Checkmate

CHAPTER ONE

It hurt.

Not being chosen. You’d think that I’d be used to it by now because I was never chosen.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon; the sun was blazing down on the glass panes of the kitchen window and the reflected light gave the illusion that the counter tops were aflame. I sat on the floor on the sitting room watching them laugh and exclaim as the news of their upcoming adventure unfolded. My twin younger siblings Allen, Amy and of course…her. I don’t even like to acknowledge her existence let alone her relation to me. My stepmother. The woman my father married before he so tragically (need I mention mysteriously) passed away. No sooner had his funeral passed than she began to show her true colours, but only to those behind closed doors mind. But this was a year ago now and I had long passed accepted the facts. It was time to move on. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for the others because it was so rare that the opportunity to visit our paternal grandparents came about however, I did long for the day that I myself could finally go. I decided not to waste much time contemplating my miserable life and thought of the day ahead. It was a Saturday yes, so that meant no assignments to do until tomorrow. An extra hour added to curfew may even be on the table if I played my cards right. I became aware of the sweat that was dripping from my hair which had begun to stick uncomfortably to the back of my neck and forehead. I stood up with the intention of changing into something slightly lighter and heading outside to find something to do. I may even bump into the girl down the street, Jase. She’s the same age as me, well technically a few weeks younger as I turned 17 last week and her birthday isn’t for another month.

So, I changed and made my way across to the front door hoping that I could leave without bumping into “yours truly”, a long shot but hey, one can dream right?

“Leaving without saying goodbye?” came her soft yet sickly sweet voice. – Yes, like I said, a long shot.

“Bye.” I muttered before turning the door handle and opening the door.

“Save me the attitude Elijah, I’ve no time for this shit this morning. Besides I was referring to your siblings not myself.”

“I’ll see them when I’m back, I won’t be gone long…” I tried to keep my tone steady because she knew all this, she was the one who set the rule. Once I leave the house, I always had a 2-hour window before I had to be back again. Yes, I have broken that ludicrous rule and found not only was I locked out for the night, but I was not allowed access to the kitchen for 2 days. Normally I’d not give a crap but as food was already so scarce - thanks to her hogging all of my father’s money, but I couldn't afford to starve.

“I’d say goodbye if I were you.” She raised an eyebrow and as she did, I saw the slightest flicker of a smile linger on her face, just for a moment before it was gone.

“Calm down”, I thought to myself. Don’t show her your frustration. I decided not to entertain her any further, so I turned and left, shutting the door with a bang behind me.

It was a beautiful day. The sun, although tremendously hot, lit up the entire street with a warm glow. I had two hours and I meant to utilise every minute of it.

“Hey! Orphan boy!” Jase came jogging up beside me. Her nickname for me came about when we’d met roughly 6 months ago. She’d often seen me walking alone through the neighbourhood, lost in thought. I don’t warm up-to people often so my telling her my name didn’t occur till a couple of weeks after we met. The entire neighbourhood however, did know the circumstances of my father’s death, but then who didn’t. It had been in every newspaper for the best part of 2 months.

“MULTI MILLIONAIRE SNATCHED FROM HOME!”

“BODY FOUND OUTSIDE FAMILY HOME!”

“WHO KILLED JEROME MACKINTOSH?!”

All reporters whom to this day, will still come round asking questions about my father’s unsolved murder. I myself at one point had a period where I obsessively tried to solve the mystery. But all it resulted in was further questions added to my already long list; “Who killed him?”

“What was the motive?”

“How did no-one hear him cry out?”

“Did he suffer a lot leading up to his death?”

And finally, the most pressing question which I still lose sleep over: “Are we safe?” …

“A penny for your thoughts?”

I looked at her, she was smiling. She always looked so pretty when she smiled. Her smile was one of her best features. She knew that too and often said so. “I know I have a good smile which is why not everyone deserves to see it!” was her catch phrase. Jase was a people person but often had a lot to say about nearly everyone she met. I for instance, became ‘Orphan Boy’ after my family’s case blew up across every paper in the country. The old woman who lived a few doors down from us was often referred to as ‘Nosy Nancy’ simply because she often asked after both of us, our family’s hell even our pets. Jase was ordinary which is why I liked her. She was the opposite to me. I was bland, and introverted. I looked neither like my mother who passed away after the twins were born nor like my father. My mother always reminded me of a cheerful garden gnome. A funny reference yes, but she was very small with small features, rosy cheeks and always wore her brown locks tied back in a loose bun. She loved to smile too. My father on the other hand was the complete opposite; tall, dark and handsome are the words often associated with my father.

“Just thinking about disappearing and finding a circus to join.” I replied with a grin.

“Oh, he can joke!” she said and laughed. “Not a bad idea, you could finally see what the world is like after 7pm!”

I let out a sigh “Yes, there's that, but I was thinking more along the lines of learning all the ins and outs of circus life”.

We walked a little way until we came to our usual spot, a small clearing a little way beyond the playpark opposite our street. It wasn’t as well kept as the rest of the park, but it was well sheltered from the sun by the tall trees that grew around it. “WHEW. It's so hot I can feel my flesh melting.” I smiled; she could be so dramatic sometimes. The perks of having parents who are writers, I thought. We both sat on the cool grass and as Jace opened her mouth to speak, there came the deathly sound of a scream. The sound caused us to both jump to our feet. Before I could think, I began running back towards the house.

The scene that met our eyes was one of utter dismay.

Blood, everywhere.

No, I mean literally everywhere. For a short second we could do nothing but stand in the bloodbath, a bloodbath inside my home. I distinctly heard the sound of Jace letting out what seemed to be an anguished gasp. The sound drew me instantly to my senses and I began tearing through the house yelling for the twins at the top of my voice.

“ALLEN? AMY?!” My distraught cries were left only with an eerie silence. A silence that echoed around the house, bounced off the walls and finally settled in the pools of blood that lay on the wooden oak floors.

“We have to find them...” My voice sounded foreign, as though it belonged to someone else.

“Of course, but-but what HAPPENED? What the actual fuck happened?!” Why aren’t the neighbours knocking on the door? WHY are we the only ones who seemed to have heard anything?!” Her voice began to shake and as I turned to face her, I could see that her face was streaming with tears, glistening in the late afternoon sun.

“I-…” I was about to agree in response but as I started to speak, my gaze fell onto the one spotless, non-blood-stained area of the house. The glass coffee table that sat in the centre of the living room. It was usually used to display the weekly bouquet of flowers that was sent to the house by my father’s office, a token of respect they said, however, now the only item that lay on it was one that looked so out of place. A plain, leather bound black book.

The book was no larger than the palm of my hand and as I picked it up and began to examine it, I noticed that there was a note neatly written on the second page in black ink:

“Elijah, so I see you have found the book. Well done. Now listen to my instructions carefully. I have your siblings, or what’s left of them I should say. If you want to see them alive then there must be no involvement of the authorities and if you do not adhere to this rule, then trust me I WILL know. You see the entire neighbourhood is in on what I like to call my little game. Now, what you need to do is simple. Follow my train of clues that I have written in this book starting at the end of this note. You’ll have to travel far, but make sure you make it before the next full moon otherwise it’ll be too late. I have left $20k cash in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to assist you with your travel expenses. Your first clue is the following:

A27 – 4B – 22FX

Try crack that one kid!

Now. Let the games begin! Kisses!”

I began to shake. I couldn't believe it. My entire world seemed to crumble around me, and I felt more hopeless in that moment than I have ever felt.

“She is sick.” I began. I could no longer hold it together and didn’t even try to hide the flood gates that had started to open. They were only children. Why? Why had she taken them and how badly injured were they? Our neighbours were involved. All these questions raced through my mind and I stumbled forward and sank to the ground.

“Jace. We have to. We have to go figure out her sick game and find th-“

THWACK!

Red hot liquid trickled down the side of my face. Blood obscured my vision and I fell to the floor. The pain was so intense I could do nothing but gasp.

“Our game Eli. Ours, not just hers.”

Jace? No. It couldn’t be. I tried to move but my body seemed to have undergone some form of paralysis. The side of my skull where I had been hit began to throb and pulse and I winced with the pain.

“Jace?”

THWACK!

She hit me again with what felt like a metal pole. This time the blow was to my back. As I lay face down gasping for air, spluttering in a combination of my siblings and my own blood, I heard her low voice as she spoke:

“Yes Eli. Confused? Don’t worry it will all become clear soon. But for now. Rest up.”

THWACK!

And that was the last sound I heard before I was temporarily ripped out of what started to be my worst nightmare.