SafeGuard Up

“Lucy! SafeGuard up in an hour! Finish whatever you’re doing out there and get inside!” Gloria called out the window to her daughter. She’s 16, she should know better than to be outside this late, Gloria thought. Always on the overprotective side, Gloria didn’t like her kids outside more than an hour before the shields went up. There was only a very small chance of getting stuck outside at night, but she wasn’t willing to risk it.

In the yard, Lucy was collecting irradiated leaf samples for her science project. The solar flares had been intense lately, with several raising radiation levels so high they had had to stay inside for three weeks. Luckily, the SafeGuard protected against radiation so they were safe while waiting for Decontamination to come to their neighborhood. These leaves were fascinating, though. They seemed bigger, greener, and stronger than normal leaves. Maybe, thought Lucy, if these leaves are okay… he will be, too.

…

“So how does this all sound?”

“For only $59 a month, this sounds great! Our Elderly Income Benefits will cover that, no problem.”

Kevin smiled, eager to close this deal and get home to his family. There were only 45 minutes left before the shields went up.

“Well, I just need a little information, some signatures, and then your SafeGuard will be installed on Monday.”

“And will you also get rid of the MaxShield, or do we have to have them do it?”

“We include removal of any existing systems before installation, that way there are no gaps in coverage, and no added expense of staying in a hotel until installation. You don’t have to worry about anything except getting home before 8.”

“Wow! I can’t believe it took us this long to find your company.”

Kevin chuckled.

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, I am very glad you have. I think you’ll really enjoy all the benefits of SafeGuard. So let’s get this application in, shall we?” he said with a smile, and pulled up the application on his tablet. He looked at the clock in the top corner of the screen. 7:20. It would be close, but he could make it.

…

“When’s Dad getting home?” Tyler asked as he walked into his sister’s room.

“I don’t know,” replied Lucy. “Go ask Mom.”

“She’s too busy with her tres leches cake. I don’t think she even notices what time it is.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked at Tyler.

“Really? Mom? Not notice the time? What planet have you been living on?”

It was Tyler’s turn to roll his eyes.

“She’s just looking out for us, Luce. You know she got stuck outside that one night.”

“Yeah, for like a half-hour, and she’s fine. Nothing happened to her. She didn’t even see anything. What is even out there anyways that we’re all supposed to be so afraid of? I’ve never seen anything and no one I know has, either. What unseen evils are so terrible that they only exist at night but we’re perfectly safe from in the day? Have you ever thought about it, Ty? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Tyler shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable under Lucy’s intense gaze, not knowing what to think.

“Well, all I know is it’s 7:30 and Dad’s not home yet. I’m going to call him,” Tyler said as he got up and walked back towards the door.

“Hopefully he’s not late or Mom might just leave him out there to die,” Lucy said wryly. Tyler stopped and turned around. He watched his sister, who was studying a bright green leaf.

“It’s not her fault, Lucy. There was an hour left. He should have made it home. Something happened to him on the way. You know that.”

“Always one to take Mom’s side,” Lucy said, glaring at her brother.

“What did you want her to do, let him stay the night? You’re crazy if you think Mom would’ve been okay with that. He had plenty of time to get home. Look, I’m not trying to downplay what you’re going through, but punishing Mom isn’t the answer. She just wants to keep you safe.”

Lucy rolled her eyes again and looked back down to the leaf.

“Whatever, Ty. Maybe if your girlfriend went missing and got stuck outside the shield, never to be seen again, you’d feel differently.”

Tyler sighed, exasperated with his sister.

“I’m going to call Dad,” he said and left the room.

…

Kevin’s phone vibrated against the table. Tyler. He silenced the call and got back to filling out the Williams’ banking information. This was the final step, then he could submit the application and leave. 7:42. He could make it.

“Alright, I’ve got that in. Just need some signatures and we’re all set!”

“Oh, wonderful!” Mrs. Williams said, “but I just have a few more questions.”

Kevin gritted his teeth. Can’t they see what time it is, he thought. His phone started vibrating again. Gloria. He exhaled slowly.

“What questions do you have, Mrs. Williams?”

“Well, I’m just wondering what happens if someone gets stuck outside the shield? Burt and I don’t go out late, but sometimes our grandson stays with us and we want to make sure he can always get in.”

“Well, the best defense against that is to make sure you’re home by 7:30. But, in case someone does get stuck outside, that’s where SafeGuard’s dual-shield defense comes into play. We have the shield around your house, and then the shield around your property. You can deactivate one while keeping the other up, so someone stuck outside can easily be let in. The dual system prevents gaps in protection so you never let anything in that should stay out. There’s a user override code you set after installation, which is the only way to deactivate the shields. So, if by chance you do get stuck outside, you can always get back in.”

“That is great! Right now with our MaxShield, we have no control. If we get stuck outside, then we’re stuck all night. I like the SafeGuard system much better. I feel much safer with this.”

“It’s a great system. I have it on my own home, and I’ll tell you, my wife got stuck outside once. She works at the hospital, got off late one shift, and was stuck outside for 27 minutes. We wouldn’t have been able to get her inside safely if we had a different system. And speaking of my wife, here she is calling me again,” he said, smiling tightly and lifting his phone to show the Williams Gloria’s name on the caller ID. 7:47.

“Oh, yes, it’s getting late. Why don’t you just stay with us for tonight? We would love the company,” Mrs. Williams said with a smile.

…

“Mom, he’s not answering,” Tyler said, panic rising in his voice.

“What do we do? The shield goes up in less than 4 minutes,” Lucy said.

Gloria couldn’t think. Her hands were shaking and she felt like she might throw up. Kevin had never been late. Something was wrong, she knew it. Her husband would never just not show up without contacting her.

“Call the police,” she said, her throat dry and voice trembling.

“They don’t take missing person calls until after 8,” Lucy said.

“Then call as soon as the shield goes up,” she said, getting up to go into Kevin’s office. She needed to see if she could find where his last appointment was. They needed to give all the information they could to the police.

…

8:01. Lucy went upstairs to lay in her bed. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Downstairs Tyler was on the phone with the police, giving physical descriptions so they would recognize him if they found him. She couldn’t lose her Dad to the darkness, too. It felt like a repeat of 6 months ago. Just thinking about it made the tears fall down her cheeks. She got up and went to the window, hoping to see his car pulling up. The sun was almost set, but it was still light enough for her to see a figure walking toward the shield. Her breath caught in her throat and she ran down the stairs while pulling up the SafeGuard app on her phone. She deactivated the home shield and ran straight towards the person on the other side of the second shield. Suddenly she stopped. It wasn’t her father. It was him.

…

8:15. Kevin sat at the dinner table with the Williams, nervously putting a forkful of green beans into his mouth. Something wasn’t right, and now he was stuck here with these people. Mrs. Williams had coerced him into staying by talking until he only had four minutes. So he stayed. He’d gone to the bathroom, and when he came back his phone was missing. Now they were eating dinner as Mrs. Williams chattered, her smile now seeming overly friendly, almost sinister.

“So Kevin, do you have any children?” she suddenly asked him.

“Yeah, a son and a daughter,” he stammered, regretting his admission as soon as he’d made it.

“Oh, how wonderful! I bet they’re lookers just like their father,” she winked at him.

“Does either have a boyfriend or girlfriend?” she continued.

Kevin paused, unsure of what he should say. These questions seemed very specific.

“Uh, well, my daughter had a boyfriend who actually disappeared about six months ago.”

All of a sudden she stopped smiling.

“Funny, we have a grandson who also went missing six months ago. Brandon Williamson.”

…

There he was. Brandon. After six months. He smiled at Lucy as her heart pounded. Something about him looked different, but she couldn’t figure out what. He was holding something out to her so she could see it. It was a heart-shaped locket, the one he’d given to her the night he disappeared. She’d worn it every day until she lost it in the woods three months ago. Lucy couldn’t figure out what was happening, but she wanted so badly for Brandon to hold her again, just like before.

As Lucy went to disable the outer shield, Gloria came to the front door. She saw Brandon standing there, and terror washed over her and seized her, gripping her tightly.

“Lucy!” she screamed, panic-stricken and frozen in place.

Lucy glanced back at her mom, then reactivated the home shield, creating a barrier between them.

“No!” Gloria cried, and she ran to the shield, screaming her daughter’s name.

She watched as Lucy deactivated the outer shield.

“Lucy,” Brandon said, taking a step towards her, and she closed the rest of the distance between them, pulling him to her and holding him tightly.

“Brandon,” she sobbed, “I thought you were gone!”

He held her tighter.

“Shhhh, I’m here, I was never gone,” he said, stroking her hair.

“What happened to you that night? How are you here? What’s out there?” Lucy asked, looking up at him. Brandon smiled down at her and reached up to cradle her face in his hand. He seemed taller than before, and his arms felt stronger, his hand larger.

“Well, you wouldn’t believe what’s out there…” he began

Gloria screamed, pounding her fists against the shield.

“Lucy!” she cried, unable to think of what to do, unable to feel anything other than fear.

“Lucy! Please come back!” she screamed, her heart feeling like it was being ripped out of her chest.

“Luc-” she stopped, fists on the shield, heart sinking, and she watched in horror as Lucy put her hand in Brandon’s and walked into the darkness.

“LUCY!”

…

“You see, Kevin, it’s the fear of what’s out there that keeps us like this. Brandon knows what’s out there, and he just wants to show your daughter. That’s why we kept you with us tonight.” Mrs. Williams smiled across the table at Kevin.

“Lucy,” he whispered.

…