The Darkest Moon

Chapter 2 ~ Aren't the Only Ones

The house was an utter mess. Two stories high, shingles missing in the roof, a rickety wooden front door, hole in the floor of the front porch, and siding that was one storm away from peeling off the house entirely, it had definitely seen better days. The inside wasn't much better. The walls of the downstairs looked as if they had once been white, but were now an ugly, faded yellow color that was cracked in various places. The hardwood that was all throughout the house creaked under pressure. When we walked in, we were hit with the stench of stale cigarettes that slowly faded as you walked through the living room and into the kitchen. When we went upstairs, the smell was almost gone, though the cracked paint and squeaky floors persisted. I chose the room just to the right of the top of the stairs, Eric the one across from mine, and Dad was down the hall. The dingy bathroom was seated in between my room and Dad's. Overall, the house was what we needed, but lord was it definitely going to be a project. 

Yesterday I had barely made a dent in the unpacking due to how much cleaning we had to do, and today wasn't going much better. Sure we didn't have a lot considering how fast we would have to pack up and move should anything happen again, but it was taxing work all the same. I was working on the kitchen, Eric was in the living room attempting to figure out how the cable worked, and Dad was in the basement unpacking the...essentials. 

"Damnit!" I heard Eric yell from the living room. I snorted. 

Must've been going well. 

Not a second later, he came stomping into the kitchen. The remote slammed down on the counter, the back that had already been duct taped flew off, bouncing from the counter to the floor. The batteries didn't fare too well either, skittering across the hardwood in different directions, one rolling under the oven.

Hopefully that didn't explode. 

"I've been trying to get that ancient relic of a TV to connect to the cable all day long, and nothing. It refuses to work."

"Trust me, I'm aware." I replied, putting  the silverware in a drawer's plastic organizer. 

"Switch me jobs." 

"Hell no."

"Please?"

"Nope." I slammed the drawer shut and moved onto the next box. This one was full of pots and pans, and I didn't have a clue where I was going to put them. 

"Eric," Dad appeared at the top of the stairs to the basement that was just off the kitchen, carrying a power drill and new door handle. Almost on instinct, I touched the chain around my neck just to make sure it was still there. The necklace was so long I always had to tuck it under my shirt, hiding away the key attached to the end of it. 

"Dad, I'm not kidding when I say it's literally not hooking up." Eric complained. 

"Are we still talking about the TV?" I quipped, earning a glare from Eric and an amused look from Dad. 

"You know what, Mermaid? Fu-"

"Language." Dad interrupted with finality. Eric's mouth snapped shut, but the deadly look in his eyes didn't fade. Without a worry in the world, I returned to my task of organizing the kitchen. 

"But seriously Dad, it's impossible."

"Well, you should have thought about that when you offered to do it instead of helping to unpack." I heard Dad close the basement door and start on changing the door knob. Eric huffed and leaned against the counter next to me, arms crossed and lips pouted. 

"You know that I have no idea where to put-" Eric began to say over the noise, but he stopped, as did the sound of the drill. 

Finally looking up and turning around, I saw both of them staring out the sliding glass door which lead to the backyard. They were both rigid, and my heart started pounding as I watched Dad make his way to the door. 

I stood up, not having to ask or wonder what was going on. They sensed something off, and I trusted what they felt. It wasn't often they were wrong, and I knew to be wary of whatever it was that was putting them on edge. 

"Guys?" My question wasn't acknowledged by either of them. Eric uncrossed his arms, making his way over to Dad by the door. "Is it-?" 

"Yeah." Dad cut me off. "Both of you, upstairs." When neither me nor Eric moved, Dad turned away from the door, big green eyes flitting between us. "Now." 

Without waiting for further instructions, I grabbed my little brother by the elbow and hustled towards the stairs. I could almost feel Eric's reluctance to leave Dad, but he knew better than to question his orders. 

Eric shut the door to my new room behind us as I sat on my mattress.  Eric laid down next to where I was sitting, elbow going over his eyes as he sighed. 

"You alright?" He had always been sensitive, and the fact that we had only been here for a day and something like this was already happening was unnerving to say the least. 

"I'll be fine, it's just," He moved his arm so he could meet my eyes. "I've never felt a presence like that before. It was..." he paused as if trying to find the right word, "strong. Powerful. But I don't think it was out to hurt us or anything." 

My eyebrows rose on their own accord. I didn't know how to take that. Usually when Dad and Eric sensed something, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. I'd never seen Dad as uneasy as he was just now in the kitchen. 

The sliding back door slid open and then shut with a bang. My window faced the backyard, so I was able to see Dad stalk off into the woods behind the house when I got up and looked. Dad could take care of himself, but that didn't make me feel any less nervous than I currently was. 

I had lost one parent already. 

I didn't want to lose another. 

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to follow him, to go try and help. But what could I help with? We didn't even know what was out there in the first place. My being there would just hinder Dad's senses, and I knew that. But with my gut constantly twisting itself into anxious knots, it was hard not run after him. 

"He'll be alright." Eric consoled me, coming to stand by me and resting a hand on my shoulder. I only nodded.

For the next hour or so, Eric and I worked on the upstairs portion of the house. We were almost finished with his room when Dad came back, hardly sweating and not a scratch on him. 

I took the stairs two at a time, Eric a step behind me. Dad was just pushing the door closed when I slid to a stop in front of him. 

"Well?" I asked. Dad slid the lock into place before facing us. 

"It was gone before I got out there. I did a full perimeter sweep just in case. We're safe for now, but don't leave the house on your own." Dad walked past us and picked up his discarded drill to continue installing the new door knob and lock. 

"What was it?" I questioned again, feeling like I was able to breath a little easier. 

"From it's smell," Dad placed a screw on the tip of his drill, "I'd say Eric and I aren't the only ones out here."