Gone

Chapter 4

The horizon soon swallowed the sun and it was time to sleep, but Adam couldn't.
He was too busy drowning in the endless thoughts that only seemed to choke him.

What happened to his wife? Is the person sleeping beside him really his wife? His heart almost stopped when he felt quiet movement on the bed. Sarah was quietly getting out of bed, she always got thirsty in the middle of the night.

She went down, several minutes passed, then an hour.

Sarah was taking too long to return, and the curiosity made Adam's feet tingly. What could possibly take her so long?

He sneaked down, careful not to make her notice. That's when he heard familiar noise. He followed the source of the noise till he reached the living room and there she was.

Sarah was watching the old family tapes. Her expression was intense, she was paying so much attention, focusing on every word and every move Sarah made in the tape. She rewinded the parts in which Sarah was present the most. Adam was petrified. She- No, that thing was studying Sarah. That revolting creature was scrutinizing his wife's every move. It was trying to find ways to fool him. It flipped the page it got a paper cut on its finger.

Black.

Its blood was not red, not even dark red, it was pure jet black.

Adam started shaking in his place, he was standing in cold sweat, and suddenly it was so hard to breathe. The thing felt Adam's presence and slowly turned its head around.

Adam briskly escaped. He quietly ran to the bathroom in his bedroom and locked it. Adrenaline was shooting through his veins, he didn't run for long, but he was gasping for air. Adam didn't understand anything, but he knew for sure that thing downstairs was not Sarah. It was so obvious, but he had been oblivious thus far.
He now had to think of the worst possible theory. He felt it in his bones, he almost knew it.

His wife was dead.

That creature broke her bones and stole her flesh as it savoured causing her agonizing pain. It took everything and left her die an excruciating death.

Adam's eyes were blurry with the tears that were overflowing. His jaw was clenched and so were his fists. He did not notice he had forgotten to breathe when he fell to the floor gasping for air, as if begging for the tears to stop, but they would not. His wife, his beautiful Sarah was gone. Adam wailed and crying in silence felt like stab wounds that he had to endure. His tears were falling like rain and his head felt like exploding. Sarah was taken by that haunting creature and that creature must have wanted his daughter next. He had been so blind, he did not have the chance to save his wife, but he knew he had to save his daughter. He had to rescue Rita from this tortuous creature.

Adam wiped the tears from his now puffy red eyes and stood up.
He knew what he had to do. He did not care about anything anymore. The only thing that mattered to him now was saving his daughter and there was only one way to do it.

He had to kill it.

He had to hear it howl in torment and beg for mercy. He had to do it for Rita and for Sarah.

"Adam?" He suddenly heard its voice. "Adam are you in there?" it knocked on the bathroom door.

Adam knew he could not let it know that he found out, he had to start acting as if he loved it like he loved Sarah, even though the mere thought of it made him chunderous. "Y-yes, ...honey, I'll be out in a second."

Adam knew that if he were to kill it, then he had better have a plan.

The next day, Adam could not focus at work. Right after work he drove to the police station and stormed in.

"Hello, sir how can I help you?" the officer looked at Adam in an uninterested manner.

"I'm about to tell you something really important, but it will sound crazy I-I need to make sure you'll believe me." Adam leaned in, his voice shaking and sweat dripping down his face.

"Yes, sir, go on." The officer left his notebook and looked up.

Adam held his hand in front of him. "M-my wife, Sarah Anderson, has been taken I-I don-" His voice shook even more.

"Can you please tell us when did you last see her?" The officer said as he scribbled down her name.

"Well you see, I don't know when I last saw her, she- she was- I don't know how to put this- I believe she was replaced by a copy of her. I-It wants to take my child!"

The officer threw his pen on the desk and closed his eyes in attempt to control his anger "Sir, this is a serious place. We neither have time nor patience for this."

"What? You don't have time to save my family?? I'm telling you she-"

"No, sir, I'm saying we don't have time to play those silly games. Now please, you may leave." The officer said in a threatening way.

"My daughter- M-my wife!"

"Sir, if you don't leave now, I will have to ask these two big gentlemen over there to escort you out."

Adam stood there, shaken. If he persisted, they would think he was crazy. He could not afford that.

He quickly drove home disappointment and rage choking him. He figured he would protect Rita himself, carry on with his plan, and that he had to be around Rita as much as possible if he wanted to protect her.

"Honey, I'm home." Adam said as he put his suitcase by the door as he entered.

The house was eerily silent.

Adam looked around "Rita? Sarah?" he received no reply.

He ran to her room like a maniac, but Rita was gone, and so was the creature. Adam ran in circles, his mind went blank. Everything became a blur. He started aggressively shaking, blood started pounding in his ears, he now had so much trouble breathing as if he had run the London Marathon, his throat was suddenly dry and despite the weather he was soaked with sweat, but sweat quickly got mixed with his tears. His heart pounded faster than the clickity-clacks of railway trains. His stomach was roiling and he felt his insides fuming.

His daughter was gone.