The red light blinked next to Dan's camera lens. "Hello internet!", Dan stated at the beginning of his video. He was just about to go into the topic of public transport when he heard a thump in the flat above him. He disregarded it, and started the camera again. "Hello inter-". Dan looked up as Phil crept into his bedroom.
"..Did you hear that bump?" Phil looked around curiously. "It was pretty loud. Do you thin-?" Phil was cut off by a loud scream from the flat above them. The ebony haired boy looked up, as did Dan. Dan was already on his feet, charging toward the door. Phil threw an arm out in front of Dan to stop him. "Wait!". Dan and Phil both stopped and listened for a moment. They heard another dull thud and a bit of a struggle.
Phil placed a finger over his lips, indicating for Dan to be quiet. They slowly left their room and took the stairs to the next floor. As they walked up the stairs, Dan felt a rush of worry wash over him. The neighbor who lived above them, Meredith, might be in trouble. It sounded like she was the one who had screamed, and they knew that she wouldn't scream that loud just for fun. Meredith and Dan hadn't gotten along as well as she and Phil might have, but he still hoped she was ok. When she had moved in a few months ago, she and Phil seemed to click immediately. Dan remembered how when he returned from the market, Phil and her had been having tea in their flat, and Dan was already reliving the rush over jealousy that he felt. He hadn't been sure why the envious feeling had engulfed him, but he disregarded it as soon as it had come.
Phil reached under Meredith's doormat, groping around for the flat key. When he popped back up, Dan gave him a questioning look. "What?" Phil asked. "Everyone keeps the key under the mat.". Dan shrugged as Phil put the key in the lock and slowly turned it.
The door creaked open slowly as they poked their heads inside. Dan gaped at what he saw. The flat was all but destroyed, with things broken and lying everywhere. There were broken lamps, the table was smashed, and there was a small trail of blood leading into the bedroom.
Dan tapped Phil on the shoulder, earning the blue-eyed boys attention. He jerked his head toward the bedroom, as Phil noticed the small blood line leading into the room. Phil looked down and picked up a small kitchen knife that had been tossed on the ground with everything else. Phil slowly walked over to the door and cracked it open, peeking inside. Dan trailed slowly behind, squeezing through the door.
What they saw was horrifying, and heartbreaking. Meredith lay sprawled across the bed, with her hands tied behind her and unconscious. "Meredith!" Dan shouted. He ran over to the bed and started to untie her hands when he heard a click in the doorway. He turned and saw a man with a black handgun, held straight at the back of Phil's head. The black haired boys blue eyes were wide with fear, as his hands trembled by his sides. He dropped the kitchen knife as it clattered to the floor. The man with the gun smiled.
"Hello!", he said in a rather cheery voice. "My name's Paul. I came here for your neighbor, but it looks like you two popped in for a visit at the wrong time. Now, if you would step away from the young lady, I will step away from your friend, here. We will leave, but you will not call the cops. You never saw anything.". He backed away from Phil, and sauntered towards Dan. "Right?".
Dan sidestepped away from Meredith. "Right.", he said. His heart was racing, he really didn't want to leave Meredith with this man, but he also couldn't let Phil die. He couldn't decide. So he didn't. He only complied, otherwise they would all end up dead.
Paul backed away from Dan and Phil, gun still pointed at the two of them. "Now the two of will stand there. You will not move. You will say a word until I'm gone. Understood?"
Both boys nodded as fast as they could. Paul hauled an unconscious Meredith over his shoulder and bcked away. He went over by the back window the led into an alleyway. He slowly climbed down the ladder so that he wouldn't drop her.
As soon as he was out of sight, Phil and Dan ran out of Meredith's now abandoned flat. Phil pulled out his cell phone, but Dan batted it out of his hands. "What are you doing?!" screeched Dan, "You heard him. We aren't to call the cops, he'll kill her if we do!".
"Well then what do you suppose we do?". Dan looked Phil in the eye, as if the answer was obvious. "Oh no. You don't mean-". Phil deflated slowly as he realized what Dan meant.
"Yep." Dan stuffed the bronze key to the flat into Meredith's apartment into his pocket, for safekeeping. "We're going after her.".