||Hello Neighbour: A Better Timeline||

||Chapter 102: Sibling Quarrel||

"So. . . Let me get this straight."
Keith pointed to Quentin and Beatrix,"You two saw Nicky sleepwalking, a number of times, for months and didn't think to tell The Roths about this and they found it because of his neighbours.", Beatrix rubbed her neck,"We couldn't because- We couldn't even get him back to bed, cause Crowface was always circling him and would carry him back to The house!", the room suddenly felt colder, and Luanne felt her face get warmer,"WHAT?!?!", Jay shuddered,"Crowface. . . Was following Nicky as he sleptwalked, and put him back in the room- Is that how Nicky gets back inside??", that had to be it.
Beatrix nods.
"And you didn't tell us?!?
Keith sighed,"So you knew about Crowface, you kept Nicky's sleepwalking a secret despite the danger he was in if what you say is true and you pissed off this Crowface!-", Keith groaned,"I was already on you two for stealing from The Banner, Station, Breaking and Entering, the whole thing with Otto, and your list goes on!", Quentin looked at Keith, clearly exhausted,"We didn't tell anyone because we didn't who were Cultists or who to even trust, and we thought we could handle it: How was I supposed to know that thing was superhuman?!", Ike stepped forward,"Why didn't you guys tell me anything?! You guys have been going out, behind my back, didn't tell me anything!", Quentin looked away,"We. . . We thought we could handle it quietly and we didn't want to get you or the others involved considering what happened last time.", Ike stared at him,"But what if something happened to you two?!", Beatrix and Quentin looked at one another, not looking their brother in the eye or The Roths, Beatrix cleared her throat,"This Crowface, thing, it's not normal. . . Fast, stupidly strong and can't talk; It squacks like an animal and could drag Quentin across the ground like nothing.", Keith frowned, Beatrix then continued,"And the reason we couldn't say was because of Smith amd Crowface was constantly around Nicky sleepwalking, if we got close he would have torn us apart!", Luanne was bewildered,"So why didn't you call for us or back up, my son could have gotten hurt or worse!", "It just circled around, picked him up and put him in his room; I don't think it did anything else! It even didn'tlet Gordonyet near him-",Quentin turned to his sister,"BEATRIX. SHUT UP YOU'RE MAKING THIS WORSE.",she snapped her head to Quentin,"Oh like you didn't make it worse by leaving me behind to chase that thing!", Keith banged the desk to silence them,"YOU'RE BOTH MAKING THIS WORSE BY ARGUING!", Keith adjusted his hat and coat, clearly angry,"Because of Crowface, Leslie is now dead and is going to continue what they appear to class as 'A Game', and you two are going to tell me everything because of your lack of action, you could lead to a child's injury, kidnapping or injury.", the station was in silence, Leslie was dead?
. . .
Jay spoke up.
"Nicky is a lightsleeper. . . With nightmares, it's hard to not. . . How would Crowface get in and out without us hearing or waking Nicky?"
Beatrix looked at him, dead in the eyes.
"Because it manipulated your voice, Mr Roth."
The station felt colder, silent as they processed this information.
. . .

"I need air. . ."
Ike felt like his brain just exploded, his heart felt like it was going to burst and it especially didn't help the room suddenly felt hot.
Norman took him out of the station immediately for air.

Ike took a deep breath, his head spinning and his chest hurting.
"Is your chest hurting? If so, we need to get you to the hospital; That could NOT have been good for your heart."
Ike nods,"Yep-. . . Sounds good. . . Usually I take ya so. . .", Norman sighed, smiling a little as he helped Ike into the car.

=

Keith ran Quentin's drone camera through the computer, sure enough they saw Crowface circling around Nicky but not hurting him.
Luanne held Jay's hand as they viewed the footage, the audio also made them nervous as they heard the wind, the animals and tensed at each sound.
'Let's get you back to bed. . .'
Keith nods, pausing it,"Okay. . . The audio is a bit off because of the wind, but I did hear that. . . That did sound a little like Jay, but I can put it through the team to get a definite answer.", Jay tensed, nods and Luanne turned to Keith,"But how?. . .", Keith shook his head,"I'm not sure. . . Maybe this person can mimic voices well, or even has a voice changer under that mask; they did sound like they were forcing each word out, in pain. . .", Alexander handed him a book,"Could be a medical condition; GERD, it affects your voice.", Keith nods, taking it,"Okay. . . So, I will need to talk to you Mr Blades about Trinity especially since she was the target and now, we gotta keep a very close eye out for Crowface.", the parents nod, Keith hoped Gerda knew something; Anything that could point to who Crowface is.