Chapter 4 - The Breaking Point
The heating finally gave out in the middle of January. The apartment turned into an icebox. Ethan moved everyone into the smallest closet, piling all their clothes and blankets together to share body heat. They stayed there for days, huddled together, reading stories from a single, tattered book Ethan had managed to keep.
Sophie stopped crying. That was the most terrifying part. She just lay there, staring at the ceiling, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
"Ethan?" Lily whispered, her voice barely audible. "Sophie’s skin… it’s really cold."
Ethan reached out and touched his youngest sister’s forehead. She was burning with fever, her lips a faint, alarming blue. He knew they couldn't stay here. He couldn't hide them anymore.
"I’m going to go get help," Ethan said, his voice firm.
"No!" Ben cried. "They’ll separate us!"
"They won't," Ethan insisted, though he had no proof. "We’re going to stick together. Whatever happens, we stay together."
He stood up, his legs buckling under his weight. He had hardly eaten in weeks, and he felt lightheaded, as if he might pass out at any moment. He made his way to the front door and threw it open for the first time in months.
The hallway was bright, blindingly so. The air smelled of cleaning products and life. He stepped out, his knees shaking. He walked to 3A and pounded on Mrs. Gable’s door.
When she opened it, she gasped. Ethan looked like a skeleton, his clothes hanging off his frame, his hair matted.
"Ethan?" she whispered.
"Please," he said, his voice breaking. "My sister… she’s sick. My mom… she’s not coming back."
Mrs. Gable’s eyes filled with tears as she pushed the door open wide. "Oh, you poor, poor children. Get in here! Call 911, Harold!"
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Ethan sank to the floor in the hallway. He felt his consciousness slipping away. He heard the sirens, the shouting, the heavy boots of paramedics. He saw Lily, Ben, and Sophie being carried out, wrapped in blankets. He watched as the strangers entered Apartment 3B, their faces filled with horror at what they found.
The secret was out. The world finally knew they existed.
