Chapter 10 - Breach at Elm Street
Inside the warm living room, Michael and Lily were just placing the final corner pieces into their mountain puzzle when the distant sound of a police siren echoed through the neighborhood.
Michael walked over to the front window and pulled the curtain aside. He watched as the patrol cruiser that had been parked down the block sped away with its lights flashing, disappearing around the intersection.
A sharp pang of anxiety shot through Michael's chest. He didn't like the cop leaving his post, even if it was for an emergency call. He checked his phone; there were no alerts or messages from Olivia.
"Stay here, Lily," Michael said calmly, trying not to raise her alarm. "I'm just going to check the back lock."
"Okay, Daddy," Lily replied, focusing on fitting two green tree pieces together.
Michael walked through the kitchen toward the back door, verifying that the heavy iron deadbolt was fully thrown. He glanced out the kitchen window into the backyard. The heavy rain was coming down harder now, reducing visibility and creating a loud, steady drumming against the roof tiles.
Suddenly, a loud, heavy thud resounded from the side of the garage.
Michael froze. That wasn't the sound of wind or rain. It was the heavy impact of something solid striking metal.
He sprinted back to the living room, reaching into the hallway closet to grab a heavy wooden baseball bat he kept stored near the door.
"Lily, go into the master bedroom right now," Michael commanded, his voice dropping into a stern, urgent register that left no room for argument. "Lock the door behind you and get into the closet. Do not open it for anyone except me. Go!"
Lily saw the raw intensity in her father's eyes and didn't hesitate. She grabbed her teddy bear off the table and sprinted up the stairs toward the master bedroom.
Michael stood in the center of the hallway, his hands gripping the wooden bat, his ears straining over the sound of the rain.
BANG!
The glass pane of the side garage door shattered into a hundred pieces.
Michael moved fast. He reached the kitchen just as the side entry door swung violently open.
Laura stood in the doorway, drenched in rain, holding a heavy steel crowbar in her right hand and a black stun gun in her left. Her hair was matted to her skull, her eyes wide, glassy, and completely wild.
"Where is she, Michael?!" Laura shrieked, stepping over the broken glass onto the linoleum floor. "Where is my daughter?!"
"Get the hell out of my house!" Michael roared, stepping forward and raising the baseball bat in a defensive stance. "You're completely out of your mind, Laura! Stop this right now!"
"She belongs to me!" Laura screamed, lunging forward with terrifying speed, swinging the crowbar horizontally at Michael's head.
Michael ducked beneath the heavy iron bar, the wind from the swing whistling past his ear. He drove his shoulder straight into Laura's torso, utilizing his superior weight and strength to slam her back against the kitchen counter.
The crowbar clattered onto the floor, but Laura immediately raised the stun gun in her left hand, pressing the crackling blue electrical node directly against Michael's neck.
BRRRZZZZZT!
A violent surge of electricity shot through Michael's nervous system. Pain exploded behind his eyes, his muscles seizing violently as ten thousand volts of electricity coursed through his body. He let out a strangled cry, his legs giving out beneath him as he dropped heavily to the kitchen floor, the baseball bat rolling away out of reach.
Michael lay on the floor, his body convulsing, his limbs temporarily paralyzed by the electrical shock. He fought with every ounce of his willpower to push himself up, but his muscles refused to obey his brain's commands.
Laura stood over him, panting heavily, her face distorted in a cruel, triumphant sneer.
"You tried to erase me, Michael," she spat, kicking the baseball bat under the kitchen table out of his reach. "You thought you were so smart. But a mother always gets her child back."
She stepped over his prone body, ignoring his weak, slurred attempts to speak, and stepped out into the hallway, heading directly toward the stairs.
"Lily!" Laura shouted, her high-pitched voice echoing through the upper floor of the house. "Lily, baby! It's Mommy! Come to Mommy!"
May you like
On the floor of the kitchen, Michael gritted his teeth, a raw growl escaping his throat as the paralysis slowly began to wear off. He forced his fingers to curl, digging his nails into the linoleum, dragging his body forward inch by inch.
"Not... my... daughter..." Michael wheezed out, his vision swimming in red as he forced himself to stand.
