VI

Kimi approached his home like a stealthy predator against its prey once he noticed a car parked before his house. Who could his mother possibly know or who could remember her after twelve years of absence? When he reached the door to his house, he glared at the car as he shuffled to open the door.

When he pushed the door open, he was greeted by low whispering sounds of conversion. The creaking sound of the shutting door reduced the noise and a tuft of blonde hair poked out from the doorway of the dinning room.

Kimi raised his eyebrows as he stared at the little, blonde boy who stared back at him in awe. His eyes studied the boy as he crouched and dropped the items in his hands so he could pull off his shoes.

“Kimi?” Kara called out.

Loud footsteps emerged from the dinning room and a tall, blonde boy—an older version of the little boy—walked out of the room. He grinned widely as he saw Kimi and approached him.

“Kim!” the boy exclaimed as he spread his arms wide, only to be tackled by Kimi. He fell with a loud thud and a pained groan, only to be rewarded by Kimi’s livid gaze.

“Don’t freaking touch me you ass!” Kimi growled wildly.

The little boy yelped and started bawling. More footsteps resonated throughout the house and a man and a woman emerged from the room.

The woman rushed to the boy and picked up her bawling son. “Shh. Mummy’s got you.”

The man shook his head as he held out a helping hand to his son. “You still excel at annoying people Duan.”

The little boy rubbed his eyes with his fists. “Du-Du. Hwurt. Meanie!” His tear-filled gaze was directed at Kimi and this was followed by his parents’.

“Kimi?” the woman questioned in a startled manner.

Kimi was breathing heavily as his mother walked out of the kitchen, a napkin in her hand. Kara observed the situation and approached her son with a sigh. She stretched her comforting hands towards Kimi but he moved out of her reach.

“Mother? Who are these people?” Kimi directed his harsh gaze to his mother.

Kara sighed. “This is Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger and their sons Duan and Devon.”

Duan waved at Kimi with a silly grin. “Hello. Sorry for frightening you.”

Kimi furrowed his eyebrows as he recognized the silly grin; his shoulders slouched. “You’re still a freaking ass.”

*

The dinning room was filled with icy tenseness, and the screeching of utensils against plates poked the icy tenseness as they all ate in silence. Kara cleared her throat as she noticed her son put his final spoon of food in his mouth and she hastened her chewing and swallowed.

“Um, Kimi, don’t you want more?”

Kimi shook his head and stood up, but was halted by Mr. Jaeger.

“Please sit,” Ace, Duan’s father, voiced. He picked his cup and sipped water from it.

Kimi groaned, cursed under his breath and sat on his chair, the plate still in his tight grip.

“So, Kimi, how have you been since I last saw you?” Clove, Duan’s mother, asked cheerily.

Kimi rolled his eyes. “Lonely.”

Clove exhaled slowly and smiled faintly. “Did you miss Rhodes Isles?”

“No.” He was getting suffocated in anger.

Duan wiped his mouth awkwardly with a napkin. “You’ve grown so tall. Do you do sports?”

Kimi raised a mocking eyebrow. “Who? Me? If you’re trying to say that puberty blessed me with three inches, then bless your euphemist talk.”

The legs of the chair scraped against the tiled floor as Kimi stood up and walked to the kitchen. Everyone watched his back as he left and they all held their breaths. Duan stood up to follow him, his plate in his hands, hope in his eyes.

“Duan!” Ace warned with a frown. “Don’t mess this up. Try not to do anything stupid.” His frown deepened.

Duan nodded. “Yes Dad.”

Ace nodded slightly and watched Duan leave. Clove watched Ace and Kara stared blankly at a pouting Devon.

Clove sighed and Kara looked at her face. “Isn’t Devon eating?”

“Oh.” Clove ruffled Devon’s hair and bounced him on her laps. “He was immensely hungry before we left so I had to feed him.”

Kara nodded in understanding. “Another Duan, I hope.”

Clove shook her head in amusement. The corners of her lips raised slightly and she murmured, “he’s nothing like Duan. Devon eats a lot.”

Ace smirked widely. “It’s a sign of a healthy child.”

Kara smiled and nodded her head. “True.”

*

Kimi turned off the tap and wiped his hands with a towel. He turned to leave but stopped when Duan walked into the kitchen, his plate in his hands.

Awkwardly, Duan walked to the sink in silence and dropped his plate in it with a clatter. “I’m sorry for... I didn’t mean to upset you.” He turned to face Kimi, his shoulders drooped.

Kimi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s no need for that. You’re naturally annoying to me. Naturally.” He moved to a stool before the counter and sat on it.

Duan leaned against the sink and studied Kimi’s face, his arms folded. “So... did you miss me?”

Kimi scoffed and sarcastically said, “yeah I missed you always crying like a baby when girls pranked you for your chocolate.”

A blush crept up Duan’s neck and he groaned. “That was a one time thing. Besides, I always shared my bits with you.”

Kimi raised an amused eyebrow. “Wolfing down a third-quarter of everything?”

“Yeah.” Duan rubbed his neck awkwardly when he had nothing else to say. All these years and nothing? Maybe the excitement had finally consumed him and made him confused.

Kimi frowned and then rubbed his elbows awkwardly when he noticed that all Duan was doing was to stare at him like he was a platter of roasted chicken. “So...”

Duan leaned forward. “So?” he drawled with suspenseful shoulders.

Kimi sighed. “Anything new in Rhodes Isles?”

Duan scratched his neck. “Uh, many things.”

Kimi raised an eyebrow. “Many?”

Duan smiled wildly. “New leadership, people from different nations are finally coming to live here, Rhodes Isles finally has a soccer team, thank heavens. And...” Duan suddenly paused his lips and narrowed his eyes, concern creeping into his eyes.

Kimi noticed the look in his eyes and whispered, “what? Your girlfriend or boyfriend freaking dumped you?”

Duan’s face warmed and he sputtered, “n-no. No!” He shook his head.

Kimi smirked faintly. “I just freaking asked a question ass, there’s no need to wet your freaking pants.”

Duan’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline in shock.

Kimi shrugged. “Get used to it.”

“I’ll try.” He cleared his throat. “Um...” He tried to remember what he had wanted to say, his chin in his hand. “Oh, and also for the past three months or so, people have been going missing.” He shrugged. “People say they’re just random victims.”

A familiar shiver crept its way up Kimi’s spine but he couldn’t place a firm finger on it. Kimi raised an eyebrow. “What do you—”

“Especially since those weird siblings arrived.”

“What weird siblings?” Kimi held his breath.

Duan sighed. “The Vdéllas? I think that the twins are in the same year as you.” He shrugged carelessly. “Weird bunch. Weird family. Weird lifestyle.”

“Weird?” Kimi shifted in his seat.

“Yeah, since they arrived in this town, the abductions had increased. And there were many beautiful mansions around but they decided to buy that mansion.” Duan passed his hands through his forest of blonde hair. “What did they call it. Um, the um... Oh yeah, The Abattoir. Yeah, that’s the name.”

Kimi frowned in disgusted confusion.

Duan noticed his expression and chuckled. “I know right. Weird.” He folded his arms and smirked playfully. “I heard that it got its name from a brutal murder that took place a few years ago at a warehouse behind the mansion. The guy was literally torn to pieces.”

Kimi froze. His breathing hitched and his heartbeat quickened to that of a disastrous thunderstorm. Familiar images flashed through his mind vividly; the sound, the smell, the noises, everything came running back to him, chasing away his sane courage. Everything!

Stop. Stop! Stop it!

“Poor boy. The kid that they found covered in the man’s blood must have nightmares everyday. Maybe the Vdélla family wishes to sacrifice to the soul of the—”

Kimi shot to his feet, the stool he was sitting on crashing to the floor. Tears had pooled around his eyes and anger had clouded his senses. “You fucking talk too much,” he hissed, his voice scratchy.

Duan panicked and his stance became tensed. “Kim—”

“Do you fucking have any idea why my mother and I had to fucking leave this town?! Do you know what had happened to my father?! ‘Poor boy. The kid that they found covered in the man’s blood must have nightmares everyday’!” Kimi grinned sickly. “Sweet, fucking, shitty crap. You’re an ass!” Kimi walked out of the kitchen with thundering footsteps.

Kara immediately ran into the kitchen and glared at Duan. “What did you do?!”

Duan jerked. “N-nothing. I was only talking about the Vdélla family buying the mansion which was close to the warehouse that a man was slaughtered at.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I swear, I didn’t say any—”

“What?!” yelled Kara and Ace and his wife who had walked into the kitchen after hearing Kimi’s outburst.

“How can you be so...” Ace sighed and walked out of the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry.” Clove spared one last glance at her son before following after her husband, her whining child in her arms.

“I didn’t do anything.” Duan shook his head fearfully. “I swear!”

Kara sighed and shook her head several times. “No, it’s not your fault.” A few tears spilled down her face. “You don’t know. I suggest you leave now.”

Duan nodded with a gulp and moved fearfully out of the kitchen. Once he was out, Kara fell to her knees and cried silently, a hollow pit in her heart deepening; the calm in her eyes finally dispersed and a thunderstorm rose.

The skies outside turned darker and it rumbled lightly. It was followed by the soft pattering of rain against the roof, its sound drowning that of Kara’s.

Author’s Note: Hello! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o How was the chapter? Find anything interesting? Well I did find writing this chapter interesting. Please vote, comment and share. No harsh words please and have a wonderful day/night.