Red (Part Three)

“What the -…Adam, what’s wrong with you?!” Avani shouted. She looked at her brother and saw fear covering his face.

 “An eye!” he said gasping and pointed to a small hole in the fence.

 “An eye?” said Mrs. Evans as she approached her children. “What are you talking about Adam?”

 “There was an eye peeking through that hole, and it was all red and shi-” Adam watched his mother’s face as his tongue almost got him a couple days of house arrest and diverted the curse word by finishing his sentence with a more delicate, ‘stuff’.

 “I think those video games are rupturing you brain cells,” said Avani snorting with laughter. But when Adam didn’t retort and instead covered Avani’s mouth with the palm of his hand and pointed with his other hand to a shadow moving behind the fence, she became anxious. She lowered his hand from her mouth as her eyes followed the shadow moving slowly along the fence line. Heavy breathing travelled in the air and crawled to their ear bells, motioning the tiny hairs on their neck to stand at attention.  

Mrs. Evans was not always good with fear, she always would be the first one to jump or scream at the littlest noise or the littlest spider. So her heart began doing somersaults, she held her two children at their shoulders and began pulling them away from the fence.

 “Hello,” said a silky voice. The Evans stopped in their tracks when they saw the wrinkly face of a tiny old woman pop up from behind the fence. Her hair was as white as the dead rabbit Avani buried in the backyard of their beautiful home left behind in Westchester.

“Oh hi,” said Mrs Evans clutching her chest. “You really gave us a scare.” The old lady smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly smile more like a hungry smile; you know the kind of smile you make when you see a banquet after starving for days.

 “I’m Mrs Evans and these are my kids Adam and Avani."

 “They look delicious,” said the old lady with a sparkle in her eye.

 “Excuse me."

 “I - I meant to say nutritious dear, you know well fed.” She stared Avani in the eyes, licked her lips and gave another hungry smile.

Avani gulped as she suddenly felt like the roasted pork on the table. She moved a little closer to her mother and looked across at Adam, but his place was empty. She made a full one eighty and saw him heading to the house. Avani pulled away from her mother and joined her brother.

  “Well… lets check out the inside of this colossal prison, shall we,” said Adam walking up the front steps, Avani close behind. “Who knows it could be a palace in there.” Avani shook her head at her brother's sarcastic tone.

 “Oh ok,” said Mrs Evans backing away from the fence. 

“Um- well see you later Mrs-”

 “Marjorie dear, Marjorie Archnick,” replied the old lady. “I’m available anytime you need a -babysitter,” she said staring at Avani.

“That’s another reason why we shouldn’t live here,” whispered Avani as her mother was within earshot.

The streetlamps were lit as the Evans family crossed the threshold of their new house, but nothing could prepare them for what they encountered next.