Searching for Hudson; an original

Prologue

14th July 2011, Daven Heights, Virginia

When the Brooks family slipped underneath their blankets in the evening, shutting their eyes and falling into a blissful sleep, all was peaceful. But now, silent chaos echoed throughout their home.

Soft snores could be heard leaving the mouth of David Brooks, his wife, Penelope in too deep of a slumber to be awoken or bothered by the noises that her husband was making. The duvet although soft to touch and a layer of protection from the cool air, was similar to that of a rope in a game of 'Tug of War'; neither party were able to resist from stealing the covers in their slumber, leaving the other one cold.

Just two doors down from where his parents were fighting over the king sized duvet, Hudson Brooks found himself to be staring into the steel eyes of the intruder that had entered his room from the crack in his window.

Stricken with fear, Hudson felt his throat close up. He swallowed thickly in an attempt to try and alleviate the terror that he felt but it didn't help. Not in the slightest. Wearing a black ski mask combined with the darkness that engulfed them, Hudson couldn't make out any features of the intruder, only his eyes that seemed to burn through his soul.

"Please," he whimpered, his body beginning to shake. At just eight years old, Hudson could never have guessed what was in store for him and how his fate would be decided in the coming seconds.

"I just want my Mommy." His timid voice broke, the thought of his parents, asleep just down the hallway being enough to make him cry.

The intruder wasted no time in slapping a gloved hand across the small boy's mouth, a wave of panic washing over him. He didn't want the sleeping parents to hear their son. It would ruin everything. All of his planning would be for nothing and he would end up in prison. Just like his piece of trash father.

"Quiet, Hudson. You'll be back soon." The man hushed the little boy, telling him lies in order to preserve the tranquillity that once swept over the house. With a whimper, Hudson nodded his head and allowed the strange man to pick him up.

Being in the stranger's arms was uncomfortable. It made him feel on edge, almost as if if he were to move, the intruder would be forced to hurt him, or worse, kill him. He missed the feeling of his father's arms wrapped around his body as he was being lifted to his bed. He wanted his mother's arms to hold him close to her body until he fell asleep, until the nightmare was over.

But his wish was never to be granted.

The intruder, with Hudson wrapped up in his arms, wearing only his Spider-Man pyjamas, crept throughout the Brooks' residence. He made sure to avoid the floorboards that would creak if he were to step on them and when he reached the front door, he pulled it open wide enough to allow himself and Hudson to escape out of the house without disturbing the sleeping parents upstairs.

But his one mistake was not shutting the door himself and allowing for a gust of wind to close it for him.

The slam of the door alerted Penelope Brooks first for she was a lighter sleeper than her husband, David.

"I'm sure I locked the front door." Penelope mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes with her fists, much like Hudson would do when she would wake him up for day-care. She desperately tried to rid herself of the grogginess that currently had a hold of her body. She wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed and snuggle up to her husband but she needed to put her mind at ease. Penelope ignored the urge to get back into bed and proceeded to make her way into the hall.

As she made her way into the hall, she started down the flight of stairs but stopped in her tracks when Hudson's open bedroom door caught her eye. David had been the one to read Hudson his bedtime story that night whilst she had taken a bath. He had been the last one to say goodnight to him and the last one out of his bedroom. They always closed his bedroom door at night. It made him feel safer and kept the monsters away. But now it was open and Penelope had to find out why. Had a monster managed to get their hands on her little boy?

She no longer cared about waking up her husband for she could only worry about her son. They didn't live in an unsafe neighbourhood because Penelope had made sure to read up on Daven Heights before they moved. She was thorough, vigilant with her research.

"Hudson? You asleep, sweetie?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, fearing the worst and yet her voice still carried through the eerily quiet bedroom.

Her hand rested on the cool doorknob, sending shivers up her arms and down her spine. Penelope took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and the bad feeling that was eating at her stomach before twisting the doorknob and opening the door.

Before her was a sight that she didn't ever want to see.

Hudson's bed was empty, the covers half hanging onto the floor, the window wide open and his Toy Story curtains blowing in the breeze.

Scrambling over to check under his bed, Penelope almost tripped over her own two feet before calling out for her husband, hoping and praying to God that one of them would be able to find their son.

But it was hopeless.

He was gone. He had disappeared into the night.

And that was the night that Penelope first started searching for Hudson.

━━━━ a/n
hiya! Welcome to the prologue! As you can probably tell by now, this book is probably going to be on the darker side but I still hope you enjoyed this!

A little disclaimer:
This book is in fact set in the United States but since I don't really know a whole lot about towns and streets in the States, I have created the town of Daven Heights for the purpose of this story.

I'm back at uni now so I'm really hoping that I'll see you all back here soon for another update but no promises yet!

What are your thoughts on the story so far?

Lots of love, e x