Umpteenth

Contemporary fiction by Dan Marvin

Without the benefit of super hearing, Alphonse cowered beside his bed and wondered when it would be over. The noise had started well after he was in bed. Like most nights, he had tucked himself in bed. He made the best out of an oversized t-shirt since he had no pajamas to wear. The food in the pantry had run out two days before and the sound of his stomach rumbling was the last thing he heard before falling asleep.
The low murmur of conversation was familiar. Often it wove in and out with the tinny sound of late night TV and the occasional ‘ffffpht’ of a beer can being opened. Sometimes it included a sharp word or a quickly hushed argument. Tonight had been different. Tonight had been scary. Tonight Alphonse had heard the conversation start, then the front door flying open. He had heard the hard words from an unfamiliar voice, and the strident response from his foster father. The tone of his voice had gone from angry to placating to begging in a few sentences. A sharp sound had ended the conversation and Alphonse had jumped behind his bed. That was where he now lay, listening intently and wondering what had happened.
“Alphonse?” A voice sounded outside his door, but it wasn’t a familiar voice. “Alphonse, where are you?” He wondered if he should answer, but some deep-seated sense of self preservation told him it was a bad idea.
“It’s Ben, Alphonse. Ben Latimer. You met me last month at the food bank. We have to go Alphonse. We have to get out of here. I know you’re scared and I know you don’t understand what’s going on, but we have to leave soon. If you can hear me, please answer. I won’t hurt you. In fact, we’ll go get some dinner.” Ben Latimer’s voice didn’t sound scary, it sounded a little worried. Alphonse wasn’t used to people being worried about him. His stomach grumbled at the suggestion of dinner. It had been a long time since his last dinner. Still, he wasn’t sure, what had happened to Larry and Monica? Why weren’t they in the living room anymore? Or were they?
“Alphonse, we need to go now. We really need to go now.” There was another unfamiliar sound, a clicking sound, or maybe it was a ticking noise. And he smelled smoke. “Please tell me where you are!” The door to his room opened and the light came on.
“I’m here. Who are you?” Alphonse rose from behind the bed and shielded his eyes from the light with his arm.
The man quickly hurried to his side of the bed. “My name is Ben. We have to go, Alphonse. We have to go now. Right now.” Alphonse could see the strange orange light from the living room. The flickering orange light. He lifted his arms to Ben and was quickly carried out into the night.

The End

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