128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Two: The Pace's House | Part 1

"So, to recap on all your study cases, Emma, you just be, uh... Emma. Megan, find out who's been vandalising that condominium. Daniel, you follow me to find out who has been stealing the Hale family's savings. And Matthew, you know yours, another missing person report as always," Daniel summarised their assigned cases.

"You got it. Okay, good luck, everyone," Matthew replied.

He stepped out of the burger restaurant and headed to his car, away from his friends. Before setting off, Matthew looked through his files on the Pace family again. "George Pace and Penelope Pace. Reported missing on May 9, 2020. Additional note: an unidentified subject at the Pace's house tried to attack a paramedic," he read to himself. "It's going to be a long drive," he thought before pulling off.

Thunder crackled as the dark and suffocating clouds hovered over the landscape, making dusk gloomier than it should have been. A strong wind howled chillingly, worsening the mood of the whole place. Over the horizon, Matthew spotted an isolated house in the ghost town of Centralia.

The town was empty and lonely, with a tiny population of 15. Many had vacated the area, all thanks to the ongoing underground coal fire from 1962.

Matthew found the Pace's family situation strange, seeing that they had lived in such a desolate town before disappearing. It was hard enough to vanish without a trace, and to disappear in a lonely village with nowhere to go to was even more puzzling.

Approaching the house, Matthew inspected its design. It was sleek and modern and barely had any dirt stains around it. It seemed relatively new compared to the other ones around it. It was evident that the Pace family had done an excellent job at maintaining it. A sign saying "The Pace's House" confirmed that he was at the right place.

Stepping out of his car, Matthew relooked at his files on George Pace. He then compared the picture of the house and the actual house to double-confirm that he was at the right place. "Hmph," he muttered to himself as he finished checking.

Suddenly, a clanking sound emerged from behind. It sounded as if a piece of wood had been tapped onto his car. It was clear that someone else was around. Either that or something had flown onto his car because of the wind.

"Is someone there?" he asked aloud. Breathing shallowly, he turned his head slowly towards his car. However, there was nothing or no one around. Matthew walked around his car to remove his doubts and ensure that no one was hiding behind it, waiting to ambush him. However, there indeed wasn't anyone in sight.

Then, heavy footsteps were heard. He turned again, this time towards the house, to see, yet again, nothing. The drying bushes around the house swayed as the whistles of the wind drifted through the ghost town, bringing away the warm gulf of air from beneath the place. Dead leaves fell off the bare branches of the bushes, scraping against the ground painfully. And that was all that he could hear now.

Knowing that there was no one around, Matthew heaved a sigh of relief, preparing to walk into the house to investigate it. Or at least he thought so.

A blow to his head with a baseball bat knocked him out.

* * *

Rubbing the spot on his head that got hit, he got out of an old, gothic bed, only to realise that he was trapped in what seemed to be the Pace's family house. Coming to his senses, he got up from the bed jumpily, tiptoeing towards the bedroom door.

After turning the knob gently and pushing the door open, he walked out of the room carefully, stepping gently against the hollow floorboards. He scrutinised the house, noticing the details of every wall, floor and door. He then walked towards the exit and saw that it was bolted shut by two wooden planks, a digital lock and a traditional padlock.