Only At Midnight

Chapter 1

"And that should be the last box," Kristin said as she slowly sat the box down on the hardwood floor.

"Finally!" I said, plopping myself down on the couch in a lazy manner.

I could feel Kristin glare at my action.

"What?" I asked while looking confused.

She rolled her eyes in response making me grin.

"You know after we finally unpack everything, maybe we could take a trip down to that bowling alley that's at the edge of town," I suggested.

"Uhh... no."

"Why not? It's bowling." I said in disbelief.

"Maybe because I'm tired of moving all this stuff into a crummy apartment," Kristin said as she walked to the window that overlooked a decent part of half the town.

"It's not crummy, look at the luxurious kitchen." I sarcastically said while holding back a chuckle.

Kristin turned around and stared at me in disbelief. "That's not luxury. Look at the stove. Look at the cabinets. Look at the microwave. All are outdated."

"Well... I mean..."

"No no no no no no. Don't you dare make any jokes about this." Kristin crossed her arms to emphasize her point. She then turned back around to face the window.

I chuckled and stood up from the couch. "And that's why I love you." I walked over to my beloved, who continued to look out the window. I gently grabbed her from behind and rested my head softly on her shoulder. "We'll make it work."

Kristin smiled at that as she gave a kiss on the forehead.

"It better work," Kristin chucked.

"I know it will." I smiled.

A knock was soon heard on our front door, as I looked in its direction.

Kristin looked at the door as well.

"I'll get it," I implied, while walking away from Kristin and opening the front door.

"Heyyy, you must be the new people."

"Uhh yes, we are the new people." I chuckled as I overlooked the old lady who stood in front of me.

"What's your name sugar?"

"I'm Austin, and that's Kristin," I gestured to her.

"Oh how sweet, I'm Deby by the way."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Deby."

"Say, What brings you to Brookside?"

I glanced at Kristin then back at Deby, "A getaway from the big city really."

"To... here?" Deby asked in a hesitant tone.

"Yeah. The price for living down here was in our budget, so... yeah." I chuckled at the last part.

"So you know the rules yet?"

"Uhh... rules?" I questioned.

"Yes the rules. No one is allowed out past midnight, no exceptions," She waved her finger at me to emphasize the point.

"Wait there's a curfew?" I asked in disbelief.

"Oh yes. And it is strongly enforced. You don't want to do die, do you?" Deby looked me dead in the face while I was completely dumbfounded at what she said.

"Umm... wait what?" I was now lost on what Deby was saying. She went from being sweet, to being killer serious.

"People either die or disappear after midnight." Deby continued. "Generally those people didn't follow curfew."

"Aren't the police doing anything about this... problem?" I hesitantly asked.

"Even they aren't allowed out past midnight."

"What do you mean, No 911?" I glance back at Kristin and could tell she felt uneasy about the situation. I couldn't blame her, this all sounded terrifying.

"Only after midnight. They are back online around 6 a.m. If you want to know more then I suggest going down to the library. It's about four blocks away. The information you seek should be there." Deby then noticed that I didn't have a cheerful expression on my face.

"Aw don't worry deary. Just stay inside, lock your doors and windows and you'll be safe. If you hear screams, don't worry about it."

"Wait, do you-"

"And that's all we have time for today, I'll see you'll soon. Sleep tight," Deby chuckled as slowly walked away from the door and went down the hall.

I closed the door and looked at Kristin who didn't look well at all.

"And that would be creepy neighbor number one." I commented.

"That can't be true, right? I mean how can 911 not be operational after midnight? Wait what happens at midnight? I told you this was a bad idea!" Kristin rapidly spoke.

"Hey hey hey calm down," I said while pulling her into a hug. "We are going to be just fine. Maybe she's just messing with us, you know? Playing a prank on the new neighbors?"

"That didn't sound like a prank, Austin. She sounded serious. She even looked serious. How come we didn't hear about this until now?" Kristin questioned as she pulled away from my hug.

"Well... I don't know... like I said, maybe it's a-"

"It's not a prank! She sounded serious!"

"Ok ok," I put my arms up in defense. "Would you feel better if I double locked the door tonight before we go off to bed?" Hopefully that would calm her down a bit.

"I... suppose, what about the window?" She pointed at it frantically.

"We are on the seventh floor, nothing is going to happen up here, but since you're worried I'll lock that too."

"Thank you." Kristin said as she took a couple of breaths.

I looked at my watch which read 6:29, "Well
looks like we have six hours and thirty-one minutes left till midnight."

Kristin nodded hesitantly as she walked over to the fridge. She opened the door and gasped upon seeing it empty. "And there's nothing to eat."

"That's certainly expected." I chuckled.

Kristin gave me her signature glare which resulted in my grin disappearing.

"Don't worry I'll go to the store and gather some necessities." I said trying to hopefully make Kristin smile again.

"Now?!" She took her phone out of her pocket and opened the screen, "It's 6:31?!"

I waved her off, "That's more then enough time to reach the store and back. I'll be back before midnight. The store is close anyway. Maybe I'll even find out some more information about this whole towns situation."

Kristin looked uneasy.

"Don't worry I'll be back in time," I pulled Kristin close and gave her kiss, "You have nothing to fear babe."

She slowly shook her head giving a slight smile which made me content.

"I'll be back," I said, while pulling away from her. I made sure that I had my phone, wallet and car keys. I gave Kristin a wave before exiting through the front door knowing I'll be back in no time. Hopefully.