Midnight Eyes ✵ Phan

*12*

A/N Bloody hell, I didn't even finish this and it's really long. But, welcome to Dan's past. Quite gory and I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole thing but I hope you enjoy!

'Dan! Come out of the bedroom, please!' Dan's mother shouted gently, herding the boy into the cramped kitchen of their small cottage in the woods. It was a safe house, you could see that at first glance. What should have been a wooden door was an iron one, although nicely decorated, courtesy of his mother and windows were far and few between. There were three in the entire house, all of which were no bigger than a metre by a metre, noticeably Perspex and not glass too. Apart from anything, the clearest difference was the lighting- the fire being the only source in the house. The windows did help shed some light into the dim rooms but still not enough to see in the darkness of the night. Dan's room, one of little privacy, was simply a nook in his parent's bedroom that had once been a cupboard but he had long since forgotten that there was anything wrong with that. He loved his snug little haven, even if at night there was no light apart from the moon flooding onto his small bed and three single drawers. The room couldn't have been as big as a metre by another metre of two.

The kitchen, the largest room in the house, was around the size of a normal bedroom. And, not only did it hold kitchen essentials but the living room itself. The bungalow, and cottage, only had four rooms in total. One of which was Dan's little annex, the others: the kitchen, the bedroom and the bathroom. But Dan still loved the place and knew, now at age sixteen, that there was a reason he had never met a soul that were not his parents in his life. He was a Neko just as his parents were. He had been born and raised in this cottage to avoid confrontation..or capture.

Dan, though, had long since thought about that and was still as grumpy as any teenager could be. 'What do you want?' He huffed, folding his arms and staring down his mother. His mother rolled her eyes although fortunately used to this behaviour.

'I just need some help making dinner, come on.' She bustled him to the counters and gave him one of the chopping knives as well as taking one herself and ordered him to begin chopping the vegetables just as she did herself. They were nearly finished when his father rushed in the door. Something was wrong, they knew immediately. His dark-haired, tan skinned father panting, his ears pricked up to follow the sound he had clearly heard.

'Cover up.' He ordered, still attempting to catch his breath. They knew what that meant: people. People were coming and that meant this might not be pretty. Dan rushed to his room, pushing on a beanie, knowing it would have little effect- since the beginning of the capturings, people were asked to take off hats. He tucked his tail into his unfortunately skinny jeans before being ushered out by his panicked mother, who had quickly retracted her ears herself but struggled to tuck the tail in anywhere. Dan was of no help, she would simply have to bend it until the men and women were gone.

The voices came closer and soon all of them were listening to the bustle coming towards their house. 'Oi! Nekos, come out!' A gruff man called out, his voice deep and frightening. His parents' eyes drew to him, panic evident in their eyes. They already knew they were Nekos. They couldn't hide it anymore. 'Hide.' His mother whispered, tears filling her eyes. 'We'll sort this out ourselves. Just make sure they don't see you, okay?' A tear slipped down her cheek despite her strong facade. She wrapped Dan in a hug, his father watching- a pained expression on his face. 'I love you, so much.' She whispered into his ear before pulling away, 'don't let them see you and whatever happens, don't ever leave your hiding place.' Dan nodded numbly and stumbled back before rushing into the bathroom, leaving his parents to...

Dan found himself trapped in the bathroom cupboard. He knew it was pointless to hide in such an obvious place but this house was too small to find a nook to hide in where they would never find him. This was the best he could do and he would have to deal with the consequences soon enough.

Murmured voices suddenly filled the room just next to his and it was clear that somewhere in the havoc, the front, and only door had been kicked down. 'What do we have here?' A sneer came from just outside the door but Dan knew he was safe, for now, at least until his parents found a way out. Just as they would, right? They would find a way out, he was sure of it.

'Mr and Mrs Howell.' A shaky voice spoke, his father. It almost seemed courteous but he knew it was only there to fill the silence. The silence would be what would come when their deaths came...and that wouldn't happen. It couldn't.

'Names? Ha, who gave two Nekos names. Shameful.' The man spat, his footsteps echoing as he moved around the room with a lack of grace and heavy boots. Dan's ears picking up each sound much clearer than any human could.

'No one, sir, we gave them to ourselves.' His parents spoke loudly, proudly as if naming themselves was not an indication of the slavish society they were born into.

'Well, that's fine by me, seeing as we have no need for you two anymore. Those names will become worthless soon enough. No one wants to buy old Nekos but I feel, for safety's sake, that we should make sure you're driven out.' Menace dripped off the man's words, his face would be no better than a monster's, Dan imagined. He could only imagine a beast behind that door, one he was too scared to reveal himself.

Dan knew that leaving this room would help no one. He couldn't save his parent's, it was impossible. And he knew, now, that they had just said their last goodbyes. He wasn't going to see them again. They were about to murdered. And he was going to...hear.

And that he did, he heard as blood finally was spilt. Not by the beast's hands but his mother's.

'Get away from me!' His mother shouted just as Dan's sensitive hearing heard the metal of a blade skim across someone's skins. Whether that was his mother's or the beast's, Dan wasn't sure, not until his mother spoke again.

'I would rather die by my own hands than your filthy ones.' Dan could imagine her hands shaking, the tears spilling as she muttered her prayers and dragged the blade across her neck. Would that be painful? Dan thought. Would it be quick, would she not feel a thing? Or...would she feel everything. Dan didn't want to think of that, he knew the small amount of food he had eaten that day would only leave his stomach.

His dad copied the action, Dan could hear it. The spray of liquid hitting the floor. The sounds of metal on flesh. And, for once in his life, Dan wished that he hadn't been granted generous hearing. He wished to be deaf. He wished not to hear again because he knew he would only hear that moment. When he matched the darkness he stood in now, he would hear the skin ripping apart...he knew what his nightmares would be from there on.

Not that he imagined what came next.

'Burn the bodies, burn the house! I don't want any evidence!' The man clearly wasn't bothered about checking inside. Stupid man. If he was so desperate to sell Nekos, you would think to look for others. Or maybe he just saw that his parents weren't the age of usual parents, too young in many people's eyes, having had him when they were both sixteen themselves. Yet, they could be the age in which they had had a baby. Yes, Dan decided, this man was simply stupid.

Then, Dan was cracked out of his memory- a blissful release from the trauma that had just been inflicted - the crackles of flames began to fill the house. He had been serious, the man had been serious, they were burning the house down. Dan knew there was only one option and that was to run. Run as fast as he could and hope the men would not see him. It would be a futile attempt but an attempt nonetheless.

So, he took four deep breaths, his fear masking the memories of what had just happened. Before he knew it he was running: out of the wardrobe, through the bathroom door and past his parents- without a single glance in their direction. He didn't think he could. He was nauseous as the sight of blood and as he felt it stick to his bare feet, he knew he could not look down- nor did he have the desire to.

Dan was soon out of the door and panting. He didn't know what direction to turn...then, he knew, he had no direction to turn. He was surrounded. That's why the man didn't check the house. He simply wanted to drive out the ones that were still in there. Him, to be exact.

The circle broke as his arms were pushed behind his back, trapping him, forcing his movement to stop. Then, with one last shaky breath, he met the eyes of the beast. The beast that he would now have to spend his next two years with before another beast came to take his place.

word count: 1642

published: 28.04.17