I have a serious case of procrastination that must be stopped. But as promised, more to the story. :) Glad you guys are enjoying this so far, and I'm happy that you enjoy it.
Shit's about to go down. Warning: Foul language. Pitch has a nasty habit of cursing when under major stress and panic. I think you know what I'm hinting. Have fun.
Chapter 9
"Alright, looks like I'll be taking off again," Alice sighed, pulling on her coat, "I'll only be working a five hour shift today, so it shouldn't be long."
I shrugged my shoulders, slightly agreeing with her. Granted, that may be short compared to the other times she's worked late at night at the bookstore, but it still felt wrong not having her around. I liked it better when she had the day off...not working for so little.
"Sadie will eat anything besides bananas, and she knows how to make herself a sandwich and rice for lunch. Oh, and make sure she stays away from the freezer," she smirked at me, "she knows I bought ice cream sandwiches the other day."
I rolled my eyes, grinning, "I'll do everything I can to keep her at bay."
She paused, looking at me as her hand was wrapped around the doorknob. I waited for her to say something, because she sure looked like something was on her mind. I finally gave a lopsided smile, showing her there was really nothing to worry about. After a moment, she ran over and hugged me tightly, almost making me stumble back in surprise. It was so sudden I honestly didn't know what to do or say. Should I hug her back? Remain frozen like this? Make a joke so she could get off?
...Her body fit so snugly against mine...like a puzzle piece.
She pulled back, a wide grin on her face. Even her eyes sparkled with happiness, making me unable to say any words of compliment or appraisal.
"Thank you. A lot, Pitch." she finally said softly, brushing back some stray auburn hair from her face.
I finally smiled, "Anything for you."
Alice's smile became brighter, her cheeks dusted with a light pink as she shyly nodded. With that, she scurried out the door and securely locked it behind her, leaving me in a dreamlike trance.
Who knew, right? A Boogeyman like myself would be so easily rendered speechless by one single person, let alone a mortal.
Though it was still the early morning, I went over to Sadie's bedroom door and silently opened it, noticing the light was still off besides the pink nightlight near her bedside table. One doll was snuggled close to the lump under the covers, and one had fallen to the ground on it's head. Cards scattered the end of the bed where the knitted quilt ended, some folded from midnight tossing and turning.
"Sadie? You awake?" I whispered out into the darkness.
No response. I chuckled and closed the door, muttering ten more minutes of rest before waking her up for breakfast. Children these days, wanting more time to sleep in and let the morning go by. I blame the Industrial Revolution, working those youngsters late at night so frequently their entire biological clock changed to what it is now.
I'm no cook, I know that for a fact. Spirits don't need to eat, but some prefer to either because of the grandeur of flavor or that it makes them feel a little bit like a mortal once more. Some of us just happen to miss the mini joys of mortality, like eating whatever to fill our stomachs. There's definitely no gourmet kitchen in the lair that I resided in before, but that didn't mean I didn't know how to read directions of a cookbook and understand the language of cuisine.
Okay, what I'm trying to hint was that I basically found myself making quiche for Sadie's breakfast. Don't judge, alright? What else was I supposed to do while waiting for her to wake up? I know how to make quiche easily, probably more than how to make pancakes. An entire library in a lair with almost nothing to do can come in handy, so why give up the opportunity to try out my skills?
The finishing result was quite nice, especially with a hint of spices and sliced peppers that I found on a wooden block near the toaster. I left out the tray full of quiche and dropped the bowlful of fruit next to it so Sadie could have her pick, sat at the kitchen table and waited.
I tapped my fingers in rhythm on the table, smiling to myself at my success. I bet Sadie would be impressed with this! Who knew the Boogeyman had such taste, right? Maybe even Alice would like it as well. I had to make sure to save some for her when she returns home from work.
...Anytime she could wake up…any time now…
More than twenty minutes passed. Now I was starting to get irritated. Obviously her breakfast has gotten cold and she hasn't even woken up yet.
I stormed down the hallway to her room and whipped open the door, "Alright, lazy buns, you've slept in long enough. Come on."
Nothing.
"Hey! Sadie, wake up!" I went over and rested my hand on the lump where her shoulder should be, "Breakfast is far beyond ready!"
Still nothing. Now I was worried.
I whipped back the blankets, watching it flutter and fall against the dresser that was opposite of her bed, "Come on, Sadie, when I say get up, you-OH GOD!"
Where her body should be were pillows and stuffed animals clumped together, along with a pink, downy blanket that was rumpled underneath. I stared in horror, not responding to the absence of Sadie. She's missing.
Oh God, she's actually missing.
"Fuck!" I cursed under my breath, running out of her room and down to Alice's room frantically. I slammed open the door, but she wasn't sleeping in her bed either. She wasn't in the adjoining bathroom, or anywhere in the closet or even under the beds. She wasn't in the kitchen, outside in the backyard or the drive way, nor in any hiding places of her room or the living room.
Now I was panicking. I lost a child. I can't believe I actually lost a child. Sadie's sister left me in charge of her, and normally Sadie is reasonably manageable, but this time I really fucked up. I can't find the girl!
My heart rate was going ten times faster than it should be. I was sorely afraid, and dread filled my gut, almost making me sick to my stomach. Dizziness...I have to calm down.
What do I do now? I can't just wait until her sister comes home. Oh God, what if she comes home and Sadie is still missing? What would I say? She'd be furious with me. I'd have failed her!
...I gotta go find Alice.
She was just passing the poetry and prose section when I covered her mouth and pulled her into a different aisle. She screamed, muffled behind my hand and her arms flailed everywhere, trying to find her attacker.
"Shh! Wait wait wait!" I panicked, turning her around so she knew it was me.
Her dark brown eyes widened to the size of gumballs. She was definitely shocked. After I released my hand from her mouth, she asked hoarsely, "What are you doing here?!"
I opened my mouth, paused, and then winced. "Sadie's missing."
"WHAT?!" she screamed.
Anonymous voices shushed her, making her blush in both anger and embarrassment. She looked to the door to make sure no one was coming and whipped back to face me, clearly seeing I was just as bothered as her.
"When did you find this out?!"
"I let her sleep in twenty minutes more and when I went to wake her up...it was just pillows." I threw up my hands, unable to really explain.
"God, Pitch!" she yelled, and ran over to the checkout counter.
"How's this my fault?! I didn't know that she was gone until this morning!" I snapped, getting irritated with her. I had no right, but it wasn't fair on my part.
"She couldn't have ran off at night, we would've seen her!" her sister shouted back, punching in random numbers to clock herself out of her shift.
"ALICE!" a rough voice shouted.
By her startled face I assumed it was her boss approaching behind me. Already angry and frantic enough, I just stuck out my hand and blasted him with a force of nightmare sand, sending him backwards into a collection of young adult novels, unmoving from his spot. I didn't look away from her, as she stared in shock at what I did. Finally, she looked back at me.
"Can we go now?" I pointed to the door.
After a moment's of hesitation, she nodded and leaped over the counter, throwing down her employee tag onto the floor behind us as we sprinted out into the open street, narrowly missing a biker and a taxi carrying two people that shouted insults at her, but she didn't care.
"She couldn't be at her friend Lucy's house 'cause they're off in Boston! Grandma is five miles away so she couldn't have gone to her-" she frantically thought aloud, but I didn't give her time to think.
Immediately I allowed nightmare sand to form around us, and before her stood a fearsome stallion, huffing hot air into her face. She stared blankly at it, then a horrified expression crossed her face before she saw me jump onto the back of this nightmare. I reached out a hand, and she doubtfully gave me a look.
"Come on! Just trust me!" I begged her, stretching out my hand.
Something in her expression changed. It resembled both surprised and...she looked like she was considering the fact that I was concerned about a kid when I'm the monster that scares them off. I don't know how to form that into one word, but she looked compassionate. Nonetheless her hand slipped into mine and I pulled her up to sit in front of me.
"Hold onto his mane but don't pull." I ordered, grabbing the reins.
"O-okay." she nervously stammered.
Unlike other horses, nightmares were faster. They didn't need to stop and rest nor needed food, so they were the most reliable to get places. After gaining back control of the beasts, I did make a few adjustments, like to never turn against their leader...horrid assholes. But like an inventor makes adjustments on a robot or a clock master adjusts the spokes in a watch, the same mistake should never happen again.
Hopefully.
Alice double checked all of the rooms in the house, including the attic, a place I didn't even know the small house had. I checked the backyard, even around her window for footprints. Oddly enough, the window was unlocked, but shut. I remember Alice mentioning she keeps windows locked at night, so that was my first clue.
The big home run was the tiny pinpricks of gold I saw nestled in the blades of grass…
I touched the grass, seeing golden sand shimmer in the sunlight. Some of the sand that I touched turned to ebony black, but the rest remained so. I blew on the spot, like a camper would to start a fire, and the dreamsand curled into the air lazily.
Slowly, it formed into airy images of Santoff Claussen, and a sting ray circling around the towers, slowly dissipating back into nothingness. I grit my teeth and angrily brushed the sand away.
"Sandman...you son of a bitch." I hissed under my breath, abruptly standing up.
Alice ran back outside, her hair flying everywhere and was out of breath. "Nowhere. Found anything?" she asked, trying to calm her beating heart.
I nodded and showed her the remaining dreamsand that flew in the warm wind, "Sandman took her to Santoff Claussen."
"Where?" she raised a brow, thoroughly confused.
I rolled my eyes, "The North Pole. Santa's Workshop. Whatever you humans call it."
She stared at me, blinking twice before snapping, "I thought Sandman was on our side!"
I shrugged and gestured towards the stallion to climb back on, "I guess they just went for a visit and lost track of time. Come on, we can't waste time."
"Weee!" Sadie squealed as she slid down the smooth, wooden banister with the help of Sandman. North chuckled as he watched them play, a toy boat in his hands that a yeti just gave him.
"Glad to see you making friends, Sanderson!" North called out, his bright blue eyes shining with amusement.
Sandy grinned back, clearly having fun himself. Sadie looked up at him, a faint smile on her face before hopping off the banister and running towards North for another hug. Sandy quickly floated behind her, making sure she wouldn't trip on any passing elves or runaway toys. North laughed as he enveloped her in another hug, knowing that his hugs were a new thing Sadie liked.
"Can you play with us too, Santa?" she asked, looking up at him with her big eyes.
"North, child. And not at the moment, I have toys to fix and create." he said, patting her head lovingly before pointing to the boat in his hand.
"What's wrong with the boat? Does it sink?" she asked, following him to his working desk.
"That is the problem, yes. Wood may be too thick, I take. You like?" he let her hold onto it.
The battleship looking boat was only four or five inches long, but it sure was heavy for such a small toy. Sadie clutched it tightly in her hands so it wouldn't fall from her grasp. She carefully observed the boat, flipping it upside down to see the underside, and knocked it with her knuckles.
"Maybe it needs to be more hollow?" she guessed, and by the wide grin he gave her, she was right.
"Krasnov! Just what I was thinking!" he praised her, patting her neatly brushed hair.
After North returned to his whittling of the battleship, Sandy took Sadie by her hand and led them outside of his office, turning to her excitedly for more games. Never before has he been so alert and awake! He wished he could play with Sadie for the rest of the day like this. So far they've played tag, hide-and-seek, read exciting stories from North's vast library, played with some of the toys the yetis were working on, and slid down the banister as if it were a slide. It's as if both he and Sadie had bountiful energy that never decreased, they could go on having fun the entire day!
"Whew! What's next, Sandy?" Sadie put her hands on her hips happily, grinning at him.
He made a thinking face, one that made the little girl giggle. A light bulb formed around the top of his noggin before forming two sand clouds in the air, one for him and one for the little ten-year-old. Sadie stared at the marvelous sight of her very own sand cloud, glittering with it's own golden glory.
Finally, she beamed brightly at him.
"A cloud race?!" she excitedly guessed, to which Sandy nodded with a wide smile.
"Aw, yes!" she fist pumped the air as she jumped onto her cloud, "First one to race all the way to the globe wins!"
They drove their dreamsand clouds all the way to the decked out, mosaic windows all the way to the east, where the giant window to let in the glare of the moon was wide open, the only source of cold air so the inside of Santoff Claussen wouldn't overheat. With the count to three, they whizzed through the air towards the globe, making sure to dodge flying toys left and right. Just to show off, Sandy jumped over a flying toy turtle, pirouetted and landed safely on his little cloud, smiling at Sadie's laughter. She, of course not going to that level of daredevil, simply stood up on her cloud and pretended to surf the wind, and Sandy joined along with her play.
But just as they whizzed closer and closer to the giant globe of Earth, a great wind rushed into the center of the grand room, and from the dark crevices of the workshop flew out nightmare sand, fluttering wickedly in the breeze like an angry tornado. Sadie's eyes widened as the nightmare sand formed into a fearsome stallion with glowing, yellow eyes, and sitting on top of that very stallion were two people that she knew very well.
One was a man dressed in black, the other was her sister. And both were very, very pissed off.