It's Complicated

Chapter 13: Kacey Eton

I reach the top of the stairs and slowly walk down the hall, being careful to roll my feet to avoid making noise. I know the person is upstairs because I had already checked downstairs before Travis walked down.

I had gotten into his house through the downstairs window and checked the whole first floor even though I still had a couple minutes before the break in. When Travis had come downstairs, he’d surprised me. I had tried to stay as quiet as possible so the person wouldn’t hear us. It took some time to convince him to go, but eventually he did, and I made my way up stairs, knives in hand for protection. I always take out my knives for nighttime home break-ins. You could never know what’s around the next corner. I left the downstairs lights on, not wanting to alert anyone who was already in the house, and I also needed a little light in order to see.

I twist the door knob of the first door I come to and slowly walk in. It’s a guest room, with a bed, dresser, and night stand. There is no one in the dark room. I back up and go to the next door. I walk in slowly. It’s his parent’s room. There is a large bed, a large dresser, a closet, and a flat screen television hanging on the wall. No one is in here either.

I back out of the room, and when I turn around, I bump into something. No, not something. Someone. I back up into the wall, surprised. He is tall and well built, wearing a black, long sleeve shirt, black pants, black tennis shoes, and a black ski mask. Something in both of his hands catches the light. Knives? No, daggers. He has one dagger in each hand.

He jumps back when I bump into him, bringing his daggers in front of his body and standing with his feet spread shoulder-length apart. He comes at me, the dagger heading right for me. I bring my knife up and swipe his blade away, the blades clinking against each other. He swings his other hand around, but I knock his dagger away again. But he doesn’t slow down. Every time I knock his dagger away, he comes at me with the other. I start to back down the hallway slowly, still trying to fend off his quick attacks. This guy is too good. Everytime I knock away one of his attacks, I don't even have a millisecond to consider making an offensive move before his other knife is coming at me again.

Suddenly, my foot drops from beneath me. I must have backed into the stairs. I barely am able to bring my foot back up and regain my balance. But not before I feel a sting in my right cheek as the man’s dagger grazes it. My cheek feels like it’s on fire, but I force myself to stay focused. The man tries to bring his elbow around to knock me down the stairs, but I spin and slip around him. I see his mistake the second he made it. He threw most of his body weight into the hit, and now he is off balance. While he is slightly off balance, I get behind him and push him with my shoulder. He goes sprawling down the stairs and slams onto the landing, face down, one dagger landing next to him, the other skittering all the way down the stairs. I slip my knives back into their sheaths.

I hear the man groan as he tries to get back up, but before he can even get his hands under him, I am standing with my foot on his back, pinning him down.

“So,” I say in a steady voice. I wipe a drop of blood that is making its way down my cheek. I lean a little closer to his face. “Any last requests before I call the cops?” I whisper. His hand flicks to the side and picks up the dagger that landed next to him. In the next second, he tries to aim for my face, but I catch his wrist in my hand.

“Now now now,” I say as I flick his wrist while pressing down on the pressure point just below the palm, causing the dagger to fly out of his hand and down the steps. “Was that necessary?”

“I don’t care what you do with me. My job is done,” he says, his voice coming in breaths.

“Job?” I say, confused. “What do you mean?” But he doesn’t speak. I press my foot down on him a little harder and he groans a little. “Talk,” I whisper in his ear.

“Have you ever heard of a distraction?” he asks in a low voice. “Kidnapping is a good idea when the kid has rich parents.” I see a smile creep across his face. Kidnapping? My blood runs cold. Travis.

I step off of the man and run to the front door. Flinging the door open, I run out into the cold night. I can barely make out the black SUV still at the end of the driveway. I run down and open the driver side door. Phil is slumped over the steering wheel. He is unconscious and has a huge red mark on the side of his head. I check his pulse and find he is still alive. I check the backseat, but no one is there. No. This can’t be happening!

I turn around and see the man running from the house. He is running for the woods by Travis’s house. I run after him, but he’s pretty fast. I slowly gain on him, and as he enters the woods, I am about twenty feet behind him. I can barely see him through the brush and trees, but I catch glimpses of him. When I think I am right behind him, my foot catches on something, and I fall to the ground.

When I jump back up and look around, I can’t figure out which direction he had gone in. I try to listen for any sounds, but it is completely silent. There is no movement, no sounds, nothing. I lost him.

"No!" I halfway scream. As hard as I can, I kick the nearest tree. I kick it so hard that some of the bark flies off in bits and pieces. I press my back against the tree, and my legs give way beneath me. My head rests against the tree as I look up at the dark sky. I can see a few stars, but not many. The moon is nowhere to be seen, explaining the complete darkness.

I want to scream. The one time I let one get away, it was the one that mattered the most. He is the only one who knows where Travis is. Now, I’m left with nothing to go on. I really want to scream, but I just stare at the few twinkling stars.

After a few minutes of screaming at myself internally, I push myself to my feet and stagger back out of the woods. My first thought is to go check on Phil, but I know he’ll be unconscious for a while, so I make my way to the house, where I have to search for something, anything, to lead me to Travis.