In The Shadows

1. Little girls come knocking.

Vibrant colours flashed across the TV screen, blinding Daren for a second. He blinked several times,trying to chase away the stars from his vision.
' House and doll, each sold separately,' a prissy disembodied voice said just as a cute house and doll flashed onto the screen.
He scoffed. He sure as hell would not be getting one of those again, he thought to himself. When did Alissa stop playing with dolls? She use to love those things. He remembered her running through the garden with several dolls in her hands laughing as she transported herself into a world only she could see. He smiled a lopsided smile that easily turned into a frown. He hadn't heard her laugh in a while.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position realizing he was so close to falling off the chair. Sighing, he took in his surroundings. The TV provided the only light in the room apart from light pouring in from the adjoining dining area. When had he fallen asleep and what time was it? The creases on his for head deepened as he tried to make out the time on his watch. He squinted but still the arms of the watch were unseen by him. The weight of that moment hit him after a minute when he noticed that he hadn't turned his watch toward the light of the TV. He was tired.

He raised himself from the chair slowly, stretching out as he moved. A few bones cracked in response and he scowled when the pain hit him in a series of waves. Rubbing his eyes he reached for the remote control and turned the TV off.
Even though there was an adequate amount of light pouring in, he still stumbled as a heavy drunk man would. A soreness had seeped into his bones and muscles that almost seemed unbearable in some parts of his body such that he had to limp or bend in a certain way to prevent the ache.

The memory of the enraged driver drifted through his mind but the image was so unclear it was almost as if he were watching it from behind stained glass. He was glad Alissa hadn't been in the car to experience that. It could have been worse, he thought, it could have been worse but I had acted quickly and that was all that mattered.

The shuffling of his feet seemed loud in the sitting room so much that the sound was almost irritable. He pulled in a sharp breath and increased his pace. Being alone these days seemed like a punishment, a constant black cloud that never seemed to lose him even though he ran into buildings and places filled with people.
To the east side of the sitting room, where he was headed, there lay a small step which he had to climb in order to get to the front door on the right or the stairs leading upstairs.
His breathing grew strained as he lifted himself, one leg at a time. When he had finally climbed the step he dragged himself towards the front door where he checked to see if the door was locked and the alarm was on then headed towards the stairs.

He swore under his breath with each step he took upwards. Only when he was half way up did he allow himself to rest his head against the wall while he caught his breath. The cool feel of the wall against his forehead was alarming at first but he soon welcomed it.

"Jesus...,"he whispered.

The only reason the doctor had let him out a little early was because of the intense rate at which he had recovered...considering the wounds but mostly because they were friends and had been since high school through medical school.

"Don't put much strain on yourself. You're still healing," he harshly whispered mimicking his friend.

Darren turned his head towards the top of the stairs still with his head resting against the wall. He sighed, already feeling the pain of journeying forward.
He pushed himself gently off the wall and turned to face the flight of stairs that greeted the premeditated pain in his mind. Darren awkwardly raised his leg but just as he was about to set it down, he heard a faint knocking.

The sound had been abrupt shattering the evening's silence surrounding him. Darren jerked and in so doing, slipped.  The action had been instinctual such that before he knew it, he was at the bottom of the stairs where he had started.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, feeling new bruises form and the almost mostly dormant pain spread.

The knocking came again this time a little louder. Darren shifted then lifted himself quickly in spite of the pain. Grimacing, he glanced at his watch for the second time that night. It was passed midnight.

"Huh."

He pulled his hands through his hair and paused trying to decide whether he had heard correctly or the lack of proper rest was getting to him. For a fraction of a moment there was utter silence right until the knock came again...loud and steady almost desperate.

Without a second thought almost as if he had no choice, Darren approached the door and unlocked it. His hand, as if dismembered from his body, acted on its own accord and pushed down the door handle and pulled.
Cold wind slammed into him breaking the trance. He blinked once, twice then peered into the night. His eyes played along the dark street and cars that lined it until they settled before him right beneath his nose.

A girl who appeared to be about thirteen looked up at him through dark hair that clung to her face in strands. Her wet clothes hugged her body and mud seemed to be slathered on her jeans and caked her boots. Daren frowned with eyes searching the girl's face for even a iota of recognition. Daren opened his mouth to speak but the girl beat him to it.

"Daren...," she breathed as if all that time she had been holding her breath.

Her voice had escaped her lips like a soft breeze, tickling his ears but also for the most miniscule part of a second, it had scratched at them. It had scratched at his ears like that of bitter old woman but that had been but a moment.

"Thea?"