Author: Cyrus Borzak
About an 18-minute read
Featured Image: Shutterstock 2342451521 (Inactive design)
“Okay, Mickey, we should be home in three hours. If we end up needing to be gone longer, we’ll call to let you know.”
“Sounds good, Mr. Hecker. And don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Sam is a good kid.”
“He is, but I know how much he likes to avoid going to bed.”
“The other girls say he’s usually pretty good for them.”
“Just be firm and make sure he knows his video game time could go away if he misbehaves.”
Mickey laughed, “Okay, will do.”
“You have all the numbers and Trish showed you around the house?”
“Yep, yep, and she’s sharing her location so I can keep tabs on you guys too.”
Now it was Cal’s turn to laugh, “Well okay, then. Alright, have a good night and don’t hesitate to text us if you need anything.”
“Have fun tonight!”
Cal Hecker gave a playful eye roll to the thought of having fun at his boss’ retirement dinner, which made them both chuckle again. He grabbed his coat and keys just as Sam walked back into the foyer with his mom.
“Hey bud, be good for Mickey tonight, yeah? You get an extra hour for bedtime tonight, so once she says it’s time, you listen, okay?”
Sam winked at Mickey and gave his dad a wry smile, “Yeah, dad, I’ll be an angel.”
Cal narrowed his eyes at Sam trying to read his kid’s wry smile. This was interrupted by Trish giving a little tug on Sam’s ear to get an exclamation of, “Ow!”
She bent down to Sam’s eye level, “We’re serious, Sam. Be good for Mickey. I work with her mom and I don’t want to hear tomorrow that you gave this poor girl nightmares.”
Sam let out a boisterous laugh, “Mom, I’m just kidding. You know Mickey is friends with Tabitha! She’d make sure I get it if I did anything to Mickey.”
“We’ll make sure you get it if you do anything to Mickey.”
At that, Cal moved in and placed a hand on his wife’s back while bending over to give a little peck on Sam’s head.
“Alright, kiddo, have fun. Mickey can get in touch with us if you two need anything, but you know our numbers as well. We’ll be home in three hours. BE GOOD.”
Sam’s softer side finally came through as he hugged his mom and wished them a very fond goodbye. Then, his parents were out the door and he listened for the sound of the car leaving the driveway. He turned to see Mickey watching him with amusement.
“I will be good. I promise. I’m a good kid.”
“I know you are, bud. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. Now, how do you want to spend the next couple hours?”
Before Mickey arrived, he had tons of ideas of what they could do, but once she arrived, he realized all those thoughts were ideas for his other babysitters, who he knew so much better. There was something about Mickey that threw him off. While he would never admit it, she was incredibly pretty, and he was suddenly very shy.
“No ideas? Well, what are some of the things you like to do? I like baking. We could whip up some brownies. I think I make some pretty amazing brownies. Have you ever made brownies before?”
Sam shook his head.
“Okay, well, does that sound like something you would like to do?”
Sam did not know if he would like making brownies. That was never even something he considered doing. So, he just shrugged.
“Let’s give it a go. I think you’ll like it.”
They marched off to the kitchen, and Mickey began looking through cupboards to see if all the ingredients were present. Bowls, a pan, sugar, flour, and eggs all ended up on the kitchen counter as Sam helped locate whatever item Mickey shouted out from behind open cabinet doors. He really only knew where the cereal and refrigerator were located and what they contained. Everything else was typically his parents’ domain.
“Okay, I think that’s everything, but I’m a little worried…”
Mickey picked up the egg carton and flipped it over, immediately pushing her lips into a frown.
“Shoot, there’s only one left. Well, that takes care of that plan.”
“No brownies then?”
“Nope, sorry bud. I don’t think my brownies would turn out very good with just one egg. Hey, why don’t you go watch some TV and come up with other ideas for things we can do while I put all this stuff back. Sorry, Sam. I was really looking forward to baking with you.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be in the living room.”
After several minutes, Mickey came into the living room to find Sam watching one of Mickey’s favorite shows, Nemesis Bros.. Unfortunately, that show also happened to be geared toward an older audience.
“Hey, your parents are okay with you watching this?”
Sam immediately changed the channel as his face went tomato red.
“I thought so. Hey, that’s one of my favorite shows or I probably wouldn’t know better.”
Seeing how embarrassed he still was, Mickey tried to get him thinking about other things.
“Sam, it’s okay. I just don’t want either of us to get in trouble, okay? I’d like to be able to come back here and spend time with you, and I don’t think your parents will want that if I don’t make good decisions.”
Sam nodded, his face losing some of its color.
“Now, did you come up with any ideas?”
He kept his attention to the TV, which had flipped over to a repeating scroll of weather around the country, obviously something he was not watching.
“Um, do you play Smashing Party?”
“I actually play that game with my brothers, but I’m really terrible at it. They’re not very good teachers and tend to gang up on me.”
“Oh, well, I was thinking we could play that, or maybe watch a movie?”
“Sure, I’ll play if you promise to show me a couple tricks I can use against my brothers. And what movie do you want to watch?”
“Um, have you heard of Three Tales?”
“Oh my gosh, I love Three Tales! It’s been a bit since I’ve seen it though, so that’s a great choice!”
Ecstatic that Mickey liked his ideas, Sam leapt up and raced downstairs, yelling “I’ll get things set up,” as he practically teleported to the basement.
The Hecker’s basement was fully finished with a large rectangular main area that served as play area, theater, and bar. A hallway extended off the rectangle’s short side and led to a workout room. Opposite the hallway, a large television hung neatly on the wall. Sharing the side with the TV was an alcove with three doors, one leading to a bathroom, one to a spare bedroom, and one to a storage room that then ran the length of the house.
As Mickey descended the final few stairs, she saw Sam already had the TV on with Smashing Party loaded up. He smiled brightly as he handed a controller to her. The game’s colorful characters danced across the screen as they demoed different moves and abilities. Once Mickey took the controller, Sam immediately went about setting up a new match and selecting his favorite character, Chimeraz. Mickey usually played as Leadbolt, a character with stronger defense that typically helped her survive more than five seconds.
As she noticed the ends of Sam’s mouth curl into a smile, Mickey reminded him, “Remember, I want to learn how to be better at this game. If you kick my butt right away, that’s not going to be any fun, and I won’t want to play anymore.”
Smile only slightly diminished, Sam nodded and started the round. Once the starting countdown hit zero, Sam threw Chimeraz into action, using the character’s two heads to form a frontal shield while its serpent-head tail launched poisonous projectiles. Chimeraz was a complex character to use, requiring input of a preset command to operate whichever half of the character was not under immediate user control. Adept players were able to switch between halves so quickly, it looked as though they had simultaneous control of the heads and tail. Sam was not that good, yet.
Mickey almost laughed at the initial onslaught. Sam apparently had no intention to take it easy on her. Unfortunately for Sam, Chimeraz was the one character Mickey knew how to counter since one of her brothers used it nearly every time they played. She immediately threw Leadbolt into a forward roll, which formed the character into a ball and provided a temporary shield while rolling. Using this, Mickey maneuvered the character directly into and against Chimeraz which forced the venomous projectiles to sail over Leadbolt, and the impact of the rolling collision stunned Chimeraz’s heads. It also stunned Sam, who was slow to adjust control and reposition. Mickey seized the opportunity to execute the one of the special moves she knew. Leadbolt began glowing before grabbing hold of Chimeraz and rocketing like a bullet off the screen. Once neither character was visible, the boom and sprites from an explosion filled the screen, and Leadbolt landed back on the stage as the words “Leadbolt Victory” flashed.
Sam said nothing as he stared at the screen, his mouth hanging slightly open.
“Wow, guess I got lucky,” Mickey tried to say in earnest as she fought back a smile.
The next round started similarly. Sam opened with the same attack, and Mickey countered with the same roll. This time, Sam was ready and switched Chimeraz’s position to vault Leadbolt’s roll and land facing the tumbling character’s exposed flank. He hit her with a flurry of melee “bite” attacks that began chewing through Leadbolt’s health. Mickey dashed away from the attack as her fingers loaded up Loadbolt’s next big move, something she had used on her brothers many times but without much effect. They knew Mickey essentially only knew how to do three moves, so countering them was second-nature by now. Sam, however, was blissfully unaware, and Mickey could not help herself from wanting to finally get a win.
One of Loadbolt’s special attributes was the ability to store the damage received and turn the accumulation into a devastating offensive barrage. For Mickey, this meant the beating Leadbolt took at the start of the round was not as bad as it appeared. If she failed to land the move, however, Chimeraz need only breathe on Leadbolt to eliminate them. Knowing this, she waited until Sam had Chimeraz locked into a forward dash to pursue its wounded prey. Knowing he could not dodge at this point, Mickey completed the necessary input combination and watched as a light erupted from within Loadbolt and sent a powerful laser blast straight into the approaching foe.
Sam released an anguished, “Nooooooooo,” as he watched Chimeraz disintegrate into a pile of pixels on the screen. The screen brightened with another “Loadbolt Victory” splash, illuminating Sam’s face. Mickey could not tell if his flushed cheeks were from embarrassment, anger, or sadness, but they were a clear indication it was time for a different activity.
“Wow, Sam, thanks for taking it easy on me. I’ve never gotten the opportunity to see how some of those moves work. But, I don’t want to press my luck, so how about a movie?”
Sam nodded and queued up Three Tales. He was silent for the first fifteen minutes of the movie until Mickey bounded back down the stairs carrying a large bowl of popcorn. As they downed the airy morsels, they shared in the experience of watching a movie they both enjoyed. Mickey laughed at Sam’s impressive knowledge of Three Tales’ behind-the-scenes trivia while he was equally impressed by Mickey’s knowledge of the cast members’ filmographies. They did not need to pay super close attention to the movie itself since they knew it so well, and its simple presence on the screen brought them both to a happier place. Mickey, at least, was happy Sam’s defeat in Smashing Party did not sour him toward her for the rest of the night. But, as all fun things go, before they wanted, the credits began their climb up the screen.
“Sorry, kiddo, you know what that means. Time for bed.”
A brief look of disappointment crossed over Sam’s face, but he popped off the couch and sprinted up the stairs. His sudden burst of movement surprised Mickey, though she appreciated there was no protest. She looked around the basement and frowned at the mess they had created and that the TV was still on. She was not tech illiterate, but she was not going to risk messing up the Hecker’s nice setup.
“Hey, Sam, everything is still on down here. Come back and turn it off for me while I tidy up.”
There was no response.
“Hey, Sam!”
Still nothing.
The large TV screen provided some immediate illumination, but Mickey now noticed the shadows that covered the basement’s far reaches. Suddenly, the TV felt less bright and the basement more foreboding. Mickey did not scare easily, but she still never sought out dark places, especially unfamiliar dark places. Despite not scaring easily, she had an active imagination, which started detecting a presence and movement in the shadows. A chill raced down her neck and spine as her instincts yelled at her to go upstairs. She knew it was foolish but stayed extra quiet to see if she could hear anything or even the sound of Sam’s footsteps upstairs. Mickey was already on edge when Sam shouted.
“Mickey, are you coming upstairs?”
“Not until we pick up down here. I need your help turning things off.”
Sam’s voice contained a hint of uncertainty, “No, it’s okay. I’ll pick up in the morning, and we should probably just let my dad turn off the electronics. He says it has to be done a certain way.”
“C’mon, Sam, it’ll only take a minute, and I’m sure your parents will appreciate it. But hurry up, they’ll be home before long, and you need to be in bed.”
Now, Sam’s voice was a mix of uncertainty and urgency, “No, Mickey, it’s okay. I promise. Please come upstairs.”
It felt like Sam was pleading with her.
Mickey looked back at the mess and decided she would just have to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Hecker that she did not fully pick up so she could keep an eye on Sam, but there was no way she was going to leave things as they were.
“Okay, okay, Sam. I’m going to pick up a little though. Start getting ready for bed.”
“Mickey, please, it’s okay. Just come upstairs.”
She did not understand why Sam was sounding more distressed, so she quickly grabbed the crumpled blankets, beverage glasses, and popcorn bowl and hit the “power” button on the biggest remote she could find. The TV blinked off, and the basement became shrouded in inky blackness. Almost immediately, Mickey was hit by another wave of unease, sending a stronger chilling pulse down her spine. This time, she did not dawdle and made straight for the stairs.
The stairs consisted of ten steps, then a landing, and then another ten steps pivoting off the landing in the other direction up to the main floor. This allowed Sam to peek over the bannister and watch for Mickey to emerge onto the first flight of stairs. It felt like he stood there for an eternity. What was taking her so long? Why was he not brave enough to go down and help her? Sam hated that his thoughts ventured into thinking she did not deserve his help after embarrassing him at his favorite game. He did not know why, but those thoughts felt wrong, almost too mean. But now, she was down there alone in the dark for so long. Sam knew he could have flipped on a light on his way up the stairs, but he had never been the last one up. His parents never let him go up last, and he was not about to start now. He knew what lurked down there in the dark.
Mickey was certain she heard something now, but all could see was the upstairs light illuminating the landing. It was not far to the first steps, and she covered the distance quickly. On the second step, she looked straight up and saw Sam’s wide-eyed gaze looking down at her. He visibly exhaled and his eyes decreased several sizes in relief. Mickey stopped her ascent and shook her head.
“Gee, thanks for the help. Pretty sure I messed up the TV, and I don’t know how many kernels I stepped on. I guess pretending those were little snowballs wasn’t the smartest idea.”
Feeling better about the situation, Sam still wanted Mickey to get all the way upstairs.
“I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up tomorrow. I promise you won’t get in trouble. Just please, come upstairs.”
Mickey gave Sam a confused smile and climbed another step, but she froze there. The tingle down her spine was back, and this time it was paired with a tickle on her ankles.
Sam saw Mickey start and abruptly stop. He suddenly felt the tension radiate from her. He watched her slowly turn to look back into the basement. Sam nearly flipped over the bannister as Mickey screamed and violently disappeared back into the basement’s darkness. He screamed himself and bolted for his bedroom, slamming the door shut and diving under the bed. The house became eerily silent except for Sam’s heavy breathing.
Cal Hecker came in from the garage and was surprised at the house’s stillness. Trish followed him in and noticed the same thing. They exchanged a look and went about removing coats and shoes. Then, Cal went further into the house, looking around for Mickey or Sam. As he saw no one and nothing out of place, a light twinge of anxiety crept into his thoughts. Trish sensed this and headed straight for Sam’s room.
She quietly opened his door and looked in. The room was dark but not silent as the white noise machine filled the space with an enveloping hum. She stalked toward Sam’s bed, using her mom instincts to sidestep toys and a stool that anyone else would have crashed through. She got to Sam’s bed and leaned over. Her breath caught in surprise – Sam was sound asleep. There were no signs of anything being amiss other than a dried smudge of chocolate ice cream at the corner of his mouth. Trish smiled and gave him a kiss before exiting.
Elsewhere, Cal noticed the basement light was on. He lightly went down the steps and peeked into the main room. Mickey was there, folding blankets and stacking them on the couch next to a mound of popcorn. She happened to give a quick glance up and then jumped slightly with a second look.
“Mr. Hecker! You’re home! Oh my, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No, I’m sorry for startling you. We didn’t hear anything when we came in, so I was trying to find you and Sam.”
Mickey laughed, “Sam should be in bed, unless he’s sneaking about without me knowing. I’ll admit, he got to bed a little later than you wanted. We watched a movie that went a little long, and then he wouldn’t go to bed without a snack. Then, I came down here to pick up a little before you got home.”
Cal nodded, “Pulled the snack card on you, did he? Eh, that’s alright. Any troubles tonight?”
There was a longer than expected pause before Mickey put on another smile and answered, “No, not at all. I hope Sam had fun, because I sure did. Also, how are you supposed to turn off this TV and stuff? I hope I didn’t mess it up.”
HobbyScope 