Little Drummer Boy

Chapter 12: Ren

Chapter 12: Ren

The day: Saturday February 15 2014

The time: 2:37 AM

The place: 142 Ramm Heights, Madison South Dakota.

The seconds before the incident, I was sleeping soundly, and later reports would indicate the rest of the family was as well. I on the living room couch, Caleb and Jace upstairs, in their rooms, and Mother and Father in the master bedroom on the opposite end of the house as my brothers.

A loud banging on the door shook me out of my slumber. My mental state at the time compared the sound to that of thunder, but softer and yet closer. Furthermore, as I was still I the drowsy state of being woken up, it did not occur to me just what was going on. However, once more the shaking came, and now being in a state of full consciousness, I ascertained that said noise and shaking was coming from the front door. Specifically, I discovered that the sound was a large object repeatedly being rammed into our front door.

Upon noting this, I rose from the pullout bed, and made my way toward the door, standing approximately 7 feet from the door, fearing to go closer. From this vantage point, the stairs to the second floor were within my sights. In light of this, I was able to spot the figure at the top of the steps. The lights turned on, and I saw it was Jace, his hands on the light switch. His panicked gaze reached me along with the fact I could see his legs shaking. For all the fear I saw in him before after our first meeting, this time the fear was from a far deeper place, one driving by knowledge, and not just paranoia.

Before words could be exchanged, the object pounded into the door once more, this time forcing the door open. “Hide,” I told Jace.

How did I know they were after him, you may ask?

The answer is simple.

Why else?

For you see when you’ve eliminated all other possibilities, whatever remains must be the truth.

Madison, South Dakota is known for its low crime rate compared to the national average, so a break in at this time of night would be unlikely, especially one that created such a scene. There was no stealth, no intention of hiding the action. Any amateur burglar would see that the house was occupied, more so by the fact that my car is also here. This told me they were after something else, more than just possessions.

And what does this house have that no other does?

Simply put Jace. The commotion in breaking in would cause people to come to the door, to see what was going on. Which would be what they wanted.

“Who are you?” I demanded as a women dressed in garb unfit for winter came into the house.

“That does not matter.”

“What do you want?” I then asked, refusing to move as two large men came into the house on either side of this woman.

“The boy, Jace. Bring him here,” the woman answered. She then unholstered a gun from her waist and pointed at me. The gun was small, but just as all guns, sure to end a life in the wrong hands.

“What do you want with him?” I asked, repeating my question, unfazed as I could possibly be with the gun in front of me.

Her response included no words, only the trigger of her gun pulled, a bullet embedding itself into the wall about two feet from my head.

“Miss, if you don’t want to die, I suggest you give up whatever plans you have of being a hero and cooperate. The less you know and understand, the more likely you are to live.”

The sound of the bullet woke up all who were sleeping in the house. Mom and Dad came from their bedroom, stopping half way through the kitchen when the saw the gun in this woman’s hand. Caleb started coming down the stairs, with Jace behind him, though Jace started running passing Caleb. “Ren, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Ending this little escape of yours. You were not hard to find Jace. Now come with us. It’s time to go back home,” the women, apparently named Ren said.

“This is his home,” Caleb said. “You’re not taking away my brother.” As Caleb spoke those words, Jace held onto Caleb’s arm.

“People are so stupid,” Ren retorted. “You share no blood; he’s lived here all of 4 days; he’s not your family, never was and never will be. Caleb, consider this your look into a world you would otherwise never see. Nothing more.”

“Betty, call the police,” Dad said.

“Fools,” Ren said. Without hesitation, she turned and fired her gun, the sound nearly deafening to us, but even more so was the scream when Mom felt the pain of the bullet entering her stomach. I spun around as I saw the blood start to come out. Dad tried to figure out what to do as she collapsed on the ground “Dad, put pressure on her stomach, and look for an exit wound,” I said trying to keep my act together.

I stumbled back to couch, nearly tripping over it. As I did so, Caleb and Jace ran over to Mom as well. “She may live,” Ren said. “Or she may die. It’s simply a matter of time it takes for you to get help, and that’s a matter of how long it takes you to cooperate.”

It was at this point, Jace turned toward Ren. “You’ll leave them alone if I go with you then,” he said, slowly walking toward her.

“I have no reason to do otherwise.” Ren started to lower her gun, the small smirk on her face telling me that this was all part of her plan. She’d beaten us, broken Jace. That’s the kind of person she was, looked down on others and believed that once her plans were carried out, no one could stand against her.

“Okay, I’ll go then.”

“Jace, don’t,” Mom said with the little strength she still had left. That was good, she was still talking.

“I’ll miss you,” he said as he started to cry. Fighting back the tears as best as he could he started walking toward Ren, though looked back toward all of us. “Thank you…for everything.”

However, before he could fully reach her, I rushed to him, embracing him into a hug, which seemed to surprise him. As I did so, I whispered into his ears, “Jace, you’re part of this family still. We’re not going to let that change.”

I could hear crying, and I did my best to shed a few tears as well. I could feel his body trembling under my weight, a stark contrast to the boy this afternoon who fought to get away from me. After the few seconds of our embrace, I released him, and with that, Jace, Ren, and the others disappeared from our house.

With them gone, I set my sights on Mom, helping Dad to take care of the wound. “Caleb, police,” I said and he took off to grab the nearest phone.