DING~ DONG!

  Rudy rang the doorbell of Alice's house and waited for a reply.

  [Who is this?] a male voice asked out of the intercom.

  "Umm… this is Rudy. You might know me," Rudy said in a calm tone.

  [Rudy…]

  "Yes…"

  [Rudy as in… Rebecca's kid. Am I right?] the voice asked.

  "Yes."

  [Why are you here? It's been years since you last visited Alice.] The voice was a little raspy, as though the person speaking was exhausted.

  "I will be coming here every morning from now on," Rudy said in a confident voice.

  [Oh? Did you court my daughter or something?] he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

  "Not yet."

  [Tch! And I thought you were different. But good luck, I guess?]

  "Uhh… how are you doing, uncle?"

  [Why are you worried about an old man like me? I am doing good, thanks,] he responded in a calm voice.

  "So, where is Alice?" Rudy then asked.

  [She went upstairs as soon as the bell rang. So expect her to come— oh! Here she is.]

  The front door opened, and Alice walked out of the voice. She looked at Rudy with a little flushed face and said, "Thanks for coming all the way to pick me up."

  "No worries," Rudy smiled.

  They made their way to the school but decided to go a long way because there was still some time left before the school opened. And besides, they both wanted to spend more time with each other.

  Alice was walking with her gaze fixated on the ground and her hands on her bag straps.

  'This is not the first time we are walking to school together. Alice always waited for me at the crossway, but this actually feels different.'

  'I guess these small moments and feelings are what make the memories so precious.'

  Rudy wanted to start a conversation with Alice since he had to progress with their relationship. But he didn't know what he should say.

  "How's the school going?" he asked but instantly regretted that.

  Alice squinted her eyes at Rudy and said, "We go to the same school, and we sit beside each other in the same classroom. I don't think you should be asking that."

  "So I can't know how my precious friend is doing?" Rudy said with a dejected look on his face. "I guess I was just—"

  "I am doing good!" Alice immediately answered.

  Of course, Rudy was simply acting.

  He glanced at Alice from the corner of his eyes and asked, "How's your father doing?"

  "Good. He has stopped drinking, and he comes home on time. We watched a movie together last night, but I fell asleep since it was old and boring," Alice replied with a smile on her face.

  Rudy looked up at the sky and muttered, "It's been six years, hasn't it?"

  "Yeah…" Alice nodded.

  Six years ago, when Alice, Rudy, Eric, and Erika were playing hide and seek at Alice's house, an incident happened.

  For several days, it was on the news that the police were looking for three wanted criminals who had escaped from the prison. And just like always, the citizens ignored the news because, for them, it was nothing to do with them.

  That tragic day, when Alice's mom was cooking lunch in the kitchen, and the kids were playing hide and seek outside, three men broke into the house to hide.

  But since the kids were playing hide and seek, none of them realized because they were hiding in a tough spot where no one could find them.

  It was Rudy's turn to find everyone, and he sucked at that. He searched for them for a few minutes, but he couldn't find them.

  Since he couldn't find them outside, he thought he would find them in the house.

  When Rudy walked into the house, he saw Alice's mom dead on the kitchen floor, and her body was covered in her blood.

  Rudy froze and couldn't move. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't scream for help or make any moves because Alice and Erika were at the gun points of the criminals.

  Eric was nowhere to be seen, but he also wouldn't be able to do anything.

  At the same time, a miracle occurred, and Alice's father came home.

  He had forgotten important papers, so he had come back to take them. When he parked the car outside, the criminals heard the noise. They hid Alice's mother's body and took Alice and Erika into the room.

  "Go and don't let him get suspicious. If he finds out, these two girls will die! And after that, I will kill your family in front of you!" they had said to Rudy.

  Rudy was just a kid at that time, and he was a scardey cat.

  When Alice's father walked into the house, Rudy didn't let him enter the kitchen as there was blood on the floor.

  Alice's father asked where the others were, and Rudy replied, "They are hiding because we are playing hide and seek."

  However, Alice's father had seen the fear in Rudy's eyes. But he realized something was off— although he decided to act normal.

  He went into his room and took the documents he had forgotten. Then he patted Rudy and drove off.

  The criminals thought they were safe, but a few minutes later, the entire house was surrounded by police cars.

  After driving off, Alice's father checked the footage on his phone, and he saw the footage of her wife getting killed by the criminals.

  He immediately went to the police, and they took immediate action. The kitchen had a back door, from where the criminals tried to run.

  Of course, the criminals threatened to kill Alice and Erika if they didn't let them go, but there was no guarantee in their words.

  The three criminals were brothers, and they had killed many people, including their parents, siblings, and relatives because they didn't let them play their favorite game on the holiday night.

  It was a precarious situation, and the cops couldn't afford to take any casualties in their hands. Hence, they agreed to the criminals' demand and asked them to let Alice, Erika, and Rudy go.

  Of course, they knew they wouldn't do that. Otherwise, they would be captured again.

  But something unexpected happened.

  Eric, who had been missing, finally came out of the refrigerator. He had two oil sprays in his hand and he sprayed them on the criminals.

  Then, he took out a lighter from his pocket and lit them up.