A distance away from the school, alarms began to ring loudly. Stopping Lou tried to work out what the alarm was for but decided that it was best to get home safely since something might be happening at school. Taking a quick pace Lou started his way home at a quicker pace. Seeing that his house was just in the distance, his phone begun to ring. Pulling his phone out, Ko was calling. Answering the call, Lou listened.
“Lou are you safe? The school just went into lockdown!” Ko asked, sounding more worried than scared.
“I’m fine Ko, I left early and am almost home!”
“Call me back when you get safely inside, can you see if there is any news?”
“Will do, stay safe Ko!”
Hanging up the phone, Lou quicken his pace before breaking into a full out run. Reaching the house’s door, Lou struggled to find his house key before entering. Feeling a strange sense of fear, he slammed the door shut before racing around the house ensuring the windows and back door were locked. Grabbing the remote Lou turned the television on. The immediate channel was the news, it showed a female news anchor standing in a room with a screen showing his school behind her.
“Breaking news, there have been reports of a shooter in or somewhere around this school, Nova Piece. One of the witnesses reported that they suspected the shooter to be the escaped criminal. Police are on the scene and the school is on lockdown. There are no reports of gunshots. I repeat no reports of gunshots. We shall be back soon with more information!”
Grabbing his phone, Lou texted Ko about the information he got as well as wishing him good luck. Right after sending the messages, his phone began to ring. It was his mother. Answering the call, Lou immediately stated that he was safe and not at school.
“Thank god honey, where are you?” she asked concerned.
“I’m at home. The house is fully locked so don’t worry about this!” Lou replied trying to calm her down. “Make sure the curtains are closed and for extra security place some chairs against the front and back doors. I’ll be there soon!”
“Mother, calm down and think for a moment. It will be more dangerous if you come here, stay there until everything has calm down!”
“Ok honey ok, just keep in regular contact with me, ok!”
“I promise mother, I’ll stay in regular contact and stay safe!”
Hanging up after saying bye, Lou checked his messages to see that Ko had texted back. It read, ‘Thanks, once things have calm down lets go to the cinema this weekend.’ Lou replied, ‘Sure, stay safe.’ Placing the phone down on the coffee table Lou made his way to the curtains near the front door. Just after grabbing the curtain Lou realised that there was someone staring at him through the window. Taking a closer look Lou realised that he was looking at the criminal that was on the news. The criminal had an insane look on his face and murderous intent in his eyes. His hair and clothing were a mess.
Pulling the curtains shut quickly Lou raced into the kitchen, grabbed a chair, and shoved it beneath the front door’s handle. Grabbing his phone Lou raced upstairs to his room. Before he could enter his room there was a sound of glass behind the door. Turning away quickly Lou ran into his parent’s room. Locking the door Lou did his best to avoid the chance of being see through the window as he made his way to the closet. Pushing the closet slowly in front of the window Lou sat down onto the floor. Turning on his phone Lou placed it onto silence before messaging Ko. He wrote, ‘How are things going’. It took a moment before Ko sent a reply, ‘Everyone is safe, its believed that the criminal had escaped. What about you’.
‘Safe for now I think’, Lou texted before realising what he had wrote. His phone began to vibrate immediately. Answering the call, Lou ensured that the loudspeaker was off just before Ko begun to talk.
“Lou what do you mean for now? You didn’t see the criminal?”
“Umm……. well I saw the criminal through my front door window. Everything is quiet now so I should be safe!”
“Are you fucking stupid Lou. You are a perfect target for him, struggling to scream remember. I’m coming!” Ko screamed through the phone.
Pulling the phone away from his war, Lou said, “Ok ok calm down, I’ll wait here for you!’
“Good, I’m on my way. Keep the call on encase something happens!”
“Ok!” Lou replied before placing the phone carefully onto the floor.
After a few moments the silents became defeating and Lou realised that he might be in sever danger and there really wasn’t anything to protect himself with. Getting up Lou began to search his parent’s rom for anything he could use as a weapon, there wasn’t ready anything beside the lamp. Lou couldn’t bring himself to use the lamp since it was a precious gift from his mother’s dead cousin. Sitting back down beside the phone Lou began to feel panic forming as his situation began to fully hit in. Hearing a soft knock on his parent’s bedroom door Lou quickly covered his mouth before he could let out a scream. Grabbing the phone Lou crawled underneath his parent’s bed.
“Where are you Ko?” Lou whispered silently into the phone.
“I am stuck inside of the school; they won’t let anyone leave and won’t believe me. Can you somehow get back here?”
“No!” was all Lou could say before the knocking began to get louder.
“Who is knocking and where are you in your house!”
“I’m in my parent’s room and I don’t know who is knocking on the door!”
“I’m coming in, my little prey! Let hear your sweet screams of fear!” an icy cold voice said singing voice.
“Shit stay safe, I’m going to try again!” Ko stated firmly, trying to hide his fear.
“Ok!” Lou whispered back, trying to hide the fear growing in his voice.
Moving closer to the wall under the bed Lou tried his best to appear hidden and think about what he could do. ‘Wait did I lock the door’ Lou thought. Realising that he hadn’t as it begun to slowly creak open. Covering his mouth, Lou tried to keep his breathing steady. In his view appeared two black shoes. A creepy whistling began as slowly in view appeared a hand than knees and then a face. The person who had been knocking at his parent’s bedroom door was indeed the criminal and there was a very unnatural smile on his face. It was as if it stretched beyond his eyes. As the hand begun to slowly reach towards his, Lou realised he could move, he was frozen. Feeling his body shook more intensely and tears begun to form, starting to make it difficult to see. There was a loud bang that seemed as if the front door had been slammed open against the wall. Starring at the criminal Lou’s attention went straight to the bedroom door when a loud bang came against it. In silence the criminal retracted his arm before getting up. Crawling his way to the other side of the bed to get a better view of the door, Lou was in horror as something moved quickly inside from the door before the criminal was sent flying against the wall with an almighty crack. There stood Ko boldly over the criminal with his face red from anger and exhaustion. Carefully crawling from beneath the bed Lou ran and hugged Ko, unable to prevent the tears from falling.
“Everything is going to be ok Lou. Let’s get out of here!” Ko stated, patting Lou on his back till he calmed down enough. Calming down Lou stepped back and wiped his tears away.
“Ready to go Lou?”
“In a bit, need to grab something first!”
Going to the other side of the room, Lou quickly unplugged the lamp before picking it up.
“A lamp?” Ko asked confused.
“Of course, it’s important to my mother and I risk it getting destroyed since its very important to her!” Lou replied, holding the lamp tightly.
“Ready now?”
“Yes!” Lou replied before he begun following Ko outside of the room, pass the door barely hanging on its hinges. Waiting in silence Lou watched as Ko forced the door back into place before locking it and leading the way downstairs. Outside of the house they were met by an officer, he was breathing heavily.
“Are you both alright?” the officer huffed. “I was sent after you to ensure you are safe!”
“We should be fine now, but the criminal is in my friend’s house, knocked out I believed!” Ko stated before explaining what had just happened before meeting him outside.
“The two of you go to the other side of the road while I go inside and arrest the criminal and bring him to justice!” the officer stated confidently.
Walking to the other side of the road, Lou sat down on the ground feeling the exhaustion slowly set in as the fear began to lessen. They watched in silence as the officer went inside of Lou’s house before nothing. There was no sound of anything, no gunshots, commands nor screams. The streets were emptied as expected since majority of those living on the street were busy during this time.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“So Lou when is you mom coming home? How do you think she will react to this?”
“No clue Ko, she was meant to be going out tonight for her and my father’s anniversary!” Lou replied. “Oh and I also told her that she shouldn’t come here until things have calmed down and its safe!”
“Would she listen to you?”
“Of course not! You know how parents can be when they believe their kids are in danger!”
“Ha ha true, my parents are going to kill me for doing something so stupid!” Ko started to laugh. Before they could continue their conversation, there was a sudden gunshot. Their attention turned to the house. There was a loud crash before out of one of the windows came an object. When the object landed, Lou realised that it was a body. Even from across the road Lou could see that the body belonged to the officer and from the amount of blood splatter and unusual position, he was most likely dead.
“Shit, we need to find someone who is home to place a solid space between us and him!” Ko stated as he pulled Lou up and towards the closest door. While Lou knocked on the door, Lou looked back at his house to see that the criminal was staring at him. He watched as the criminal began to draw a smiling face onto the widow, most likely from the officer’s blood. “Lou, Lou come on, let’ get inside!”
Before Lou could tell Ko what he had just saw, Ko had roughly grabbed him by his arm and dragged him inside. Compare to the horrors happening outside on the other side of the road, the inside of this house immediately made Lou feel comfortable, safe and at home.
Looking at who had invited them inside it was the old lady that was well known for enjoying growing and selling many different plants. She was also known for having custody of her granddaughter whose parents had vanished when she was only a few years old, there had been no sighing of them since.
“Thank you for allowing us inside!” Ko stated.
Of course I would dear, its dangerous out there. I’ve called the officers about that nasty gunshot!”
“Thanks you miss!” Lou said.
“Take a seat and I will bring you some tea and cookies!”
Following the directions from the old lady, they sat down on the couch and waited, allowing everything to slowly sink in. Accepting that he was going to be a target of the criminal until he was either killed or the criminal was caught, Lou decided to observe his surrounds. The area that they were sitting in had a nice fireplace, a carpet with cat patterns on them that looked soft to touch, a small wooden coffee table, the comfortable lounge they were sitting on and two single chairs that Lou suspected might just be as comfortable as the couch. Looking at Ko, Lou saw that he was about to say something when the sound of a kettle whistling loudly before the old lady made her way into the room, pushing a trolley in front of her. On the trolley was three cups, three small plates, a bowl full of sugar cubes and another bowl full of shortbread and choc chip cookies. There was also a jar full of different types of lollies, many different shapes, and colours. While the old lady made the cups to what they liked as she insisted and placed plates with cookies beside them, they all were quiet. When the old lady sat down her demeanour changed.
“So young men are you both ok and have any clue on what is happening outside?”
“An officer had been killed by the criminal that been on the news lately. He tried to attack my friend!” Ko explained. Hearing that the old lady’s face because suddenly pale.
“You talking about the voiceless killer? The one targeting those who can’t or struggle to scream. You poor souls!”
As the old lady tried to calm down, she slowly picked up her cup of tea, her hands shaking as the cup clacketed against the plate she held beneath it.
“Thank you!” Lou said as he picked up his and took a sip, it was delicious.
“You poor dears, once everyone is safe, we all would be graceful!”
As Lou was about to take another sip, there was a knock on the front door. Lou looked at both Ko and the old lady knowing that it was more likely to be the criminal than anyone else. As the knocking continued, it got louder and louder.
“Dears get up quickly, lets get further away from the door!” the old lady said as she got up and begun leading them up the stairs and towards a specific door partway down a hallway. The old lady knocked on the door gently and it opened to show the 25 years old granddaughter who looked much younger.
“Hello Amy, can you access the security cameras and see who is knocking on the front door?” the old lady asked gently with the warmth of a loving mother and grandmother.
“Sure grandma, come in!” Amy said cheerfully but shyly.
As they walked into the room Lou was amazed by Amy’s room. It was full of different types of technology including a set of six screens on one wall, two drones changing, an enhanced telescope, and other devices that Lou didn’t know. In a corner there was a large pile of stuffed toys that might have been hiding a bed.
“Please take a seat!” Amy said as she pressed a button and three seats appeared from the floor. Sitting down they watched as the screens turned on and showed different areas of the outside.
One of the screens showed the front door where someone who looked like a postal worker holding a small package.
“Dear, did you ordered anything?” the old lady asked unsure.
“No grandma, also that’s not our usual poster worker!” replied Amy.
It was as if the person knew that we were staring at them because they looked up, showing that it was the criminal. ‘How did he have access to a postal worker uniform and how was he able to change so quickly’ Lou thought before suddenly the camera was broken and the screen went hazy.
“Oh my dear, we are in deep trouble!” stated the od lady in surprise.
“Don’t worry grandma, I’ve called the police and they are on the way. From what it seems from the news, something had happened at the school nearby so officers would be much closer!”
“Yes, the criminal was reported to be seen near the school, so it had gone into lockdown some time ago!” Ko stated, allowing hope to show.
“Then why are you two here and not at school?” the old lady asked, confused.
“My friend here found himself in direct contact with the criminal after he got home so I had to go and save him!” Ko said confidently as he patted Lou on his head. “As you can see, he isn’t exactly tall nor have the strength to defend himself from someone so evil!”
“So why did you leave early then?” Amy asked as they all turned their attention to him.
“I wasn’t the only one, some of my other classmates left as well!’” Lou said trying to defend himself.
“Yes, but why exactly would you leave early?” Amy asked, clearly wanting more information.
“I had nothing to do during self-study and the teacher wasn’t there for class!” Lou said feeling slightly annoyed btu also not wanting to put the nice librarian under the bus for allowing them to leave earlier than allowed.
“Sure” Amy stated as she got up and grabbed one of the drones. “Glad its almost fully charged, let see what the criminal is up to!”
Opening the window Amy dropped the drone out before locking it and closing the curtains. Going back to her seat, the others watched as she pressed the side of one of the televisions and the screen changed to that of the footage from the drone. It showed the drone scanning and searching the outside. There were symbols showing the drone battery life and anther one of a box showing if it detected anything important. There was no detection of the criminal or the body of the officer who had fallen to his death. However after zooming in the direction of the school, it showed that there were cops making their way here.
“Where did he go?” Lou asked in wonderment and utter confusion.
“Get a closer look at the house with the broken door and window across the street, he could of went back inside of there!” Ko stated as he leaned in closer to try and spot the criminal, wherever he could have been hiding.
“What about the roof?” Lou asked, offering his best suggestion as he also tried to look for the criminal.
“What was that?” the old lady whispered in confusion and fear as she moved around trying to see or hear something.
“What’s wrong grandma?” Amy asked as she turned away from the screen.
“I think I can hear faint knocking on the window, Amy!” the old lady whispered back in panic as she was closed to the covered window.
Amy quickly redirected the drone to make its way back to the window. As the drone whizzed back, there was nothing. No animal or the criminal that could of made the faint knocking sound that the old lady heard. After the drone did a final check of their house, the drone made its way to Lou’s house. The drone did a normal and heat scan of his whole house only for there to be nothing of importance. The drone then made its way to the officers who had just arrived. Getting up Lou carefully followed the others downstairs as the old lady opened the door, they were greeted by the officers.
“Hello madam!” one of the officers said calmly. “Were you the one who called?”
“Yes officer, the criminal was at my door after I saved these two pour souls!” the old lady replied.
“May we come in to discuss what happened encase the criminal is still nearby?”
“Yes officers, please come in where it will be safe!”
Once everyone had settled down with tea and cookies, the taking begun.
“So you said that this boy, Lou is a target of the criminal?”
“Yes sir!” Ko stated confidently. “Why would the criminal come over here and try to get inside otherwise?”
“Couldn’t it be that the criminal was mad that his to be victim had escaped twice now?” Amy stated while she sat close to her grandma, eating a cookie.
“Son where are your parents and when will they be returning?”
“I don’t know what my father is doing but my mother is meant to come back tomorrow however she most likely on her way home now!”
“I believe that it would be best if you call her now encase, she is on her way!”
“Sure!” Lou replied as he tried to find his phone only to realised that it was not with him. “I don’t know where my phone is. I can’t remember if I grabbed it from my house or left it there!”
“Give me a second and I’ll see if I can locate it!” Amy said as she pulled out a small device. Sitting in silence, everyone waited to see what Amy was going to do to find the phone.
“Strange, it says that Lou’s phone is near that window!” Amy stated as she pointed at the window close to them, its curtains drawn close.
“I’ll check!” one of the officers said as he got up and slowly made his way to the curtain. Carefully moving the curtain a bit, he peeked out.
“It’s here, I’ll go grab it!”
As the officer left the house, the other one made their way to the window. Most likely to keep an eye on her partner and provide backup if necessary. Everyone sat in silence as the tension grew until the officer who went outside was safely back inside. In his hand was Lou’s phone and no sign that something happened to it. Before Lou could be given the phone Amy took it and held the strange device over it, apparently, she was scanning it. After a few moments Lou was finally given the phone.
“Thanks!” Lou replied as he began to look over his phone, nothing looked out of the usual.