came out into the living room and sat down on a battered old couch. I followed his lead, then stared down at my feet.
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” he said.
I scoffed. “How? Everything is falling apart all around me. It’s not like you can promise that anyways.”
Trent frowned. “Let’s not start things this way. Why don’t you tell me what happened from the beginning?”
I glanced over at him. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course. I need to know what you know. Take your time, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Alright.” I sighed as I prepared to relive the nightmare of the past month, hoping that just maybe we could figure this whole thing out together.