A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters - Martin Harry Greenberg [32]
There was a man and a woman standing there. They were dressed all in black and had masks on their faces. The kind of masks you wear to ski when it’s really cold. The kind that cover your whole head and have holes for your eyes and mouth. I started to scream for Aunt Anna, but the woman grabbed me, put a hand over my mouth, and carried me inside.
My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would burst. Then I thought I would suffocate since her fingers were over my nose and mouth and I couldn’t breathe. I kicked and tried to hit her, but she was too big and too strong.
The man said, “Take it easy. We don’t want the kid dead.”
She bent down so her eyes were looking right into mine. “If I let you go, do you promise not to scream?”
Her eyes were big and black and serious.
I nodded.
She loosened her grip and led me over to the couch. Then she shoved me and I sat down, hard.
The man sat down beside me. He put one hand on my head. In his other hand he had a gun.
“You are a very pretty little girl. What’s your name?”
I was trying very hard not to look at the gun. I clamped my lips together. I don’t talk to strangers.
“How old are you?” he asked then. “Eight? Nine? You must be the result of the congratulatory screw your momma gave your dad after he sent me to prison.”
The woman shushed him. “You don’t have to be so crude. None of this is her fault.”
He smiled. Not the kind of smile that’s friendly. He was staring down at me again. “Your daddy told you not to talk to strangers, right? Too bad he didn’t tell you not to answer the door.”
He looks around. “Where is your daddy? Upstairs?” He tilted his head as if listening. “It’s a good bet you’re not here alone.”
I listened, too. I didn’t hear Aunt Anna anymore. I didn’t hear anything. Something wiggled in my stomach. She didn’t leave me alone when she heard them, did she?
The man got up and headed for the stairs. I heard him clomping around up there, going from room to room.
The woman pointed to the TV. “What are you watching?”
She picked up the remote and the DVD flickered on. The preview this time was A Nightmare on Elm Street. “I can’t believe they let you watch this stuff.” She tossed the remote on the couch beside me. “Where are your parents, kid? We know they wouldn’t leave you alone.”
The man came back. He shook his head. “He’s not up there. I’ll try the kitchen.”
“They’re next door.” The words seemed to come out by themselves. “At the neighbors. They’ll be right back so you’d better get out quick.”
They smiled at each other. The woman said, “You do have a tongue. Good. When will they be back?”
They both stared at me. I bit my lip. “Soon. They just went over to see the new baby.”
The man quirked a finger at the woman and they moved away and whispered at each other. When I looked up, I saw Aunt Anna peeking around the kitchen door. She put her fingers to her lips and nodded. Then she stepped back out of sight.
My stomach was not wiggling so much now. When the man and the woman came back to stand near the couch, the man had a phone in his hand.
“Call them. Tell them to come home.”
He pushed the phone into my hand. I knew the neighbor’s number but I was afraid to call it. I started to dial and the man stopped my fingers and pushed a button. “Speaker’s on, kid, so don’t fuck around.”
Now I was really scared. When the neighbor answered, the man would know I lied. Just then, our telephone rang. The man snatched his phone from my hands and bent to look at the caller ID. “Who’s Anna Strong?”
Something told me just what to answer. “She’s the neighbor.”
He handed me the receiver. At the same time, he pulled the gun from inside his jacket and pointed it at me. “Tell your daddy to come home now.”
He looked around the phone for the speaker button but couldn’t find it so he put the gun next to my head. “Tell them just to come home. Nothing else.”
I picked up the receiver. “Hello?” I tried to keep my voice from shaking.
“Elizabeth. Listen closely. You’re doing great. Say, ‘I’m fine. But I need you to come home.’ ”
I did. The man nodded at me.
Aunt Anna said,