"Randy!" Katie said, running up to hug the man tightly.
"Woah," he hugged her back, looking at Kira. "What happened?"
"Toby was mad," Katie said innocently. "Because Kristi left the house without him."
"it stopped when you came in." Kira looked around, and what was previously a mess of their precious items was all put back in order, TV no longer smashed, and doors looking as if they never slammed it all. But Katie saw it too, or else Kira would think she had lost her mind.
"Toby likes you, that's why it stopped." Katie smiled, hugging him tighter while Kira gave Randy a questioning look. "He likes you and Kira together, and he wants to keep you around."
"How do you know all this, Katie?" Kira said, looking at her sister.
"Toby told me so."
He had both little girls in his grasp now, the two of them caught up in some world that he had promised them.
"Katie, baby, I need you to block out Toby for now, okay?" Kira said, kneeling down to her sister's level. "The things he tells you, they aren't true."
"How do you know that?" Katie shouted angrily, backing up towards Randy. "He told me that you would take Kristi and me away from this house, and you and Randy would keep us safe. He said we'd stay together! Why can't I listen to him if he tells me good stuff, huh? Why wouldn't you keep me safe, Kira?"
Kira sighed, hugging her sister.
"I love you, and I will keep you safe. You know that, you don't need Toby to reassure you of it, alright? He's not a nice...whatever he is, okay? And I know he may seem like it, but he's not."
There was a banging from upstairs, like doors slamming again.
"What was that?" Randy asked, thinking logically. When he realized there would be no explanation, he moved to put his arms around Kira and Katie.
The banging stopped almost immedietly, and Katie poked her head up.
Kira couldn't understand it, it was like Toby wanted them to be together, wanted Randy to be around to protect her and Katie. For the first time, Kira wondered if Toby wasn't the bad guy, if maybe he was warning them of an event to come, a time when they would need all four of them to survive.
Half an hour later, they were still sitting in a similar position-Randy and Kira side by side, Randy holding Kira close with one arm, as the other secured Katie between the two, half on his lap and half on Kira's. They stared at nothing, not talking, only trying to take in what had just occurred.
"I'm bored," Katie said finally.
"Do you want to play a game?" Kira asked, wondering if she could somehow avoid going up to the loft to collect Chutes and Ladders or Monopoly or something like that. She didn't want to be up there, even if Toby was somehow the good guy.
"Yes... I know, can we play Bloody Mary?"
Kira's eyes went as big as saucers-was this the event Toby was warning them about?