The Dark

Liam, 2009

I was in New Mexico when I got the call from Cal that she was back in Amador. I honestly don't know why she would be here. We had gotten word that Maisey is wanted by The Dark for treason. Looks like she did the right thing. No one knows why she joined them when she left but she rose to the top of the organization and left us back home. Of course everyone deserved to be left, after what we did to her... We're the reason that she left and the reason that she's in so much trouble now. If we would have helped her and not betrayed her, giving her the blame then she would be with us and she would be happy. There are reasons secrets should stay secrets.

The last building on the block would have been the last choice as a cover home. It looked like it was going to fall if someone hit a wall too hard. I walked up to the door frame and the door was ready to fall off its hinges. The further I got into the house the more I wanted to leave. There were parts of lights on the walls but the glass bulbs had been shattered to prevent any light from rescuing whoever needed it. The sun was setting outside and it left a shadow around the house that added to the eerie effect. I was ready to turn around and walk out the door as fast as I could when I heard it.

The noise was so faint that if the house would have creaked louder I wouldn't have. I made my way to the stairs as quiet as I could. The sound grew louder as I reached the first door at the top of the stairs. I couldn't make out what it was and I was starting to question if it was even a real noise before I heard it again, this time louder. I was coming from the last room in the hall, of course, it just had to be a room with one window, I never understood her reasoning with that.

Maisey always said that without a window you'll die but with two you'd be caught. I never understood her logic even now, if there's a fire you need a window but if you have two then the people on the ground have a better chance of seeing you. It's a really genius idea, one that we never agreed on.

As I got closer to the room at the end of the hall I heard the noise clearly, it was a young child. Obviously in distress but about what I don't know. I stopped at the door, I could go in or I could turn around. What kind of person would you be if you left? I grabbed the door handle and twisted it... I was not at all prepared for what was waiting for me on the other side.

I stood in the doorway trying to take it all in. I was right of course, there was a young girl crying as she waved her stuffed animal around. But the person beside her is what scared me the most. Maisey was lying on the ground beside the chair that the kid was stuck in and she did not look good at all. She was covered in a thin layer of frost and blood.

I shook out of my trance at the sight of the blood. I ran to her side to check if she was still alive. She has to be, there is no way that she could die. Not like this. She was barely breathing as her chest wasn't moving. I leaned down to turn her over and I saw where the blood was coming from.

Maisey had an open wound along her abdomen and the knife was still embedded in her skin. The ice that was forming on her body was new so I could tell that this had happened recently. I pulled her back against the wall and she still didn't move. She probably wouldn't until her body had healed itself but it couldn't with the knife still in her body. I reached out to pull the knife out. I know that people say don't pull out the object until a doctor says so but it will only help her. At least I hope it does. As I pulled the knife out, the blood that was held back no longer had a barrier and she started to bleed worse. The ice around her grew quicker until it covered the hole in her abdomen. She would be fine in a few hours.

I turned my attention back to the child in the chair. She was crying louder now because her stuffed animal that she had been holding onto had fallen. I retrieved the animal and gave it back to her. I started to internally panic when I realized that the kid looked like Maisey. I haven't seen her in about nine months...who's to say she didn't have her own kid? I started to think back to what she used to say,