Theodore POV
It was a scary ride. The dark man never looked back, so I never saw his face. I was very scared. Where was he taking me? At least Simon was with me. I looked up at him and he smiled down at me, hugging me close. I felt safe as I sat next to Simon. He was so bold, so fearless. He could endure anything.
"When we get to where he's taking us, Theo," he kept telling me, "I'm going to need you to be a very good boy, okay? We don't want him to hurt you, and he won't if you do everything he wants. I'll help you as much as I can, but at some point, I need to tell Dave where you are so he can get you. Can you do that, Theo?" I would always agreeably nod, even though I was still afraid. What would the man do to hurt me? The same thing our aunt did to Simon? I shuddered. I could still see Simon's face in my mind, tearstained and bloody, begging me for help. I shook the image out for now. I knew it would never leave though.
I looked out the window, watching house after house go by. People glanced at us as we passed, but Simon told me not to wave for help, otherwise the dark man might see and hurt me. We drove for a long time. I watched the sun set and soon became tired. I yawned and rested my head on Simon's shoulder. He rested his head on mine and whispered something encouraging. "We're going around in circles. He's trying to get us lost so we don't know where we are. But we're just going in circles," I smiled widely. I couldn't talk for fear of the man hearing me, but I really hoped Simon knew the way back home from here.
Finally, we drove up into a driveway. The man got out of the car and walked over to my door. Simon whispered, "Now don't forget: be a very good boy," I nodded and sat in the chair, smiling at the man. I unlocked the door and cracked it open for the man, but I didn't get out. He grabbed the handle and opened it. I got out and stood next to him, like I did for Dave. The man said nothing but shoved me in the back towards the front door. I walked to it and stood there, waiting for him to unlock it. I saw Simon standing a few feet back, looking at the street names and houses, and finally, the house number itself. I didn't get a good look at it, but Simon seemed satisfied when he came up to us. "We live just a few blocks down," he told me.
I wanted to cheer, but kept a straight face so the man wouldn't know. He eventually got through all the locks and opened the door. I slipped in quickly so I wouldn't be shoved again. The man seemed surprised, but was satisfied. The house was semi-dark, with the lights all dimmed. To my right, I saw a large staircase which led to an indoor balcony overlooking the house. Along it were many rooms, but all the doors were closed. On the same level as me was a tile flooring which led through a small hallway to the kitchen. It was a mess, with pots and food all over the place. I shuddered. I knew dirty kitchens were the worst place to cook because of the toxin levels.
Across from the kitchen was the living room. It seemed like the coziest room in the place, but the holes in the moth-infested sofas and the large crack going through the TV made me shudder uncomfortably. The man pushed me by the hallway and to the staircase. I grabbed the sticky handrail and began my ascent. I glanced around for Simon; I hadn't seen him since I entered the house. He was walking behind the man, observing the boarded windows with the dark shades over them. He looked at me staring at him and smiled reassuringly. I smiled back and turned to the stairs again. Soon I reached the top and the man led me to a room. It was the second one from the staircase. He unlocked the bolts on the door and opened it. Dust fell from the ceiling where the door connected to the frame, making me sneeze. I walked in, but the staleness of the air overwhelmed me and I began to gag, coughing hard. There was a lot of dust and various floating things in the air, which glowed when the small strip of light coming from the boarded window shone on it. It looked somewhat like a hotel room, with a small bathroom as soon as I walked in, to the right. A bed sat in the middle of the more open area of the room, with a TV in front of it. But judging by the dust and grime on it, I guessed it wasn't working.
I walked in, observing my new surroundings. I was almost at the bed when I felt my shoe step in something wet. I looked down, but it was so dark, all I saw was a dark stain on the carpet. It was weird; unlike any water spill I ever saw (And I saw a lot of those). It was very concentrated and thick in one area, but I saw smaller, smeared areas across the carpet, leading behind the bed. I became uneasy, but as I turned to the man, he grinned maniacally and closed the door slowly, locking it. I ran to it and tried the knob, but after I tried it twice, I gave up; banging wasn't going to do me any help.
My stomach suddenly dropped when I turned around and didn't see Simon anywhere. My mouth went dry as I squeaked fearfully, "Simon?"
"I'm right here, Theo," came his reassuring voice. I turned quickly. He was in the bathroom, apparently, and just opened the door as I asked his whereabouts. I sighed in relief.
"Well, I think we're staying here for the night," I told Simon as I sat on the floor in front of the bathroom. He sat down in front of me.
"I guess," he said uneasily. "I need to get back to Dave and Alvin so they can come rescue you." He reminded me.
"Oh," I looked down, remembering. Simon placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, waiting until I would look at him again. When I did, he continued,
"It's night, so you'll be fine. I don't think he's going to come back until tomorrow. I'll hopefully be back by then, so you won't even know I've gone,"
"Okay," I said hesitantly. I looked at him and hugged him tightly. "Please hurry," I whispered.
"I will. I promise." Then he stood up and walked into the bathroom. I watched in fascination. There was a weak spot in the wall behind the toilet. He slipped through a small hole he made earlier while I was observing the room, and disappeared into the darkness.
I was alone.