Sorry for the lack of updates, this chapter was ready for the longest time but I just never had time to come on and press publish! So as an apology I extended the chapter and gave a more interesting ending to it. The original word count was 2,054 words but now it has 2,941 words. So yeah, have fun with that. Also! the chapter was originally called 'Alone.' but now it's changed... :>
~
The past few days has been normal. Well... as normal as they can be, of course. A phrase used quite often around here. Can't there just be a 'normal' instead of a 'as normal as things can be.'?
Edith was transitioned from going to work with Alastor to staying home with Sam, Mimzy, and Rosie.
Sam just assumed whenever Rosie was busy or had something else she had to do, Al simply brought Edith with him in order to keep her away from Sam. Mainly to threaten him.
But those indirect threats didn't stop him. It just made him more careful. The first day of his plan, Sam tried tying different knots with the linens in his room. He probably went through dozens until he finally found one that he thought was strong enough.
After that he started tying any clothes he could spare to the end of his rope, making it longer and longer. Eventually as the nights passed Sam tied all extra his clothes onto the rope. But there was one problem...
The rope was still too short to reach the ground.
Sam will have to find something else to tie to the end to make it longer. Preferably a sheet or duvet. Something on the longer side would be best. That way he won't need much more. It's only a matter of time until someone notices what he's doing, and he can't have that.
Suddenly the chiming sound of the grandfather clock downstairs filled Sam's ears. 6 A.M.. The teen didn't even notice the sunlight that had filled the room.
The chiming of the clock in the morning told Sam 2 things, 1 of which was very important.
First, it told him that it was time to start the day. Second, Alastor always set the clock to not chime at night as to not disturb him when he was sleeping or working, so when it chimed in the morning, it told Sam that Al was awake and set it to make noise again.
Sam sighed and finished tying the rope that was on his lap. He was doing a pretty good job if he did say so himself.
But just as suddenly his smile came, it disappeared as he heard the door to his room open, not giving him enough time to hide the rope.
Thinking he's been caught, the teen clenched his eyes shut and tried to hide the rope with his hands and arms, paralyzed by fear.
"Sammy?"
Sam's nerves immediately went away when he heard the voice of his little sister. He looked over and saw her standing in the doorway with a sweet smile on her face.
"Mr. Alastor says it's time to eat now!" The girl said happily.
The boy heaved a sigh of relief as he smiled back at her. "Tell him I'll be right there!" He responded.
Happy, Edith shut the door and her footsteps faded down the hallway.
It was only when the door was shut that Sam relaxed. He looked down to see the way his nails made dents in his hands. He didn't even know how tense he truly was until after his sister was gone.
That was close.
Too close.
Had it been Alastor who had come in, who knows what would have happened. He probably would have-
The teen shook his head violently. He didn't want to think about such a scenario.
Sam stood up from his chair and got onto his knees, putting the folded up rope in the space he created under the floorboard he dislodged.
A perfect hiding place.
After hiding his rope, the teen made his way downstairs to see a scene that was starting to become part of his oh-so-normal daily life. Edith was sitting in her seat at the table, eating her breakfast while drawing on paper with some crayons Alastor had bought for her.
Sometimes it felt as though time wasn't moving but rather, the days simply repeated themselves.
"Oh there you are, Samuel! We were wondering when you'd come down." Alastor chimed, emerging from the kitchen with a plate of food, placing it on the table.
"Thank you." Sam said as he sat down.
A totally normal morning.
Edith put her crayons down and turned around in her chair, putting her paper up to Alastor who was standing behind her, making himself a cup of coffee. Upon seeing the drawing, the man chuckled and ran his hand through the girl's caramel hair. "Absolutely magnificent, my dear! Very well done!"
The young girl smiled before facing forward "Sammy look!" she exclaimed, lifting her paper up and turning it around so her brother could see the colorful picture she drew.
The teen smiled at her. "It looks great Edi!" He said happily.
Of course, both he and Alastor couldn't actually understand what she attempted to draw, the paper was covered in plain lines of color that formed an image in the imagination five year old's head. An older person couldn't comprehend it. But that didn't stop them from lying to encourage.
Though, normally Sam wouldn't say a drawing like that was great, rather, he would just say to keep working on it.
But Sam has been trying to act more natural around Al lately, tying to gain his trust by somewhat copying his way of acting. He didn't do the best of jobs but he tried. It somewhat worked as well.
Sam could tell Alastor was starting to trust him more. Of course, Al wasn't foolish about it.
But the way Sam could tell was how there was less tension when the two were alone together. It used to be that when they were alone, the teen could barely find his breath let alone his words. Now, it was less terrifying and more relaxed.
This wasn't going to stop Sam from trying to get away though. Things might have changed on the outside, but on the inside, Sam's guard was still held high and his terror was still there.
But sometimes he still questioned himself. Questioned whether he was being rational or not; questioned if he was doing the right thing.
Sometimes he felt like maybe it was time to let go and see what happened. But his protective mind continued to fight against him. Ripping away any thought of backing out of his plan.
The teen sighed internally as he resumed eating his breakfast. It was only few minutes later when Alastor rose to his feet and brushed his white dress shirt clean.
"Have you finished Edith?" He asked, looking at the girl who was waiting patiently.
She nodded happily, showing her empty dish.
Alastor swiftly took it from her and put it in the kitchen before coming back and grabbing his red coat and spectacles. "Come along now my dear, best foot forward. We don't want to be late, do we?" He said, putting his hand out for the young girl to grab.
Sam merely stared blankly, rather confused about what was happening. They were leaving already but he could have sworn he didn't see Rosie or Mimzy when he came downstairs.
"Alastor?"
The man hummed to signal he was listening while tying his bow-tie around his neck.
"Where's Mimzy?" Sam asked curiously.
Alastor paused what he was doing and smiled lightly down at Edith. "Darling, why don't you go wait by the door? I'll join you in just a moment."
With a smile and nod of delight, the girl disappeared as she walked out of the room.
When the door was closed, the man with the never-stalling smile turned back towards the teen in front of him. "Mimzy will unfortunately not be joining you today. There was some last minute work she had to finish."
"And Rosie?"
"Rosie as well. However, considering your age I do trust you are old enough to be left on your own for a few hours?"
The teen hesitated before nodding. This could be his chance!
"But, you are smart enough to understand the consequences to taking advantage of such trust, are you not?"
Sam nodded quickly, his confidence spiking and the blueprints of his plan rolling out in his head.
"Wonderful!" Alastor said before interjecting the teen's thoughts by gripping his shoulders and speaking into his ear. "If I find out that you stepped one foot beyond these four walls, you will never see your sibling alive again."
With that, Sam's confidence snapped as doubt, fear, and regret clouded his mind. Before he could even respond to the threat, Alastor had already left the room, leaving him drowning in his own fear-filled mind.
It wasn't long until he heard the sound of a car start and drive off, leaving him in his own world.
~
The entire first half of the day was almost entirely spent in the same seat he was already in. Doing nothing but replaying Alastor's horrifying words in his head.
"If I find out that you stepped one foot beyond these four walls, you will never see your sibling alive again."
"You will never see your sibling alive again."
"You will never see your sibling alive again."
At this point, Edith is the only thing he lives for. If he were to leave and Alastor were to find out and kill his sister. What would be the point of escape anyway? Without Edi there is nothing for him to live for.
The image of his sibling's corpse in front of him was almost too vivid for him to handle.
He saw it.
Just like the man from the forest when this whole ordeal began.
Edith, laid motionless on the table in front of him, her expression glued onto her face. Her eyes wide with terror and betrayal. Her hair, caked in dry blood that had turned brown over time. Her mouth, slightly open with surprise. Her eyes that was a show of happiness, laughter, and light now dull and lifeless.
Sam stood up and slowly stepped away from the bloody mess in front of him, just to be stopped by something behind him. Only, he was far too afraid to look behind him but it was quickly revealed what it was when two cold as ice hands grabbed his shoulders painful hard.
"I gave you the means to prevent this, boy. But you never listened, did you?"
The voice of Alastor whispered into his ear, each word dripping with venom.
"See what you've done? You did this to her. You've failed as a guardian. As a brother. Now, what do you have left... Samuel...?"
Samuel..?
"Samuel!"
Sam jolted his head off the table as he was startled awake by the voice next to him. When he looked up he saw Alastor. It was then when the teen tensed up. The sun had already set, he didn't even notice how quick the time was going or when he fell asleep.
But his mind was quick to focus on something else making his head turn frantically from side to side looking for something, or rather- someone.
"You can relax Samuel. Edith is upstairs settling down. Normally, I would refrain from waking you but your sleeping posture surely would have made you feel quite sore! And we don't want that, now do we?" The man explained, chuckling slightly at the end.
"N-No, we don't. Uh, thanks."
"Of course, now then, why don't you go upstairs and help Edith wash up for supper?" Alastor suggested before heading into the kitchen.
A suggestion that Sam took, quickly getting up and making his way upstairs where he found his sister on the floor of her room, drawing once again.
Such a sight put a light smile on his face as he watched her from the doorway.
"What are you drawing Edi?" He asked.
The girl looked up to see him leaning on the side of the doorframe, patiently waiting for an answer. But rather than tell him one, Edith lifts up her paper and turned it around so he could see.
With a slight squint of his eyes he could make out exactly what was on the paper...
~A few hours later~
Sam was now sitting in the chair in his room, looking at the sleeping girl who was just across the hallway from him.
He had slept through the day and was wide awake now.
He wondered if he should do it. It's all ready. He has his rope finished and his sister is in his sights. All he has to do is go wake her up and explain to her what was happening. That's it.
That simple.
But could he ever have such courage? What he didn't realize was that his legs, as if they had a mind of their own, we're already walking him towards the young girl and before he knew it, he was already standing right next to her.
Now all he had to do was wake her from her sleep.
He slowly put his hand out towards her.
"Wait- why is it that you would kill me but not my sister?"
"Because your sister is an innocent and defenseless little fawn. You're a young lad who can defend himself... I do really hate those who can't show a little more respect to those of fairer means..."
All Sam has to do is shake her awake, then they can leave.
"HE'S A MURDERER!"
"Think of it this way, ya both had nothin' before meetin' Al. Now ya both have a home, food, a caretaker, and don't you forget, ya still have each otha'. Alastor coulda easily killed you and taken yer' sister,"
Just inches from his sister's shoulder, Sam's hand stopped.
Maybe... Maybe he could leave her to keep sleeping. Yeah... if he leaves by himself and gets to the police in time, they could get back in time to arrest Alastor before he could bring any harm to her. Yeah! She's fine. It'll be fine!
Sam retracted his arm and made his way back to his own room, leaving his sister to her dreamland.
Now, he had a mission. He had to get out and get to the police before Alastor somehow noticed he's gone. Shouldn't be too hard, right?
With that, Sam throws his shoes and sets up his rope, tying it to a homemade hook above the window.
The way down was difficult and frightening, despite the cold night, the teen was sweating and his heart was pounding. It was really happening. He was really doing this.
It had felt like hours until he finally reached the ground but when he did, the crunch of the grass under his feet was almost as great as the fresh air flowing through his nose. He had been kept prisoner in that house since Alastor first kidnapped him but now he was outside again! He never thought he'd miss being outside so much.
But he knew he couldn't just stand still forever, he had to move, and he had to move QUICK. The only problem was his disorientation from being inside for so long. He had no idea where he was or where the police station was from here.
So he went the only way he knew led to somewhere. The forest behind the house that Alastor had led him and his sister through that long while ago.
Once he got past the fence he started sprinting through the forest, trying to get as far away as fast as possible.
But the disorientation worked quicker and it wasn't long before his sprint turned into a run, his run into a jog, and his jog into a walk. He was completely lost and it wasn't long before he started regretting his decision.
Being a male, he was always told that he shouldn't be scared, that he couldn't be scared but if he was anything right now, it's scared. Scared and paranoid.
Every slight crack of a branch and crunch or grass or dead leaves made him feel as though he was about to have a heart attack.
But... it also wasn't long until he felt uneasy... like his sixth sense was screaming at him that something was wrong and that he was in danger. Felt like someone was behind him then next to him...
Then in front of him.
It felt like he was completely surrounded and something was watching him...
All at once he heard two large snaps of twigs, one in front of him and one behind him. Instinctively, Sam swung around in absolute panic to see what was behind him, only to regret it almost immediately.
In this pitch black forest illuminated by only moonlight, Sam could make out a person. But not just any person. No. This was the one person he feared most.
Alastor was staring right back at him with an almost insane looking smile on his face.
The teen looked met the man's gaze with nothing but absolute horror. A deer in headlights.
What happened next made Sam's heart stop beating, paralyzed by fear.
The sound of a gun being cocked echoed through the forest as Alastor held up a shot gun towards the terrified teenager... And before Sam could even scream in fright...
BANG!