by T. Rudacille
***
She buckled after that second night. She tried to call her mom and dad. When we’re afraid as children, the only people that can calm the fear are our parents. Alice was grasping at that straw, thinking that if they came home, the creature would be frightened away.
“My dad will shoot it if it tries to get in, Quinn! They’ll protect us both!”
Somehow, I doubted that they would be willing to lay down their lives for me. My parents liked Alice as a person but did not approve of us as a couple. Her parents felt exactly the same way. That level of affection was minimal, to say the least. They would not protect me.
She paced around the kitchen floor with the phone pressed to her ear.
“They’re far out in the ocean, Allie. There’s no cell service out there.” I explained to her after she slammed the phone down hard on its charger. She pressed her face into her shaking hands before running her fingers through her hair.
“I need them to answer.” She told me uselessly. “I think they can check email on the ship. Come on!”
After hurrying into the dining room where the desktop was set up, she began to furiously type out a message.
“Are you going to tell them exactly what’s going on?” I asked.
“Of course not. They won’t believe it. I’m just telling them to call me as soon as they get the message. Then, I’ll tell them everything. I’ll tell them that as soon as they reach the port in Bermuda, they have to get on a plane and come home.”
“I don’t think they’ll believe us either way. They’ll think that we’re messing with them. Then they’re going to be really pissed off.”
“When they hear my voice, they’ll know I’m not messing with them. They’ll know that this is serious. Quinn, we can’t do this by ourselves. I know that if we can just get them here, that thing will leave us alone. Have you talked to your parents?”
I had, but I hadn’t mentioned anything about our current issue to them. I knew that they wouldn’t believe me just as I knew that Alice’s parents wouldn’t believe her. My parents were home and could offer help immediately. But there was no way that I would be able to convince them. Imagine the story: Every night, we were being stalked by a hideous, otherworldly creature that sat outside of our window, watching us until the sun rose. Then, it ran over the roof and disappeared, hiding out until the sun went down again. I certainly wouldn’t believe a word of that story if it was told to me.
“They won’t believe me.”
“You have to try, Quinn! You have to make them believe you!”
“Alice, would you believe us? This is something straight out of a horror movie. They’re going to think that we’re here alone every night and letting our imaginations run away with us. Either that or they’re going to think we’re smoking a lot of weed! Or taking lots of pills!”
“My parents will believe me.”
“That’s great for you. Really, it is. I have to tell you, though, that I don’t believe that. I don’t think they’ll believe any of this.”
“Well, we’ll see about that. As soon as they hear how afraid I am, they’ll be on the first plane home. And my dad will kill it!”
“I think your mom will kill it. She’s way scarier than your dad.”
“Maybe she will! One of them will show it how wrong it was to come around here. I know it, Quinn. I know it.”
We waited, both struggling to hold onto the belief that they would believe us and be able to help. We struggled to continue thinking that everything would be alright when they came home. We prayed that they would be able to save us.
The email went unanswered and the phone never rang.
