Chapter 2 - David dropped the monitor.It hit the floor.
The man's voice disappeared.
For several seconds, David couldn't move.
Then Sarah appeared in the doorway.
“What are you doing?”
David pointed at the floor.
“Where's Leo?”
Sarah's face changed.
“What?”
“Where is Leo?”
“He's sleeping upstairs.”
David stared at her.
“I thought he was with you.”
“He was.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
David ran past her.
Sarah followed.
They reached the bedroom.
The door was open.
The blanket was pulled back.
Empty.
“Leo?”
David searched beneath the bed.
Nothing.
Bathroom.
Nothing.
Hallway.
Nothing.
Then Sarah screamed.
“The stairs!”
They both ran downstairs.
The front door was locked.
The back door was locked.
Every window was shut.
David rushed into the living room.
Leo was sitting on the floor.
Playing with a wooden truck.
David stopped so abruptly he nearly fell.
“Leo!”
The boy looked up.
“Daddy.”
David grabbed him and held him tight.
Sarah began crying.
“Where did he come from?”
David looked toward the staircase.
There was no answer.
Leo pointed toward the hallway.
“Tank.”
David's stomach twisted.
“What?”
“Tank go bye-bye.”
Sarah wiped her eyes.
“Baby, Tank isn't here.”
Leo shook his head.
“He came.”
David stared at him.
“Who came?”
“Tank.”
Leo pointed again.
Toward the nursery.
David slowly lowered his son.
He walked into the nursery.
Nothing.
Except the crib.
He bent down.
The black monitor was gone.
Sarah stood behind him.
“What happened?”
David didn't answer.
He opened his phone.
He checked every camera in the house.
The nursery camera showed the room.
Timestamp: 2:47 a.m.
The video showed Tank entering.
Then Leo.
Then the dog dragging the boy away.
David rewound.
Tank entered the room three seconds before Sarah's scream.
Something strange happened.
The dog stopped beside the crib.
His ears lifted.
He looked at the corner.
Then he lunged toward Leo.
David watched again.
Frame by frame.
Tank had not reacted to Leo.
He had reacted to something behind him.
David zoomed in.
The corner remained dark.
“See?” Sarah whispered.
“What?”
“There.”
David squinted.
For one frame, something pale appeared beneath the crib.
A hand.
David froze.
He rewound.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
The hand was gone.
Sarah stepped away from the screen.
“We're leaving.”
David turned.
“What?”
“Tonight.”
“Sarah, we need to call the police.”
She stared at him.
“For what?”
David held up the monitor.
“For this.”
Sarah went completely still.
“What is that?”
“You don't know?”
“No.”
David studied her face.
For the first time that night, he wondered if Sarah was telling the truth.
Then the monitor turned on by itself.
A whisper came through.
“David.”
Sarah stepped backward.
The voice spoke again.
“You shouldn't have taken him.”
David looked at Sarah.
“Taken who?”
Static.
Then:
“Tank.”
The monitor went dark.
Sarah's breathing became shallow.
David immediately called the emergency vet.
A receptionist answered.
“This is David Miller. I brought my dog in tonight.”
There was silence.
Then:
“Mr. Miller…”
“Put me through to whoever handled Tank.”
Another pause.
“I'm sorry. Who is Tank?”
David's stomach dropped.
“My dog. The pitbull. I signed euthanasia papers twenty minutes ago.”
The receptionist sounded confused.
“Mr. Miller, we haven't admitted any dog tonight.”
David stared at the phone.
“No.”
“You may have the wrong clinic.”
He looked through the windshield.
Same address.
Same building.
Same parking lot.
He ended the call.
Sarah whispered:
“Where is Tank?”
David didn't answer.
He called the number printed on the paperwork.
It rang once.
Then someone picked up.
A man's voice.
“You shouldn't have called.”
David froze.
“Who are you?”
“You were warned.”
“What did you do to my dog?”
The voice chuckled softly.
“Your dog isn't the problem.”
David gripped the phone.
“Then what is?”
A pause.
“Ask your wife why the crib has a false bottom.”
The call ended.
David turned slowly toward Sarah.
She was crying.
May you like
But she wasn't surprised.
And that terrified him more than the voice.
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