Gateway: The Intruder (1)
#3 of Gateway
:D
_SEQUEL TO TWO WORLDS, DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU'RE CAUGHT UP! :3 _
The Intruder
He sighed after taking the sip of his coffee and let the elevator close in front of him, the mechanical box jerking in response as it ascended upward towards his floor. The glass box left the sheath wall and Kevin was greeted with the entire city of New York, the lights filling into the box and shining into his eyes. It was like stars on the ground, drowning out the night sky, it was beautiful; he never got tired of seeing the view. The people walking to where they had to be, the car lights, the street lights, everything.
It was breathtaking.
Of course, walking home from work he was able to get a grounds view of it all but it wasn't as great as it was right now in the elevator of his apartment building. It was late--around 10--and normally he wasn't home this late but work just got in the way. The article for next week was moved to this Friday. It was Thursday. Damn boss decided that Kevin should stay late, not like Kevin had anything to do that tonight. Except the, you know, responsibility of his 4 year old son, Skylar. With the article moved to tomorrow, Kevin had to call the neighbor to take care of Skylar till he got back.
Then again, he hadn't expected to remain out this late.
Ding...
The silver metallic doors parted and opened Kevin to his floor. Sighing at leaving the view of the city, Kevin exited and followed the corridor to his left, passing a few doors until finally he came to the number 18F bolted to the door.
He was home.
Using his key to unlock the door, Kevin stepped in and was met with Clarissa at the door, who had her book in her hand and her jacket neatly folded around her arm, her bright smile sweet and warm welcoming. Her brunette hair was in a ponytail and she was in silk pink pajamas, but even though she wasn't dressed as good as she normally does every day, she was still a beautiful girl. It reminded him of the city lights.
Kevin blushed and smiled, "I'm so, so sorry." He closed the door and stared into her eyes.
She laughed and gripped her book in both hands, "No problem, Kev', it's the least I can do for what you did with getting me those tickets to last week's fashion show."
"Well, I had to write an article and needed a girls touch," Kevin smiled, "You were first in my mind to pop up."
Now she blushed, her eyes avoiding the taller man in front of her who stepped out of her way from the door, "I'm glad I have that kind of connection with you. If you have any other fashion show tickets don't hesitate to ask."
God she was adorable, Kevin nodded and gave her a goodbye as she left, leaving Kevin alone in his apartment. The feeling of empty and alone filled him again.
After his wife, Emily, died 4 years ago, Kevin wasn't sure how he felt with dating other people. It was still hard, but 4 years was kind of long...
"See you tomorrow...hopefully." He said to himself as he turned and rounded the corner to his kitchen, putting the coffee on the counter and leaning against it. He was tired, the paper he'd whipped up two hours ago was finished but not that well. He was worried his boss would throw it in his face when he'd go back to work tomorrow.
But right now he didn't care. He was home, in the safety clutches of his warm environment. Skylar was asleep, he did his job, Clarissa blushed in front of him, he was set for tonight. Everything was going according to plan.
There was a bump from the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
At first Kevin looked up and tried to angle his head to see who it was but couldn't see anything, then he sighed and pushed off the counter to see who it was.
"Sky you should be in bed--" he rounded the corner and stopped talking as he found no one in the hallway. Was he hearing things? No... he heard something, he was sure of it.
Just to be sure, Kevin slowly walked down the hallway and checked the first door to the right, which was slightly open. It was Skylars room.
Opening the door, he found his son lying in bed sound asleep; the night light next to him was brightly illuminating the blue painted wall and casting a relaxing glow. It made Kevin smile. He must have been hearing things because his son wasn't awake and he certainly wasn't faking it: his breathing was paced and slow.
Shutting the door, Kevin turned and stopped immediately in his tracks.
There was another bump.
This time it came from the living room...
Kevin was frozen on the spot, afraid of who was in the apartment. Was it Clarissa? No, she would have called out if she came in. That just left Kevin to think of the worst: Someone's broken into his home. As a father, he should protect his son. That was his first instinct because no one was going to get anywhere near this door that led to his son, if they did Skylar's father would have his hands busy. Kevin held his breath and stepped forward, walking the steps to round the corner to find the living room completely empty of life. But he knew it wasn't because there was a draft coming from the open patio doors. His living room was a nice square with two couches a TV and a carpet. The patio doors remained closed at night and never once had Kevin unlocked it at night. But now, it was left open with the blinds blowing in the breeze.
But this time, Kevin's veins felt like they were circulating ice.
That door wasn't opened a minute ago when he went to check on Skylar, but now it was...and someone was standing at the door.
"Who's there?" Kevin called in a low firm voice, his body tensing from the fear of being intruded.
The person remained still, but Kevin couldn't make out who it was. It was dark inside the apartment but the street lights outside illuminated the outline of the figure. He was tall, kind of scruffy looking and clearly not wearing a shirt, his muscles obviously bulky and fit. The only thing that was off... was the pointy ears and a...tail?
Kevin stopped and felt his stomach churn.
"No..." He whispered to himself, his eyes and mind trying to not believe what he was seeing. "No... It can't be..."
The figure stood there but Kevin wasn't filled with fear of being attacked by an intruder. The feeling he was getting was more of an aching pain of loss and sorrow. Kevin never cried after his wife died and he wasn't about to do so now. That kind of emotion was dead to him and at this exact moment he felt as if he should have been. The lump in his throat was threatening him but he fought against it.
Still though, Kevin couldn't even consider the fact that it was who he thought it was! It must have either been a dream or an intruder wearing a mask. Kevin had to grab something--anything to fight the man intruding his home. His eyes scanned the room and found nothing to throw or attack with. So that just left him with one thing: his hands.
"Leave my home, or else!" He told the figure in a more authoritative voice, clenching his fists and readying himself for anything involving a fight, which felt weird because Kevin wasn't much of a fighter.
That was when he finally talked back. At that moment, Kevin wasn't prepared for anything, especially this, "You never were a fighter..."
Kevin's expression changed immediately and the lump grew larger in his throat. "Who are you?!"
The figure remained still and kept cool. Kevin had a name already in his head that was trying to scream out who he thought it was, but he tried ignoring the fact that the person he was thinking about was not real. It wasn't possible!
"An old friend..." He said, his weight shifting a bit, "Who promised..."
The wind forcefully blew into the room and Kevin felt his entire body fill with pins and needles stabbing him all over, like cold snowflakes blowing against his skin. It wasn't true. It couldn't have been! It isn't him! He's not real! He's fake! It can't be--
"Dad?" Kevin's head jerked behind him to find his son, Skylar, out of bed and holding his toy bear in his arms, his eyes tired and sleepy still.
"Skylar, get back--" The air blew hard again, nearly knocking him over. Kevin looked back to the patio doors only to find the intruder was gone. As if he faded into mid-air or was drafted into the night.
He was gone.
Kevin didn't hesitate this time, he immediately ran towards the patio door and stepped out onto the open deck and found the small space was empty. He leaned over the edge and looked down the six flights before looking around again. Everything was clear. The intruder just disappeared.
"Daddy?" Skylar was at the door now, his eyes filling with fear and concern, "whas' wrong?"
"Nothing..." Kevin responded, his heart feeling like it was pounding out of his chest now. "Nothing... its fine... Are you alright?"
Skylar nodded tiredly and yawned, "Can we go to bed?"
After looking around a little more, Kevin sighed and nodded. There was only one person in his mind right now though. And that person--he was sure--was the intruder.
Demetrius Crawford.
I give you chapter 1! :) The journey finally begins...