SOMETHING ROAMS THE NIGHT...

TWENTY

The gunshot was like a grenade that had gone off inside my head.

"Run!" I heard Zac scream at me, and I did. I dashed for the door, my ears still ringing. 

You will pay...

Haley, your friends will pay...

The reaper howled in anguish, and retreated into the shadows. I fell into Zac's arms, letting the energy leave my body.

"You're okay," Zac said consolingly, reholstering his gun. "We have the house surrounded, they can't get out."

I glanced back towards the house, saw that the closed front door was guarded by four heavily armed policemen. Another three were on the left of the house, and three were on the right. They held their rifles up, aiming towards the windows.

"What the hell!" Andy yelled hysterically at me as I got into the car. "What were you thinking?"

"Now's not the time, Andy," my voice shook with every word. The image of the creature was still in my mind.

"You saw it, didn't you," he lowered his voice when he noticed my expression. "You saw a reaper."

"Now's not the time,"  Zac repeated as he got into the car. He began to rev the engine.

"Wait, we can't leave yet," Andy cried, leaning forward in his seat.

"We have to," Zac said. "Your parents, they're not in there."

"What do you mean?" Andy's eyes dilated. "They have to be, they..."

"They're not," Zac pulled out of the parking spot. "I searched the whole area. They're not inside."

"Where are we going then? I have to find my parents! They have to be in there!" Andy said, turning his head to look at the police still surrounding our house. 

"The police will handle it," I tried to comfort him. "Mum and Dad are fine, Andy. I promise you, when we come back in the morning, we'll see them waiting for us."

"I just...I have to..."

"Andy," I put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you, they will be waiting."

"And if they're not?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. There was no answer to that question.

There just wasn't.