DESPERATE

13

Randall was exhausted. He had spent the night carrying the dead store owner. He longed to relax in his room. But as he approached the house, he spotted a figure climbing out of a window. He thought it was a burglar escaping. He hid behind a tree and watched the figure descend the roof.

The figure removed a beanie and revealed long hair. Randall gasped. It was Dionah, sneaking out the house. He ignored his aching muscles and followed her. He trailed behind her in the dark.

She hailed a blue Chevrolet and got in. The car drove to the park. Randall ran after it. His short legs struggled to keep up. It was late and quiet. Nobody noticed the little man. The car parked under a tree. Randall, panting, had to find out who was with his Dionah.

This blue car had dark tinted side windows. Randall pressed one eye to peer inside the car. He saw Dionah holding hands with some gothic guy. She nibbled on his ear and cooed, "Vinny, I'm so happy to see you."

Randall bit hard on his bottom lip. It was the guy who had spoken with her on the phone. Dionah was enamored with a freak. He heard moans and groans and watched again. They were making out in the car. It was too much for Randall. He had thought Dionah was a sweet and innocent sixteen-year-old girl. He felt an urge to bang the window. He felt betrayed. Rage ran red through his brain. He walked away from the car and headed back home. He kicked everything in sight and mumbled, "Dirty slut, how dare you hurt my feelings. I will make you and your hideous boyfriend pay dearly for hurting my feelings!”

Randall sneaked into the house and headed for Dionah's bedroom. He locked the window securely to prevent her from getting back inside. She would have no choice but to ring the doorbell and face her parents' wrath.

He dashed back outside with a large plastic bag and scoured the sewer for some rats. He really hated rats, but he had no choice. Dionah deserved to be punished. He shuddered as he quickly snatched them with his bare hand and stuffed them into the plastic bag. He hurried back into the house and made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed some stale cookies and bread crumbs and crept to Dionah's room.

Opening her dresser, he sprinkled the crumbs over her clothes and released the rats. He smiled wickedly as he heard them gnawing on her belongings. His eyes grew heavy. He felt no remorse for her. She deserved it. She was a bad girl. He had to teach her a lesson.

In the car, Dionah hastily put her clothes back on and glanced at her watch. "Shit, I need to get home." Vinny drove his anxious girlfriend to her place.

After a few quick kisses, Dionah and her boyfriend parted ways. She climbed up the roof, hoping to sneak back into her bedroom through the window. But it was locked. She tried to find another way in, but nothing worked. She was stuck outside, shivering in the cold. She waited on the porch until morning, when her mother opened the door.

Jillian glared at her daughter and crossed her arms. "Where have you been? How could you sneak out of the house?" she demanded.
Dionah was tired of her mother's nagging. She answered defiantly, "I was with my boyfriend at the park."

Jillian was shocked by her daughter's casual attitude. "You better not have done anything foolish. You'll regret it later." Dionah was too exhausted from her date to argue. She said bluntly, "We did it in his car. Do you need more details?”

Jillian's eyes flashed with anger as she slapped her daughter across the face. Dionah clutched her stinging cheek and pushed past her mother.

She sprinted upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. The hot water eased her tense muscles and washed away her tears. She wrapped herself in a towel and headed to the dresser for some fresh clothes. As she opened a drawer, a rat leaped out and landed on her towel. She let out a piercing scream and dropped the towel.

Her scream woke up the whole house. Dionah stood frozen in horror as another rat scampered up her leg, its claws scratching her skin. Her family burst into the room and gasped at the sight of her naked body. Rats were everywhere, crawling on the bed, the floor, the walls. Jillian grabbed the bedsheet and tossed it at Dionah. She turned to her husband and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Kill them!"

Tom freaked out when he saw rats scurrying across the floor. He clamped his hand over his mouth to suppress a scream and leaped onto the bed, hoping to escape the furry invaders. "Call an exterminator! I'm not going near those savage beasts. They're as big as kittens!" he shouted. He kicked at the rats that tried to climb onto the bed.

Jillian rolled her eyes and grabbed her slippers. "We don't need an exterminator. We can handle this ourselves. It's cheaper." She said, as she swung her slippers at the rats. The kids followed her example and joined the hunt, while Tom stayed on the bed, bouncing up and down to scare off the rats.

The commotion attracted the attention of some neighbors, who knocked on the door to see what was going on. Tom finally mustered enough courage to get off the bed and open the door. He apologized for the noise and explained the situation.

Randall woke up and rubbed his eyes. After stretching his aching muscles, he checked on Dionah. Her room was a mess. Blood and dead rats covered the floor. Dionah cried as she threw away her ruined clothes. Randall was satisfied. This was only the beginning.

Dionah grabbed her phone from her jeans and dialed Vinny. She needed to see him. Randall leaned against the wall and listened to their conversation. He learned that Dionah had plans with her boyfriend that night. Randall's anger grew. He wondered, "What does she see in him?" Dionah hung up and resumed cleaning her room.

Jordan leaned against the door, watching his sister bend over and gather the remaining dead rats. She put them in a plastic bag. "You think I did it, right?" he asked.

Dionah glared at him, her eyes narrowing. "You're the only one in our family who likes pulling cruel pranks," she snapped.

Jordan shook his head. "I swear it wasn't me. Last night, I left my webcam on. I wanted to capture some proof that our house is haunted. When I reviewed the video, I saw a small solid figure pass by my door.”

Dionah gasped. "Seriously?! The intruder entered through the window that I left open. The creep didn't steal any of my stuff. Instead, the sicko put rats in my dresser. If I find out who did this, I will strangle him with my bare hands." She clenched her fists.

Randall  laughed as he peered through the tiny hole in the wall. Dionah and her brother Jordan scanned the room, searching for the source of the noise. They checked under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains. Nothing. Randall quickly moved away from the hole, clamping his hand over his mouth. Sweat trickled down his face, he made a terrible mistake.

"That came from outside. Don't give me that look." Dionah said, trying to sound casual.

Jordan cleared his throat nervously. "What if it's the boogeyman?" He asked, half-joking, half-serious.

Dionah rolled her eyes and pushed him away. She was sick of his boogeyman nonsense. Randall, still shaken, had to get to Jordan's computer and delete the video. And then he had to deal with Dionah and her boyfriend.