Fiction

[BeatriceTheGolde]

I was in bed that night when I heard it. The whole town was dead quiet, as it always is at night. Well, how it's always been since they started enforcing that curfew... I heard the quiet whirring of bicycle spokes, the sounds of a wheel passing through a puddle in the rain. An accidental ring of a bell. That's what convinced me to get up.

I drew the blinds of my window, and looked outside. It was dark, but the streetlights lit up the road well enough for me to see that if there was anything there, it was already gone. I looked behind me, to the clock on the wall. Still only quarter to midnight. My parents were probably awake.

I ran downstairs, and told them what I heard. A ring. A ring from a bicycle's bell.

"You didn't hear a bicycle ring. It's past curfew. Don't ever bring this up again, because nobody breaks curfew."

 

[Deleted_171835]

Continue...

 

[xist]

Obviously this is a double bluff.

 

[bnwchbammer]

I lol'd at the title.
Then I read this.
Pretty cool shit right there.
From something?

PS: I shall never say lol by itself. I just find the concept of saying lol'd tautologous and hilarious in a sophisticated, yet stupid manner.

 

[BeatriceTheGolde]

Reluctantly, I went back up to my bed. I lied there, thinking. It must have been a bicycle bell. Or at least some sort of bell. Who could it have been? My parents wanted me to forget about it. Was it even real? Maybe I was deluding myself...

***

As usual, I was walking home from school. As students, we were expected to study, study, study, and nothing but study in order to grow up and become useful members of society. But I can't really help it if I think about someone when I see them, right? In the mornings, I walk as quickly as I can to get to school on time. But on my way back, I take a less efficient route, through a few more scenic streets. I pass by shops and restaurants, and bakeries... The scents are simply magnificent. But there's one spot in particular I enjoy passing everyday.

Marcus' Bakery. They bake some of the most delicious cakes I've ever tasted, and the owners are really nice. And once in a while, if I'm really lucky, Eric will be working.

Today wasn't one of those days. But I still had a nice trip. I even bought a cute little cupcake.

 

[redact]

heh

 

[BeatriceTheGolde]

I got home around the usual time, 4:15. My parents weren't home, like usual. I went to my room and finished up my homework as fast as I could, and went over it twice. It was 6PM, but my parents still weren't home. I went downstairs to the living room, and flipped on the TV. Not much news about the war, so I watched a drama I had been following for the past few months.

***

Around an hour later, my parents were finally home. They were out grocery shopping, and came back with a lot of food. I helped them carry it from the car to the kitchen, and put away some of it in the refrigerator. Dad made honey garlic chicken wings, and they were delicious. I ate so much that I thought I was going to explode. I didn't want to get up from my chair. We were sitting together, happily, eating as a family.

"I heard something really strange at work today."
"What was it, mom?"
"Someone's been releasing horses from stables at night."

Releasing horses?

"Why would anyone do that?" I asked.
"Oh, it's probably just someone playing a stupid prank."

Huh. Sounds like a pretty risky prank to me.

"What happens to the horses?"
"They're all found and rounded up the morning after."
"So they're not stolen or anything?"
"Nope, not a mark on them, they're just all around the fields they live in during the day."
"Maybe it was whoever it was on that bike I heard last night."

Both of my parents gave me a cold stare.

"You didn't hear anyone last night."
"B-but..."
"Did you tell anyone about it?"
"No..."
"Good. You're finished with dinner, right? It's getting late, you should go to bed."
"It's only eight o' cl-"
"GO!"

I have never heard my father yell at me before. I was afraid of what he would do to me, so I walked up the stairs, and went to my room.

***

After getting changed into my pajamas and brushing my teeth, I sat down at my desk. I figured that I may as well study a little if I was stuck in my room. I look for some math problems I haven't done yet and solve them. Before I know it, it's already 11:30. Around the time I heard the bell...

I opened the window. No rain tonight. If someone does come by, I'll see them for sure.

And surely enough, someone did. It was a man, hooded in a brown sweater, wearing a large back pack. He was riding a blue 10-speed bike I saw at a store in town last week. I knew there was a person!

I went downstairs, and said to my mother,
"Mom, I saw him!"
"Saw who?"
"The man on the bike! He was outside, he was wearing a backpack, and he had a hoodie on! Should we report him?"

My mother looked upset. But she wasn't looking at me. It's like she was looking...past me. I turned around. I saw my father's angry face. He grabbed both of my arms, and said in a very stern voice,
"There was no one outside. There was no one yesterday. There never will be a man outside after curfew. Understand?"

He was scaring me, so I nodded my head.

"Good. Now Emily, go back to bed. You wouldn't want to wake up late for school tomorrow, would you?"

 

[redact]

steve is a girl? what a twist .o.

 

[bnwchbammer]

moar?

 

[azure0wind]

what? you saw a man in the bike? and why because of that your parents gave you cold stare?

 

[BeatriceTheGolde]

I was completely unprepared. I had an English test that I completely forgot about because of how ringed up I was last night. It's not too bad though, I'm expecting at least a 70. But it really could have been higher.

On my way home from school, I stopped by the bike shop. I could never afford one myself, especially since I don't even have a job. Realistically, I don't even need a bike. The only places I go to and from are all within a short walking distance.

But I had to see if the bicycle I saw last night really was sold. Sure enough, it was missing from the showcase. I asked the store owner about it, and he said he already sold it a few days ago. When I asked about who he sold it to, instead of answering my question, he asked me if I was going to buy anything. I shook my head no, and he rushed me out of the shop, saying that I was taking up space for actual customers. Well, he does have a business to run...

I got home and went back to what it was like before I heard the man on the bicycle. I did my homework, watched TV with my dad, ate dinner with the rest of the family, and studied before going to bed.

***

For the first time in what I think was a week, I saw Eric again. He's a few years older than me, and on occasion, he works in his dad's bakery. I'm not entirely sure what he does outside of the bakery, I used to think he went to school. But the other day, I heard he dropped out. I don't know why, but he dropped out of college to take on a bunch of part time jobs. I guess I shouldn't be so nosy about his personal life, it's his business.

He's really nice, and whenever I come by, he talks to me, and I end up buying a loaf of bread. But today was different. He seemed distressed. What used to be deep blue eyes were now only a grey shadow of what they used to be. He looks tired, and I could see the bags under his eyes. I pretended that he looked fine, since he was kneading some dough like he usually is, and casually asked him,

"Hi Eric, where've you been? It's been a while."

Instead of the cheery response I usually get with a smile, he spoke while focusing on the dough in his hands.

"Work. Stuff. You know."

I didn't know.

"If you want anything, ask my dad. I'm kind of busy right now."

I didn't come here for bread. I came here to see him.

"Could you get me that stick of French bread behind you?"
"I said-"
"Pleeease?"

He looked upset as he plucked the dough from between his fingers, and turned around to get the bread I asked for. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him...

He took the bread to the register, and rang up a subtotal. As I pulled out my purse, I tried to make conversation.

"Wanna know something weird? A few nights ago, I saw some guy on his bike outside my house around midnight. Looks like he had somewhere important to go, since he was breaking curfew."
"Who else saw him?"

I looked up from my bag, and saw him staring directly at me. He had a scary look on his face.

"I don't know."
"So no one saw him?"
"No one but me, I guess."
"No one saw him, Emily. No one."

As I gave him some change, he grabbed my arm.

"That night, no one was outside after curfew. Do you understand?"

I was petrified. I looked straight into his eyes.

And that was the last time I saw Eric.

 

[Law]

Curfew?

enjoy your dictatorship

p.s. tl;dr

 

[Danny600kill]

This is getting really exciting

 

[Jeff88]

This is getting really exciting

Agreed, can't wait to read the next one

 

[Jamstruth]

I lied there, thinking.

GRAMMARNAZI ATTACK!!! Its "lay there" not "lied there." If you're writing this, employ a grammar checker sometimes.
Pretty nice, exciting story though

 

[prowler]

I lied there, thinking.

GRAMMARNAZI ATTACK!!! Its "lay there" not "lied there." If you're writing this, employ a grammar checker sometimes.
Pretty nice, exciting story though

Spoiler

 

[Berthenk]

Moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar moar.
Pweeeaaaseeeeee?


Thnxbai.

 

[Ace]

I agree, moar x 49 like the user above did.

 

[BeatriceTheGolde]

After taking my bread, I ran home. I didn't stop for anyone. Maybe a car had almost hit me, but I didn't care anymore. Why wouldn't anyone tell me what was going on? I heard someone outside that night, and the night after, I even saw him. But everyone was telling me to forget that it ever happened, that it never did happen. But I knew it did.

I'm not crazy. I know what I saw. It's as if everyone around me was hiding something from me. There was a man outside breaking curfew. The responsible thing to do would be to take this to an official and have him investigate it. So I did.

I got the telephone, and dialed in a six digit number. Immediately, someone answered. I explained the entire situation to them, and they said that they would watch the place at night. I decided that I would too.

***

After my parents came home, we had a nice dinner, and I went upstairs and waited. I didn't want to be distracted by books, so I skipped on studying that night. Instead, I intently watched out the window. Strange, I didn't see any officials. Maybe they were hiding.

Maybe they didn't come at all. I wouldn't be surprised, what with all the other important things they could be doing. Maybe they decided that one man breaking curfew wasn't an issue worth dealing with. They probably just brushed off the possibility that he was starting a rebellion. Perhaps he was the only report of a man breaking curfew, so they assumed he couldn't be doing anything too harmful if he was by himself.

Or maybe they ignored me. What if they didn't believe me either?

It was now 11:15. Almost about time for him to show up. If the officials weren't going to do anything about it, I was going to take matters into my own hands. Who thinks that they have the right to simply break the law? I quietly walked downstairs. My parents weren't in the living room. I guess they went to bed early. I took a coat out of the closet by the door, and slipped on a pair of shoes. I opened the front door, and went outside.

I sat on the front porch, and waited.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Time seems to slow down if you try to count the minutes that pass. I was constantly checking my watch to see if it would be too late for the man to pass again. Not even ten minutes had gone by, and I kept looking up to see if he would come before I finished checking the time. He was going to be here soon. And I heard a sound.

The whirring of the spokes of a bicycle. The light clicks of gears. The quiet sound of rubber rolling over tiny stones. He was here. He finally came. I knew there was a person! I was right!

I stood up. I waited for him to get closer, and I yelled out,

"Hey you! Sto-"

I never got to finish what I was saying. The pain was too much. I couldn't even scream out, or anything. I fell to my knees, and landed on the lawn. All I could see were the blades of grass in front of me. It was getting hard to breath. I could feel a warm blanket around me, but it was getting cold. My entire body was going cold. Why was it so cold? It's the middle of spring... I was picked up by a large man wearing black. I guess they were out here, waiting. Waiting for someone to break curfew. How stupid of me.

I tilted my head to the side, and saw the person who was on the bike. He was on the ground now. I guess he's going to face the same fate as myself. At least some good came of this. It's a real shame that I have to go now. I didn't get a chance to tell my parents that I loved them. I never got to thank my teachers, or tell Eric how I feel about him. I guess I'm not the one who gets to live for a hundred years, but I suppose that if I have to go now, I can't object. I look up to the man carrying me, and with what little strength I had left, I asked him,

"Who is that man on the bicycle?"

But before I could hear anything, my eyes were already closed, and I had gone to sleep.

 

[Berthenk]

I agree, moar x 49 like the user above did.

Wait. Wut? You actually counted all that...?
I'm amaaaaazed.

You're good at this, Beatrice!