Chapter Text
Storybook house. Good school district. Low crime-rate. Friendly neighbourhood. The perfect place for a pair of newlyweds getting ready to start a family.
The morning after their arrival, Alina greets their new neighbours – who are laden with home-baking, casserole dishes and gossip – with a cheerful smile, "do come in. My husband's out right now, I’m afraid. He'll be so sorry he missed you."
As his wife entertains upstairs, Aleksander, down in the basement, gags the bruised and beaten man (lives a few blocks away, all alone, so no one will notice he’s missing for a few days) who is securely tied to a chair. After all, it wouldn’t do for him to make too much noise and force them to have to move again before they’ve even had chance to fully unpack.
“Don’t worry,” he murmurs to their wide-eyed, terrified guest, “I’m not going to kill you … not yet at least. My Alina does so hate the insipid chattering of the dull residents of cookie-cutter neighbourhoods like this, and she’ll need something to vent her frustrations on when they’ve gone.”
The man thrashes wildly against his restraints. A futile endeavor, but amusing enough to watch that Aleksander won’t bother stopping him. Really, they’re more fun like this, when they still have hope they’ll be able to escape alive – once reality sets in, they tend to become dull and boring.
This one seems quite defiant, though, likely to provide hours of amusement, or even days if they have the patience to draw it out.
With a wide smile that shows bright-white teeth, Aleksander selects a small but wickedly sharp knife and settles down into a chair to wait for his wife.