Alone I Break | LingOrm FF

~ Part 1 ~

Moments later, she returned with a glass of milk in one hand and a plate of fat-free cookies in the other. Orm was normally in bed by this time, but whenever James was out, she always waited for him to get home so he could tell her about his gig or the sporadic dates he went on. It was tradition and she had no intention of breaking it.

Settled on the couch with an old Afghan tucked around her legs, Orm picked up the remote control and flipped through the channels looking for something vaguely interesting to watch. There wasn't much on, but she eventually found reruns of a sitcom on one channel.

Halfway through the show, Orm was idly munching on the cookies, laughing at the comedic antics of the program, when suddenly the room went pitch black. The TV and all the lights had gone off. Orm froze, a shiver running down her spine at the odd occurrence.

When the lights did not come back on after several seconds, she stood, opting to go to the kitchen to find some candles and matches. As she tried to take a step away from the couch, she howled, having stubbed her toe on the coffee table. Cursing, and hopping on one foot, she carefully maneuverer around the room and toward the kitchen.

She groped around the cabinets for a few minutes until she finally found some old candles, and thankfully, a pack of matches with them. Lighting one, she glanced around the darkened room, then at the back door. The utter blackness was giving her the creeps. Why had the lights gone out? It wasn't storming or anything. She wondered if maybe they had forgotten to pay the electric bill, but no, if that was the case the company wouldn't have turned off the power in the middle of the night.

Frowning, she wondered back through the kitchen and into the foyer, deciding to look out the front windows to see if her neighbour's lights were off as well. She reached the front door and peeked out one of the side windows. It was just as dark outside as it was inside. There wasn't a scrap of light to be seen because there was no moon out at all.

Orm was just about to return to the living room to wait for James when she thought she saw something moving on the front porch. Leaning in closer, she pressed her face almost against the glass trying to see anything, but it was no use. The darkness hid everything. She shrugged, figuring it was James on his way into the house, or possibly her overactive imagination.

The sudden knock on the door startled her and she let out a quiet scream. Clutching a hand over her chest, she wondered who the hell would be knocking at the door this late at night. Orm took a step toward the door and was about to open it when common sense took over.

"Who is it?" she yelled loudly.

"Orm?" she heard a familiar voice answer. "It's Mikey."

A cold chill encased her body, making her tremble slightly. She quickly unlocked the door and threw it open. It was so dark she could barely see him, but from the soft glow of the candle she could recognize the figure of Mikey Panithan, one of her brother's good friends, and also a member of the Police Force. It took her only a moment to see the candle's light reflect off his badge, telling her that he was in uniform and on duty.

"Mikey?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"Orm...come on, ya gotta come with me!" he answered in a rush, grabbing her hand and starting to pull her out the door.

Orm pulled loose, her heart now pounding in her chest. "What's going on?"

"I-I...I can't explain now, but we have to go. Now!" Mikey demanded, yanking her out the door and neglecting to notice that she wasn't even wearing shoes.

Shocked by his strange actions, Orm could do nothing but stumble along behind him, wincing as the rough pavement of the walkway dug into her bare feet. Within seconds, they were at his squad car, though she really couldn't tell because of the overwhelming darkness. Mikey said nothing as he opened the passenger door and shoved her inside.