Atsumu was upstairs in Jacob's bedroom when he heard the sound. A sharp tap above the sound of the rain. There was a storm coming - a fine start to the summer holidays - but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was alone in the house at ten o'clock at night looking after his little brother Jacob. His parents had gone to the pub with their neighbours, the Rintarous. Osamu, his big brother, had gone to see his friend Suna Rintarou. He had told him to go, promising that
he'd be all right.But he wasn't all right. He was terrified.
He heard the noise again, downstairs.
Three-year-old Jacob was sleeping peacefully. At sixteen, Atsumu never slept so peacefully. He was afraid of the dark. He had lived in Hyogo all his life, but the house still frightened him. Not just because it was an old building. There was something else, something he didn't understand.
Tap! The sound came again. His brother Osamu was small for fifteen, but he'd go straight downstairs to find out what it was, and he knew he should make himself do it.
He walked quietly to the bottom of the stairs. Nothing in the hall. Tap! The sound was coming from the living-room.
The door was half open and the lights were on, but he couldn't see if there was anyone in the room. Nervously, he opened the door and looked round it. The room was empty.
Tap! He jumped. It was the window. Someone was outside, hidden by the curtains. He hurried to the phone, picked it up and started to dial 911. Then he put it down. The tapping wasn't regular. It might not be a person at all. What would Dad say if he called the police out for nothing?
Finding new courage, he walked over to the window, pulled back the curtains and began to laugh. It was only the chain of one of the hanging flower-baskets striking the window in the wind! He was just going to close the curtains again when he saw, reflected in the glass, something that terrified him: the figure of a huge man in black behind him. A hood and scarf covered his head and face.
"Don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me! What do you want?"
"You," came the answer. It was a young man's voice.
He turned and ran to the bookcase, opened the hidden door to the secret passage, and slipped through. He followed him across the room, but he shut the door just before he reached it. The secret passage only led to the kitchen, but he would have more time to reach Jacob and get him out of the house. He ran down the passage to the kitchen and quietly up the stairs to Jacob's room.
"Jacob," he whispered. "Get up, quick!"
"Atsumu?"
"Jacob, quick! We've got to get out of the house. Come on."
He was still half asleep, but he pulled him out of bed.
"Teddy," he said, looking around.
Atsumu picked up the teddy bear and carried them both to the door, but it was too late. The black figure was at the bottom of the stairs.
"Listen, Jacob," whispered Atsumu. "I want you to hide in your secret place. It's a game — an important game. Don't come out till you hear Mummy or Daddy or Osamu. Promise?"
From his serious face he knew that this was something important. He opened the wall cupboard and hid himself and Teddy at the back, behind a big box of toys.
"If anyone opens the door, make sure he can't see you," said Atsumu.
"Atsumu? Are you going away?"
"Just for a bit, but I'll be back soon. It'll be a good game! And you must be very quiet. Not a sound!"
He shut the cupboard door on Jacob's serious face and went back to the bedroom door. He could hear the man outside. He was looking for him. The door to Jacob's room began to open slowly. He hid behind it. The huge figure walked into the room and towards the bed. Atsumu jumped out and pushed him as hard as she could. He fell over the bed.
Atsumu rushed out of the room and down the stairs. He reached the front door, but the man grabbed his shoulder as he tried to open it. He pulled herself away and ran back to the kitchen, pulling open the back door as the hand grabbed his T-shirt a second time. Again he managed to pull himself away and ran screaming into the garden, through the rain, towards the gate. If only he could reach the Rintarous' house down the road...
But he was quicker. He caught him and picked him up like a toy.
"Leave me alone!" he screamed. "Leave me..."He dropped him to the ground, tied him hands behind him hack, slipped a gag over his mouth and dragged him back to the house. He pushed something through the letterbox and pulled him towards the gate. He could not cry out. He could not escape. He could only cry. Crying as the rain hit his face, crying as he opened the gate.
Crying as he took him away.
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I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS STORY . I think this is the best thing I've written so far . I hope you all enjoy !! <3
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𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴. || 𝐌𝐢𝐲𝐚. 𝐀
Mystery / ThrillerThe kidnap shocks the whole family. Poor frightened Atsumu, snatched away from the house in the middle of a storm. Osamu will never forgive himself for leaving him on her own. Still, at least they'll get him back when they've paid the money. But the...