The New Kid

Part 12

After leaving the room, Tom found himself in the front hall between the main entrance and basement door. He went into the living room. Andrea was halfway down the stairs, descending quickly. Tom's eyes widened in relief. He ran towards his sister as she sprinted into his arms for a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Tom exclaimed once they finally broke away. "Are you okay? How was Donnie?" His eyebrow was arched in concern.

"I took care of him," Andrea said. There was a red smudge on her left cheek that looked like blood. "I stuck him in the neck with the only garlic filled needle we had brought." Tom began to respond, but noticed that something wasn't right. He looked around the living room. "What?" Andrea asked.

Tom stared at the spot near the small platform where one of the vampires, Clyde, had been lying earlier, injured from the firecracker. "Where's Clyde, Dylan, and their father?" he asked slowly.

It took Andrea a moment to realize what her brother was talking about. She looked around too, her eyes slowly widening. "I don't know, but Tom! A boy is up there! Tied up!"

Tom frowned. "What?"

"Too late now, aren't we little ones?" a voice boomed behind them, making them jump. They spun around. Mr. Brownster stood before them... carrying something. Someone. It was Elizabeth. She seemed unconscious and her head rolled from side to side limply. Tom lunged forward. "Ah, ah, ah," Mr. Brownster said. "Don't." Dylan, one of the ten-year-old sons, appeared behind his father. His teeth were bared menacingly, showing small fangs, and his eyes glowed darkly. He seemed to be a totally different person from whom Tom and Andrea were used to seeing at school. "I don't think you want your dear sister Elizabeth to get hurt, huh?" Mr. Brownster asked, his smile getting wider and creepier. "Now, I want you two to be good children. So go ahead and take a seat on the last couch near the window curtains."

The twins didn't move. Mr. Brownster's eyes darkened and his tone changed. "I said, go sit down on the couch!" This time, the twins quickly complied. Mr. Brownster walked into the living room, carrying Elizabeth as though it were the easiest thing in the world. "Sit with your backs against the couch," he ordered. The twins obeyed. "Dylan! Stand near the couch and guard them!" Dylan did so in a flash, saliva dripping out of his mouth from hunger and determination. He kept his eyes on the twins like a guard dog.

Mr. Brownster gently set Elizabeth down on the carpet next to the small platform. Elizabeth's body was in a balled up position and she seemed peaceful, the way she usually did when she slept. "Now where's Bradly?" Mr. Brownster asked to no one in particular. Just as he said that, a door closed and a female walked into the living room. "Melinda!" It was Mrs. Brownster. Her ash-blonde hair was a mess and she was panting, her red lipstick smudged and some of her dark clothes ripped.

"Oh, you got the girl," she said, out of breath. Bradly then appeared next to her in the room, holding on to his side, where a slightly bleeding wound seemed to be healing up, a smile on his face, oddly. As soon as Mrs. Brownster noticed him, she rushed over to his side and inspected his wounds. "Oh baby!" she said, her voice full of worry. "Which one of these little rats did this to you?" She shot a nasty glare at each of the twins.

"It doesn't matter," Bradly said, a smile still on his face. "We've got them now. And there's no escaping."

His mother ruffled his hair affectionately before turning to her husband. "Where's Clyde?" she asked, as though the thought had just occurred to her. Mr. Brownster nodded his head in the twins' direction. Tom and Andrea looked at the emptiness behind them, confused. Tom noticed a white-grey sock on the carpet, peeking out from the side of the couch. It moved and he realized that a foot was in it. Was Clyde laying behind the couch they were sitting on?