The Taken

PROLOGUE

     "The moon is really bright tonight. Isn't it beautiful, Baby?" Amy asked her fiancé as she admired the outside sky from the sofa. The moon held an off-white glow as the stars quietly danced around it.
     John passed Amy a fresh cup of sweet tea and interrupted her view of the moon by jokingly closing the window shades, covering the night sky in a shroud of cheap plastic. "Don't look so bright to me." He replied in a smart-alec tone. He took a quick sip from his glass of tea, set his cup on the end-table, and then plopped down onto the sofa.
     Amy just rolled her eyes at him. She set her cup on the end-table as well and scooted closer to John. "I love you. So much. I'm so glad that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, starting with this house." She looked into his eyes, just to get that feeling of butterflies she always gets from him. "I can't believe that in just another week, we'll be married." She grabbed John's hand and pulled it to her face, so that she could feel his skin upon her lips.
     "We're already spending the rest of our lives together." John grinned. He pulled his hand away from Amy's lips and drew himself closer to her.
As John leaned in for the kiss he undoubtedly knew would lead to a 'good night', a loud thump arose from the basement.
     John and Amy, both startled, jumped from the sofa quickly. They stood silent for a moment, waiting for another loud noise. A couple of minutes passed, anticipating another startling bang, but, nothing happened.
     "Could it be a burglar?" Amy nervously, but quietly asked.
     "Baby, let's not jump the gun here. There's absolutely no way anyone could be down there." John quietly explained. "Probably just some old piping or maybe it was the house settling."
     "Well, something is down there, John! You need to call the police or something!"
     "Baby! Shush. Please. Listen, for real, there is literally no way anyone could be down there. The only way to the basement is through that door." John explained, pointing towards the door in the hallway. "There is no other way in."
     Another loud thump abruptly ended John's calming explanation.
"Baby, no. Please, let's just leave. Don't go down there. Let's just call the police and leave." Amy begged as she tugged at John's shirt sleeve.
     "No, I'm gonna go check this out." John pulled his arm away, unleashing his shirt sleeve from Amy's frightened grasp. "If there is someone down there, I'm gonna make them wish they weren't."
     John swiftly went over to a pile of boxes he and Amy had been unpacking. He just couldn't grasp the thought that something like this was happening to them, especially in the first week of staying in their new home. He grabbed a hammer from his tool bag and then made his way through the maze of towering piles of boxes, right for the basement door.
     He paused before placing his hand upon the doorknob. "You stay right there, Baby. If something goes wrong, I want you to call the police immediately. Don't come down here, no matter what."
     Slowly, John put the palm of his hand on the brass doorknob. It was cold to the touch, abnormally cold. Any more colder, and John would've bet that frost would form on it. He fought through the feeling and wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. With the twist of his wrist, and a good amount of courage, John exposed the old, wooden steps leading down to the basement. As the door slowly opened from John's slight push, it made an eerie creak.
     Every single step that John made, carried him further into the darkness. Further into the unknown. So far, that there would be no return from the events that were about to take place.