Hide and Seek

There once was a family of five. Three children and two parents, who loved their kids with all their hearts. This family lived in a nice home in a quaint little town called Bakerston. Their lives were simple and pleasant, and Bakerston was an unusually peaceful town that had little to no crime.

One of their children, the eldest daughter, was named Felicity, and she was very good at watching her little brothers, Raymon and Rory. So, occasionally their parents would go out for the night and have Felicity watch her brothers until they got back. Felicity was very good at this. She would always play a game similar to hide and seek. She’d stand in the living room with her hands over her eyes and say, “Children, Children, All around, run before you can be found. For I am on the loose today, hide before I can say….” Then she’d wait, listening to their rustling feet as they would hide. She’d search the house looking for them, and when she got close, she’d wait right outside the place she knew they were hiding and she’d say “Boo!”

When they heard this sound, they would know that she was close, so if she was correct they would have to reply with the words, “Hello Felicity!” and she’d scoop them up and hug them. If the other child was close enough that they heard these words, they were allowed additional time to find a new spot, and then Felicity and the found child would look for them together.

The children absolutely loved this game, and they insisted that she play it with them every time they were together. One night, recently after their parents left, Felicity and the boys were relaxing in their home. The boys were in their rooms, off of the living room, and Felicity was in the living room reading. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the door. Felicity, thinking it might be her parents and that they would be upset that the boys weren’t asleep, she rushed to the intercom system that allowed anyone in the living room to speak to all the rooms in the house. The boys had one in their room too. This made it so that no one had to yell fromm room to room in the house.

She pressed the button and said quietly, “Open your door and get underneath your covers. I think it's mom and dad. Pretend to be asleep.” Then she went to answer the door.

The boys did as they were told and got beneath their covers. They heard the door open, but no other sounds. It was quiet. Then, the intercom beeped which meant someone was on the other side. A voice said, “Children children, all around….” The little boys shivered. It was Felicity, and she sounded scared. She had spoken at a whisper and they became frightened. They stayed in their beds, still scared. Then, “Run before you can be found..” They glanced at each other in horror. “For he is on the loose today….hide before…I can say…” “She wants to play the game…” Rory whispered to Raymon. The waited a few seconds. Then, it came on again. “Children Children All Around.” Silence. “Run Before you can be found.” Silence. “For it is on the loose today. Hide before I can say….” The boys quickly decided that they needed to hide. They crawled to their favorite place, which was a broom closet in the hallway that Felicity claimed was too small to fit in. But the boys knew it wasn’t. She never found them there. She always called quits if either of them chose that spot.

They quieted their breathing and listened for sounds. They heard a soft shuffling of feet, but that was all. They stayed in the closet a long time. Suddenly though, another sound filled their ears. THUD. *shuffle shuffle shuffle* THUD. *shuffle shuffle shuffle* THUD. THUD THUD. The sound got closer and closer and closer and closer. They heard Felicity’s voice whisper, but it seemed to come from throughout the house. “Children Children all around, run before you can be found. For I am on the loose today, hide before I can say……” Silence. Then, in the softest whisper of all, right outside the closet they heard, “Boo?” Rory opened his mouth to say ‘hello Felicity’ but Raymon closed his hand over Rory’s mouth. It was silent for a long time. Then, from Raymon and Rory’s right, inside the closet, a voice was heard. “Hello Felicity.” Rory and Raymon turned ice cold. But they didn’t move. Outside the closet Felicity started to cry. Then, in tears she said, “New game. Rory is it.”

That same night the parents of Rory Raymon and Felicity game home to a devastating sight. On the table was a letter that had apparently been opened by Felicity that said, “I want to play your game. I’m in the children’s room. We’ll all play together.”

They proceeded to look throughout the house for their children. They couldn’t find them that night. The next night they found Rory. His eyes were sewn shut and he was jammed underneath the kitchen sink covered in blood.

The day after that they found Raymon. His eyes were sewn shut and he was shoved underneath his bed covered in blood. The day after that they found Felicity. Her eyes were sewn shut and she was squished inside a cupboard. The deaths were mourned and they bodies were buried.

A week later another body was discovered. A missing mortician was found crammed inside the hallway closet with his sewing kit clutched between his cold dead fingers.

The THUD THUd *shuffle shuffle shuffle* the children had heard had been the sound of Felicity bumping into walls. She had been looking for them and she couldn’t see, because her eyes had been sewn shut.

Years later it was said that the soft calling of Felicity’s voice could be heard, calling the word to the children’s hide-and seek rhyme. Children children all around Run before you can be found For I am on the loose today Run before I can say…. BOO.