Sylvia found that she could not remove her gaze from Morder's stare. There was complete silence as the two were locked in a contest of not blinking. Her breathing was fast and erratic while Morder's was slow and steady. His hand was still firmly clasped around her arm.
Suddenly she noticed his left eye squint a bit as his brow furrowed. He let go of her arm and reached his hand into his pocket. The grin on his face softened to a smile that showed teeth. "Did your husband offer you a piece of my candy? I am a confectioner by trade, and would be absolutely delighted to know your opinion of my treats."
Sylvia blinked a few times as she tried to understand what he was saying. "My husband? I'm not married," she replied.
"Oh, forgive me my dear. Are you not the madame of the house?"
Sylvia shook her head. She began to speak slowly in a confused manner. "No. This is my...cousin's home. I only stopped by to visit."
Morder's hand came out from his black overcoat holding a lollipop. "Would you like a lolli? This one is cherry flavored. However, I am working on expanding the available flavors."
Sylvia shook her head again. "I'm vegan. I don't eat anything without knowing what's in it."
Morder looked confused. "Forgive me. I am not familiar with Veega or the customs of your culture. Unless, are you from Las Vegas?"
"No," said Sylvia. "I currently live here in New Mitten. Vegan means that I don't eat anything made from animals or an animal's work."
Morder broke out into laughter. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of. Besides, this is only a mixture of melted sugar and cherry flavoring. Please, take it. When you find the time I would gratefully appreciate your feedback."
Sylvia began to back off into the living room. "I'm sorry. I'm just not interested. You need to go. Please leave."
"What is the hurry mademoiselle? Is the man of the house free? I would very much like to speak with him. Perhaps I may even meet his dear wife?"
Sylvia looked past Morder into the dining room. The five Thomases were all standing and staring into the living room. They weren't entirely motionless, but seemed to be very calm for toddlers given the events of the evening. Morder noticed her looking behind him, so he turned and placed the lollipop back into his pocket.
"Ah, yes! The young master Thomas." He moved over to the baby gate. " I am certain you enjoyed my Halloween treat." He stopped and looked over at the other Thomases standing there. "My word. I did not realize that Thomas had identical siblings. This must be a very busy home indeed." He reached down with a hand to pat the closest Thomas on the head.
"I wouldn't do that. He has a tendency to bite," said Sylvia. No sooner had she finished speaking than the Thomas snapped out at Morder's hand. Morder was able to quickly pull his hand back and he began to glare at the little one.
He then clasped his hands once again the same way he did in the doorway. His gaze grew large and intense. All of the Thomases straightened right up and began to stand completely motionless with an empty look to their faces and eyes. Sylvia could not see what Morder was doing. She did notice that the children were all acting strangely and started to walk towards them.
Morder lifted a hand to his chin and said, "Most interesting. Most unexpected. I must rework the form-..."
He turned to his side and noticed Sylvia approaching. "They are all brothers, are they not?" he asked.
Sylvia didn't know what to say. If she lied he might see through it. If she told the truth he might think her crazy. The situation with people turning into Thomas from a bite of a Thomas was certainly difficult on its own. There was clearly something off about Morder. Trying to handle him was apparently going to be more difficult than asking someone to leave. If he knew about the Thomas situation, there's no way of knowing how he might use it to his advantage.
"It's hard to say," came out of Sylvia's mouth. She realized this answer would only lead to more questions. She winced wishing she could go back in time. Or at the least stop it dead in its tracks.
Morder looked confused. "How do you mean? They all look very alike. Which is strange, because when I asked the man of the house how many children he had, the reply was that Thomas was the one and only."
"Well," said Sylvia before running out of anything further to say. She lifted her arms up and shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. There isn't a clear answer."
Morder turned back to the toddlers in the dining room. He studied them some more before asking, "How did this happen?"
Sylvia stumbled her words for an answer. There was nothing that she should say to this man any more. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There was no notification for missed calls or messages. "What is taking Nathaniel so long?" she wondered in her head.
Two quick, but soft, coughs came out as she tried to clear her throat. "I could use a drink of water. Would you like a drink of water? Right this way. Let's go to the kitchen," she said. Sylvia didn't wait for Morder to answer, but turned hoping he would follow her around the hallway and into the kitchen.
"I am very well. There is no need for a drink for me. I will wait here," replied Morder.
"Oh, great," thought Sylvia to herself. At least she had some space away from him. Hopefully this would give her time to come up with a plan.
As she rounded the corner and entered the kitchen she began to feel uneasy about leaving Morder with the Thomases. She walked over to the baby gate on her side of the entrance to the dining room. The Thomases were all standing facing Morder. His hands were once again clasped in that strange arrangement. The look on his face was again wide eyed and intense. Sylvia started to call this his stupid look, but only to herself.
Morder's eyes moved as he locked Sylvia in his sights. He smiled at her, and then returned to his stupid glare. The Thomases all at once turned around, each spinning slowly to the right until they faced her. Slowly but with intent, arms down at their sides, they walked over to the baby gate in front of Sylvia. They were clearly in a trance and Sylvia looked up at Morder realizing he had some sort of control over them.
"Hmmm," came out in wonderment from Morder. "And how exactly is it, that they all have turned into the young master?" he asked.
Sylvia turned and saw her bottle of water still standing on the island in the kitchen. She moved over to grab it and started to twist the cap off. "What was that?" she asked.
"Do not lie to me. I am aware something is very off here this evening. How is it that there are so many little boys who all look the same?"
Sylvia turned to face him and brought the bottle of water to her mouth. She poured slowly, taking even slower gulps as she looked out across at Morder. She swallowed one last gulp, lowered the bottle, and just stared at Morder.
"Where are the parents. I insist that I speak with them this very moment."
Sylvia smacked her lips as her mind raced. She couldn't think of what to do. The water bottle wasn't completely empty. She took hold of it and launched it through the air across the dining room at Morder. He knocked the bottle down from the air and turned to his left. Sylvia turned down the hallway and ran making the turn into the living room. Morder was no longer there.
She stepped back and looked down the hallway. All the doors were open. She crept and peeked into the first room on the left. She flipped the light switch on and made her way to the closet. Slowly she reached and while stepping back as far as she could without losing grip on the door, she slid it open quickly. There was nothing there. She peered in again to make sure, but Morder certainly wasn't there.
She stepped back out into the hallway. The bathroom was the next room on the left. The light was still on here and the shower curtain was pulled back. She walked over to the door that led to the deck in the back where the hot tub was. The door was locked, so if Morder came out this way he had locked himself out of the house.
She turned and made to leave when she noticed the door to the basement across the hall. She opened it slowly, but the basement was pitch black. He couldn't be down there. She turned left, back into the hallway after shutting the basement door.
There on the left was the final room. She turned the light on and stepped in. There was nowhere here for Morder to hide. She made her way back out into the hallway, turned left and entered the kitchen. He was nowhere to be seen. Just then, she heard a door upstairs shut.
Running down the hall she slammed her shoulder into the doorway as she turned into the living room. She grabbed the railing to the stairs in the living room and swung around putting her front foot on the steps. She leapt three steps at a time up heading towards the shut door at the top of the stairs.
She stopped for a moment at the door. It had been a long time since she had been in a fight. Sylvia was trying to remember what she did the last time that worked. There weren't many options from what she remembered, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to potentially kill another human being. Even a human being as wicked as this Morder is.
She turned the knob and pushed through. There on the room to the right, where Anna and Matt slept, was Morder. He had opened the walk in closet and stepped in. "Come out if you are hiding! I may be able to help your son," said Morder.
He turned in time to see Sylvia and stepped out to confront her. "You need to leave. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you," she said.
Morder laughed and grabbed both her arms. "You can do nothing to stop me."
"I'll call the police," said Sylvia.
"That would be most ill advised," Morder replied.
Sylvia wasn't wearing her converse sneakers, but she kicked out with her right foot and caught Morder in his left shin. Morder let go of her arms and bent over in pain. He shrieked as he reached out with his hands and shoved Sylvia back. He started to limp quickly for the door.
Sylvia fell back onto the bed and forced her momentum to roll up onto her back and over with both feet landing on the floor. She ran over to Morder and grabbed his arm at the door. He turned and snarled at her. He reached back into his pocket. Sylvia had no idea what he might be pulling out. Panicked, she resorted to the only thing she could think of.
Her right pointer finger came out and pushed into Morder's chest. "Poke!" she called out.
Morder straightened up and looked at her. His face softened and Sylvia waited for his ultimate demise. She let go of his hand and stepped back hoping the damage to the roof wouldn't be too bad.
Nothing more happened. Morder was fine. He glared at her and said, "What is this?" He reached forward and poked her in the chest. "What is this poking? Do you take this all for a game?"
With that he shoved her back again. Sylvia tumbled once more and for the second time this evening the back of her head slammed hard into the ground. This time she took a little more time to get up as she rolled onto her knees. She shook her head but it wasn't helping. She'd be feeling this one for quite some time.
In the way that pain often does, the increased discomfort of her head reignited the still fresh throbbing of her shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There were still no messages from Nathaniel. "I need to call him," thought Sylvia.
As she started to unlock her phone she looked up to see where Morder was. She stood up and made her way out of the bedroom. The bathroom on the right was small and she didn't see him in there. Across the hall was another bedroom, but the light was off. She turned to her left and opened the door down the stairs.
Morder was in front of the baby gate. He was bent down and started to fumble with latch. Sylvia jumped into action moving down the stairs as fast as her legs would take her. When she felt safe enough she launched herself off the steps and dove to tackle Morder. He stepped back and she slammed hard onto the ground.
She rolled onto her back and saw Morder grinning down at her. Sylvia turned to the baby gate and saw it swinging open. The Thomases were lined up and marching slowly through the gate. Morder placed a foot down upon her chest to hold her on the floor. Sylvia looked up at him to see his hands clasped in the manner he had several times before. She turned back the other way and saw the Thomases all fix their gaze on her. They moved forward with their arms out before them and their mouths open. Morder intended for them to bite her. "What am I going to do?" Sylvia thought to herself.
No comments:
Post a Comment