Fear Itself

“Don’t you ever tire of this, Ralph?” I groaned as I tossed a toy mouse on the ground for what seemed like the hundredth time today. I rolled my eyes a little as Ralph continued to pounce on the toy and claw at it, determined to kill the stuffed mouse. Cats really did have it easy, and Ralph just proved this to me more and more every single day. The world seemed so much better without all the imagination and rational thoughts humans came with. Cats had it easy. They didn’t care about the outside as long as they had food and shelter. My father provided me with that, I supposed, and he did a rather good job, but he didn’t do a very good job of keeping me company.

He had some fancy government dinner to attend that evening, and he wasn’t due home until much later on in the evening, probably around eleven or midnight, but he had returned from his usual hours at five, having been let out early to get himself ready. He prepared me a rather quick dinner, nothing too fancy tonight: mac and cheese; that made me happy, considering it was my favorite food. What didn’t please me was how quickly he seemed to rush off.

I shook my head and stood up, walking over to the single window in my bedroom and thrusting the curtains open with unnecessary gusto. My blue eyes wandered up toward the sky, taking in the clouds, the shifting colors and the setting sun. I sighed with awe and moved to unlock the window, pushing it open and letting the autumn breeze sweep through my room, breathing in the fresh air.”Much better,” I mused as I strode back across the pale lavender shag rug covering my hardwood floors.

I stopped and pushed my hair back as I peered down the corridor from my open door. I remembered the other night when Ralph had leapt out the window and caused me to chase him out into the woods. Leaving the window open was probably a terrible idea. I glanced over my shoulder, looking at my rather preoccupied kitten. I was sure Ralph would be fine for a few minutes while I raided the fridge for a snack. He was a rather troublesome kitten, but I was positive Ralph had learned his lesson after that night. Shrugging my shoulders, I continued on her way, my lead feet making thudding noises as I made my way to the first floor and into the kitchen.

Hungry eyes were met with few options. There were a lot of dinner leftovers, as usual, but not much to snack on. After checking every cabinet at least three or four times, I settled on a measly cup of chocolate pudding. I knew she would be back for more food in ten minutes, but it would do for now. I was about to sit on a stool at the island counter when I heard some noises outside, sounding somewhere in the direction of my room, nothing more than the rustling of a tree branch and a soft thud that was just a bit too heavy to be her cat. Curiously, I made my way back upstairs, still eating pudding by the spoonful, wondering how my cat could possibly be making so much noise all by himself.

It was what I actually saw when I was standing in my bedroom doorway that startled me: a young man about six feet tall with sandy, light brown hair disarrayed by the cap at his feet, I imagined. He had dark brown eyes, a confused look on his face, and very prominent eyebrows.

I thought perhaps I should run. Perhaps I should lock herself in my father’s room… but what if this stranger never left, and then I was stranded in my father’s room with no way out or no food? But… this stranger was different than the last stranger I had the pleasure of meeting. He wasn’t armed, that was probably the main thing; I saw no gun on this young man’s person, and he seemed more confused than he did malicious. He didn’t look scary, not like the man from the woods, and the man from the woods actually proved to be a very nice person. Tilting my head to the side, I ate another spoonful of pudding and considered the situation. When the stranger spoke, I heard an English accent, very much like my own.

“Well, this is… unexpected,” he said, visibly dumbstruck but also concentrated. I don’t think he knew how to react for some reason. Perhaps he had the wrong home and was just lost. He looked at me like I had a third eye before his head turned on a frantic swivel, like he was looking for something. Probably whatever had caused his absolutely atrocious hat hair, probably the sunshine yellow cap resting just behind his foot by the window.

With raised eyebrows, I simply nodded in agreement. I raised her head a bit, using my spoon to point under the window. ”Your cap is behind you, if that’s what you were looking for,” I explained, smiling a little bit. My eyes fell on Ralph, who seemed unfazed by the presence of the young man.

Sighing a little, I ate a little more pudding and blinked a couple times before looking back at the man and furrowing my eyebrows. I looked him over. He was wearing a yellow jacket, something akin to a windbreaker. He had a half-zipped backpack strapped to him, and there was a rather, erm, crushed looking bouquet of lilies bursting from a small opening at the top. ”Why do you have flowers in your backpack? What a strange place to keep flowers,” I commented.”Also…. How did you…” I paused. ”Ah, the window. You know, father always told me to leave that shut. I guess I know why, now. Hm,” I mused, drifting off in my thoughts again before a quizzical look appeared on my face. ”Wait a minute. Who are you, anyway?”

The young man visibly seemed to relax after having stared at me through nearly my entire monologue, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Alex,” he introduced, flashing a rather charming grin as he extended his right hand. I hesitated for a mere moment before I took his hand and shook it, feel the friction of his calloused skin against the smooth skin of my palm. We both withdrew our hands, and I smiled softly as he continued speaking. “I work for your father, he… he wanted me to come check a few things out for him,” Alex explained. I gave him a small nod to let him know I understood, though the information was still processing in my brain. “And you must be—“ He cut himself off.

Suddenly, my eyes did widen a bit. Had he known who I was? How strange. My pulse quickened for a moment, wondering what in the world was going on. My father wouldn’t have told anyone about me; he hadn’t even told his own sister that I existed. In fact, for some reason, she thought I had died. Alex came in closer toward me. “Shit,” he chuckled. “Is that chocolate pudding? I haven’t had that crap since I was like eight,” he told me, grinning wickedly at the prospect.

I couldn’t help but return the grin, suddenly cheerful at the idea of having company, finally company that wasn’t slightly awkward like my aunt or eerily quiet like my friend from the woods whose name I still didn’t recall. “We have a ton in the fridge!” I chirped excitedly, almost whirring around and rushing for the stairs, but I doubled back to place my empty pudding on the top of a nearby wardrobe and scoop Ralph up in my hands. “Come on, Ralph,” I giggled, pausing to kiss the top of the mewing kitten’s head. “We’re going to give our new friend Alex some snacks,” I remarked, lifting my head to Alex with a grin. He shot me a bit of a lopsided smile in return; he seemed rather distracted, but I waved him toward the stairs. “Okay, this way!” I exclaimed, heading down to the kitchen, still barefoot as usual.

Chattering the whole way, I really didn’t notice that Alex had fallen silent just a few paces behind me. “It’s strange that my father would have someone come over here, you know. We never have guests, not even his own friends, though I don’t think he has any, and I’m certain if he invited people over, he probably would have told me to stay in my room and be quiet because I can’t meet anyone. I’m not allowed, and it’s just a little odd that you came in through my window,” I reasoned, thinking aloud. “Though I guess I didn’t hear you knocking, so I’m awfully sorry I forced you to climb through the window like that. It must be awfully hard how did you manage?” I asked as we crossed into the kitchen.

“Climbed up the tree,” he answered without any emotional hints in his voice.

I nodded and considered this answer. Yes, it was plausible, I supposed. I had certainly jumped to that tree branch and back. I didn’t question him further as I started rummaging through the fridge again until I yanked another cup of pudding out and handed it to him with a spoon. He had taken a seat at the counter, and I took the seat opposite, very much like when I ate with the stranger from the woods, but this was more comfortable, more natural… this stranger seemed very willing to talk, which was a refreshing change. “Enjoy,” I told him, smiling eagerly.

As with the last guest, I continued with yet another full-on assault of ramblings. There was a brief silence, nothing more than a pause or a skipped beat, but it was enough to alert me. “Oh, right!” I exclaimed, suddenly remembering my lack of an introduction. “My name is Tali,” I told him, smiling widely. “It’s very nice to meet you. It’s not often I have company, so forgive my enthusiasm.” I paused to giggle softly, thinking about how exciting this was, having somebody to talk to. “Sorry, I should be letting you speak, huh?” I asked.

He just flashed me another smile, this one not quite as wide or as charming. “Tali,” he said as though he was merely just repeating my introduction. For a moment, he flashed me an inquisitive glance, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “Is that short for something by any chance?” I saw him place his backpack on top of the counter with the opening facing him. He reached a hand inside, seeming to look for something, but the motion was shoved to the back of my mind; I was busy deciding how to answer him.

I nodded quickly. “Yes!” I told him, unable to wipe the smile off of my face. “Short for Thalia,” I explained, still beaming. “Thalia Giroux.”

“Is that so?” he replied, seemingly baffled but excited by the news all at once, and I simply nodded again. He flashed me a grin as he began to remove the lilies from his bag. He set them on the counter. “In that case, I was given something especially for you.”

Before I could inquire what it was, I heard a clicking sound and the barrel of a small, silver pistol was aimed right at my face. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and I wanted to laugh, to chuckle, to tell him what a funny joke this was, but the serious, cold, distant look in Alex’s brown eyes told me that this was he had intended to do all along.

I blinked, and tears stung my eyes. I squeaked out a tiny, shaken, “Alex.” My head shook back and forth slightly, mostly out of shock, it wasn’t a purposeful motion. Instinctively, I raised my hands up where he could see them, palms facing forward, perhaps to tell him I was not threat; that wasn’t the problem. He knew I wasn’t the threat. The whole purpose of the predicament I currently found myself in was so that Alex became the threat. He wanted to be the one in control, and with cold steel aimed between my eyes, I could safely say that he was, in fact, in control.

“You need to come with me,” he commanded, and what else could I do but agree with him? I nodded quickly, blinking out a few tears.

“Yes,” I agreed immediately. “Of course. Yes. Whatever you say, I’ll do it. I swear.” My chest shook and rattled with my fear.

“Good.” He smirked, and he nodded in the direction of the door. “Now, walk.”

So, I did. There was no other choice. Barefoot, with a gun pressed against the small of my back through the fabric of his bag, I trudged back through the woods and eventually into the clearing where I met the man from the night before. Greg, I thought his name was. I wanted to tell Alex I met someone here, but my feet stumbled, and I felt the barrel prod my spine. Biting my lip, I whimpered slightly, and I just kept walking. Alex whispered directions from time to time, telling me where to go until we passed out of the clearing, and we came across a set of stairs embedded in the cobblestone, leading underground. The railings were blocked with old, splintering planks of wood.

Alex stopped us and moved for a moment. “Stay put,” he muttered as he moved forward. With a swift kick, the boards snapped clear in half. He looked around slowly, scanning the area, for what I wasn’t sure, but he came back and grabbed me by the wrist. “Time to go.” He tugged me down the stairs, and the smell of urine, alcohol, and stale cardboard hit me all at once. I grimaced, and my face scrunched up. We came to scummy, grimy tile floors caked with aged dirt. The place acted as some kind of train platform, I thought, as I looked around at the place: line with fluorescent lights and columns. The platform spanned about 20 feet in width, but I probably stretched on for half a mile in length. Eventually, the width disappeared into darkness, into which Alex promptly dragged me into.

There was a short drop (which he did help me down so that I wouldn’t fall), and then there were metal tracks beneath my feet. I could feel the cold steel against my skin, which had became bruised and bloody on the walk over, considering I stepped on somethings, most of which I failed to look at as I was much more focused on the gun. We walked down the tunnel for a bit, until the path split into a smaller tunnel. He dragged me down tunnel after tunnel, to the point where I didn’t know what was left or what was right, and before I knew it, we were in another area, what seemed to be another building entirely.

I didn’t know where in the world I was, but I was about to be acquainted with the Brotherhood a little better than I ever anticipated.