A laugh, a cry and a thud; the ominous sounds were not very assuring. The laugh was so loud that Zander sat up in his bed with surprise. It came from across the street, and it sounded very strange; like the laugh of a madman. The laugh had given Zander the creeps.
Before Zander could peacefully lie back down, the laugh was replaced by a desperate, piercing scream. It made the teenager shudder in his place. What was going on?
Next was a thud. It could have been a dead body falling to the ground.
Zander ran upstairs towards his sister's room, a drastic measure reserved strictly for emergencies. Alicia was quite picky when it was anything related her personal belongings or her room.
"Wake up, sis!"
A groan sounded from under the blankets. "Go away, Zan." Alicia tried to unsuccessfully bury her head in her pillow. Zander vigorously shook her. "Come on, sis!"
The sixteen-year-old girl finally emerged from under the covers. Alicia was slim and had blond hair which was slightly discoloured due to her hair being exposed to many different types gases in the laboratory. "Now what, dumbo?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"Did you hear those weird sounds?"
"What weird sounds?" Alicia asked.
"Well, I heard some stupid laughing. Then suddenly, someone screamed, and then I heard a loud thud. It came from the street across." Zander explained.
Alicia thought for some time. "Are you sure that you didn't hallucinate?" Zander just shrugged. "Okay, maybe you did hear something. But are you sure that it was him?" Alicia inquired again.
"Maybe." said Zander. He thought for some time. "Let's go check to make sure."
Alicia grunted. "You go and – "
The girl was cut mid-sentence as her brother dragged her down. "You're comin' with me."
Alicia could do nothing but follow her brother's orders. Grumpily, she descended the stairs.
Hearts beating fast, they opened the front door and peeked outside into the night. There was a full moon and they could see as clearly as if it was day. And yet, there was nothing to see. The house across the street looked completely peaceful, as if nothing had happened.
Alicia stared it, more curious than she'd let on. Their new neighbor had moved in two months earlier. He was a very distrusting, cautious, hideous and suspicious person. He never let in anyone inside. The siblings knew next to nothing about him, except that he was supposed to be some kind of author – a profession that might be suspicious in the eyes of some but one that greatly intrigued her and her little brother.
"Maybe he was reading out one of his books aloud." Alicia suggested. "I heard that writers do that sometimes to cross out unnecessary and add in necessary material."
"It was not any kind of words; I first heard an ominous laugh then a bloodcurdli – "
"So what are you gonna do; knock on his door?"
Zander grunted unhappily. He was unsure about what he was going to do next.
"If he would not let anyone visit him during the day," Alicia continued. "Do you think he won't be mad if we knock on his door in the middle of the night?"
"He won't be mad if he's dead." Zander added in coldly.
Alicia rolled her eyes skeptically. "Detective stories are having their adverse effect on you, Mr. Z. Maybe he was watching some comedy show, which was the laugh you heard, then he switched to a horror movie – "
"And then?" Zander demanded.
"And then… and then he threw something because it might have been an extremely scary scene in the movie?"
Zander laughed. Alicia smirked. "Why, aren't all authors strange?"
The boy's mind turned towards the author of the book series he was reading, Pseudonymous Bosch, an extremely hideous person and a passionate chocoholic. If their neighbor's books were like PB's, their neighbor must be completely nuts.
Maybe sis is right. thought Zander: sounds in an author's house didn't necessarily mean what you thought they were.
"Come on, let's get back to bed." Alicia declared. They climbed back the steps of their house.
The door of the neighbor's house opened. A pair of eyes peered out towards the right and the left. Satisfied that no one was watching, the owner of those eyes crept out of the house.
A moment later, the person had vanished. Out of the distance came the sound of a wolf howling madly at the glowing white moon.
Author's Note:
AW is back after a long time to introduce a new fanfic: a completed "Write This Book". I've uploaded the story I've written with the help of write this book here. The Idea of the story belongs to PB. Some part of the story is genuinely mine.