Avarice: Chapter Eight

Update: The KickStarter for The Siege of Abigail Beson (Previously titled 'Avarice) is live!

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<-- Chapter Seven

Once the sun was up, Abby and Osman walked the perimeter of the house, looking for evidence of the intruder’s entry and hurried escape. They started in the back, walking past the dark windows where they’d boarded up the kitchen.

The shrubs were overgrown, so Osman had to pull them aside to inspect each window. Slowly they walked the circumference of the house. Abby watched for signs of their assailants while Osman inspected each window. None were broken.

“Isn’t this door locked?” Abby asked, looking quizzically at her father. They’d checked all of the windows and found nothing, which left them standing before the lone door on the western wall.

“To be honest, I can’t remember” Osman looked guilty. “It’s been so long since we did anything over here…”

Abby nodded, then grabbed the handle. To her surprise, the door opened easily. Abby took two steps in, then turned to look at her father.

“Looks like they came in this way” she said.

Her father frowned, then pointed to the floor at Abby’s feet. Her first step had left a clear footprint in the thick layer of dust that covered the floor. It was the only print on the floor. There was no way anyone else had come through this door in a long time.

“Could they have gotten in the front door?” Abby asked “I suppose, but it’s been locked for ages” her father replied. “At least, I think it’s been locked, though I thought the same thing about this door…”

The front door was actually a double door. It was in the middle of the northern side of the house. It had a single keyhole, and as far as Abby could tell it was still locked. She pushed and pulled on the handle, but couldn’t budge it. Osman produced a large iron skeleton key.

“This key’s a bit of a joke” he commented. “You could open this lock with any skeleton key, or even a tough piece of wood” He turned the key, resulting in an audible click. He stepped back.

Abby turned the handle and leaned into the door. It still didn’t budge.

“Getting it to open is a bit tougher” Osman grabbed a handle from each door, one in each hand. He lifted with his left hand and pushed down with the right. He then turned both handles downward, and the doors opened.

Abby shifted her weight back to her heels, anxious to follow her father and to see whether there was any evidence to be found.

Her mother’s scream cut short any further discussion. They sprinted back to the kitchen to find Vera and Marietta standing together.

“They took Glad!” Vera exclaimed. “I don’t understand it” Marietta started “He went out to start our signal fire, and - “ Vera interjected “I was keeping watch out the window while your mother got some dinner ready. Glad was just lighting the fire when suddenly two of them rushed him from the woods. I fired a couple shots, but it didn’t stop them from dragging him off.”

“What are we going to do” cried Abby’s mom. “They’re just going to keep picking us off one by one!”

“What kind of crooks are these?” Asked Osman “Even for a bar of gold, this is a lot of time and manpower to put into a stakeout.”

“I wish I knew” sighed Vera. “I told them I didn’t know anything about the gold, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. All I know is we’ve really gotta stick together now. Stick together and hope that someone sees the signal”

Chapter Nine -->

Copyright 2016 Tyler Smith