Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcomed stories all the time. Glad you are here.
Let's get into it. Robbi curstill crept down the stairs.
He could hear his father snoring in the bedroom around
the corner, and didn't see any light leaking under the door.
That meant his mother had probably closed her book and
gone to sleep as well. He was in the clear.
He did a little jete over the board that always
popped under pressure, and landed deftly on the plush carpet
of the lounge. All the curtains were drawn as usual.
Robi's father, Tanner, insisted shutting the curtains, discouraged Burger's Robbi
didn't believe him. He wasn't afraid of burglars or anything.
He'd been scared of plenty of stuff when he was ten,
even eleven, But he was twelve now. He couldn't let
childish fear slow him down any more. He navigated the
familiar surroundings despite the dark, slinking into the kitchen. His
room upstairs received a fraction of the air conditioning's chill
and always stayed humid throughout the summer, even at night.
He needed something to cool him down, and one of
the bomb pops left over from the fourth of July
sounded just right. His mother never would have approved of
him meeting Sugar so late, but she didn't need to know.
After all, Robby was twelve. Now he could make his
own decisions. In the kitchen, Robby's vision started to sharpen.
His dilated, people starved for light had finally opened up.
He grepted the freezer handle just as the air conditioning
stopped blowing loudly through the vents behind him. Robbie froze.
With the house so quiet, he feared even the minuscule
sound of the freezer's ill cracking open could wake his parents.
He imagined his father coming around the corner. The light
attached to the in the barrel of his lot pointed
right at him. This had happened once before, and it
had taken Robbie almost a year to look at Towna
the same way again. The lack of white noise from
the air condition opposed another problem. It challenged Robby's feels
idea of himself in the new silence. The house cracked
him pop randomly. It made him nervous to turn his back,
and the open floor planned behind him. With a deep breath,
He peeled open the freezer and was smacked by a
nice coal blast. He reached into the back, where the
box of bomb pops leaned against a bag of frozen fruit.
The popsicle's wrappers crinkled as he tried to remove one,
and he immediately gave up. He hadn't thought of how
oh those rappers were before carefully he shut the freezer.
Time for plan B. The Crystals always kept bottles of
lemon soda water in the fridge during the summer because
Robbie's mother Sonya, insisted they were healthier than lemonade. Robbie
opened the fridge to retrieve one of these and was
blasted by light. It bore his eyes even when he
squeezed them shut. Robbi growled a plastic bottle and shut
the door quickly. When he opened his eyes again, the
house seemed even darker than ever before. Lightshow had shrunk
his pupils to dots, and now he couldn't see a thing.
As he turned to leave, Robby heard it the distinct
metallic clink of chains in the dark. He whipped around,
but could see nothing. The sound had come from across
the room, and the boy stared intently in its direction.
He told himself he had just imagined it, just as
he had every other time. He waited and stared, partially
during the sound to repeat, but mostly hoping it wouldn't.
As he gripped the coal sweaty bottle in his hand,
his vision slowly returned. A silhouets of the lounge furniture
began to crystallize. Robbi noticed a dark shape in the
father's corner. Robbie squeezed his eyes shut so tight he
saw stars, then opened them wide, expecting the dark shape,
surely a figment of his imagination, to be gone, but
it was now. It began to resemble a man with
a towering head and shoulders. Again came the sound of
chainling sliding against one another as the dark shape moved
ever so slightly. Robbi darted out of the kitchen and
ran up the stairs. Robbie, a small voice whispered as
he passed his sister's room. His bare feet skidded on
the carpet. He turned back and saw the pale blue
glow of assist his night light emanating from a narrow
gap in the doorway. The light was interrupted only by
a thin figure. The light bounced off her hair and
eliminated her pink nightgown, giving her an angelic appearance. I
was just getting a drink. Go back to bed, Layelah,
Robbie whispered harshly. Did you hear it? She asked, No,
did you? He couldn't help himself. No aht but I
heard you running in thought, Raoul, isn't real, Layelah, You're
just being a dumb kid. Now go back to bed.
Robbie heard his sister sniffle as she carefully closed her door.
He hurried the rest of the way to his room,
his words echoing in his mind. Words he had meant
more for himself than his sister. Raddle. Isn't real? You
just being a dumb kid, lailor trained to hurt a
full expression. Little sisters reserve only for big brothers on
Robby all throughout breakfast the next morning, Robby actively ignored her. So, Robbie,
did you find what you were looking for last night?
Sonia asked her son through a mouthful of cream, cheese
and beagle. Robbie replied, ha heah, Yeah, You're lucky I
kept old Clint Eastwood here in check. She rested a
hand on Tanner's shoulder. You might have had another scare.
Who's Clint Eastwood, Robbi asked rudely. Tana slid his plate
and glass of orange juice out of his own way
and leaned toward Robby over the table. He pinched his
eyebrows together and cocked his head to one side, then asked,
do you feel lucky? Punk, No, Robbie said. Tanner stayed
in character for a few seconds after Sonia started laughing,
but when Lea joined in, he lost it. Robbie rolled
his eyes but didn't hide his human smirk very well.
Wend the laughter died. Tanner said, seriously, though this place
is in a prison, obviously. I'm mean, your kids aren't
in lockdown. But I don't think you need to be
rustling through the pantry all night. All right, snatting late
isn't healthy. I didn't go in the pantry, Robbie said, smugly. Okay, well, then,
whatever the heck you were doing in the kitchen last night,
just get a glass of water if your stomach feels empty,
trust me, it'll help. He's right, Sonia said he ain't okay.
Robbie rolled his eyes again. He caught Layelah mockingly coppying
him from the corner of his eye. Sonya dropped the
bottom half of her bagel onto Roby's plate. As she
stood up from the table, she said, for the growing boy,
maybe you should eat more before bed Ha. When you're
done finish getting ready? Yeah, we gotta get going soon,
Tanner added, rubbing the top of Layla's head. The elementary
school was on his way to work, so he always
dropped her off on the way. Sonya took Robby to
the middle school in the opposite direction. After dropping him off,
she would return to the house to work from home.
Having the place to herself quiet made her more productive
than she had been in any other professional environment. As
a programmer, she could easily throw on some music as
loud or as soft as she wanted and get into
a trance like state and uninterruptible rhythm and not come
out of it until she had to pick up Robbie
at three point fifteen. After saying good bye to Robbie
that morning, Sonya followed her usual pattern straight back home
to begin the day's work. She sat down at her computer,
fired up Spotify, and found her Animals as leader's playlist.
Their music had just the right balance of mathematical rhythms
and hypnotic melodies to keep her engage but not distracted.
They were a girta for her during work hours. As
the loud guitars and drum's thumb from her speakers and
her fingers clapped away at her mechanical keys, Sonia found
her rhythm. Her fingers stopped only to wrap around her
coffee cup from time to time until it was empty.
Around one in the afternoon, she had to pause a
particularly tricky line of code and search the web for
some help. As she scanned form after forum, she turned
down the music. About halfway. She thought she heard someone
set keys down on the kitchen counter and looked up
from her computer screen. She glanced out the window of
her second floor office, but didn't see Tana's car in
the driveway. She heard it again, the jingle of keys
or something similar. Sonya spun her chair round to face
the door. Even though she was home alone, she still
shut the door. It was a focusing tip she had
gleaned from Stephen King's book on writing. She stood, went
to the door and cracked it open. Hello, she called.
She wondered if one of the kids had come back. Somehow.
The middle school wasn't too far away. Robbie could have
walked home, but why so early. If he had gotten sick,
he owed, the nurse would have called. Sonya went into
the hallway and walked to the top of the stairs.
Her bare feet made no sound on the carpet. There
was a jumble of sand from the kitchen. She recognized
one as the broom falling out of the pantry. It
happened often enough, but never on its own. Robbie. Sonya
called down the stairs, Tana. No answer. Now, her palms
began to swear. Someone was definitely down there. She had
left her phone at her desk, not thinking she would
need it. Quietly, still trying to listen, she backed away
from the stairs. She planned to lock herself in the
bathroom in Call nine hundred eleven, But when she had
turned her back to the stairs, she heard the notorious
board at the base of the stairs pot a sound
had only made when someone step on it. Sonia whipped
her head around. It was no one there, only the
jingle of keys coming from her bedroom mill. No not keys.
The sound she heard was the rattle of chains. Robby
waited until three point thirty to call his mom from
the front office. Sonia had only neglected to pick him
up on time once before, and that had been due
to a fender bender's stoplight, and she had still called
the Skull to let them know she would be late.
The fun rang five times before Sonya's familiar voicemail recording
played in Robbie's ear. He eyed the secretary, who was
fixated on her computer screen. Robbi spoke over the recorded message,
Hey mom here, Oh okay, yeah, that's fine. He coughed
to cover up the beep, which surely would have triggered
the secretary's suspicion. No, I don't mind. Okay, see you
in a bit. Robby hung up. Everything all right, the
secretary asked, without looking up. Yet, guess dad got held
up at work. Some one had to pick up my sister.
She said, I can walk home or wait for her,
but I told her I'd walk. The secretary nodded, buying
the whole story be safe. Robby took the walk at
a consistently brisk pace. Twice he nearly broke into a run.
He only held himself back because to run would be
to admit what he was desperately trying to convince himself
against that something was horribly rawn at home. No call
from his mom, no answer when he called, no doubt
or other adult to pick him up. Instead, Robby tried
not to dwell on the possible scenarios whatever he might
find at home. Running a corner on to his street,
Robby saw the house was still standing. No fire at least.
His mother's car was not in the driveway, but she
usually parked in the garage. He wasn't quite tall enough
to see through the small square windows in the garage door,
yet he cut across the lawn, shooting straight for the
front door, locked, Robbie went round the house to the
glass sliding door in the back, also locked. However, this
door had a trick only Robby knew of as far
as he knew. With an inmwood push and a sword
in the stone lift, Robbi dislodged the door enough for
the locked to unhook itself. Red faced, Robbie pushed the
door open. Maum. He called into the echoey house. He
knew she wasn't there right away. The house didn't quite
feel empty, but he didn't sense his mother's presence. Telltale
clock of her heavy keyboard was missing, that was it.
Robbie went to the garage and source on his car
park there as usual, So where was she? Losing hold
on a suppressed panic, Robbie dropped his back deck graciously
by the garage door and tore up the stairs. He
called for his mom through every doorway he passed. Each room,
including the bathroom in Sonia's office, was empty. Maybe she
just fell asleep, he hoped. Maybe that's why she was
late in miss my call. Robbie darted back down the stairs,
throwing open his parents bedroom door. Sauna wasn't in there either,
nor was she in the attached bathroom. Robby grand and
went to the kitchen, where the family's land line pushed
on the counter next to a pineapple. He pressed st
ar too automatically dialed Sonia's cell phone. It rang up stairs.
Robby left the phone face down on the counter and
ran back upstairs to find the ring cell. It was
right in the middle of Sonya's desk. She hadn't lost it, then,
why wouldn't she have taken it with her wherever she was.
The front doorn up turned over twice, then a heavy
hand thumped against the door. Sonia, you locked us at
Robby ran down to his father. When he opened the door,
Tanner was shuffling his keys, and Laylah looked annoyed. Oh
you are home, Tanner said, I thought maybe you two
hadn't gotten back yet. Mom's not here, Robbi bloated out
in a mixed up, structureless way. Robbie told the story
of how he had come home. He explained how Sonya
had just up and disappeared without a trace. Tano's instinct
was to text his wife, but he recalled Robby had
at some point mentioned on his phone was still upstairs.
He told the kids to wait for her. Maybe she
just went for a walk to disconnect. But like Robbie,
not wanting to run home, Tano was only avoiding the
inevitable next step. At six, with no sign of Sonya,
he called the police. While the police spoke to Tanner downstairs,
Robby sat on his bed, feeling lost and powerless. One
of the offices had told him he did the best
thing he could do by providing them with everything he
could remember about that morning in the afternoon, but Robby
knew what he had told them couldn't possibly be that helpful,
except for the pot about the back door. Maybe how
he was able to unlock it. Roby. Layelah's weak voice
came through the crack in his door. He looked up
but didn't invite her in what Layelah slip through the
door and gently pushed it close behind herself. She said,
do you think we should tell them about Rattle? Oh
my god, Layelah. Robbie bounced off his bed. He got
on his knees in front of his sister and leaned
and uncomfortably close for the last time. Raddle isn't real.
He's something you made up. He couldn't have taken on
because he caun't urt anybody, because he's not real. The
muffled voices downstairs stopped. Layelah's big tears ran down her cheeks.
Her hope died in her brother's cold eyes. She had
come to his room for help, for encouragement. She was
too afraid to tell the police officers on her, but
she knew sheney beyond any short of a doubt that
the shadowy figure who came out at night was to
blame for their mother's disappearance. If Robby didn't believe her,
even though she knew he had seen Raddle and heard
the jingling chains. How could she expect the police to
believe her? You're wrong, Layelah said, defiantly. She wiped her
tears away. You're wrong and you know it. You know
he's real an, you know he took mom? Where where
did Raddle take mom? Layelah? If you know, why don't
you go tell Dad and the cops so they can
bring her back. Ha, she'll be just in time for dinner.
Stop being so mean. Layelah stormed out and slammed the
door in her wake. Robby heard the police car's side
start up and drive away. At the same time his
father's footstuffs came up the stairs. He opened Robby's door
as the police cause engine faded into the distance. Hey Um,
Tanner said. Peering in from the threshold, Robbie could tell
his dad was trying to look tough. So the police
said they have to wait to open an official case,
but that they'll keep an eye out. We suppose to
call them if we think of anything or notice something
we didn't before. You. I can't think of anything else. No,
I told them everything, all right, Yeah, I figured just
had to ask, so you're gay? Robby skipped the question
and asked what do they think happened? Like, how can
someone just disappear? What do they think happened? Well, thell
Tana stepped into Roby's room and shut the door behind himself.
They didn't out and say it, but I'm pretty sure
they think Mom just skipped town ran off to who
knows where. You know, some people are just really unhappy
and not Mom, though, Robbie said definitively, that's not what
happened to her. No, No, you and I both know that.
And Layelah it'll just take a little convincing with the police.
I think the door cracked open and Laylah's wet face appeared.
She said, Dad, can I talk to you? Yes, sweetye,
come on in. Taner said, can I talk to you
with that? Robby? Taner looked at his son, then his daughter,
then back. He shrugged and followed Leelah out of the room.
No one ate dinner that night. Tanner baked a frozen pizza,
which sat and caught on the counter until the chiefs
turned hard and the grease congealed on top. The three
of them all sat in the living room, all staring
into separate screens. Robbie and Laylah played mindless games on
their iPads. Tanner went through the Doorablecamra's footage from that day,
something the police would do once the twenty four I
awaiting period was up, but that he could do now.
He watched and scrubbed through footage from when Sonia had
pulled in that morning when Robby came home from school.
Then he stopped. He put his phone in his pocket
and stood up. Do you mind hanging out here while
I go talk to some neighbors. I want to know
if any of them have camas that might have caught something, sure,
Robbie said. Layelah looked warily at Robbie but said nothing great,
I'll be back in a bit. Tanner left, leaving the
children alone. They played their games in silence, refusing to
look at each other. Suddenly, Laylah's head shot up, eyes wide.
Did you hear it? She asked. Robby refused to take
his eyes off the screen. He shook his head, but
then faintly he did hear it, A soft, brief tinkle.
It sounded like it came from upstairs. Robbie didn't look up,
but Layelah saw him grow stiff. See Layelah whispered, he's
real Robbie greeted his teeth. He thought of the previous
night when he had opened the fridge. He remembered turning
around and seeing the dark silhouette outlined in shadows, hearing
the unmistakable rattle of chains, but he'd none ghosts didn't exist,
since he was younger than Laylah was. Now she was
putting ideas in his head. That was all She kept
talking about, this sinister spirit named Rattle, and had infected
his brain with the idea. No, he said, with false conviction, No, Layelah,
for the last time, Rattle as not. Something went bump
on the stairs and silence both children. They watched the
steps with apprehension. The settings on cast long shadows through
the glass sliding door. Usually this orange glow made their
home look beautiful, but right now it looked more like
the shadows were eating away at the sunlight rather than
the other way around. Robbie, terrified by having an idea,
stood and walked into the kitchen. The pantry was under
the stairs. As far as he knew, no one had
looked in there for Sonia. It seemed like a huge oversight. Now,
the rattling chains, the bumping noise. What if she was
tied up in there for some reason. What if she
needed help? Robby twisted the door knob with haste and
reached inside to flip on the light. Layelah cowered behind
the couch. Robbi swung the door all the way open.
Besides the usual dry goods and cleaning supplies, the pantry
was empty. Nothing here, Robbie announced, Then what was it?
Layah asked. Robby shook the broom handle and pushed against
one of the shells to see if anything rattled. Neither
experiment produced the right noise, though the mystery remained, and
Robbi unwillingly found himself starting to believe Layelah could be
right about rattle, and if she was, what did that
mean for their mother? Robbi flipped off the pantry light.
A thumb suddenly reverberated against the wood right next to
his head. The broom tipped over and fell toward him.
Layel screamed as Robby stumbled backwards away from the pantry.
He stood next to the kitchen island, panting and staring
into the dark pantry, waiting for whatever would come next.
He imagined that tall figure from the previous night, standing
in the bat between the shelves watching him. But nothing
else happened. No more sudden shadows, no shadowy figures. Robbie
told Lela that he must have accidentally bumped the broom,
something he managed to convince himself of as well. He
put it back in its place and closed the pantry door.
Tanner sent the kids to bed at the usual time
that night. He wanted to let them stay up, specially
after they baked, to wait up for Mom with him,
but tanany the best thing for the kids was to
maintain as much normalcy as possible. Order and normalcy would
be helpful allies and necessary partners. As they waited for
Sonya to turn up one way or another. With the
kids upstairs, Tanner opened the wine cabinet. He stared at
the bottles of various reds and whites, then shook his
head and closed it. He went for the liquor. Instead.
He poured two fingers of Old Forester, which he downed
without wincing. The bottle followed him to the couch. There,
Tanner opened Sofia's phone and began searching from app tapp,
reading messages, calendars, notes, anything which might indicapable she might
have gone. She hadn't withdrawn any money or ordered anything
to be shipped to a difer to dress. She hadn't
had anything on her schedule that day, but she had
multiple meetings planned for tomorrow. With each up, he investigated,
Taner took another swig from the bottle. He started pulling
longer on the bottle the more it took control of him.
Herenly stopped drinking when he realized the cops could show
Apple Coal at any moment with news, or maybe Sonia
would just stroll right through the front door. In any case,
he didn't want to be more of a sloppy miss
than he already was. Tana left the bottle open, as
well as Sonia's phone when he slumped over the couch
and passed out. Robbie couldn't sleep. Wouldn't sleep, he refused.
How could he just disappear himself from the world when
his mother was out there somewhere. What if she was hurt?
What if she needed him to find her right away?
Would he just let her bleed out or suffocate ordor
who knows what so he could get some beauty rest.
He sat on the edge of the bed, pondering what
he could do short of taking a flask light outside
and searching the neighboring blocks. He couldn't think of anything.
He grasped for ideas desperately. He felt like he was
drowning and some one had just dropped a snorkel somewhere
above him. He was flailing for it, knowing it was there,
but being unable to find it. They didn't. Robby broke
into tears. This is myles. I hate to interrupt, but
this would be a great time to hit the like
button and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already,
I promise you won't regret it now for the rest
of the story. Leilah couldn't sleep either. She also didn't
want to, but not for the same reasons as Roby.
In how World, a monster looked a big, hairy thing
with broken chains hanging from its neck, its arms, its
powerful legs. A werewolf may be like an Harry Potter,
but this werewolf had taken her mom away. She didn't
know what it had done with her, but did it matter.
It did because the monster would come for her next,
she felt sure. She tried to put the sinister sound
of those rattling chains out of her mind, but the
more she tried. The more the sounds echoed inside her
as if on cue, Leylah heard them for real. The
Slytherin chains ring. They came from under her bed, not
directly beneath her, but through the floor, and they moved rapidly,
short abrupt gestures beneath the floor. As she had named,
the beast was just below her. Leyelah padded into the hall,
listening to the chains to make sure they went somehow
following her. She wondered if Frattle could see or even
when she couldn't see him. She wanted to go to
her father's room and asked to sleep in his bed,
but his room was downstairs, down where the chains rattled.
She couldn't go down there alone. Instead, begrudgingly, she went
to Robbie. Her brother, turned away from her when she
opened his door, but not before she saw he'd been crying.
Go away, he whispered, shouted, He wiped at his face
with the front of his t shirt. I can hear
him under my room, Layelah said. She didn't care if
Robby was crying or angry with her. She just didn't
want to be alone through rattle. Seriously, I keep telling
you he's Robbie, stop it, just come listen. Robbie gave
his sister a wide, bleary eye glance. With nothing else
to do, he silently obeyed. The two walked eye by
side down the hall towards her room. Robbie could hear
the chains before they had even reached the door. He
pictured a prisoner in a medieval dungeon, dangling from the wall,
desperately threshing around. He had never heard the change rattle
so furiously before. In every previous instance, it had sounded
as if the wearer had been trying to mute the chains,
as if they were in inconvenience, destroying an otherwise perfect stealth.
Now it seemed the thing Layelah had named Rudal didn't
care if they knew it was there. Robby trembled as
he considered what that might mean. Do you believe me now,
Lil asked. Robbie only put a hand on her shoulder
and pushed open her door. She had almost been right.
The sounds were closed to her room, but not quite
directly below. From the hall, he could tell they were
coming from either the kitchen or the stairs. Pushing Layelah
behind himself, Robbi peered out at the short staircase, terrified
he must see at evil silhouette staring back at him,
swinging long chains meant to grab at his flesh, but
nothing was on the stairs or near them. A deep,
aggressive grunt sent them both tumbling back into the hallway.
Robby fell on top of Layelah. She struggled her way
out from underneath him. The sound repeated louder, and they
both realized what it was. Chaine saw snoring coming from downstairs.
Roby stood but push Lail down, silently, telling her to
stay put. He leaned over the banister to peek at
the living room. There, a faint rectang held glow lit
up a nearly empty bottle. Robby couldn't see his father
laying on the other side of the couch, but the bottle,
the open phone, the snoring. He was able to put
the story together on his own. Beneath his feet, a
course of rattling chains threatened to break through the floor
and grab him. There was a crash in the pantry
under the stairs, then stillness. Dad. Robbi whispered as loudly
as he dared, then Dad, breaking the whisper, He called
for his dad again. At the sound of Robby's voice.
The chain slithered toward the pantry door. Robbi looked back
at lel on all fours in the hallway. The pantry
door slowly opened below him. Dad, wake up, Robby screamed.
The pantry burst open, slamming against the fruge. The broom
fell out, its wooden handle banging against the tile. Tanner
snorted and his snoring stopped, but he didn't rise from
the couch. Robbi tried to scream again, but his throat
seized when he saw a tall figure emerge from the pantry,
accompanied by the unhindered clinking and rattling of chains this way,
Robbi yelled to Layelah. He pulled her to her feet
and led her back to his room. Once she was
safely inside, Robbie dragged his knightstand in front of the
door and sat in front of it. He told Leilah
to open the window, which she did with some effort.
We have to jump, Robbie said, with disbelief. But it's
too high, Layelah said, appalled. The chains drew nearer they
were coming down the hall. The carpet outside padded their
wares footsteps. I'll keep the door shut until you're safe,
Robbie said. Then I'll be right behind you. But Robbie,
I can't jump that far. I hand clamped around the
door knob and twisted. Robbie pushed back against the knight
stand chain struck the door and jingled. Then a big
third rock the Knights m forward. Robbie kept pushing, but
even the first blow told him he wouldn't last long.
Layelah go, he yelled. He needed his sister to jump
first so he could follow her, or they would both
be killed. Another impact against the door forced Robbie and
the Knights and forward a few inches, not for the
door to open slightly. Robby pushed against the door with
all his strength, forcing the door closed again. Layelah. Robbie
whispered out of Beth, looking like she had completely disassociated
from the world. Layelah turned away from him and climbed
into the window cell. The door broke free from the
upper two hinges and cracked in the middle, splitting from
the heaviest blow yet. The broken door fell on Roby's
head and chains clattered against it as something tried to
climb through the opening. Robbie rolled away, just barely dodging
the fingers of two hands bound together at the wrists.
There was a flash, then two more, each only lasting
a fraction of a second. Robby's ears ran. He covered
them instinctively and culled into a ball on the floor.
The only sound he was vaguely aware of was his
sister's continuous screaming. All at once, hands were on him,
grabbing at his clothes. His arms were upping around his head.
He smelt wet and cologne and alcohol. Then the hand
released him. Robbie opened his eyes and watched the tall,
dark figure grabbed his sister from the winder so ere
still ringing. He stood and ran at the figure. He
flung wild fists wherever they would land. Figure tried to
dodge them, but didn't fight back. After a few seconds,
a familiar voice kept through the ringing in Roby's ears.
It shouted his name over and over. The voice belonged
to his father. Robbie opened his eyes he hadn't realized
he clenched them shut again when he started battering his dad.
First he saw Layelah called upon his bed, sobbing. Then
he looked into the ghost white face of his father.
Tanner was looking past Robbi over his head at the
broken door, and the large figure collapsed on top of it.
The figure was laying face down with the ten stretched
above its head. One chain bound its hands together and
another connected its hands to a long belt which dangled
just above the floor. Blood ran down the Knight's end,
pulling on the floor beneath the belt. Robby turned back
to his father and noticed for the first time the
pistol in his right hand. Tanner pushed Robby toward the
bed and handed him the pistol. You remember how to
use it, he asked. Robbie nodded, keep it pointed at him.
Tanner drowted the heavy body out of the doorway, pushed
the knightston over the puddle of blood, then beckoned his
children to follow him out of the room. He took
the gun from Robbie, then led him downstairs. Go out
the back door. I need to get my phone, Tanner said.
He went to the living room. Robbie followed Layelah to
the back door, but then looked over his shoulder. He
saw the open pantry the broom, which had fallen out.
Once Layelah had gone outside, Robby knew she wouldn't go
out without him. He turned back. Tanner returned to the
kitchen just as Robbi stepped into the pantry. Robbie, don't,
he commanded, You don't know what's in there. Robbi understood
the implication. He heard the underlying grief an apprehension in
his father's voice. He had a feeling they both knew
what was in there to some degree, but he had
to see for himself. He remembered sitting on his bed
just minutes ago, wondering if his mother was hurt somewhere,
possibly dying. He remembered wondering what he could do. Well,
this was it. Robby flipped in the pantry light and
saw a panel had been slid away near the back.
The underside of the stairs was totally exposed, and beneath
them was a space not tall enough for a man
to stand, but certainly for one to sit, lay and wait.
Robbie crawled into the open space theaircase near the floor.
Robbi found his mother. She had been stuffed beneath the
lust free steps and now lay with her back to him,
her knees curled up into her stomach. Robbie called over
to her, put a hand on her bare neck, which
had been darkened with purple and black bruises and felt
her eyes cold skin. Raddle, it turned out, had been
very real. Indeed, he hadn't been some elevolent ghost or
evil spirit. He had just been an ordinary man, ordinary
in the sense that he was just flush and bones
at least. Raddle's real name was is Kil mac ray,
a man who had mridered his wife after claiming to
have found her with another man. The thing was, he
claimed he had killed the other man too, but no
evidence could be found to prove any one else had
ever been in the house. Ezekiel had escaped from a
maximum security prison two states over when a fire broke
out in the kitchen. Each prisoner had been laid upside
in belts with hancuffs attached to the front and cuffs
chaining their ankles together. They seemed that even though mc
ray had managed to sneak away and climb on to train,
he had been unable to escape the bonds. Yet. The
police told Tenor that u Gray likely hadn't been staying
in their home with the intention of killing anyone, but
rather just await plan his next steps. They speculated that
Sauna had just been unfortunate enough to discover the lurker.
Killing the mother and hearing the police in the house
had turned the man desperate, perhaps even caused another mental break,
hence his attempt at midnight escape, which had been interrupted
by children he probably thought were asleep. You did a
good thing, a detective said to Tanner. He could clearly
see the father was getting lost in a collapsing wild
Don't forget that, But ey'd I should have. He saved
your kits. They're still alive because of you, and that's
what matters. Now. You have to keep being there for them.
The detective glanced at the nearly empty bottle of old
Forester and the coffee table. He picked it up. It's
going to be hard to move on, I know. He
walked the bottle to the sink and dumped his remaining
contents down the drain. But you'll be strong for them,
won't you. Tanner nodded, solemnly, watching the last drop strip
from the mouth of the bottle. He rose and shook
the detective's hand. He said, yes, sir, I will. A
surprised Tanner to learn that deep down he had the
strength to be there for his two children. Sometime it
felt like he only Bailey had enough, but enough is
all he needed. On top of losing their mother, both
children would occasionally confine him late at night while he
sat on the couch trying to convince himself to sleep.
All three of them would from time to time, when
they closed their eyes hear a change rattling beneath the
stairs at night. And that is the end. Thank you
for listening, and I will see you in the next one.