Chapter 42
Forty-Two
Brian
He breathed a sigh of relief. All day, the monster behind OpenMeSmiler had demanded that he sit in his chair watching the boy get tortured with the fear of what was coming.
He shifted in his chair. No voice came from the speaker and no words popped up on the screen.
He stood and stretched. No one shouted for him to sit back down.
He stepped out of frame and waited a second. Again, no one spoke. ‘Tabby.’
His sister burst out of her bedroom. ‘Are you free?’
He shrugged. ‘I think so. I don’t know how long for but I don’t think he’s watching.’ He ran across the landing to the loo and peed like an overfilled water balloon that had been popped. Tabitha’s phone rang. He flushed the loo and headed onto the landing.
‘Okay… wait… hang on… Aunt Claudia. I’m putting you on loudspeaker,’ Tabitha said.
‘How are my two favourite people?’ she asked.
‘Good, fine, okay,’ they replied, talking over each other.
‘And how’s your tummy, Tabby?’
‘A little better although it’s still sore. I won’t be eating anything Brian makes ever again but don’t worry about me. I found some tummy medicine in the cupboard.’ Tabitha shrugged.
‘Are you sure, because I can come home if it’s an emergency. One of you being ill is an emergency.’
‘No,’ they said at the same time.
‘Hmm, are you sure you’re not planning a party? You both sound cagey.’
‘We’re not cagey,’ Tabitha said. ‘We don’t want you to jeopardise this big promotion. We were just saying how happy we were for you.’
‘You’re both so lovely, you know that. Your mum and dad would be proud. Are you going to school tomorrow, Tabby?’
‘Err, I don’t think so. I’ve been in the loo a lot so it’s probably best I give it a day.’
‘Okay, I’ll call them in the morning. Oh, I best go. Love to you both.’ Claudia hung up and Tabitha exhaled.
‘We’ve so got to sort this before she gets back,’ Brian said. He peered into his bedroom, wondering if his absence had been noticed but still, it hadn’t.
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. If I knew I’d be doing something about it.’ He paced up and down the landing and almost jumped when the doorbell rang. He stopped and stared at Tabitha. ‘Are you expecting anyone?’
‘No.’
‘What if it’s them, him, OpenMeSmiler?’
‘They don’t know where we live?’
‘I know everything.’ Brian’s elbow hit the wall as the voice from his computer boomed out. ‘I know your full name. I know your age. I know where you work. I know where your sister goes to school. I know everything about you, your hopes, your dreams, your desires.’
The bell rang again.
‘Answer it, Tabitha,’ the robotic voice said.
She trembled. For once, he wanted to reach over and hug his little sis and protect her from the dangers lurking within his computer.
‘Answer it.’ He almost felt the walls shake as the volume increased. ‘Brian, back in your chair.’
Open-mouthed, he stepped into his bedroom on jellylike legs and fell back in his chair.
‘I wonder who’s at the door, I wonder who’s at the door, I wonder who’s at the door.
’ The voice sang before bursting into manic laughter.
He wanted to shout to Tabitha, tell her not to open it.
Maybe they could run away instead, go now and never come back.
Hide forever and never open the door. It was too late.
He heard her opening it, then there was a bang.