Chapter 11 - The Trapped Family
The tall man blocking the doorway stepped fully into the dim amber light of the hallway. His frame was shockingly thin beneath a tattered plaid shirt, his skin pale and stretched tight over sharp cheekbones. His eyes were wide, darting erratically around the room before locking onto Marcus with an intensity that made the hair on the back of Marcus’s arms stand up.
David.
“You shouldn’t have cut the power, Marcus,” David said, his voice raspy and dry, like grinding stones. He didn't raise his voice, but the acoustic resonance of his tone filled the small bedroom effortlessly. “The house gets cold when the grid goes down. Elena knows that. She tries to keep everything running, but you always have to meddle.”
Marcus tightened his grip on his daughter, shielding her body against his chest as he took a defensive step backward, putting distance between himself and the doorway.
“Stay away from my kids, David,” Marcus said, his voice low and steady, though his heart hammered violently against his ribs. He looked past David’s shoulder down the dark hallway, calculating his chances of bowling past the frail-looking man with a child in his arms. But David’s stance, despite his gaunt appearance, was unnaturally balanced, blocking the entire width of the doorway.
Elena didn't look at Marcus. She remained standing beside Jordan on the bed, her hand resting gently on the boy’s shoulder. Jordan looked up at his mother with a strange, numb expression, as if he had retreated entirely into his own mind to escape the terror of the situation.
“We aren't going to hurt the children, Marcus,” Elena said softly, her voice devoid of its previous frantic edge, replaced by a chilling, unnatural calm. “We never wanted to hurt anyone. We just needed time. Time to fix what was broken before the outside world destroyed us completely.”
“By locking them in their rooms? By keeping your brother in a concrete hole like an animal?” Marcus demanded, his anger flaring hot beneath the surface of his fear. “This isn't protection, Elena. This is a kidnapping. This is a crime.”
“It’s survival,” David interrupted, taking a slow step into the bedroom, his eyes fixed on Marcus with a burning, erratic curiosity. He reached out a long, bony hand and tapped the exterior brass hasp hanging loosely from the doorframe. “She built this place for us, Marcus. For safety. When the city collapsed around us three years ago, when everyone else ran away, Elena was the only one who didn't look away.”
Marcus’s mind raced. The city hadn't collapsed three years ago. David had gone into hiding because he had been implicated in a violent embezzlement scandal at his firm—a crime the media had covered extensively before the trail went cold. Elena hadn't been protecting her brother from a fallen world; she had been harboring a fugitive from federal investigators, funding his underground existence with money siphoned from their joint family accounts while starving her own children to cover the shortfall.
“You’re wanted by the FBI, David,” Marcus said, staring directly into the other man’s hollow eyes. “And you, Elena—you’ve been committing federal felonies under my roof for years. Every cent you spent, every lock you installed... it’s all documented.”
David let out a sharp, sudden bark of laughter that lacked any warmth. He glanced at Elena, a strange, knowing smile playing across his thin lips.
May you like
“You think the FBI cares about what’s buried under this house, Marcus?” David whispered, stepping closer until he was standing just arm's length away. “Look closer at the walls of this room. Look at what Elena installed behind the drywall before you even bought the deed.”
---
