The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 5: Club Members

"Unexpected things happen in life more often than you expect."

-Plautus

"Timmy is an average kid that no one understands. Mom and Dad and Vickie always giving him commands-"

Eli slowly opened his eyes, squinting as the bright, illuminated screen beamed down on his face. He stretched out his limbs, feeling a tiny head shift against his chest. He looked down to see Ava snuggled in her fluffy pink blanket above him; her mouth partly ajar.

I must've crashed as soon as we started watching My Little Pony. He thought, yawning. Why do I let her drag me into these things?

Once he conjured up enough energy, he stood and carried her up the stairs to her room, gently laying her onto her bed. He smiled as he watched her curl into a little ball against her pillows. He rubbed her messy head before leaving, softly closing the door behind him.

He entered his room and laid on his bed, glancing at the glowing red numbers on his alarm clock.

1:21 AM

Just like that, the memories from the day before came rushing back. He didn't want to remember. He wanted to forget that Sunshine was out there in the cold waiting on him to show. He wanted to repress it; to pretend the thought never crossed his mind to begin with. Though, no matter how hard he tried to force himself to sleep, his body tossed and turned with guilt.

I shouldn't just leave him out there like that. He thought. Well, I mean I didn't exactly agree to anything...

What if he finds out where I live because of this? He sighed into his pillow. Pfft. As creepy as that sounds, he won't do anything.

But there is a serial killer out there. Groaning, he rolled to his side. Eh, he only kills girls. He'll be fine.

His eyes shot open.

Sunshine looks like a girl.

As much as Eli wished to bury the thought like the others, there was no denying it. Sunshine, for a boy, was oddly feminine looking.

"Damn it." He sighed, sitting up. If rainbow boy was killed because of his negligence, Elias knew he'd never be able to forgive himself. He didn't want what happened to Holland to happen to Sunshine; or anyone for that matter.

After rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes, he stood, shrugged on a jacket, not caring how tacky it looked with his pajama pants, and went down stairs. Slipping on some shoes, he cautiously unlocked the front door before stepping out into the night. As the chilly breeze brushed against his skin, and the noise of loud crickets echoed around, another feeling of guilt overtook him. This was his first time sneaking out.

Though, no one ever said don't leave the house super late without permission, it was sort of a given. In a way, he'd be disobeying his father. He paused, thinking of the disappointed look and lecture he'd get if he were caught. Then again, he'd get that look throughout the day either way. No matter what he did. Might as well let it be for, potentially, saving a life. He thought, scoffing.

Finally stepping off the porch, he began heading down the street towards Sunshine's house. Honestly, he didn't think the neighborhood could appear worse than it had during the day, but he was wrong. It had a very different feeling at night; something ominous and shady. He convinced himself it was because of his new found knowledge on the serial killer, though he knew the unsettling aura on the street had to have been more than his anxious imagination. His eyes drifted along the houses around him; each covered in shadows of long, twisted, slow rocking trees. In the absence of any light, the neighborhood was eerie. Even the street lights were out, scattered along the road, some bent and broken, others old and rusty. But there was one. Just one that flickered at the end of the street. Being engulfed in darkness didn't make it better.