Chapter 2

Here it is!

Standing in the hall, between Dad's study and the kitchen, “The whole place is silent,” I told Alyssa, “That's what scares me the most. Normally, there would be the sound of the tea kettle whistling, or Owen and his crazily rambunctious friends hollering, and pounding down the stairs. But now, it's just. . . . dead.”

I could see Alyssa shivering in her boots, I shivered in my jacket, suddenly feeling cold despite my parka, boots, and crochet scarf.

After searching through the kitchen,  and through the living room, we froze in the dining room.

"What's that sound," whispers Alyssa.

I shivered, "The back door. Daddy never got around to fix it."

Footsteps stomped along the hall, then stopped, in front of the kitchen entry.

---

"Scarlet, Alyssa, where are you?" called a deep voice, cracking on my name.

Sighing, standing, I said, in a normal voice, "Over here, Wyatt!"  

Alyss asked how I knew it was Wyatt.

"His voice always cracks on the t of my name. It sounds like Scarlet-t.

Just then, Wyatt walked into the room. “Hi. What rooms have you guys searched through already?” He asked. Trust Wyatt to get straight to the point. He obviously didn’t notice he scared the living daylight out of us. Boys.

“Alyssa and I have searched through the kitchen, living room, and this room,” I said, ticking them off on my fingers. “We have the study down here; and upstairs, Mom and Daddy’s room, Owen’s room, Astrid’s room, my room, the two bathrooms, and the homework room.”

“Homework room?” Queried Alyssa.  

“That’s my name for it. Owen and his friends go there to do ‘homework’, although it normally ends up in a series of wrestling matches.”

“How about an attic or a basement?” Asked Wyatt

Nervously, I replied:”I think we’ll do those last.”

“All that's left is the attic,” I said, gulping. I really hate the attic. When I was 10, I had a sleepover, and we played truth, dare, double dare, promise to repeat. Astrid double dared me to go up there without a light, and chant ‘Bloody Mary’ 13 times. I never got over the experience.

Fortunately, Wyatt, who had heard about the dare, had brought three, high powered flashlights. Unfortunately, he forgot to check the batteries.

We decided that Ally would start at the end closest to the door because as terrified of the attic I was, times that by about a gazillion, and that's how terrified Ally was of spiders. Anyone who has ever read Spider's Night when they were 10 would be.

Wyatt and I started from the far end. No sooner than we had taken a half dozen steps into the maze called the attic, that my flashlight flickered, and died.

It didn't help that Wyatt had stumbled and had dropped his flashlight, which had rolled under old bed covered in a ghostly white dust cover.

I looked around. I screamed. I was standing right next to the Bloody Mary Mirror!

I could hear Alyss asking if everything was alright from the other end of the attic.

It took seconds for Wyatt to find me, but it felt like it took centuries. I was curled up in a ball, sobbing. I saw every second of that terrible dare flash before my eyes.  Suddenly I felt strong arms wrap around me, rock me back and forth. I heard faintly heard a voice reciting Psalms 23, The Lord is my Shepherd... I started to calm. I was relaxing. I looked up.

It was Wyatt reciting the psalm. For some reason, I thought it was Alyssa.

He gave me a little squeeze and helped me to stand up. I told him I was a little shaky, but fine.

Wyatt recovers his flashlight at about the same time Alyssa reached us.

We continued on our way through the maze of old furniture, and reaching the door, I said, “Can we finish this another day. I really don’t feel like going through there again.”

“You’re not the only one.” Commented Alyssa, “ I’m going to be kinda busy because I’m going on my first study date, with Edward Blyron, the cutest boy in school!”

“My brother?!?!” exclaimed Wyatt.

Alyssa just stared at him for a minute.

“Oh! He said he had a little brother, I just didn't make the connection, him being blond haired and blue eyes, and you being brown haired and brown eyes.”

Wyatt just rolled his eyes and started down the stairs.

Thanks for reading!

Abigail

Chapter 1

Hey, Everyone!
Here's Chapter 1!


Chapter 1
Eerily, the blue moonlight filtered through the thick, old and odd, wrenched cedar trees, some looking like twisted, contorted figures, casting creepy shadows. Huge, grotesque gashes slashed through the bark, revealing wood stained in red. Struggling stunted, gnarled saplings, around me, knots and holes forming horrifying faces, leering at me.
Branches creaked. A wolf howled. Screeching, an owl swooped a shrill, hair-raising, echoing sound. I screamed! I panicked. I ran and dead leaves crackled and lifeless tree limbs snapped
. I stumbled, as a tree root snatched at my foot. As I got up, I saw it. Inside one of those terrifying gashes, a hand mark printed in red, and the word Rache. Revenge!

     I woke up, panting, beads of sweat mingling with the tears running down my face.  I just stared at the ceiling, not really seeing it, trying to calm my racing heart.

My name is Scarlet Adams, and I’m fourteen years old. I have a secret, two, in fact.
My father knew or found out somebody’s horrible, terrible secret, and because of that, I’m the only one of my family who wasn’t murdered.

After it happened, I found myself alone, in the streets. So, I went to the foster care agency. They took me in and found some distant relatives of mine.  I’m currently living with Aunt Bianca and Uncle Donald, or Aunt Bi and Uncle Don, as they told me to call them.

However, I can tell that me living with them is a strain mostly because of the dream. It plagues me every night, ever since my family disappeared.
I know they were murdered, though.  I can feel it, in my heart.  Also, I could feel it!

People, mostly well-meaning busybodies and muddling police officers, who think they know what happened, said it would be impossible to ‘feel’ what had happened, but none of them have a twin.  My twin sister, Astrid was there.
We share everything; we have a connection that’s almost unnatural.  I think the person in my nightmare was her. That’s why I dream it every night.
There are a couple good things in my life currently. Jesus, obviously. Then my best friend Alyssa, and my friend, Wyatt. Alyssa is always ready to pray with me when I go through this ‘troubling time’. And Wyatt, he always ready to put in his two cents.
“Scarlet! It’s time for school, dear.” Called Aunt Bi.
If only she knew why night after night, I don’t sleep well. It doesn’t help that they’re not Christian.
“Coming!” I called.
Slipping on my clothes, I glanced at the clock, and rushed downstairs.

Since it happened over Christmas break, and the newspaper hadn’t been running, the news of the tragedy hadn’t spread, so I was dreading the questions of why Astrid isn’t with me, why my little brother, Owen, wasn’t starting high school this year.
“Hi!” called Alyssa, trying to be heard over the stampede of teenagers.
When she caught up to me, she took one look at my worried face, and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“I am so nervous. I just know that I’m gonna be bombarded by hundreds of questions about my family.”
“Yes, you will be.” Assures Alyssa.
“You’re not helping!”
“I know.”
She cracked a smile, and that’s all it took to make me laugh. Lately, she’s the only one who can make me laugh.
After school, “Alyssa, do you want to come with me to go to my house, and look through Mommy and Daddy’s house?” I ask, and I realised I call Dad Daddy. It must be because of what happened. Turning,  I repeat the question for Wyatt’s benefit.
Wyatt had to go home, but he said he could come in half an hour. Alyssa could come right away, though.
After walking through the forest, I stood in front of the door, actually dreading to open it. I said a quick prayer and slid the key into the lock.



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Abigail