Upon entering the couple's home, Brent was wary. He did know their neighbors and he knew enough to trust most of them, like the Ramirez's, but he can't help but be unsure if they were welcome or even supposed to be in their premises.
"Mrs. Miranda?"
From the entrance, he surveyed the cozy home. Staying with his little sister just outside.
"Is it really okay for us to stay for the night..?" He wiped the tears that were making his eyes blurry.
"Of course! Don't worry about it, you two are welcome anytime!" She went over to their kitchen.
"Come in!" a metallic pang from a pot ran throughout the spacious room.
"I'll whip up some dinner for you two while my husband sets up the bed."
The siblings looked at each other, Winchestein still having sniffles and hiccups. He rubbed her shoulder and urged her to go in together.
As they stepped in, the woman suddenly yelled.
"Andrew! Please bring down a bedsheet and a blanket!"
Startled, the two looked at her like deers in headlights. Mrs. Miranda noticed them, feeling bad about what she'd done.
"Oh- sorry kids." She tried to reassure them from way over the stove, still being mindful of her simmering pot.
"We're okay." Brent let out a nervous chuckle.
"Alright! Should be good!" The man pat the mattress as he stood up, dusting off his pants.
The boy was fixated at what used to be the couch, he had never seen anything like it, he never even heard of this thing before. He was in awe, curious about how it became a full mattress.
Then from the staircase, a dirty blonde teen emerged, possibly older than Brent. His hair was in a mess and he had a folded bed sheet under his arm along with a blanket. They stared at each other for a minute before one spoke up.
"Mom who're they?" He turned his head to his mom as if looking away but his gaze never left Brent's.
"They're our neighbors dear. Be nice." She warned her son as she finished cooking.
Brent had an uneasy smile on his face with a small wave. The older teen didn't say anything else but began to walk over to the pull-out.
"Wait- You don't have to- I can set it up myself." The younger boy jogged over and offered to take the fabrics from his grasp.
"No need, you're our guests." Andrew insisted, already covering the bare mattress.
"Uhh.. Andrew right..?"
"Yep, you?"
"Brent." There was a long silence.
He suddenly felt awkward, subconsciously rubbing his nape. He wasn't used to this, that he wasn't doing anything to help.
Winchestein stayed next to Andrew as her brother walked over to Mrs. Miranda. "Do you need any help, Ma'am?" He asked nervously.
"How nice of you, Brent. I got it though, thanks for worrying." The woman giggled as she had the food balanced in her hands, approaching the dining table.
This made him feel really self-conscious, he wanted to do something to at least help them. Not wanting to feel like an inconvenience.
But with the Miranda family doing all the work, Brent sat next to his sister in defeat. She still had a sad look, he knew why, he was sad too. But he wanted to reassure her that they'll be fine. Hopefully.
In front of them were two small bowls of steaming corn soup. The scent it gave off was enough for the two of them to drool, their stomachs were growling.
The other teenager was near enough that he could hear the noise, making him chuckle out loud. In return, both siblings sat in embarrassment.
"Dig in you two. We'll be upstairs alright? You can come up and knock on our door if you need anything." The woman slowly retreated up the stairs, "You coming, drew?" She asked.
"I'll be up a bit, I wanna grab a hot cocoa first." His mother nodded and followed after her husband.
Brent's chest tightened as the mother and son interacted. He tried to tune them out and ignore them but he knew he couldn't.
Andrew entered the kitchen to heat up a kettle of water and got a mug. Patiently waiting for it to whistle. He leaned on the counter and faced the siblings.
Brent was helping his sister cool down the soup enough for her to sip, his own bowl was cooling down by itself by a little.
The dirty blonde studied them. Wondering if they're the same kids from next two blocks down from the other side of his own house. He had seen Brent from his window before, sometimes he'd notice that the younger teen would come home by the afternoon. Usually greeted by his mother or sister, or even the two of them.
It was wholesome to watch that he'd smile to himself whenever he caught a glance of the small family.
The quickly increasing loudness of the sharp noise coming from behind him startled him a little. He prepared his cup of cocoa and walked over to the kitchen island, just in front of the dining table and in the view of the redhead.
"So.. What's got the two of you in our house?" He curiously asked, stirring his cup.
"Ah, well.." Brent stared into the corn soup, hoping to avoid eye contact.
Andrew got the message immediately, "Hey no worries, you don't have to spill if it's too much." He took a sip of his warm cocoa.
"Thanks.. Don't worry though, we won't be here too long." The redhead gave a sad smile.
"We're happy to have you two over anytime, dude." Andrew assured him.
Brent didn't know if he had made a friend or not but it felt nice as they began talking about random things and Andrew showing him videos from his phone, having a laugh or two. Letting Winchestein join in from time to time.
Granted, it was awkward at first, but the funny videos eased the both of them into a more comfortable conversation.
Soon enough, the drowsiness took over the three of them. Andrew was washing the dishes as Brent was tucking in his tired sister.
After Winchestein fell asleep quite quickly, he walked over to his newfound friend to help wipe the dishes dry.
"Hey, thank you guys so much. We appreciate it alot, y'know."
"Don't mention it, bud." Andrew dried his hands with a paper towel. "Like I said, you're welcome anytime." He gave the other a pat on the back.
"We should rest up, I'll be in the room to the left upstairs. Knock if you need me." The dirty blonde went back up. "Night!"
The sound of a door getting shut was faintly heard. Brent thought about what happened tonight, it was too much to take in.. the worst of the worst all happened too fast and it was never welcome. He hated it. Even if it was fate itself, he despised it.
He couldn't help but think about his mother again. He misses her so much. Just wanting to see her once again. Alive and well, hugging him and his sister. Doing his best not to cry again, he decided that he should sleep.
Turning off the lights for the kitchen, he moved over to the other side of the pull-out. Laying next to his sister and pulling the covers on the both of them, making sure that Winchestein was laying close to him.
He didn't remember it being this cold. It was a very foreign feeling for him, not being next to their mother. Snuggling close to her. He stared on the ceiling, greeted by a huge fan. The redhead told himself that he should just rest up.
Brent finally closed his eyes, letting himself drift off to slumber.
———
The boy stirred awake, in a pool of sweat, but he felt really hot now. He sat up and rubbed his face with his palm, something felt wrong.
He immediately landed his eyes next to him, checking on his little sister, sleeping soundly. Yet, she wasn't there. He looked everywhere in the living room, but he still couldn't find her. He was confused and distressed.
Where is she..? He asked himself. He thought of looking for her in the bathroom but they didn't even know where it was.
As he was about to get off the mattress and yell her name, a cloth covered his mouth and he was pressed against a figure behind him. An arm had trapped him by the neck, it was too strong for him to even budge. All he could do was grapple and hardly leave a scratch in an attempt to break free. Brent accidentally took a deep breath of the sickly sweet scent in panic. Wriggling out as best as he can, his screams of fright had only come out as soft muffled noises.
He didn't know who it was, or what it was or what they were doing, but everything inside of him screamed to get himself off the attacker.
Trying to shake his head around and hoping that it would slip off of his face, he planned on biting the attacker's hand until it bled and made them let go. But it didn't work quite like how he wanted it to. The cloth was pressed on his mouth so hard that he couldn't move his head by even more than an inch.
He tried to elbow the man's stomach forcefully, with every ounce of might he could muster. The man grunted in annoyance but kept the cloth still on his face.
As his last resort, he began punching the arm as hard as he could. Only hitting what seemed like a solid piece of wall.
He felt his consciousness slip away inch by inch, falling limp and weak into the hands of surely, someone. Was he too naive by trusting the Miranda family? Did he do something wrong to make them do this?
His thoughts were cut off, his mind entering blankness and his vision turning dark until it was pitch black.
The man behind him stayed for 5 more seconds before taking off the cloth from his mouth and nose.
Another came inside to help carry the unconscious boy's body out the front door, making as little noise as possible. The same stranger that was talking to their mother was just outside the house, with a sleeping child in his arms.
"What took you so long." He glared at the two figures with impatience in his eyes as one closed the door carefully, locking it once again like it was before.
"He woke up on me before I could do anything!" The one who knocked out the boy whispered in an annoyed tone. "Plus, he fought back in the process.."
"Whatever. Let's go, he is waiting for the children's arrival." The impatient one deadpanned as he put the child in the backseat of the car, not forgetting the seatbelt. Being followed by the other men.
He entered the driver's seat as the two took their own places. One having to stay at the back to watch over the dormant kids. They drove off out of the quiet town. Starting on a long stretch of a road with huge lamp posts with utility poles.
"Just wondering, what's the boss planning with these children anyway?" The brunette of the three spoke up in the passenger's seat.
"None of your concern, so you better shut your mouth." The longer haired one in the fancy suit replied with a flat voice.
"I'm just sayin, their parents are gonna look for them y'know." Putting her hands up in defense. The brunette looked at the peacefully sleeping siblings.
"They won't be."
"Why not? Weren't they in a house?" The two asked in unison.
"That's not their family, their parents are dead."
The vehicle immediately went mute, no one else dared to speak up as they passed multiple cars driving in the opposite lane.
None of the two wanted to look at the man in the suit. Either looking out the window or just looking at anything else.
The ride had a jittery feeling, minutes progressed to an hour and a half, and they finally entered the city with a still weird ambience. The sign of welcome briskly whooshed past them.
"So, will we take care of them?"
"I told you to shut your mouth."
The man driving was really stern but the goons were just really curious. They just can't zip their holes, which he found immensely irritating.
"Come on I already feel bad for using chloroform on them." The bearded one in the front leaned his head back and sighed.
"Do I need to say it again?" The suited man looked at them with murderous intent. Sending chills down the guy's spine.
"Alright alright."
They had already driven by multiple buildings that were lit up and reached the dark skies, covering the bright dots scattered around it with their own brightness that each of them radiate.
The vehicle had begun slowing down as they reached a ranged grassy field with a structure rolling up in the near distance.
"The boss does have a plan for both of them."