‘Help Us, Please!’ after Dad’s Death, Strange Men Started Coming to Our House Every Day – Story of the Day

Soon after Dad died, men with strange wounds and marks on their faces started banging on the windows every day, pleading for help and terrifying me and my sister. Now, Mom isn’t answering her phone and hasn’t returned from work. Something is wrong, and I’ve no choice but to go looking for answers.

"You can't be serious! We've barely returned from Dad's funeral and you want to go to work?"

Mom's brow furrowed a little. "I know it seems insensitive, Anne, but this is important. You're only fourteen so I don't expect you to understand, but sometimes adults have to prioritize tasks, no matter what else is going on in their lives."

Mom's words left me speechless. Sure, she was an important scientist like Dad was, and they'd been doing all sorts of crucial medical research in their lab, but Dad was gone now. There couldn't be anything in the whole world that was more important than that right now.

"I'll be back soon." Mom leaned in to kiss me on the forehead.

I jerked away and refused to look at her. "Fine, go...I'm sure Dad would be happy to know you spent a whole five minutes mourning him before you rushed back to work. I'll tell Kaylee you said goodbye."

Mom started to reply, but I was already out of the room. My hands shook as I shut the sitting room door on her, and an uncomfortable, shaky feeling filled my chest. God, how could Mom leave at a time like this?

Mom still wasn't home when I woke up the following morning. I got Kaylee, my little sister, up, then sat on the sofa with her to watch Saturday morning cartoons. She immediately started asking when Mom was coming home.

"I don't know, okay?" I snapped after ten minutes of her nagging.

Kaylee hung her head and started sniffling. I immediately felt bad and reached over to hug her.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Kaylee," I muttered. "It's just..."

"I just want Mom!" she cried. "Why isn't she here with us? We need her."

"I know," I said, hugging her tighter. "But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Something heavy thumped against the window just to our right, rattling the pane. Kaylee and I both jumped in fright and turned to the window. Kaylee screamed, but I was too shocked to do anything but stare at the monstrous face at the glass.

It took a moment to realize it was a person standing outside, not an actual monster. Swollen lumps of various sizes covered his face. Most were bright red around the edges, and the surrounding skin looked flaky. There were scabs on the lumps, and the centers were black, like a blood blister.

"Help us, please!" the man cried, slapping his palm against the window.

My heart was thumping in my chest like a frightened rabbit. I grabbed Kaylee and dragged her out of the room. As we passed the front door, something banged against it.

"Please, help!" A different voice cried from beyond the door.

"Go away!" I shouted.

Kaylee was sobbing hysterically now. A face pressed against the frosted glass panel beside the front door, and my breath caught in my throat. I didn't know what was wrong with these people or why they came here for help, but if they broke in here...I was not going to let these freaks hurt my baby sister.

I lunged across the hallway, tugged open the coat closet, took out Dad's old baseball bat, and prepared to defend myself and Kaylee.

"You get away from there!" A familiar voice shouted. "I'm calling the cops."

The men immediately took off. I rushed to the front door and opened it but left the security chain in place.

Through the gap, I watched the strange-looking men run across the lawn while elderly Mrs. Mitchell shook her fist at them.

"And don't come back!" I screamed as they disappeared down the street.

"Are you okay there, Anne?" Mrs. Mitchell asked as she walked up the path.

"I am now. Thanks for scaring those people away, Mrs. Mitchell. I thought they were going to bust through the glass."

"It's lucky I was coming over. I brought y'all something," she lifted a basket, "some pot pie for dinner. Where's your mother, Annie?"

"She's, uh...sleeping," I said. It was easier to lie than to admit that Mom wasn't home and I didn't know when she'd return.

I immediately went to my room, fetched the cell phone Mom and Dad got me for my thirteenth birthday, and called Mom.

"Hi, sweetheart, is everything okay?"

The relief I'd felt when Mom answered her phone was swept away by a tidal wave of anger when I heard those words.

"You've been gone for a whole day without a call, and that's what you say to me, Mom? Well, FYI, everything is not okay! Two creepy guys were banging on the windows, yelling for help, and Kaylee is frightened out of her mind. Why aren't you back yet?"

Mom swore softly. It shocked me because she never cussed in front of Kaylee and me.

"I'll be home tomorrow, Anne."

"Tomorrow? Are you kidding me?"

"I can't get away right now—"

"You're the worst Mom ever!"

I ended the call and tossed my phone onto my bed. My God! All that nonsense Mom said about adults needing to prioritize tasks now seemed like a load of garbage. I struggled to hold back tears as I went downstairs to check on Kaylee. I'd never felt more abandoned and uncared for in my entire life.

Mom didn't return the next day, but the strange men did. The moment I spotted one of them at the window, I went upstairs and called the cops. Kaylee and I watched anxiously from the front windows as the officers pulled up in a squad car.

The men tried to run, but the cops quickly caught and handcuffed them. I went onto the front steps as they led the weird-looking men to their car.

"...just wanted medicine!" The taller of the men was saying. When he spotted me on the step, he lunged forward.

"Where is your father?" he shouted. "He promised to give us medicine! He swore he'd fix this."

His words left me shook. In moments, these strange men had gone from creepy pests to some guys who were involved with Dad somehow. Once the cops had left, I phoned Mom again. She didn't answer. And she didn't return the next day.

I'd had enough. Something weird was going on here, and since Mom wasn't going to do anything about it, I would.

"You said you wouldn't go anywhere!" Kaylee sobbed as she watched me pack a few things into my backpack.

"I have to, Kaylee, but I'll be back soon."

"Liar! That's what Mom said before she left, and it's what Dad said too when he went out that night..."

Kaylee's words were like a knife to my heart. All the sadness and uncertainty of the past few days suddenly fell on my shoulders like a lead weight.

"I will be back, Kaylee," I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. "No matter what happens, nothing will keep me from coming back to you, got it?"

Kaylee glared down at her shoes and squeezed the plush toy in her arms so tightly I thought the bear's arms might pop off. I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"I'm leaving so I can fix things, okay?" I ruffled her hair. "I'm going to find Mom and drag her back here by her toes if I have to."

Kaylee sniffled. She leaned against me and buried her face in my shoulder. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but at that moment, I decided that I wouldn't be like Mom. I'd keep my promise to return soon so my sister wouldn't be alone.

I left Kaylee with Mrs. Mitchell and headed to the lab where Mom worked, and my Dad used to work. They used to take me there all the time when I was a kid, before Kaylee came along, so I knew exactly where it was. I had only a few bucks, but it was enough to pay for a cab to take me there.

I marched into the huge glass and chrome reception area and asked the woman at the desk to call my mom. She looked at me like I'd said something weird and asked me to wait in one of the ugly, ultra-modern chairs arranged on one side of the room.

After a few minutes of scuffing my toes against the polished floor, I heard a man calling my name. When I looked up, Mom's boss, Mr. Han, was walking toward me.

"Anne, look at how much you've grown!" He greeted me with a warm smile. "I'm so sorry about your Dad. It must've been so rough on you."

"Yeah." I cleared my throat as I felt tears sting my eyes at the mention of Dad. "I'm actually here to see Mom."

"Yes, Linda said so." Mr. Han sat beside me with a serious look on his face. "I'm sorry to be blunt, but you're obviously a capable young woman with a good head on your shoulders, so I'm going to cut to the chase. Your mom isn't here...I gave her three days' leave so she could spend time with you and your sister."

"...not supposed to return until tomorrow," Mr. Han continued. "So she hasn't been at home? When last did you see her, Anne?"

"Uh, Friday, after the funeral. She said she had to go to work..."

Mr. Han shook his head. "Listen, I'm going to get in touch with your mother's colleagues and ask if anyone's seen or heard from her in the past few days. We'll find her, Anne."

He put his hand on my shoulder. I stared up at him as a torrent of confused thoughts raced through my mind.

"Thanks, Mr. Han." I stood and moved toward the sliding doors.

Nothing made sense to me anymore. Mom specifically said she was going to work... did she lie to me? I couldn't think of a single reason why she would do that until I remembered those men. They'd said Dad promised them medicine. Mom and Dad had worked together on most projects, so maybe they'd both been involved in something... but what?

I felt like I was sleepwalking as I tried to make sense of this puzzle while crossing the parking lot. There was nothing else I could do now but go to the police and report Mom missing. But then I noticed something that messed up my thoughts even more: Mom's car was parked in the lot.

"He lied to me!" I snapped.

I turned and was about to go marching back in there to demand that Mr. Han let me speak to my mother, but then it hit me:

Mr. Han wouldn't have lied about Mom unless he had something to hide.

The weight of the world pressed down on my shoulders. I had no idea what to do next. Part of me thought it would be best to go to the police and then return home to Kaylee, but I'd promised her I'd bring Mom back with me... and if Mr. Han lied to me, he'd probably lie to the cops, too.

I needed something solid I could take to the cops so they'd have no choice but to believe I was telling the truth. I glanced at the security camera positioned about the building's entrance, then slipped around the side.

I went straight to the air vent on the outside of the building. Sometimes, when I was little, Dad used to come to work on Saturdays, and we'd climb through the vents to clear out mice and other small animals that'd climb in there. I climbed inside the vent.

I made a couple of wrong turns and had to backtrack before I finally found the vent leading into the office Mom and Dad used, which was attached to their lab. I peeked into the room, and there was Mom!

I shoved the vent open. Mom spun around, her eyes widening when she saw me emerge from the vent.

"Anne! What are you doing here?" She quickly came to stand beneath the vent.

"Looking for you, obviously!" I wriggled around as I tried to judge the best way to get down to the floor. "What the heck is going on, Mom? You left us...just disappeared for days...and when I asked Mr. Han if you were here, he lied to me!"

"I'll explain everything, sweetheart, but not now." Mom pushed her desk against the wall under the vent. "We don't have time. Get back, I'm coming up."

I hurriedly crawled backward while Mom lifted a chair onto the table. She vanished from my sight as I reversed down the vent but soon reappeared when she joined me inside.

"Go, Anne, go! They're coming!" She said.

I crawled backward down the shaft as fast as I could. I reached an intersection where I could turn around just as a man's voice echoed down the shaft behind us:

"She escaped! Find her quickly."

Mom and I crawled through the vents as quickly as we could. It was difficult to find my way when she was breathing down my neck, and panic raced through my veins, but eventually, we reached the maintenance exit. I climbed out, and moments later, someone grabbed me.

I wriggled and kicked, but the man tightened his grip until it hurt. I stomped on his foot, but he just laughed.

"We've got your kid, Doctor. Unless you want something bad to happen to her, you'd best climb out of there and come quietly."

"Okay, just don't hurt her, please," Mom replied.

She climbed out of the vent and raised her hands. One of the other security guards stepped forward and grabbed her. They marched us up the stairs and into an empty room. The door locked behind them with a solid click.

Mom sank down to the floor with her back to the wall.

"I'm so sorry, Anne. You should never have gotten involved in this," she said.

"Well, I am, and I think it's time you explained exactly what's going on here." I crossed my arms and stared down at her. "What the heck did you and Dad do? And what do those men with the awful marks on their faces have to do with it?"

"If my theory is right, then those men are volunteers from a clinical trial that have developed skin cancer." Mom sighed and put her head in her hands. "Your father and I told Mr. Han not to test our serum on humans, that it was still too early, but he didn't listen."

"So they look like that because of this serum that you and Dad created?" I asked, my voice shaking as I finally started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Why would you create something like that?"

"It was supposed to be an anti-aging product," Mom replied. "It basically triggers a process that causes skin cells to rejuvenate at an accelerated pace. It's amazing, actually, but that process sometimes accelerates the growth of abnormal cells, too, causing a higher instance of skin cancer, which also has an accelerated growth rate."

"What is with you adults and your issues about getting old?" I groaned. "Are you seriously telling me all of this happened so people can avoid getting wrinkles?"

"You wouldn't understand, Anne, but yes, that's the gist of it. Mr. Han realized we'd developed a revolutionary product, and he wanted to get it on the market as fast as possible, side-effects be darned. Your father and I couldn't allow him to do that."

Mom sobbed. I reached out to put my hand on her shoulder.

"The night your dad died...he came here to destroy our work. I don't know for certain, but I think Mr. Han...I think he killed your father."

An ice-cold shock rippled through me. "How...Dad died in an accident, that's what you said, it's what the police said..."

"I know. I believed them too, Anne. I came here after the funeral because I assumed your father never reached the lab that night and I wanted to make sure he didn't die in vain. But when I got here, I found that some of our files were deleted... only your dad would've done that."

Mom looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "I think your dad was busy deleting our work when Mr. Han caught him... just like he caught me when I came here to finish the job. He probably would've killed me too if he didn't need me."

"Need you for what?" I asked.

"To reproduce the information your dad deleted. That's why he's kept me prisoner here for the past few days. I refused, of course."

"And, since you refuse to cooperate, and tried to escape, I now feel that you're more of a liability than an asset."

Mom and I both jumped in fright at the sound of Mr. Han's voice. I spun to face the door just as he raised a gun and pointed it at us.

"I've done everything I could think of to motivate you to fix your late husband's mess, Dr. Dawson, but you're either too stubborn or too incompetent. Perhaps there's simply no way to reproduce the work...either way, your time has now run out."

Mr. Han shifted his grip on the gun and took aim. The whole world seemed to slow as I watched his finger tense against the trigger. I leaped to the side, so I was standing between him and Mom.

"Don't!" I said. "You don't need to. Dad kept a backup of his work at home... I know where he hid it. I can get it for you."

Mr. Han tilted his head and stared at me in shock. I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he studied me. I stood there and tried to look like I wasn’t lying through my teeth, which I was.

Eventually, Mr. Han lowered his gun and flicked the safety on. He slowly started to smile as he nodded to himself.

"Okay, Anne, I’ll give you a chance to make things right. You two, take the girl to her house so she can retrieve this backup," Mr. Han told the two security guards at the door. "Make sure you verify the information immediately too." He glared at me. "If you're lying, your Mom dies."

I nodded. I didn't dare to look at Mom because she and I both knew that Dad didn't keep any backups at home. Whatever he didn't have on file at work was stored in his head. I was taking a huge risk with this ploy, but it was our only chance.

Besides, Dad might not have brought files home from work, but he did occasionally bring home other items that were far more interesting.

I followed the two security guards out of the building and climbed into their car. Soon, I was leading them to the miniature lab Dad had set up in a shed in the backyard.

It was eerie to be here without him and to see the work table empty and all the flasks and other equipment packed away. One of the first things Mom did after Dad died was to dismantle his chemistry experiments in the shed.

"It's in here," I said, pointing to a chest freezer positioned against one wall. "Just give me a moment to get it."

I pulled on Dad's safety gloves and opened the freezer.

A thick fog poured over the sides of the freezer. I'd already taken a deep breath to avoid inhaling the fumes from the dry ice, but I had to work fast. I snatched two vials from the container in the center of the freezer, spun around, and hurled the rapidly melting contents at the guards.

One of them was quick-witted enough to try to block it by raising his arm, but it didn't matter much. The dangerous chemical ate through his clothing in seconds. Soon, both men were writhing on the ground in pain.

I slammed the freezer lid shut and stole one of the guard's phones before running from the shed and locking them inside. It was easy to find Mr. Han's number on the thug’s phone since it was the only number he’d saved.

"Did you verify the documents?" Mr. Han asked.

"I had to get rid of your goons for my own safety, Dr. Han," I said. "I can't take the risk that you'll have one of them kill me and steal the backup. Instead, we're going to make an honest exchange. I'll give you the hard drive with the backup files on it and you'll return my mother. Do you agree?"

"You haven't given me much choice, have you, Anne? Fine, meet me at the docks in one hour."

I stood on the dock exactly an hour later, holding Dad's briefcase in my hands. I watched anxiously as Mr. Han walked toward me with Mom in tow. He stopped a few feet away from me.

"Let her go and then I'll put the briefcase down and walk away, got it?" I yelled into the wind.

Mr. Han released Mom and raised both his hands to shoulder height. I kept my eyes on him as I carefully set the briefcase down. He didn't move a muscle, so I carefully walked toward Mom.

Mr. Han started walking, too. We eyed each other warily as we passed each other. I started walking faster once I was past him. Mom came forward to meet me, and together, we ran back to the end of the dock.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said as we ran. "There was nothing else I could do."

"What are you talking about, Anne?" she asked. "What did you do?"

I didn't reply—I didn't need to. Police cars were skidding to a stop at the end of the dock. Although they'd arrived silently, they now turned on their sirens and lights. Cops were taking up position behind the open doors of the squad cars as they aimed their guns down the length of the dock.

"I thought about it, but this was the only way I could think of to prevent that serum from causing any further damage," I told Mom. "Mr. Han would've found out the briefcase was empty the moment he opened it and killed both of us. Kaylee would’ve been all alone then."

Mom nodded. "I know, sweetheart. I... I don't want to leave you girls, but I am proud of you, Anne. You did the right thing."

"Time's up, kid. We need to go."

I looked up at the cop standing beside the open car door and nodded. Then I turned back to Mom, who was sitting in the back of the squad car in handcuffs. They'd arrested her as well as Mr. Han.

I hugged Mom, and she pressed her head against mine.

"Take good care of Kaylee," she muttered.

I promised her that I would, and then I climbed out of the cruiser. I walked away from the docks with tears pouring down my face. I wouldn't be able to keep my promise to Kaylee entirely. I wouldn't be bringing Mom home with me, but I would still be returning to her like I had promised.

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