It was the heavy steps that finally did it.

Regina opened her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping for a while now, after muffled sounds stirred her up, so out of place in the quietness of her home. It reminded her of the sensation of falling in a dream, only to violently wake up and realize you were in the comfort of your own bed.

She removed the blankets and made an effort to not make a sound as she stepped on the floor, getting closer to the door to hear what was happening better.

“Where?”, her mother asked, her voice urgent.

“Glenn Pole Mall”, her father responded, as calm as ever.

“And how long has it been?”

“About 30 minutes, give or take.”

“Jesus Christ.”

Her parents began to move faster.

She knew the mall, she had just been there last week with her friends, browsing through the music store and hoping to find good deals.

The decision to build it had long been postponed, despite the number of people living in the south of the city growing exponentially in the past couple of years.

Just how much of that delay was caused by the hand of her parent's superior wasn't something she was privy to. Perhaps it was better that way.

Regardless, something, or someone eventually gave in. The construction began on the winter break of eight grade, and was ready just in time for the summer of her junior year of highschool. There was no shortage of people going in and out long after its opening.

At one point, as an attraction, a multi-purpose enhanced advertisement had been built in the heart of the mall, pre-programmed with ten designs and more added every few months. A novelty for sure, as the little ones, and even the adults who had never seen one before stared in awe at the animations: A sea lion bumping its nose towards the viewers. A mock band, playing a tune that changed depending on the day of the week. A map of the globe, slowly zooming into North America, then the US, then Dencemont, and finally the mall itself.

The latest addition was special, since it only showed in the evening. At ten o’clock sharp, in bright, big red numbers it showed how many people had been at the mall in the day, the animation changing into one of party balloons whenever a new record was set.

Last weeks’ record was one thousand fourteen.

Regina opened the door of her room. Heading down the stairs where she faced her parents at the entrance of the kitchen. Their discussion turned to silence as soon as she made her entrance. They were out of their pajamas and into civilian clothes. Preparations would occur on site, then.

She spoke before they had the chance to say anything, “Let me help, I can call up Jeremy, I doubt he's asleep. He can tell you how many can still be helped. Or I can call Louisa, I’m pretty sure she can make her mom give you more time or supplies or anything else you might need.”

At that she couldn't help but wince. She knew that taking advantage of Louisa’s relationship with the boss wasn't exactly noble, but if there were people in danger they were gonna need all the help they could get.

Her father gave her a long, good look. She had seen him do that before, when he was assessing a situation that needed careful thought in order to get the best possible outcome.

Just like the day Mikayla had left the house.

“Give Jeremy a ring”, her father finally said. “Sharon's already up, so don't go calling Louisa, I'd like to think she can tug at her mom's heart too but I think that'd only make us look bad.”

Regina nodded.

Her father's expression softened a bit, “It was a good idea, though.”

“After you do that you go back to sleep, you've still got school in a few more days and you have to get used to the routine again”, her mother spoke.

“Yes, mom”, she simply said. She didn't bother asking if she could come. They would have woke her up if that were the case.

“Can you grab our stuff, honey?” Her father had meant that as a question, she was sure, but it had come out as an order.

Still, she obeyed.

With hurried steps, she approached the basement, shivering as a chill spread through her body.

She looked at the floor, by now she had it memorized, but it still felt good to remember the directions her sister had taught her. Three steps right. One to the left. If you see a wooden ball, then you did it wrong. If you see the couch then you did it right

It made her feel like she still lived there, that their family was still complete. Her absence had been noted since day one, despite the slight graying of her father's hair and her mother's protectiveness saying otherwise.

Simon Midham was a strong man. Regina remembered fondly the times when she was a child and he would lift her from the ground, riding on his back during the summer days for as long as she asked, without a single trace of exhaustion from her father. For all his strength unfortunately, he was equally as proud.

Mikayla had never been fine with their situation, she had long questioned why their family needed to continue what the last generation had done before them and the response her dad always gave slowly, but surely, ran her patience thin: Because we have to.

Sometimes Regina wondered if her sister had only endured because of her. It didn't matter, they thought too differently and in the end Mikayla had realized this, giving her an ultimatum the night before she left for college.

To join her once she graduated, to no longer be stuck in that city and with her family's duty, to live.

It would be absurd to others, to expect a response to that demand when the deadline was four years away.

Maybe that's why she did it. Regina thought.

She didn't gave Mikayla an answer. The next day, there was no trace of her, only a tiny piece of paper on the desk of her room with her contact information in it.

It had been her mother, Emily, who found it, and later gave it to her. Maybe as a way to make up for the lack of involvement, for letting things get too out of hand.

Perhaps she understood too, when she married her dad she thought she had an idea of what she was getting into. Twenty years later she had gotten too deep, too entranced and too fearful to consider the possibility of living any other way.

Regina kneeled, grabbing the side of the baseboard just next to the old couch. She pulled it down until she felt it come off and set it next to her. The wall was simpler, she only needed to push hard enough for the magnets to give in.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Inside, three black duffle bags in perfect order greeted her. She grabbed two, putting everything back just the way she was taught.

Bags in hand, she returned to the first floor, her parents already out at the entrance. She brushed a string of hair off her face. The wind was picking up speed. Hopefully the weather wouldn't be an issue.

Her mom opened the trunk of the car for her, motioning for her to drop off the bags.

Once she did, her mom pulled her into a hug.

“You won't even notice we're gone”, she told her, not for the first time. It was more a mantra than an actual reassurance nowadays, as if the mere act of saying it guaranteed they would return safely.

Regina hugged her mother back. Who was she to tempt fate?

“We'll give you a call when everything is done”, her father said, closing the trunk. “You know what to do if we don't.”

Regina left the comfort of her mother's arms, turning towards her father. “I think Mikayla would need to know too if something happened to you”, she said.

He said nothing, staying quiet for a brief moment before giving a slight nod of the head in agreement.

She reached towards him and gave him a hug as well, to which he reciprocated. For what seemed like minutes, the two of them stayed like that.

They eventually parted ways. She stayed behind for a moment to see her parents ride into the night, only returning to the house when she could no longer see them in the distance.

Inside, she rushed up the stairs and onto her room. There was a flip phone in the desk just across the feet of her bed.

She ignored it.

Instead, she opened the closet, her hands lunging to the third drawer in the middle of it.

She swept the contents until she found what she wanted. With her thumb, she drew the pattern that unlocked the screen, she kept swiping until she found the ‘Contacts’ icon, sorting through the most recent names.

Louisa

Oliver

Nick

Jeremy

She pressed the number.

The other side of the line picked up almost immediately, taking Regina aback. Even the waiting chime barely had any time to come up.

“Yeah?”

“Hey Jeremy, I'm gonna need your help. There's a situation, my parents got called, I think it's a big one. It's happening at Glenn Pole.”

“Wait. Is that what this is about?”. There were some more words that came out of the line, so rambled that she couldn't quite make them out. “Okay, okay. Yeah, I can help, I figure you want me to take the blocks out?”

“Please, If you could. I can stay on the line until it's done, if you want.” Jeremy would never admit it, but she knew that he still wasn't completely used to the blocks, to the news they carried, and how he was the one that had to deliver them.

There was a pause on the line, and for a moment, Regina had worried she had overstepped her bounds.

“I would appreciate that, thanks.” Jeremy had finally said.

“No worries.” She responded, despite almost losing it just a few seconds ago.

“Were your parents also called?”

“Only my mom, you know how she worked something out with Sharon in order for things to be more lax on my dad. Can't imagine both of them going out. I hope they all come back safe”

“They will.” She said flatly. Then, realizing how she had sounded, she added, “They've done this way before we were born, they know what they're doing”.

“Right.” He didn't sound convinced. “I'm still not entirely sure how that's going to work out for us. I think– give me one second.”

There were sounds of pieces being mixed inside a box, jumping and shaking over and over until it finally stopped.

“Okay, sorry, I'm setting them up now.” Jeremy said.

“You're good.” She replied. “What were you saying?”

“Oh, yeah! I was thinking about the ‘family business.’” She could almost hear the quotations around the words. “And, well, it does sound good on paper. We get out of highschool, we get to choose a major, any major for college on a free ride. Then we graduate, and we have a couple of years for ourselves, but then we have to come back, right?”

“That's how it works, yeah.”

“Don't you think that's fucked up?”

Ah, the elephant in the room.

“You sound like my sister.” Regina said.

“Sorry, didn't mean for it to come out like that. But, don't you think she had a point?” His voice was curious, now. He probably wanted to know her stance on the issue.

She thought back to one of the last conversations she had with Mikayla before she left the house. About how she needed to stand for herself instead of simply doing as others wanted. Of how she grew angry of seeing her baby sister being so quick to accept what her parents said.

Submissive. She had called her.

Regina reflected on what had happened earlier in the house. A part of her thought that maybe, she had a right to be angry at her parents for putting their lives on the line, and taking for granted that she would follow in their footsteps once the time came. She thought of how she did as she was told, never raising her voice or questioning the reason behind why things were the way they did like her sister had.

“Reggie?”

Jeremy's voice brought her back to reality, “Yeah?”

“I thought something happened to you, you went dead for a while.”

“Sorry, just… there’s been a lot on my mind. I'm fine, I promise.”

“I don't buy that.” He said in a matter-of-fact voice. “But I won't make you tell me, I've done the same thing to you guys before.”

At least he was self-aware. She doubted she could say the same about herself.

“I'll tell you later, once we're back in school, that way maybe we can have all the others come over and have a heart to heart amongst ourselves. Sound fair?”

The sound of Jeremy's dry laugh made her chuckle as well. “Whatever you say, man.” His voice turned serious, “It's done by the way.”

She perked up, “How many?”

The answer took a while to arrive, and that in itself should have been answer enough for her, but she needed a concrete number.

“Fifteen.” Jeremy said.

Regina’s heart dropped. She had expected more, that they still had time.

“Thank you Jeremy.” She managed to say.

“Go to sleep, I think you've done enough for the night, I'll let my parents know what you told me.”

“Alright, you take care too, Reggie.” With those words the call ended.

Regina opened the texts, searching for the one labeled ‘Urgent only! M & D’.

Once she found it, she texted two digits: 15. And hit send.

After waiting for minutes, she finally received confirmation that they had received the message. A checkmark.

She locked the phone. There was nothing else she could do, or had the energy to.

She remembered her mother's words to get some sleep and began to heed them, stopping almost immediately.

She unlocked the phone, and opened the contacts list again. Scrolling down to the very last name.

Mikayla

She held her thumb just above the name, close enough that she would merely need to press to call.

She wondered. She wanted to hear her sister's voice again, to talk about anything. College, homework, love, movies. What they used to do when they lived together.

She hovered the thumb over the name. And exited the contacts list.

Another day, she told herself as she slipped inside the bed.

She'll still be there another day.