Dead Beat (❌)

Chapter Six

Johnie

I don't want to say that being in the car is unsettling, because it is most definitely a hell of a lot more secure than the darkness of the house, but something about sitting in a dead silent garage with the light letting me see everything just rubs me the wrong way.

It feels like one of those videos where you're staring at an empty room that is completely normal until a horrific, screaming face pops up on the screen.

Just thinking of someone suddenly popping up out of nowhere has me pressed against the seat of the car, my breathing loud and ragged. It doesn't help that our garage door is wide open, but I don't really have a choice since I have the car running, the soft hum of the engine only making me more nervous.

Our neighborhood has always been pretty quiet unless kids are outside, but now that I know that there's people outside trying to fucking kill us, the silence that was once calming is now incredibly unsettling.

I can't decide if I want to stare at the door, desperately waiting for my parents and siblings to come running out, or if I want to keep watch on the open garage, praying more than I've ever prayed before that no one came creeping in.

Dad said to get the car ready, but did he mean to start it up? To open the door? What if that left us vulnerable? I can't protect myself against people like this! I barely kicked the kid's ass down the street that used to call us weird and that was almost ten years ago!

God, I'm so pathetic!

Being so restless, I just end up kind of squirming while staring at both the house door and outside, worried on why it's taking everyone so long.

Is someone hurt? Are they being held captive? Are they in trouble?!

Thinking of what might be happening to everybody forces me to remember that man, Yuenno, and how dark his blood was as it ran down his throat. The expression of horror on his face, the widening of his eyes, the wet gurgles...

The mental image makes me shudder.

I still can't really believe that my dad did that, killed someone so effortlessly and without a hint of hesitation.

Who was Yuenno to Dad anyway? Were they friends?

It makes me wonder what he's capable of and, honestly, it makes me doubt if I really know the man that's my father.

Despite what my brain says, though, I still feel like he had a reason to kill Yuenno.

You know, besides the fact that he was trying to kill us.

The silence is starting to bare its weight down on me, but suddenly I hear a horrible scream from inside the house and experience a strange tightening in my chest.

Gasping softly, I reach up to grasp at my shirt at the same time that the door to the house finally flies open, revealing my twin, his face pale and his eyes peering around frantically.

I have the urge to grab him and crush him in my arms, but again, I think of what Mom wants me to do and I swallow my own emotions, staying calm as Alfie makes his way over to the door and slowly climbs in.

He's moving like some sort of zombie, but I instinctively connect with why, this whole ordeal shaking me to the core as well.