Enter; The Beginners Guide To Faking Your Death

Deeper Water

The Smiths had decided that Anthony would be staying at their house, until further notice. They knew his home life was rough, but no one had even reported him missing until the school noticed. It took weeks before they noticed that their third grader was absent from school.

Vyron and his older siblings were sworn into secrecy that his name wouldn't come up in school or public since Martinez has an 'active' search party. In reality, they're just wandering around the city looking for what they could deem as remains.

For weeks the boy had refused to drink water. They were scared that he would drop from dehydration. Somehow, every so often, he would drink some water. Any form of running or cold water would keep him cowering in a corner, which the kids would naturally try to chase him with until the couch was ripped open from him clawing away from a simple cup of water. That game was quickly shut down.

Over time the boy had acquired a fine layer of dirt and grease on his skin. He was determined to not shower, but it had been too long. A foul odor had started to form a barrier around him, and using wipes or any form of wet towel would cause another freakout. They couldn't deal with the unwashed boy any longer and had to wash him somehow.

Mr. Smith had Anthony in locked arms and pulled him into the bathroom as his sharp claws and thick horns thrashed around like a wild animal. He clung onto the doorway as hard as he could, but it was no match for the grown man. Now they have to deal with a broken door frame.

All the protests meant nothing as he was flung into the bathroom and the door was locked behind him. Mrs. Smith grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to get him in the shower, making sure he would stay. It didn't matter if he had clothes on, or if he was actively trying to tear down the curtains. What mattered was getting the month of grime off.

He wailed as he was held in the shower, holding onto Mrs.Smith's arm while Mr.Smith poured soap onto him. The water was a grimy tan, with dust clumps coming from his clothes. As the soap bubbles finally started to leave the shower hose slowly turned off. As if something was having a hard time pushing it down to stop the faucet.

"Turn it back on!" Mrs.Smith panicked as there was still soap in the boy's hair. He complied and turned it back up to where it was before, making sure to get it quickly. The faucet started to turn again, with weird noises and clanking chains coming from behind the wall. He held his arm out and held the lever as something behind the wall pushed against it.

"We're good!" She called out and let go of the boy. There was no hesitation as he ran out with water still dripping from his head. They had ended up more soaked than the boy was, and the snakes on her head were not pleased with the cold. They started huddling behind her ear and around her neck where the most heat could be absorbed.

Mr.Smith was no better, with his lizard-like body didn't enjoy one bit of the cold that he would have to make up.

"We did it." He said in a huff and raised a hand. She grabbed it and held onto his hand with a victorious smile. They were too old to be fighting a kid that had unlimited energy.

"What the hell was that?" Mrs.Smith asked and turned on the faucet again. The weird sounds and clanking chains were no longer creating a ruckus behind the wall. Even the turning faucet had stopped completely, not turning or twisting.

"We're being haunted by his damn father." He called out with a laugh which quickly stopped as soon as he saw it.

A rather large ferret-looking creature peered with sharp eyes up at them with a stiffly wagging tail. Mrs. Smith had spotted it and stood there, staring down the creature. Its gaze at her, quickly making the snakes on her head raise with fear to stare at the mongoose.

It darted out of the bathroom, leaving them staring at it in shock. Under the stove, it slid with ease and into the abyss it came from. A small mongoose living in the wall, and a marsh mongoose that lived nowhere near the eastern Africa where they belonged. This was the southern east coast halfway around the world.

Other times they had caught the mongoose starting from the kid's bookshelf at them, just simply watching. Instead of the mice that had once lived in the house and stole their food, the mongoose did. It was harder to hide food from the creature, as it had an easy time getting behind whatever lock or trap they had set.

Anthony had seen it a couple of times, and they had watched it approach him. By the time he had noticed the mongoose, it was running away and cowering under whatever object it could find. It only gained confidence with the boy, and wouldn't dare to approach anyone in the house. Even taking a step towards it caused it to vanish into the depths.

They had eventually named the mongoose and left food for it here and there as an offering to keep them away from the actual foods. 'Gef' had become the nickname that was given to what they assumed was a boy mongoose. He wouldn't allow anyone to get near enough to test the theory.

Where he had come from or how it had gotten into the apartment was a mystery, but it kept the pesky roaches and mice away. It was welcome as long as its job was done. It wasn't their problem to be concerned about a wild animal in the complex. What was their concern was keeping the boy quiet and away from the light of the windows. He desperately wanted to stare out the window or sing tunes into the sky. Surely the neighbors would eventually see or hear him at some point.

They couldn't let the boy be nearly killed again. His mother would put effort into getting rid of him next time.