Recondite (Novella)

Chapter 3

The others were loud and talkative, just like the old days, while Ty on the other hand kept quiet and ate half-heartedly. Nevertheless, Jason occasionally dragged him into a conversation, where Ty would smile and nod to be respectful, but he honestly felt like sh*t.

Ian had prepared a dish of steak, a little rare to make it rich with the sauce he had applied to it. How he made it in about five minutes, Ty would never figure out, but he had to admit that it was delicious. He had even gone upstairs to Aunty Janet's just to personally serve her dish. He might have just been kissing a** though.

"So what's with that dollhouse next to the staircase?" Jason suddenly piped up. Ty stole a surreptitious glance at the stairs, seeing the little house standing lonely in the gloomy dark. It kind of reminded him of himself.

"Oh? That? ... Yeah, my mom used to play with it when she was a kid." Tyler took a pause to clean his glasses, then continued when he realized with surprise that he had everyone's attention. "Aunty Janet one day all of a sudden had gotten it out of storage and cleaned it, leaving it there. I tried to put it up but... Well you know her; she swears bad worse than me when she's p**sed off." The others nodded, looking intrigued-- even Ty was paying attention.

"Any idea why?" Jason asked innocently. Tyler scoffed.

"Oh yeah, she had this delusion that tiny people live in our home." The others laughed, and even Ty offered a wavering smile.

"Hahaha... But there isn't such a thing, right?" He piped up.

"Pretty sure there isn't." He shrugged. "I searched the entire house even to prove her wrong-- nothing but mice."

"Mice?" Mitch wrinkled his nose. "Why haven't you called Pest Control?"

"Well I haven't actually seen any mice, just signs of them; missing bits of food and stuff, but as long as they don't cross my path I don't mind them being there. It gives the snakes something to think about other than me," Tyler chuckled. They all nodded and mumbled in agreement, while Ty stared down at his food. Tiny people would actually be really interesting-- if they even existed... Which they didn't.

"Uh, can I be excused?" Ty suddenly said. "I'm uh, really tired..."

"Yeah of course." Ty quickly got up and washed his plate, hopping up the stairs as Tyler watched him. The brunette watched him disappear into the hallway before turning to Jason as the others talked.

"He's still upset?" He murmured. Jason nodded, sighing as he glanced at the staircase.

"Poor guy hasn't been the same," he exhaled.

"But it's been three years!"

"I know. He just needs time," Jason soothed. "I figured a little break from YouTube videos would help him out. He just needs to take a break from thinking so much."

Ty had strided into his room and locked the door, laying down on his bed with a sigh and rubbing his tired eyes. He pressed the heels of his palms gently over his eyes, groaning inwardly before staring up at the ceiling. He was the only one who was still miserable... But he supposed that made sense, seeing that his missing friend had been his best friend...

He heard a knock on the door, and he groaned. "Come in."

"Hey Ty! Can you do me a huge favor?" It was Tyler. Ty sighed and sat up, forcing a smile.

"Sure."

"I need help doing chores. Ian's washing dishes, Jason and Quentin are running an errand, and Mitch and Jerome are outside tending to the garden. Now I need you... On vacuuming duty." Ty shrugged.

"Sure Tyler," he agreed.

"Gosh thanks!" Tyler sighed. "Vacuum's in my room." He left the door open, and Ty sighed, burrowing through his bag before pulling out black and green headphones, putting them on and pulling his iPod out. He chose a song as he left his room, then plugged in the vacuum cleaner and started vacuuming, humming along to the song.

Harvey opened Adam's door, making the borrower look up from his absent-minded drawing.

"It's time," he murmured, his caramel eyes shining in the dusky dark. Adam leapt to his feet and slipped into his favorite attire, his jacket, and followed, abandoning the drawing he had been doing. Harvey took the lead and guided Adam up to under the stairs, careful to conceal their home.

"Now be careful, the humans are still awake and are everywhere, but nighttime is too dark right now," Harvey whispered. Adam nodded attentively, but he didn't know why Harvey was whispering-- there was a vacuum cleaner whirling loudly somewhere upstairs.

Harvey peeked out of their hole, checking out the outside world for a good route. While Adam was older than Harvey, the younger brunette was more experienced and clever, so he was scoping the place. There was a tall male with black hair at the sink and dishwasher, loading it and being occupied with the dishes. There was probably someone upstairs too, operating the vacuum, while there were two more young men goofing off outside, making Adam smile wistfully. They all seemed to be about his age, but he couldn't tell for sure due to the size difference.

Their lucky break happened when Tyler walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Ian, I need another favor," He asked. "Could you help me out with laundry? There's an awful lot of it..."

"Yeah sure, no problem." The male doing dishes-- Ian-- stopped, and he followed Tyler back upstairs, and Harvey breathed out in relief.

"Alright, now's our chance." He glanced around one last time before taking off, and Adam scurried after him. The two scampered across the carpet and under the dining table, where they entered the small kitchen. Harvey gestured over to the counter wall, where there were smooth ridges detailing the wood.

Perfect for climbing.

Adam took the lead, jumping up to the first foothold and began the ascent, Harvey close behind. Seeing Adam was more built, he was quick to haul himself over the edge, then reached down and helped his fragile friend up.

"Thanks," Harvey panted. Adam only nodded curtly as they looked around, then continued venturing towards their destinations. "You head for the seasoning, I'll get more food," Harvey murmured. Adam nodded, and the two parted, going for what they came for. Harvey's destination was further away, but Adam's was higher up, perfect for his taller state.

Adam jumped when he heard the vacuum cleaner get louder, and he glanced back to see that the silent male who didn't laugh was at the top of the stairs, with headphones on as he vacuumed. Adam frowned. He felt like he had seen those before...

He turned and jumped up, nudging the cabinet open and slipping inside. It was dark, but the salt and sugar were a ghostly white. Grinning proudly, he climbed into their packages and filled his deep pockets with the minerals, patting them before he slipped back out. Harvey was already beneath him, pockets stuffed with bread as Adam dropped down beside him.

"Ready?" He asked. Adam nodded.

"Yep." They both journeyed to the counter they had climbed up and made their way back down, dropping into the carpet and under the table. Adam noticed with a jolt that the human vacuuming had now moved to downstairs, blocking their path to safety.

"... Wait." Harvey held his hand up, his eyes locked on the immense danger as the human rocked back and forth on his heel, stepping forward here and there to get the carpet.

"Now!" Harvey scampered forward, and Adam ran after him, having been caught off guard. Harvey was already halfway across the carpet when the human turned the monstrous vehicle around, making Adam gasp as he averted his path, trying to run around. Instead, he got tangled up in the carpet and fell, crying out in pain.

"Adam!" Harvey skidded to a halt and whirled around, the tangled up borrower only a foot away from freedom. Adam looked over at his friend with wide eyes, about to say something when he felt a tugging sensation. It grew heavier, then he was suddenly sucked up into darkness, and he lost his sense of direction as he disappeared from the outside world.