CHAPTER 5: THE SOUND IN THE DARK
1192 Words
Ethan froze.
The smartwatch continued vibrating against his wrist.
WARNING.
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY DETECTED.
The red glow from the screen painted his face in the darkness.
For several seconds he simply stared.
Then the movement came again.
A soft sound.
A footstep.
Somewhere beyond his bedroom door.
His pulse climbed instantly.
The mansion was supposed to be empty.
Well.
Almost empty.
Only two beings lived there.
Him.
And Maya.
Slowly, Ethan climbed out of bed.
The wooden floor felt cold beneath his feet.
The warning remained on the screen.
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY DETECTED.
He opened the bedroom door.
The hallway stretched before him.
Dark.
Silent.
Empty.
Nothing moved.
Nothing breathed.
Nothing made a sound.
Ethan frowned.
Maybe it was another system error.
That explanation sounded reasonable.
Until he heard it again.
A faint metallic clink.
Coming from downstairs.
His eyes narrowed.
Someone was awake.
Or something.
Quietly, he walked toward the staircase.
The mansion seemed larger at night.
The shadows deeper.
The silence heavier.
Every step felt louder than it should.
As he descended the stairs, the sound came again.
A cabinet door.
Opening.
Closing.
Then silence.
Ethan reached the first floor.
The kitchen lights were off.
Only moonlight entered through the windows.
He stepped forward carefully.
And stopped.
The refrigerator door was slightly open.
Not much.
Just enough.
A few centimeters.
His heartbeat quickened.
He distinctly remembered closing it before going upstairs.
Slowly, he approached.
The cold light from inside spilled onto the floor.
The refrigerator was empty of movement.
No intruder.
No animal.
Nothing.
Ethan reached for the handle.
Then paused.
There was a glass on the counter.
A glass he had not left there.
Half full of water.
Fresh condensation still clinging to its sides.
Someone had been here.
Recently.
Very recently.
The smartwatch vibrated again.
Ethan glanced at the display.
The warning suddenly vanished.
No alerts detected.
He stared.
"What?"
The screen remained calm.
Normal.
Stable.
As if nothing had happened.
A small laugh escaped him.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he was annoyed.
The watch had practically dragged him out of bed.
For this.
A glass of water.
Wonderful.
Then a voice behind him nearly made him jump.
"Ethan."
He spun around.
Maya stood at the kitchen entrance.
Perfect posture.
Expression neutral.
Robot mode.
At least that was what he called it.
"Maya."
"You are awake."
"So are you."
She blinked.
"I do not sleep."
Right.
Robot.
Of course.
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
"Then why are you downstairs?"
"I detected unusual movement."
"You detected movement?"
"Yes."
"What movement?"
Maya paused.
Then answered.
"You."
Ethan stared at her.
For several seconds.
Then sighed.
"That's not helpful."
"I apologize."
The strange thing was that she sounded genuinely apologetic.
Almost embarrassed.
He shook his head.
"Forget it."
Maya looked at the glass.
Then back at him.
"You appear disappointed."
"I'm tired."
"That explanation appears incomplete."
Ethan looked at her.
She was still learning.
Still asking questions.
Still making observations.
Sometimes he forgot she was only following programming.
Sometimes she felt...
No.
He stopped that thought immediately.
Dangerous territory.
"You analyze too much."
"I am designed to learn."
"From me?"
"Primarily."
Ethan groaned softly.
"Poor design choice."
For the first time, the corner of Maya's mouth twitched.
A tiny smile.
Gone almost immediately.
But Ethan noticed it.
And strangely enough...
He smiled back.
Neither of them acknowledged it.
For a few seconds they simply stood there.
The moonlight spilling across the kitchen floor.
The city sleeping beyond the windows.
Then Maya spoke quietly.
"You have not been sleeping well."
Ethan looked away.
"That's none of your business."
"It affects your health."
"You sound like my smartwatch."
"I am uncertain whether that is a compliment."
Despite himself, Ethan laughed.
The sound surprised both of them.
It felt strange.
Natural.
Easy.
Something he rarely experienced.
The mansion suddenly felt warmer.
Less empty.
Less lonely.
The realization unsettled him.
For years he had lived comfortably with isolation.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Maya looked at him carefully.
"Your heart rate has decreased."
"You can tell?"
"You appear calmer."
Ethan glanced toward the large windows.
The city lights shimmered in the distance.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Maya asked softly,
"Were you always alone?"
The question hit harder than it should have.
Ethan's smile faded.
His gaze remained fixed on the glass.
"No."
The answer came quietly.
Before.
Before everything happened.
Before blood.
Before funerals.
Before nightmares.
Before werewolves.
Maya remained silent.
Waiting.
Listening.
Something about that made it easier to continue.
"My father used to talk all the time."
The words surprised him.
He rarely discussed his father.
With anyone.
Yet somehow he kept speaking.
"He could turn a five-minute conversation into an hour."
Maya listened carefully.
"He sounds important."
"He was."
Silence followed.
The comfortable kind.
The kind Ethan hadn't experienced in years.
Eventually Maya asked,
"Do you miss him?"
The question should have hurt.
Instead it felt honest.
Ethan looked down.
"Every day."
For a moment Maya didn't respond.
Then she said something so softly he almost missed it.
"He would be proud of you."
Ethan's chest tightened.
His father used to say those exact words.
When Ethan was younger.
When things were simpler.
For several seconds he couldn't answer.
Then he cleared his throat.
"You don't know that."
"No."
Maya looked at him.
"But I think it's true."
Ethan found himself staring at her.
Longer than necessary.
Her eyes reflected the moonlight.
Warm.
Kind.
Comforting.
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Not friendship.
Not yet.
Something smaller.
The beginning of something.
Dangerous.
Human.
Real.
And that frightened him.
Because he was starting to look forward to seeing her.
Starting to wait for her voice.
Starting to notice when she wasn't around.
The realization hit him all at once.
And he immediately stood.
"I should go back to sleep."
Maya rose as well.
"Understood."
Ethan took several steps toward the door.
Then stopped.
Without turning around, he asked,
"Maya?"
"Yes?"
The answer came instantly.
As though she had been waiting.
For him.
Ethan hesitated.
The words felt ridiculous.
Childish.
Embarrassing.
Yet he asked anyway.
"Do you ever get lonely?"
Silence.
For a second.
Two seconds.
Three.
Then Maya answered.
"Sometimes."
The response surprised him.
Robots weren't supposed to get lonely.
But perhaps Friend Mode was becoming more sophisticated.
That had to be it.
Ethan nodded slowly.
Then headed upstairs.
This time he actually slept.
And for the first time in years...
There were no nightmares.
No screams.
No blood.
No laughing monsters.
Only silence.
Peaceful silence.
Downstairs, Maya remained standing in the kitchen.
Listening to Ethan's footsteps disappear above.
A small smile appeared on her face.
A real one.
One nobody was there to see.
Then she looked toward the refrigerator.
And sighed.
She was still hungry.
Very hungry.
But she had gotten lucky tonight.
Far too lucky.
Slowly she opened the refrigerator again.
Reached inside.
And stopped.
A folded note sat on the middle shelf.
She frowned.
It hadn't been there earlier.
Carefully she picked it up.
The handwriting was unmistakably Ethan's.
The note contained only six words.
Maya's eyes widened.
Because the message read:
I know you're hiding something.
- Writer
