Sanford Crow

CHAPTER 46

Sadie, with her head hunkered into her jacket, stopped at the top of the walkway to her house and heard the loud bang ring out from inside of it. At first, she thought it was fireworks. Big kids from down the block maybe. But it was too close to home.

She crept to the living room window. The blinds were drawn and all she could see was the inside light along the window's edges. She was strangely thankful that she couldn't see anything else. Something inside told her she would hate the sight.

There was one way to get in her house besides busting through the doors. Her instinct told her she'd have to be quiet. She'd always kept her bedroom window unlocked for moments like these—the moments she needed to sneak in and out.

It was on the clear nights that she'd wake in the middle of the night to see the moon like a spotlight through her open window. She was drawn to it. Her blankets would peel away and she'd be up and at the window, stepping out onto the overhang with tiny bare feet. She'd climb down. She'd remember her father telling her how those stars burned away millions of years ago and it's only the last of the light from the blinked-out stars they were seeing. He'd tell her how it's like seeing into the past while standing in the future. Those nights were hers. The rest of the world slept quietly as Sadie Crow owned the moon.

This night was not like those.

The tree next to her window had thick limbs like the arms of a giant, which any eight-year-old could easily climb. The storm had left the branches frozen over, slick with ice. Icicles dangled off like massive fangs.

But Sadie had sure feet. From limb to limb, she pulled herself up in record timing. She stepped onto the canopy under her window, unsuspectingly onto a patch of black ice.

There was no time to think as her body flailed forward. Her chin made contact first, walloping against the roof. Her hand instinctively reached out, desperately grasping for anything to stop the fall. Her fingers reached for the gutter.

She remained cool. The cut on her chin blazed with pain, keeping her alert. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she pulled herself up over the edge of the weakened gutter.

She rolled onto her back and exhaled a tremendous breath of relief, staring into the black of the night sky. There were no stars; the moon was hiding. The snow and sleet continued to fall as she stared up. It was somewhat peaceful. Then she heard it again, an ear-blasting explosion from the living room.

What's happening? She crawled towards her window.

She found it slightly ajar.

She stepped inside and landed in a puddle of freezing water. She noticed a trail of muddy footprints leading out of her door and into her hallway.

Her heart fluttered in waves.

Smell the roses, and blow out the candles, she thought in her mother's voice, the way her mom would always tell her how to breathe in moments of panic. The last time was at a soccer game, when she had a chance to win it in a shootout. "Smell the roses, and blow out the candles, sweetie," her mother said on the sidelines after she ran over to her before her kick.

She crept out of her room slowly, avoiding the spots on the hardwood floor that creaked. The sounds of a man sobbing drifted up the stairs and into her ears. The descending staircase seemed long and ominous.

Her courage pushed her forward, taking her down one step at a time.

The cries became louder, clearer, and a new sound trailed behind them. It was a different kind of sobbing, one that was muffled, as if it came from behind a door. She was halfway down the steps when she forgot her footing and stepped on the one spot in the staircase that wailed. She froze for a whole minute, waiting for whatever doom awaited.

Nothing came.

Smell the roses, and blow out the candles.

She kept going.

Her eyes were clenched shut when she poked her tiny head around the wall and slowly opened them. When she finally forced them open she saw a tall, sickly man. She'd seen him before, but where?

Then she remembered it, the movie theater. It was his face. He looked like her father.

The man was blocking the rest of the room off from her sight. But she could see the floor, and she could see the growing mass of red. Sadie squeezed her eyes closed and reopened them. There was someone lying on the floor, still and lifeless—a woman.

The tall man inched over; he was saying something that Sadie couldn't hear. That's when her father came into view. He was on his knees, his hands were covered in blood; his face was as white as the snow outside, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

It was the scariest sight she had ever seen.

"I'm gonna give you a choice, older brother," she heard the tall man say with a lisp. "Consider it your rite of passage."

"You stay right there," the tall man demanded, then walked out of her line of sight. The source of that muffled sound of horror emerged as he came back into view, dragging another person, bound and gagged.

Sadie pleaded with herself to wake up. This had to be a dream; the real world could never be so crazy. Especially on Christmas.

"Now, older brother, I want you to kill her."