Chapter 2

    "Nice Shot, Elle" Celeste beemed as my arrow hit the bullseye.

    "Thanks."

    "How are you so good at this?"

    "Practice, dedication?" I offered.

    "Please, you're a natural."

    I laughed.

    "Alright girls, that's enough practice for today." Coach shouted, "don't forget we've got a meet on Sunday at noon don't be late!"

    I changed back into my street clothes and made my way to my locker. I shoved books into my bag and flung it over my shoulder.

    "Excuse me?" A mans voice said.

    I turned to see an unfamiliar face.

    "Can you point me towards the counselors office?"

    I started to answer when loud sound stole my attention. I looked back at the man and took a step back. His face was fuzzing in and out like visible radio static, flashing between man and beast.

    "Are you okay?"

    I closed my eyes then slowly opened them and peering back at me was a very concerned, very confused man.

    "Sorry, uh follow that hall, last door on the left." I said pointing.

    "Thanks." He said slowly, looking at me strangely.

    I'm losing my mind. I thought as I brusquely walked away.

    Arriving at the nearest city bus station I sat on the bench. As I waited I watched all the people go by. A guy, probably a few years older than me, joined me on the bench. I glanced over at him and we caught eyes.

    "Sup?" He said nodding, then turned away.

    As he turned his face to began to fuzz like the man at school.

    I gasped in horror, quickly grabbed my bag and ran. I bumped into several people who yelled and cursed at me.

    I'm going crazy! I thought as I ran a hand through my hair.

    I kept my head down as I walked, terrified to look at anybody.

    "Just pick up Tommy and get home." I repeated to myself.

    By the time I got to the elementry school Tommy was already waiting for me.

    "Sorry, I'm late little man. I missed the bus." I said as I sprinted to him.

    "It's okay." He said looking up from his book.

    "Let's get home, uh?"

    He shook his head and stood up. Grabbing me by the hand we started home.

    I tried several times to talk to him on the walk with no luck. He either wouldn't answer, or gave me one word answers.

    "Did something happen at school?"

    "No."

    "Are you lying?"

    "No."

    "You can tell me about it Tommy."

    He just stared at his feet as we walked.

    I sighed defeated.

    "Excuse me." A woman apologized as she bumped into me.

    I smiled in response.

    Suddenly the hand Tommy held jerked.

    "Tommy, why'd you stop walking?"

    His lips curled and his eyebrows furrowed.

    "Tommy?"

    I turned to see what he was looking at. There was a man moving boxes from a truck to a small store while, what I'm assuming was the stores owner, stood and watched. As the owner barked orders his face began to fuzz.

    "Not again." I whispered.

    "You can see it, too!?" Tommy gasped.

    "What?" I said trying to play it off.

    "You can see the monster, too."

    "What monster?"

    His face fell.

    The store owner returned indoors and Tommy took off down the sidewalk.

    "Tommy!" I shrieked and ran after him, "Tommy, stop!"

    Finally I caught up to him. Grabbing his arm I sat him on the concrete.

    "Don't you ever do that again!" I yelled, "that was dangerous, something could have happened to you. What were you thinking!?"

     He just looked at me with tears in his eyes.

    When we got home Tommy immediently ran to his room and refused to come out.

   "What's wrong with your brother?" Mom asked around dinner time, "he won't answer his door."

    "I think he had a bad day at school."

    "Think?"

    "He wouldn't talk to me about it."

    "I guess now would be a bad time to tell him the news then."

    "What news?"

    "Your dad won't be here tomorrow."

    "What!?" I said sitting up on the couch, "why the hell not?"

    "He says his boss is really worried about this case he's working."

    "Yeah, right." I interupted.

    "Elle."

    "Mom, we both know what's going on. First it was random excuses to go to the office, then is was coming home at weird hours, and now he hasn't even been home in days. You can't honestly be stupid enough to think he's just working!" I shouted in a vicious tone

    "Don't talk about your father like that. Go to your room!"

    I sneered and ran out the door.

    "Elle, get back here, right now!?" Mom shouted at me, but I just kept going.

    When I stopped I was outside of my dads building. I walked in and up to the front desk

    "Excuse me, I'm looking for my father. Richard Sanders."

    "Sorry, kid." The woman said, "he left several hours ago."

   "You wouldn't happen to know where, would you?"

    "Sorry, no."

    I sighed and walking away.

    "You might be able to find something in his office." She called after me, "third floor, door at the end of the hall."

    I got in the elevator and quickly found his office. I dug through his drawers, and the papers on his desk.

    "Nothing!?" I growled, "really?"

    While I perused through the paper my hand moved his computer mouse and the computer lit up.

    "Please enter password." I read. "Yeah, like I know what his password is."

    I cracked my knuckles like a stereotypical computer hacker and began to work. After several stroke later the screen flashed and the home screen popped up.

    "Yes! Thank you Andy, I'll have to remember to give you a  big kiss at school Monday."

    Opening his files I found a folder labeled calandar. Looking through it I noticed a common name listed throughout it.

    "Lacey Arnold? Who are you?" I said pulling up all documents containing her name, "way to go dad having an affair with a client. Wonder how your boss would feel about that." 

    Nothing in his documents told me where to find her and I was running out of ideas. 

    "Could you possibly be stupid enough to still be logged into your email, dad?" I wonder outloud, "or even more stupid to keep incriminating emails? Guess there's only one way to know."

    Pulling up chrome I typed in his email provider and low and behold it took me straight into his email. I searched through the emails, but nothing stood out.

    "Maybe if I search her name." I said typing it into the seach bar in the email.

    Several emails popped up, but they all said they were from some guy. She wouldn't actually use her husbands email address to have an affair, would she? That's just stupid. Hesitantly I clicked into the email.

    "Please, don't be nude photos, or something else gross." I repeated to myself as the email loaded. 

    When the words appeared on the screen I slowly scaned through them.

    "Well, I was right they started emailing around the time dad started acting weird. Now I just need to find an address."

    I clicked into an email from around the time dad started coming home late.

    "I think it's time we do something about this." I read, "You and I both know... blah de blah gross. You should come over, tonight. Bingo!"

    I printed the email, closed tab and logged out. I grabbed the email and folded it to fit in my pocket.

    I took the elevator back down and walked to the bus station down the street. Boarding I showed the driver the address and asked how close he could get me.

    "Closest is about five blocks away."

    "That's fine." I said and took a seat.

    "This is your stop, girl" the driver said looking at me, "you're gonna want to head that way."

    "Thanks."

    It took several minutes to walk the five blocks, and a couple more to locate the right house. My dads car sat in the driveway and a few lights lit the inside of the house.

    Walking up to the door I violently knocked. The door opened slightly and I saw a woman staring at me. When she realize I wasn't who she thought she unlocked the chain.

    "Can I help you?"

    "Where is he?"

    "Who?"

    "Don't play stupid, b***h, I know he's here."

    "Elle?" I heard my fathers voice from another room, "what are you doing here?"

    He came around a corner and my rage boiled inside me.

    "Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing."

    "Elle, it's not..."

    "Don't you dare try and lie to me!" I shouted, "I'm not stupid!"

    "Elle, I can explain."

    "How dare you, how dare you think you could just write this off. You pathetic excuse for a man. How could you do this to mom? To Tommy? You're disgusting."

    He stood there silent.

     "All mom does is stay up all night waiting for you and you don't even have the decency to tell her the the truth. That you abandoned your famìly to screw around with your w***e."

    "Elle, that's enough."

    "Actually it's not. You're going to pick up the phone, you're going to call mom and tell her the truth, or I mail all your emails to your boss." I said pulling the paper out of my pocket.

    His eyes widened, "Elle..."

    "Call her!"

    He sighed, then picked up the phone, "Dalilah?"

    He told her. He told her everything. The emails, texts, phone calls, meetings, how he didn't mean to fall in love. He said he was sorry for lying. Finally he told her he thought it would be best if they got a divorce.

    I could feel my rage boil inside me. I hated him, I hated her. They ruined my family, broke my mothers heart and they get to live happily ever after. I was furious.

    Finally he hung up the phone and he stared at me.

    "Elle you have to understand.."

    "No, I don't and there's nothing you can say, or do that will explain to me how a man could just through his entire family away from some b***h who would knowingly sleep with a married man."

    I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked away.

    "Elle." He called after me.

    I didn't turn, I didn't speak, or stop. I just raised my hand and held up my middle finger.

    It was quite late when I made it back home and there was an eeriness in the air. I twisted the knob opening the door. The fire place was crackling and I heard a noise come from the kitchen.

    "Mom?" I called closing the door.

    I walked into the kitchen. Mom was standing in front of the sink with the water running. "Mom."

    "Mmm?" She said turning, "Elle, you're back, thank, God."

    She turned the water off and pulled me into a hug.

    "I was so worried about you."

    We pulled apart and I got a look at her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she had heavy bags.

    "You should get some sleep mom. You're exhausted."

    I lead her up the stairs to her room and sat her on the bed. Rummaging through her medicine cabinet  I grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills and dumped two in my hand then filled a paper cup with water.

    "Here take these." I said handing her the pills.

    "What are they?"

    "They'll help you sleep."

    She threw'em in her mouth then took a swig of water. She crawl under the covers, I turned the lights out and closed the door. After putting out the fire downstairs I locked the door and went up to my room. My desk clock read 1:13 a.m. too tired to change I crashed on my bed, and without removing my shoes, pulled the covers over my head.

    I closed my eyes for what felt like seconds before the sound of Tommy's voice yanked me back. 

    "Tommy" I said sitting up, heart beating faster. For a second I thought I'd imagined it, but then.

    "Elle!" 

    I flung the covers off and ran to Tommy's room. As I pushed on the door it wouldn't budge. I twisted the knob and rammed my body against it, but it still wouldn't open.

    "Tommy!"

    Then there was a familiar unhuman screech from behind the door.

    "Tommy!" My voice frantic as panic spread throughout my body.

    I backed away from the door and slammed my shoe against it repeatedly until it flung open.

     The monster was clawing at something under Tommy's bed. Without thinking I grabbed it by the wing and yanked it back. It snapped it's jaw at me, closing it's mouth around my arm.

    "F**k!" I yelled.

    Grabbing a nearby toy I bashed it in the head until it let go. Blood flowed down my arm. Suddenly a book flew at me, bashing me in the head and knocking me down.

    "Elle!" I heard Tommy cry.

    Dazed, I tried to sit up. I blinked my eyes, willing the black edges of my vision to fade.

    "Tommy." I moaned.

    As I struggled to find him I heard claws scrap across the floor.

    "Tommy!"

    I gropped the floor frantically begging my vision to come back. Moving my arms in a sweep I felt Tommy's hands wrap around my wrists. Turning my hands I tightly gripped his arms.

    "Don't let go." I told him,

    "Don't let it take me." He begged.

    My vision returned just as another book flew at me. I barely ducked as it swished past my head and hit the wall. I sat back up as a third book zoomed toward me, then a fourth and fifth finally a pair of claws dug into my hands and the monster let out another screech as it ripped up my hands.

    It spread it's wings and circled around the room before diving straight at me forcing me to lose my grip on Tommy. I hit the wall as a second creature dragged Tommy into his closet.

    "Elle!" His terrified voice rang out.

    The closet swallowed Tommy up and the door slammed after him. Climbing to my feet I watched as the other creature cirlced the room again. The closet reopened and it flew to it. Regaining my balance, my legs moved after it. This black cloud engulfed me and my entire body vibrated. I looked around as a light somewhere far away blinked  in and out. Mustering up all the courage I could I sprinted to it. The black around me dispersed, replaced with a green forest.

     What the? Where am I? "Tommy!" I yelled.

    Silence.

    I stood there spinning as I tried to make some sense of something.

    There was a rustle of bushes and far away my ears picked up the echo of a unearthly screech.

    "Tommy!" I screamed, running.

    I zigzagged through trees, under and over branches, desperately trying to find him, when I smacked into something.

    "M**********r!" I spat as my head hit the ground.

    I looked up to see a man dressed in green staring at me.

    "You're dressed very strangely." He said.

    "You're one to talk." I said sitting up.

    "You're bleeding."

    I looked down at my arm and hands which were oozing blood.

    "I don't have time for this." I said irritated then stood. "I have to find my brother."