Surreptitious

Prologue

It was a Saturday evening in early December, and the snow was falling lightly outside. My mother was away on a business trip. My father and I were playing board games, in silence, in the living room like we usually did when it was just the two of us. It was dark outside, but the candles lit the room dimly. The quiet was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. My dad went out into the hallway to answer the front door and closed the door behind him. Being just five years old, I was curious to see who it was. We rarely got visitors, especially not at this hour. When we did, it was primarily my grandmother, who never rang the doorbell, but merely walked right in. I walked over to the door and opened it a tiny bit. I couldn't see much except for the back of my father. The visitor had a deep voice, so it was probably a man at the door. The man talked in a quiet but rushed voice. I couldn't hear everything he said, but I could make out the word gone, which, at the time, didn't make much sense to me. My father didn't say anything to the stranger but closed the door and went straight for the living room again. I hurriedly closed the door and ran to the couch, so my dad wouldn't find out that I had been eavesdropping.

"Go pack your things, Avery. We're moving." Those were the only words he said before he left the room again. I stood in the living room for a while, baffled by what had just occurred. I followed my father, who had walked upstairs to the bedroom and had begun packing.

"What do you mean we're moving?" I asked with a shaking voice. "Where are we moving? And what about mother? Is she going to meet us there? Who was that man at the door?" I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but none of them would get answered. At least not right away.

"Go to your room and pack your things, Avery! Right now!" Although I didn't want to move, I did as I was told and went to my room. I didn't bother packing my luggage properly and instead tossed my clothes in the bag at random. I tried to stuff all my belongings in the suitcase, but in the end, it wouldn't close. After 20 minutes of desperately trying to shut my carry-on, my father came to check on me.

"You can't bring everything from your room. We don't have enough space for all of it in the car" my father sounded rather sad but didn't show it on his face. He walked over to me and emptied my luggage before folding my clothes and putting a select few neatly in the suitcase. It didn't take him long to fold my clothes. Within a few minutes, my traveling bag was packed and closed. My father started carrying it downstairs. I was about to follow when I noticed my favorite stuffed animal lying on the floor beside the bed. It was a small turquoise squirrel that my mother had gotten for my birthday the year prior. I grabbed the squirrel and ran downstairs, where my father was already waiting in the car. The tiny car was completely packed, and furniture was sticking out of the windows of the backseats. I got in the car, and my dad started driving away. I looked at the house in the side-view mirror as it got smaller. It didn't take long until the darkness swallowed the house, and I stared into the emptiness. We drove for what felt like hours in complete silence. I had so many questions I wanted to ask my father, but every time I opened my mouth, I immediately regretted it and closed my mouth again.

I eventually fell asleep in the passenger seat and didn't wake up until several hours later when the sun started to rise. My father pulled up next to a small building. The building looked like a hovel and was grimy. Mold was growing on the outside walls.

"Dad, where are we?" I asked in a small voice.

"We're at our temporary home," my dad answered. He got out of the car and started unpacking. He didn't unload the whole car but only took the most practical objects like the coffee maker, a couple of other kitchen utensils, and our suitcases. I got out of the vehicle tentatively and looked around. There were no other houses nearby. The only other things I could see were fields and lots of trees. I took a deep breath, hugged my stuffed squirrel a little tighter, and walked into the hovel. The hovel didn't look very different on the inside. The floor was dirty, and dust blanketed the furniture. An unidentifiable substance grew in one of the corners of the house. My stomach growled, and I realized I hadn't had anything to eat in a while. I went to the fridge and opened the door. A stench that almost made my eyes water filled the room. I looked inside the refrigerator. It was empty except for what looked like something that had once been cheese. The cheese was in a liquid state and had fur rather than being soft and chewy. I quickly closed the fridge again.

"I'm sorry, Avery, but I have nothing to eat besides these granola bars." My father handed me a couple of granola bars, and I tore the wrapping off and quickly consumed the food. It didn't satisfy my stomach enough, but it helped a little.

"I'm going shopping soon, so we don't have to starve," my father said as he put down the coffee maker. I stood in the middle of the room and looked around. A shiver went down my back at the thought of having to stay the night at this place. My dad noticed my concerned look.

"Don't worry, Avery. We're only going to stay here for a little while until we find a new house we can live in." Even though his words were supposed to comfort me, fear started growing in my mind. I still didn't know my mother's whereabouts or when she was meeting up with us. I didn't even know why we had to move, but one thing was sure; something was not right.