Eyes In The Night

He gets What He Wants

The room was quiet again. John looked around. The flash light to his face sent him away. But just like earlier, he'll be back. He ran over to Laura and Deacon.

"You two alright?"

"What are we going to do? Your leg, are you alright?" Laura was still in shock speaking barely above a whisper. Deacon turned in her arms to look at his dad.

"I'll be fine. We need to get that extra light. We need any source of light." John panned the room again. As long as the brightness flashed on Face Mask, he disappeared.

The three of them quickly and quietly went to their room. Before entering, John cleared the space with the light. Everything appeared normal. He went in first just to make sure and they followed him.

John reached under their bed for their emergency kit they kept. They had one in their room, and one in the basement. He ruffled through the box to get the flashlight, turned it on and lit most of the room up.

"You hold this." He handed it to Laura who took it.

"What's the plan now?"

"We need to get to the basement and see if we can cut the power back on."

"And then what John? Keep hiding from him? You saw what just happened when you shot him. How are we going to get rid of him?"

"Don't you think if I had that answer, we wouldn't be huddled here right now? I don't even know who or what that person is."

"Do you think we need to get back on the game and find someone else who might know?" Deacon whispered to them.

"Even if we could Deac, the power is off. If that's our only option then we have to get the power back on." He looked to Laura who looked back to him then took the light around the room.

It was the middle of the night. The sunrise was hours away. John's phone was dying and they needed to act sooner than later.

"At least let me fix your leg first." The nurse in Laura was eyeing his bloody leg wound that still held glass. She reached for the emergency box and did what she could to hold him off until he could get to a hospital.

"Did you call the police?" John needed something to take his mind off the numbing pain of the shard of glass being pulled out his calf. It wasn't really thick, but it was at least an inch or more deep in his leg.

"No... I left my phone downstairs." John released another sigh blowing out the pain and frustration. He took his phone and made the call. Deacon held the light over his leg for Laura to see. A tear formed in his eye watching his dad in pain.

He suddenly jolted with the light looking back to the window.

"What's wrong?" Laura looked up to the window. She didn't see anything through the cracks of the blinds.

"I-I thought I heard something." The blinds were closed so they couldn't really see anything. They held still for a moment watching the window.

It could've been his imagination, or it might not have. Either way, Laura slapped the gaze wrap on John and wanted to get going.

"Thanks for that." John winced as she actually patted his bandaging.

"Someone should be coming."

"And someone could be coming from out there too." Laura looked back to the window. They flashed the light to it and John took his flashlight to the door.

"We should get going." John stood slowly. Laura and Deacon followed as they made their way back down stairs.

So far, taking slow steps on the stair case, nothing happened. Laura continued to take the light around the open space. She looked high and low remembering he ambushed John from above.

They reached the kitchen. Still making sure not to make their presence too known. When Face Mask disappears, he's not even sure how and where he goes. He could still be in the living room for all they know.

John's new goal is the same as before, and that's to get the power on, get back online, and hope he finds someone as informed as the girl from before.

Just as they made it to the basement, John threw  his hand out stoping them.

"Be careful." He pointed down looking at the broken vase that was scattered on the floor. The rest of the glass was upstairs covered in blood.

Once they carefully got pass the broken vase, he went to the fused box. He started to flip switches to find that nothing was happening.

"What did he do, cut a power line?" John hit the wall frustrated. Laura spun around after hearing something. It sounded like someone threw an object on the floor.

"Keep the light over there." John told her.

The only thing that came out in front of them was Deacon's old softball rolling over.

"As much as I like games, I think I'm getting tired of this one." The voice came from behind John. They let the sound draw their attention to the other side of the room. Face Mask appeared behind John and grabbed him, taking him quickly behind a wall.

"John!" Laura turned taking the light with her.

"Flash the light, and you'll never see this man again." He gripped John hard with a hand around his neck and the other restraining his arms. John tried to fight back, but learned quickly this man was incredibly strong.

"What do you want?" Laura cried out. She cut the light and it was almost pitch black. The curtains for the small windows were closed and all they could do was listen in the night for a response.

"Before we continue," Face Mask spoke to John softly as if assuring him he wasn't going to hurt him, "who told you about the light?"

"It's pretty obvious when you run away like a scared dog." John could hardly breath through his grip, but he still wasn't giving in too easily to him.

Face Mask was not amused by his response, so he dislocated his arm pulling it out of place behind his back. John let out a scream.

"John!" Laura screamed again. She held Deacon with the flashlight in her hand shaking ready to push the button but too afraid of what would happen.

"Would you like to try that again?" The low tone of his words heated on his ear. He wasn't sure why, but a certain feeling of fear creeped into him like water filling up a glass.

"Someone online, why? You gonna kill them?"

"Was it Ella? Tell me a name."

"I don't know her name. You spend your free time hacking, should know how those games work."

"You should watch how you speak to me." Face Mask pulled on his dislocated arm tighter. John tried to muffle his moan of pain so Laura and Deacon couldn't hear. But it was so deathly quiet in the basement they could probably still hear the whole conversation.

"If you wish for me to go, the terms of the boy's contract must be completed. He owes me a set of eyes."

"What contract? He's never signed a piece of paper in his life."

"The oral agreement in the game. His team winning for his eyes."

"You're tricking a child. He didn't know what he was doing. There was no real consent or agreements to this."

"Say what you wish, but the terms still stand."

"Who the hell wants eyes anyway, don't you have two of them already?" John was getting angry again. Thinking how he manipulated his child and asking for something so extreme. All because he was playing a video game.

"The only thing you need to worry about is trying to complete this deal. You have three options. Either I take the boy's eyes, your eyes, or I take you both all altogether. Take your pick."