Someone at the Door

"Anya, Richie, is your father home? I just went to the bathroom. Nothing terribly important happened at your place, did it? Do you need any help-"

After the old lady outside knocked, the Forgers still didn't open the door, so she started calling out.

Richie thought, We're done for.

That old lady's back again. What a headache.

Luckily, she'd gone home to use the bathroom earlier. Otherwise, she would have been taken away with them by now.

With the old lady added in, there would be three hostages-her, Anya, and Richie-which would make Twilight's rescue far harder.

Richie felt a little worried. He hoped dear old Dad Twilight could handle the pressure and rescue all three of them.

Knock, knock, knock.

Another round of knocking came. The old lady outside was growing impatient. "Are you sure nothing happened?"

She pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully for sounds inside, ready to barge in.

The people inside were on their guard too. If the old lady dared push the door open, that would make her a suspected Twilight, and they would arrest her immediately.

Richie looked resigned, while Anya trembled a little. She was so scared. They were all bad guys who had kidnapped her.

The old lady listened against the door for a long time. Time seemed to stretch endlessly, the clock's second hand moving unbearably slowly.

Everyone there seemed able to hear their own heartbeat.

Richie watched the clock's hands creep along. If the old lady outside didn't open the door soon, the restless bad guys inside would open it themselves and grab her.

But the old lady couldn't open the door either. As soon as she opened the Forgers' door, they would consider her part of the family.

That would make her a suspected spy. There was no way out.

The old lady pressed her ear against the door and peered through the peephole. Finding nothing and hearing no sound, she muttered to herself:

"Could it be... the Forgers went out while I was in the bathroom? I'd better wait until they come back and ask them what that explosion was about!"

The old lady slowly walked away, muttering to herself outside the door. The bad guys inside couldn't hold back any longer.

Their leader signaled to one of his subordinates. The man hunched over and crept toward the door on tiptoe, looking furtive and timid, afraid of alerting whoever was outside.

Richie laughed so hard at the man's sneaky appearance that tears came to his eyes.

The shifty-looking man reached the entryway and turned the door handle with a click.

Everyone gathered by the door to ambush Twilight raised their guns at once and rushed outside.

One idiot even shouted, "Don't move!"

But there was still no one outside. This was already the second time.

Everyone inside found this rather eerie. The leader pointed his gun straight at Richie. "Talk. Was this your doing?"

With his mouth taped shut, Richie couldn't speak. All he could do was shake his head frantically and shed torrents of tears.

Maybe his tears could soak the tape over his mouth and make it lose its stickiness.

A subordinate nearby said doubtfully, "Boss, I've been watching these two kids the whole time. I don't think they could pull this off.

"But this seems pretty spooky to me. Could there be a ghost?"

When Anya heard that, her hair practically stood on end, and she even forgot to cry.

The leader was trembling a little too. Without hesitation, he struck the man who had spoken on the head with his gun. "Idiot! There's no such thing as ghosts. Still, this place really is weird. Take these two kids and get out, now.

"With these two kids, we won't have to worry about catching Twilight, and we'll have something to show the boss."

Just as most of them prepared to leave, the few men assigned to stay behind and lie in wait for Twilight completely panicked. They cried out together:

"Boss, we don't want to stay here!"

Inside, the leader was panicking like mad. I've got to get out of here. This is terrifying. I'm scared...

Outwardly, he forced himself to stay calm. "Idiots, what's there to be afraid of? Stay here and wait for Twilight. If you dare ruin my plans, I'll shoot you."

Anya listened to their thoughts and nearly burst out laughing at what she heard.

If their mouths hadn't been taped shut, both Anya and Richie would have laughed themselves to death.

Richie chuckled inwardly. That old lady knew when to leave well enough alone. She had successfully lightened the burden on his dear old Dad Twilight.

Anya and Richie were taken away to the bad guys' hideout.

Anya grew more and more frightened. Richie really wanted to tell her, Don't be scared. Dad will come rescue us soon.

As though to prove Richie's credentials as a prophet whose predictions came true, a rush of wind sounded beside his ears just as he narrowed his eyes and started to doze off.

Twilight carried him and Anya out of the Flour Factory. Hearing Twilight's thoughts, Anya burst into tears.

Richie reached out and touched Twilight's face mask. It's pretty finely made, just like real human skin. He wanted to learn this technique too.

Twilight carried Anya and Richie outside and set them on the ground. "Little boy, little girl, we grown-ups specialize in playing spooky games of tag."

Twilight crouched down and wrote something on a piece of paper.

Richie pondered this. The plot was the same as before. Twilight still wanted to send them away at this point.

Anya thought, Father's lying again. But Father is a handsome liar.

Richie really wanted to watch Twilight beat people up in style, but Anya was with him. If the bad guys accidentally caught them and used them to threaten Dad Twilight, it wouldn't be worth it.

After thinking it over, Richie decided to behave himself with Anya for a while. They would wait for Dad Twilight to finish beating up the bad guys, then go home together for a meal.

After all, Anya had been badly frightened this time. If he tried to take her along to do something exciting now, she might refuse just as he would, so she wouldn't cause trouble for their father.

Twilight looked at Richie and Anya. "They look for talented people, then suddenly challenge them.

"Listen carefully. Go straight ahead, then turn right when you reach the main road. There's a police station there. Go there and give this to a police officer, and you'll win. Understand?"

Richie had watched this scene in the real world. Back then, he hadn't understood why Twilight had to lie.

Only after experiencing it firsthand did he realize Twilight was protecting their childhood innocence, afraid they would be left traumatized. Such tender care from a father who had simply fallen into his lap made Richie feel a love and warmth he hadn't known in a long time.

Richie and Anya nodded.

Twilight stood up and handed the note to Anya, then patted Richie's head. "You're the big brother, so you have a big responsibility. Protect your little sister, but make sure you protect yourself too."

Richie nodded, looking obedient. Anya held the note in both hands and called out to her father.

Twilight pointed down the road outside the Flour Factory. "All right, go! Run, hurry!"

Anya looked miserable, her eyes brimming with tears. Richie took her hand and ran off.