Skye held her mother's hand as the family walked up the stone path towards the large house. The white walls were covered in moss and half hidden behind a large tree, the windows were dark, and revealed nothing of the inside, the door was painted black, some of the paint, chipped off. The path led the family through a jungle of long grass, wild flowers and weeds, up to door that Skye feared the most.
Lucy raised the hand that Skye wasn't clinging onto, and knocked the door. They never waited long for the man to open the door. He shook hands with John and politely kissed Lucy on the cheek.
"How long do I have them for today?" he asked Lucy, a smile on his face. Skye shied away from him. His smile scared her. His face look happy, but his eyes were so cold. Dark blue eyes that held nothing but coldness, especially when he looked at her. He liked Sahara, but not Skye. He would never like Skye; he told her that himself. His hair fell messily over his head, almost covering his eyes – not that Skye would mind not being able to see his eyes.
"A couple of hours, four at the most," John responded. The man nodded, and turned to look at the twins.
"Come on in then, I have those cookies you like," he motioned them to step into his house. Sahara was quick to step in and he smiled at her, but Skye refused to let her mother's hand go. She squeezed it tighter and moved impossibly closer to her. Lucy knelt down beside her daughter.
"Skye, we do this every time. You need to go in," she whispered. "The man is kind enough to le you stay here while Dad and I go out,"
Skye shook her head and Lucy turned to the man. He shook his head slightly and reached down to grab Skye's other hand, with enough force to make the small girl release her mother. He pulled her in, lightly, but with a grip of steel. Skye ran quickly to her favourite spot in the whole house. A place not even he knew about. She had found it one day after he had hit her and she had ran. Lifting the mat up, she pulled at the floorboard, lifting it enough for her to slide into the small chamber below.
The front door closed with a slam and she could hear him talking to her sister. "So, how about those cookies?" he asked her, his voice quiet.
There wasn't a respond from her sister, so Skye assumed she had nodded. Soon a cupboard opened and a jar was placed on a hard surface in the kitchen. Then there were footsteps, walking towards her, then they paused, sorted out the mat she had pulled back, then walked over her, and away from her. Skye didn't worry about the footsteps, she knew that it was just Sahara. She had come down here long enough to know the difference between her sister's steps and his.
A cupboard closed in the kitchen, then he started to call for her. "Skye, where are you?" he called. "Are you hiding again?"
Footsteps came from the kitchen once again, this time they were heavier, this time they came from him as he followed Sahara. He walked over the mat and Skye held her breath, he didn't know. Sahara had moved any evidence that she had been round here. He paused. "Come on, Skye. Don't you want cookies?" he
called.
Skye didn't move a muscle. He turned once, and then continued following Sahara, in search of the other twin. It's how it always went. He would ask Sahara if she had seen Skye and when she told him she hadn't it became a game of hide and seek, one that Skye was extremely good at. She turned to look at the all too familiar chamber. The first time she had come in here, it had been empty. There was nothing down here, which told her he didn't know about it. Every time she came round here, she would bring something with her, hid it down here and claim she lost it. She had her a teddy down here, a small collection of books, and a small lamp. She also had a small box, that she had slowly been filling with food as she was down here for hours.
Opening the box, she pulled out a pumpkin pasty, and sat down on the floor, grabbing the lamp and lighting it with a match. She then grabbed a book and opened it, reading the words in the small light from the lamp. She heard Sahara walk into the room, and sit down on the sofa. This was normal. At a certain time during the game of hide and seek, he would give up and bring Sahara in here and tell her stories that Skye couldn't help but listen to. His footsteps were soon heard coming into the room, taking the seat beside Skye's sister.
"Have you found her yet, sir?" Sahara asked.
"Not yet, you know how she loves playing this game." he replied. His voice was cold, but it appeared only Skye could tell as Sahara giggled slightly and nodded.
"Now, I'm going to tell you a different story today. One that you can't tell anyone about. Understand?" he asked.
"What about Skye? Can I tell her?"
"No, she can't know."
"Why not?" Sahara's voice was covered with curiosity and Skye's ears were now zoning in on their conversation.
"Because Skye would try and stop it."
"What's the story about?"
"Have you ever heard of Dragon Hills, Sahara?"