The Slash Of Truth: The Whispers From Under The Bed

126#

20:47pm.

Fruit Family Household.

Dear Dairy.

I have arrived at The Fruit Family Household but, I haven’t settled down yet as I wished to. It’s been a long and worrying afternoon for the Flit family – the family that I bought the mansion from. His son, Feather Flit had gone missing today, and with the police involved, the Flit family is going nowhere.

Me, Helly, Clutch and his wife, Dime Flit who was a unicorn have been looking around the woods and double-checking the mansion for any clues. We found nothing in that whole search. Although I am annoyed that I have put a stop to my research for this family, I did feel a pang of sympathy for them. I couldn’t imagine my daughter going missing suddenly, lost in the middle of nowhere. It would make me sick of the thought of it.

It was my first-time meeting Dime Flit, and she didn’t disappoint me in how I thought I imagined her to be. Spotless, beautiful and fashionable but judgemental, high-and-mighty and not too friendly to those that rival her beauty, let’s just say Helly and Dime didn’t kick it off well. Bless my wife’s soul, she only wanted to make a friend.

Clutch however was being too friendly for my liking, sticking to me everywhere and starting small talk, which is fine but, when he tries to bring up personal stuff, that’s where I cross the line. My family’s secrets and wealth are not meant to be shared. That makes me wonder, does he know? Maybe that’s something I might have to discuss with Clutch. We shall see.

Unlike Helly, Cherry has found a new friend in Clutch’s eldest son, Fenton Flit, the earthling in the family. I don’t like him; I know his type when it comes to the opposite sex. Charming, flirty, and rich, when I saw them together, I then had another reason for the Flit family to leave as quickly as possible. I won’t let my daughter mess around with people like him. I trust her that she could look after herself and make the right decision but, if he tries anything, I would be more concerned for him, with all his expensive clothes and snooty look, I think he would be afraid to touch mud, never mind get in a fight.

Other than the search for the missing lad, I have looked around my home, admiring every room I’ve walked into. Obviously, none of the furniture, paintings or accessories belonged to my ancestors, their stuff is in the attic, where they have stayed for generations, waiting to be discovered by me.

For now, though, I think it’s time to settle down, it’s late and I think it's best to spend time with the family. It’s going to be a long night, especially with the Flit family around.

It wasn’t a bad night for Arctic, he was expecting it to be worse but, he was surprised at how civil the night was. It was a calm night, but obviously, there was tension in the air about the missing child. Dime was alone in the kitchen, a telephone in front of her, forcing herself to not bite her own nails.

Clutch was in the front, smoking a cigarette in the cold, listening to the crickets of the night that conversed loudly. He just stood there, at the bottom of the stairway of the front door, looking up at the sky with a passive look on his bearded face.

Fenton was in his old room, doing his own thing as he talked to friends and posted on social media, using his brother's disappearance for more attention.

Arctic and his family sat in the living room, watching an action movie while having snacks. Cherry still wasn’t happy with Arctic, evident as she sat on the other end of the couch, next to Helly who was absorbed in the movie, her eyes never leaving the screen as the bullets flew, didn’t take much for her to get over the boy band breaking up, all it took was some company and a movie.

Arctic heard the sound of a door opening and closing, turning to see Clutch step into the living room with a trudge.

“Ugh.” He moaned, standing at the doorway. “All this worrying has me stressed; I think it’s time for a few drinks.” Clutch murmured, that smirk that Arctic knew forming for the first time today. Arctic couldn’t lie, a cold one did sound good around about now.

“Ooo, could I have one?” Helly perked up, her hand raised and a big grin. Clutch chuckled, seeing the bright reaction.

“Sure, why not, anything for a beauty like you.” He winked before walking out of the room. Arctic now knew where Fenton got his charms from. Arctic sighed through his nose, his arm instinctively wrapping around Helly’s shoulder, pulling her in as she gladly leaned her head on his shoulder, humming softly as they continued to watch the movie. Cherry just rolled her eyes of the sudden affection.

“Oh Arcty, you are adorable when you get jealous.” Helly giggled, looking up at the slightly blushing Arctic.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about, hun.” Arctic stuttered, making Helly laugh softly.

“Oh of course you don’t.” She murmured, pecking the bottom of his jaw. “I only have eyes for you, silly billy.”

Arctic grinned at that, he knew she wouldn’t think of another man in such a way but, it baffles him why she wouldn’t, Arctic knew he was fugly, a nerd and a pushover. Till this day, he didn't know what a beautiful, energetic and optimistic girl like Helly saw in him the first time they met.

The moment was ruined for Arctic as Clutch stepped in, a bottom of expensive red wine and carrying four jewelled glasses on a tray, handing a glass to Arctic, Helly and Cherry to Arctic’s disapproval. Cherry looked over to Helly with a wondering look.

“Can I?” Cherry asked, a grin slowly rising. Instead of answering, she looked over to Arctic who wore a frown. She shrugged and turned back.

“Sure, why not.” Helly said with a peachy smile, making Arctic sputter and for Cherry to beam.

“H-hunny, don’t you think she’s a bit too young to be drinking alcohol.” Arctic chimed in, watching Clutch pour the wine into each glass with a smug grin.

“Lighten up, babe. She’s 19, I’m sure it would be okay for her to drink while we are around.” Helly replied, a reassuring smile on her face.

“Yeah, don’t be one of them fathers that are boring. I–personally think you need something stronger, how about whisky?” Clutch said with satisfaction, leaving his glass empty as he walked back out, making Cherry snigger. Arctic just huffed as he turned to the movie, a bothered look on his face.

“Don’t listen to him, love. I like you the way you are.” Helly said, leaning back on his shoulder as she took a swig out of her glass.

“It’s not what he said that bothers me, it’s how he says it. People like him drive me up the wall.” Arctic murmured, a tired look on his face as he watched the movie.

“I know, trust me—I understand what you mean but, that’s who he is, he is a proud man and has a smile that I’d love to punch but—wear a smile until he is gone, can you do that for me?” Helly asked, wearing a small smile which Arctic replicated.

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.” Helly hummed, cuddling in closer.

*knock, knock, knock!*

A round of knocks made the family of three turn, wondering who was knocking at this time of night. Arctic got up carefully, Helly losing her smile at the look on Arcric’s face.

“Stay here, I’ve got the door.” Arctic muttered, walking with prudent steps. His heart started to pound, and dangerous thoughts came to his mind. If he was right, he knew who was knocking.

Stepping out of the room, Arctic closed the door behind him, cursing that there was no sort of lock. He turned to the door where he could see a figure behind the blurred-out windows. Slowly, he approaches the door, his hand in his back pocket as he felt his gun. He held the door handle firmly and started to twist as he tried to sike himself up. He opened the door eventually and was surprised by what he saw.

There was a pegasus man in a grey drifter coat and jeans, wearing a tired smile that he quickly lost as soon as he saw Arctic. There was also a fairly toned woman earthling wearing an ocean blue, woolly waistcoat with a white jumper underneath, also wearing blue jeans.

“Uhhh, who are you?” Asked Arctic, his brows narrowed in distrust. The pegasus looked at Arctic strangely, his hands in his pockets.

“I should be asking the same thing, I’m Detective Shepard, and this is my partner, detective Sweetpea. Now, who the hell are you?” Detective Shepard said calculatingly, looking at the white earthling. Arctic’s eyes widened at their titles, regretting his rude attitude.

“Don’t mind my moody friend, Shepard.” Clutch said from behind Arctic, a bottle of whisky in his hand. “Please, come on in, brother. We have drinks!” Clutch offered, shaking the bottle teasingly. Detective Shepard snorted.

“I could do with a drink, to be honest. Sure, why not?” Shepard shrugged. “How about it, Sweetpea? Fancy a few drinks?”

“No way, my trainer would kill me if he found out that I was drinking whisky of all things.” Sweetpea quickly waved off, making Clutch hum.

“By all means then, please come on in and make yourself at home.” Clutch greeted, wrapping his arms around Arctic’s shoulder as he moved him out of the way.

“Are you forgetting who owns this house now?” Arctic said through his teeth, watching as the two detectives walked in. Then Arctic felt Clutch’s arms tighten around him, the sudden pressure catching Arctic off guard.

“He is my brother and working on the case of my missing son, I don’t care if it’s your property. Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to be the host tonight so, sit back and be a good guest or stay out of my way.” Clutch said threateningly, his grip on Arctic’s shoulder tightening, making Arctic feel anxious. “Do you understand?” said Clutch, making Arctic nod.

“I understand.” Arctic said, letting go of the breath he never knew he held as Clutch’s grip loosened.

“Good, now if you excuse me, I’ll be on my way,” Clutch said, tapping Arctic’s shoulder before leaving. As Clutch walked away, Arctic could only glare.

That night was full of chatter that Arctic was a part of, despite his clear dislike between him and Clutch, he was fond of Detective Shepard and Sweetpea. Turns out, Detective Sweetpea was an MMA fighter and was taught multiple martial arts from a young age, Arctic was not happy when Clutch suggested using some moves on him, his arm still hurts from that armbar she did.

Detective Shepard however is very successful in his line of work, catching the most wanted mobsters and drug lords in Baltimare and catching a serial killer that has been terrorising Las Pegasus. Arctic must admit that is some achievement, he must be a hero in the eyes of many for catching these criminals. The detective was personally asked by his brother to help find his missing son, and like that, Shepard dropped his case to someone else and started helping. Arctic admired that kinda dedication to the family.

Despite a little insight into the life of the detectives, they didn’t come to chat, they came to update the Flit family about their missing child. Turns out that there is still no trace of the child anywhere, no one has seen the description of the child, and no footage of him on nearby security cameras. It’s odd though, the detective said that no cameras had spotted the child but, there is literally a camera by the gate. If there is no footage of the boy, then it’s like the boy has never left in the first place or whoever took him found a different way out. It was slightly concerning.

Something did catch Arctic’s attention though, the last time the boy was seen was in his room at night, being tucked into bed by his mother. That same night, Clutch and Dime woke up to screaming from their youngest son’s room when they got there, the room was a mess, and the window was wide open. It couldn’t be an earthling, no tracks in the gravel or mud so, this could be the work of a pegasus or unicorn. Another thing, Clutch’s best friend and business partner, Tucker was around that night with other business partners that work for other car companies. It can’t be a coincidence that the boy was taken that same night. Why that night and not any other night for that matter?

After a long talk on the case, Clutch offered his brother and Detective Sweatpea a room to stay in for tonight. Agreeing, everyone had gotten ready for bed. Arctic and Helly had a master bedroom to themselves, a massive room with a king-sized bed and a bathroom for themselves. Cherry wasn’t fussed about the room she was staying in, just as long as the earthling had a bed and a desk for her artwork but, the one thing that bugged Arctic about the room was the pictures hanging around the room. Some were odd to the point of just being ridiculous, who puts large picture frames on equally large letters… the art industry is crazy but, Arctic didn’t say anything as Cherry looked happy with the art oddly enough. Also, this was the exact room that Feather Flit was taken from so, that gave Arctic more reason to be paranoid. All in all though, the room was a decent size and even had its own bookshelf that covered an entire wall by itself, Arctic hoped that she would get bored enough to pick a book up for once instead of being on her phone all day.

The details of the kidnapping were haunting as Arctic was wide awake, he had locked every door and window to the house but, nothing reassured him, just sat there in his underwear on top of the quilt as his mind raced of the hundreds of scenarios playing in his head. A flush of a toilet knocked him out of his troubling thoughts as a door opened up, revealing his super-hot wife wearing nothing but red panties and a bra, her hair breathing freely from the ponytail, every time Arctic could gawk in stupefied awe at her lovely, soft curves, her round butt and her breasts, he felt like a virgin all over again. Helly caught Arctic staring and giggled at his expression.

“That face, you remind me of the first time we had sex. You’re so adorable.” Helly said sweetly, walking towards the end of the bet with a sway in her step. Arctic was hypnotized by her movement, her tantalizing eyes leaving him paralyzed on the stop as she got up on the bed and crawled with a predators look, slowly moving to Arctic who wore a dopey grin. Arctic felt his heart pound as she got closer, what did he ever do to deserve such a woman? Eventually, she slithered her way on top of him until she was centimetres away from his face. “How about I take you back to the night we made love for the first time?” Helly whispered, planting herself on his crotch as she thrusted needily, wrapping her arms around Arctic’s neck as their foreheads pressed together, looking at one another with lust.

“I think I would love that.” Arctic said breathlessly, the two panting as their hearts rushed.

“Well… That was fun.” Helly sighed in bliss, laying her head on his shoulder as her hand was on his sweaty chest, her leg over his. “You really did a number on me.” Helly hummed with a giggle, a finger gently doing doughnuts on his chest.

“You? What about me… I’m spent.” Arctic murmured with a grin, his arm sluggishly wrapping around her as his fingers ran through her hair venturously. She purred at his touch. They stayed like that onto the sheets, both their hearts pumping rapidly as they clung close together.

The afterglow was heavenly for Helly as she lay there with the man she loved, listening to his healthy heartbeat. As for Arctic, his cloudy mind cleared, and his thoughts came back with force. He was still worried about the reports of the missing boy and what that means for his family. The one that took the kid is somewhere out there, and Arctic couldn’t sleep knowing that the bastard is still out there, watching and waiting for Arctic to drop his guard. He had to keep Helly and Cherry safe at all costs.

“Arcty—are you okay?” Helly said softly, looking up to see her husband with a frown. “Is it about what we did? Did I hurt you? I guess I did overdo it.” Helly said, making Arctic look down at her worried face.

“No no no, God no, hun. You didn’t hurt me, you were incredible but, I’m worried about the one that took Clutch’s and Dime’s son, I'm worried about him coming back to take someone else.” Arctic explained, watching Helly snuggle up closer, tucking her nose underneath the crook of his neck.

“Whatever happens, Arcty. I know you will be there for us, just like every other time.” Helly hummed, her finger exploring his chest slowly making its way down.

“You believe in me that much?” Arctic asked.

“Why wouldn’t I? You saved us once before when me and Cherry didn’t have much of a life, why not now?” she said, her eyes fluttering closed and her body went still, light snores coming from her nose as she started to drool.

Brilliant…

Arctic didn’t go a sleep right away despite his fatigued body, he was happy to just lay there, his wife next to him, feeling the rise and fall of her chest. He didn’t know how long he just lay there, looking up at the ceiling with a passive stare. He wasn’t thinking about anything, just basking in the moment as he embraced Helly’s warmth. He enjoyed this moment of peace, in the dark, it was a moment when he could step back from his problems and just—do nothing. Eventually, he would fall asleep unconsciously.

He closed his eyes on their own and his breathing became more fluid as the dreamland called. As he was about to fall asleep, he heard a scratching sound that stirred his eyes to open. What was that sound? Where was it coming from? Arctic huffed, bothered by this irritating sound. He wiggled himself from Helly’s grasp and leaned up, hearing something else that sent shivers down his spine.

Is that—a whisper…

It was distorted, faint, out of air, it was in agony as it continued its grating and ghoulish whispers. Where was it coming from? He scanned the room for the misdirected voice that mimicked a voice of a boy in the darkness of his room. It was so far away but yet, that distant voice was in his ear. When the scratching got louder, his heart jumped as only then could he pinpoint where it was coming from.

Under the bed…

Slowly, he moved himself to the side of the bed to not disturb whoever was under the bed. When his bare feet touched the floor, he immediately raised them as something touched them. It wasn’t a physical touch, something warm and damp that tickled the soul of his foot. He looked down and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Blood…

Arctic scattered back, lifting his feet back into the bed as he watches the pool of blood growing from below the bed, the gooey substance staining the floor like an infection.

Could…Could this be the boy?

Run~

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A haunting scream of a girl woke Arctic up immediately as the top half of his body leaned up with a jolt, his body sweating like crazy and panting heavily.

That… that sounded like—CHERRY!

He didn’t think, he just moved as he grabbed the gun from his bedside cabinet drawer and got off the bed, running to the hangers on the back of the bedroom door and wrapped himself with a housecoat. He heard Helly also get up but, he never wavered as he opened the door and ran to Cherry’s room. Arctic heard other doors open on his way passed with tired groans but, he never stopped his mad sprint. When he reached the door to her room, his stomach turned as the screaming had stopped. What had happened to her? Arctic didn’t stop to find out.

“Cherry! Are you okay!?” Arctic screamed as he barged into the door, expecting to find Cherry in a struggle but, the door wouldn’t open, something was jamming it. She didn’t respond to his call. Expecting the worst, he barged again and again and again until the door managed to budge open a bit.

“I’m coming, don’t worry!” Arctic exclaimed, starting to kick the door as he heard something snap from the other side. He heard chatter behind him but, he never veered around as he gave one final kick that broke whatever was behind the door and opened wide enough to enter. Scooting through, he had his gun raised the moment he was in but, it was too late.

She was gone…