The Girl Next Door's

Darkened

"What did you say?" Deril froze in place. The girl with a beautiful look who was standing next to him, looked back at him. "Are you kidding? Not funny!"

"Must come out! Electricity is still alive," replied Mika.

Deril shook his head loudly. He tried to come to his senses and return to reality. "Fourth floor!"

"empty!" suhut Mika fast. "out! Out!"

Deril hesitated for a few seconds, but finally he agreed to leave the basement. He had to make sure they were still safe. There is still tomorrow to come back.

"Deryl? You're all right? I heard Mika talk. What's he saying?" Mia asked from across.

"We'll talk later. We have to get out now" Deril replied. He immediately disconnected the phone and put his phone in his pants pocket.

They walked quickly to the stairs leading up. "How could the police not find this place?" ask Deril.

"Fingerprints. Papa and I. I gotta make sure the fridge keeps on living." Mika followed behind Deril.

"Why is the fourth refrigerator empty?"

"Make you."

"Huh?"

"Ride up!"

Deril had already almost reached the top of the stairs and was about to come out from behind the minibar, when suddenly the face of a middle-aged man appeared right in front of him.

"Caught!" said the man, then in the blink of an eye immediately pushed Deril down to roll. Mika who was behind Deril also fell.

"Aarrghhh!" Deril groaning. His head throbbed painfully. He felt a warm liquid coming out of his nose. A second later, he realized what was happening. "Mica!" he exclaimed and immediately raised his head, looking for Mika's figure.

"You can still worry about other people's circumstances?" the heavy voice that has been making Deril goosebumps.

Deril found Mika lying not far from her place. Mika is not moving. But Deril can see his chest going up and down, a sign he's still alive.

"What do you see?" doctor Stephen's footsteps, descending the stairs, echoed through the basement.

"Everything." Deril tried to move his legs. 'Shit! My leg's sprained!' his inner. 'I won't be able to fight it.'

"So you know he's not my son?"

Deril sees Doctor Stephen carrying a baseball bat in his right hand. Meanwhile, there was nothing in the basement that Deril could use to defend himself.

'If I take my cell phone now, Doctor Stephen will attack me immediately, ' Deril thought. So, he chose to shut up and think of another way. If God sided with her, she could have snuck in and run away from that place.

"Mica!" call Deril again.

"I said," Doctor Stephen's voice suddenly turned into a growl, "HE'S NOT MY SON!!!"

Deril jumped in shock. Doctor Stephen's scream echoed inside his head. He could see Doctor Stephen's face blushing like a bull ready to butcher.

"That boy is not my son" repeated Doctor Stephen.

"I know. He's Ardi. The rumored homeless boy went missing ten years ago" Deril replied. "Why did he get to be like this?"

"Of course I changed it" I'm Doctor Stephen. "My talent that can make anyone beautiful, I apply it to that boy. He looks a lot like Mika. Unfortunately, the bigger he gets, the more masculine he gets. That's a little bothering me."

"In the refrigerator-"

Doctor Stephen smiled broadly. "Oooh, have you seen? Shocked?"

Deril's eyes almost came out so upset, seeing Doctor Stephen smiling like nothing wrong happened.

"Why is it stored?"

Deril was nauseous hearing Doctor Stephen's reply. He glanced towards Mika who was still motionless. His thin body was lying on the floor.

"I want to make sure Mi-ah, Ardi, is alive or not" Deril said. He felt a sense of guilt, because indirectly, he had hit Mika who was behind him. When compared to Mika, Deril's body doubled.

"That's okay, it's okay" replied Doctor Stephen. "But, go ahead! I just find it funny, seeing you interested in a rotten boy like him."

"I don't know that he's Ardi," Deril replied innocently. He slithered over to Mika. Deril could feel pain in his right leg every time he moved. "Hey!" call him when he gets there. It is still strange for Deril to call Mika Ardi.

Deril checked Mika's pulse. It was fortunate that Mika was thin, so she could easily feel her pulse.

"Still alive?" ask Doctor Stephen. "Goodoo. I don't need to buy an extra refrigerator. If the boy survives until I'm done with you, I'll take him to the hospital. After all, he would not open his mouth at all for this matter."

"What exactly is your goal?"

Doctor Stephen shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing" he answered.

"Is the Doctor's story about Mika being raped as a child, a lie?"

"No. I'm telling the truth. Mika died while being raped by the boy. Wife's crazy. Said I couldn't save my daughter. So, I keep my daughter's soul alive, no matter how."

"That's why the doctor changed Ardi?" ask Deril. Not knowing why, he felt that stalling was the only thing he could do. At least, he knew what was really going on, before death picked him up.

Or someone helped him.

"Nobody will look for the boy, even if he disappears without a trace. He's just a worthless tramp. But," Doctor Stephen's facial tears turned ghastly, "how dare a mean boy like him, ruin my son who means so much. How dare he do something bad to my son, until my son loses his life. How dare..."

Deril could see the flash of hatred in Doctor Stephen's eyes. It is undeniable, that person wants to kill Ardi who is now playing the role of Mika.

"But the boy can't just die" Stephen continued. "He must feel the real hell, right? Dead is too easy for him."

"So, the doctor punished him himself?"

"Yes!" Doctor Stephen nodded. "I made her feel the pain of the plastic surgery incision with minimal anesthesia. Then, it felt like it was being used forcefully by people he did not like. I made her enjoy every pain my son had felt during these ten years. He deserves it."

"Isn't that enough?"

"No. Before he died while being forcibly widened by an old man thirsting for young shoots."

'Crazy ones! This guy is crazy! He's really obsessed with hurting Ardi, ' Deril thought.

"Then, it turns out that this boy is strong. He has the will to survive. Perhaps, he was already used to feeling pain, from living with a father who liked to behave violently."

"Then, what does all this have to do with your wife?" Deril no longer hid his emotions. He would not call the psychopath in front of him 'doctor' anymore.

"The woman has too many mouths. He rambles at criticizing my actions that changed Ardi. So, I just shut him up. Nothing matters anymore in my life. Very beautiful perfection, all tarnished."

"The teenage boy in the fridge, you killed him too?"

"Yes. He's just like you. Likely to interfere in my business. I even stole my toys. People have no such manners, it is better to disappear from the face of the earth" replied Doctor Stephen, without the slightest guilt. He seemed proud of what he had done. "Last fridge, for you. The one who most wants to know my life."

Deril prayed in his heart, that his death would not be today. She was so scared that her tears could not come out. However, if he had to, he would fight to the end.

"Sorry, I can't linger. I promise, this won't hurt too much." Doctor Stephen advanced quickly, and directly swung his baseball bat towards Deril.

Reflex, Deril raised his hand to protect the head. A pain like an electric shock directly spread across his arm.

MAAM! MAAM! MAAM! MAAM!

At the fifth blow, Deril had already lost his consciousness. Darkness covered his eyes and he fell on the floor.

***