Finding Out

1st Night of peace

Gunshots. Screams. Fire. Blood. It was everywhere. The lifeless eyes of those I love, staring at nothing, as if gazing at the stars. My helpless voice, screaming into the night, heard by deaf ears. "It's your fault. All of it is your fault." A voice whispered to me, their breath caressing my ear. I turned, no-one was there. Cackling was heard from somewhere on my right side. I felt unusually....angry. "Come out! Don't be a coward! Step out here and show me your face!" I heard a growl. "I am no coward! I am a powerful person! But you, my darling, you are defenceless, helpless, scared." I turned, shame overcoming my features, and looked to stare at my parents, but only, they weren't there.

I looked around, fear overcoming me, as I tried to find them, but couldn't find a trace of their bodies. It was as if they vanished into thin air.

Suddenly, they appeared before me, blood on their faces, their clothes, their fingers pointing at me, accusing me of something I never did. Their mouths opened, and out came bugs, barging right past my face, as they searched for a new home to live in. "It's all your fault. All of it is your fault." They said in unison. I looked into their sunken eyes, and saw my desperate face in their irises. My eyes became watery, my breath fast, as I thought hard of what was my fault, but nothing came to mind. "Mum, dad, what are you talking about?" But they kept on chanting that it was all my fault, their fingers still pointing at me, as if they were performing a ritual.

"See, darling? Even your parents think - wait, scratch that, - They KNOW it's your fault." The voice said, expressing the 'Know'. "Darling, don't deny the truth. You know it was all your fault. Just say it." I shake my head, not knowing what this anonymous person was talking about. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Seriously?" The person cackled. "I thought you were smarter than that."

The mysterious person stepped out. I could see that the person's face changed. From my mother's face, to my father's face, to my sister's face, to my friend's face, until I saw my face. My angry face. The mysterious person turned towards my parents and set out a simple order for them. "Kill her."

My parents stopped chanting, their hands dropping to their sides. Their eyes rolled to the back of their faces, their mouths closed, and when they opened them back up again, their sharp teeths were covered by a pool of blood, inside their mouths, dripping down the sides of their mouths, onto their clothes.

"Kill you." Their voices sounded guttural, as if they hadn't spoken in years. Before my mind could decipher what they were doing, they tried to grab at me, their hands holding onto my tee-shirt, but before they could bite me, I pushed my mom's chest, silently begging for her forgiveness and stepped on dad's legs, as they let out howls of pain. And before I knew it, I was running for my life.

"HELP! HELP ME! ANYONE!" I ran past trees, dodged hanging branches, jumped over logs, looking back a few times to see if they were following me. They were behind me, their faces murderous, promising something bad, and i ran past a tree that had a hanging branch. I ducked the branch, grabbing hold onto it, making sure to pull hard, and before my parents could understand what was happening, the branch went flying back, hitting them in the faces with a loud 'THWACK' and they both fell back, unconscious.

Feeling victorious, I ran a few more metres, before slowing down next to a giant tree, my right hand resting on the trunk as I panted, wiping at my sweat, trying to calm my fast-beating heart. My chest hurt, my throat tight as I tried to breathe properly, my left hand resting on my heart. I realised I was the only living creature here, the light barely visible, shining on the trees, making them look like they were glowing.

I heard footsteps, and my heart felt happy as I was jumping with joy. I ran towards the footsteps and faced the person with joy. Or two people with joy. My joyous eyes went wide with horror as I took in the appearance of the two zombies before me. My parent's faces looked as if someone or something had tried to rip their faces off, but did not finish.

I tried not to vomit, as their bloody faces were distracting me from trying to run away. My feet were planted to the ground, as my body froze in terror of these two wild animals. "Master wants to kill you." My heart that was once beating normally, beat faster, as if I had run a marathon just before. "Please, please, I'll do anything!" My desperate voice was the only sound in this deserted forest, aside from my heavy breathing and my beating heart.

Before I could stop them, their hands grabbed at me, pushing me towards the floor, as I screamed in surprise, and whilst I fell, I saw that I was back in front of the house, the fire eating at the whole building, burning it to ashes. I saw a shadow step over me, and I looked up to see my own face staring back at me, a malicious smile on her face, as she held a gun in her hand, pointing it straight at me.

"Pity on you. Shame on you. Should have thought first before you killed them. Now it's your turn." She snarled savagely at me. She flicked off the safety grip and put a bit of pressure on the trigger. "Die." And the loud gunshot was the only thing that was heard and my silent scream, howling in the night.

"BRITTNEY! WAKE UP!" My eyes flew open, as my lungs gasped greedily for air, taking in big gulps, as someone was silently crying besides me. "You were screaming again, and I couldn't wake you up." I tried wiping off the sweat on my forehead, as I faced my younger sister. She kept on crying as I reached over to rub her back, feeling guilty that I did this to her.

If only that man hadn't done this to us, to her. If only he could have spared their lives, letting them live on, so we wouldn't have to experience all this terror. "It's okay, Brooks, it's okay. I'm here." Suddenly, out of the blue, she screamed at me, her face contorting into rage, as her hands fisted.

"IT'S OKAY?! SERIOUSLY?! THEY'RE GONE, BECAUSE THAT MAN KILLED THEM, AND YOU, OUT OF ALL PEOPLE, IS SAYING IT'S OKAY?! IT'S NOT! THEY'RE GONE! BECAUSE OF A RECKLESS MAN! IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE HIS SIDE, TAKE HIS SIDE, BUT DON'T DRAG ME DOWN WITH YOU!" Brooks' face was red, her breathing uneven as she tried to control her anger, as I felt guilty. Somehow, I sometimes think this is my fault. All of this. But also, I felt anger bubbling up my throat, as I thought of what I had to go through. She never even asked what had happened, she was never concerned for me, and now, she thinks I'm taking sides? Like, does this girl know what I went through? I never take sides, and I never drag anyone down with me, she knows that.

"Look, fine, if you want to think like that, just think like that, but I'm going to sleep. So don't disturb me. Even if I'm screaming." I roll my eyes and sigh as I lay down once again, trying to find some sleep. But I was disturbed when someone lay down next to me, their arms circling my waist as they hugged my back. "Sorry, for everything. I just feel scared sometimes, i mean they're gone, and nothing can bring them back, but i just wish they were here, besides us. Maybe this is our punishment, you know, for farting while they were trying to do their grace." I chuckle as I remember that time we both laughed hard out, we even farted whilst they were doing their grace, and we got grounded, but it was a happy memory. I felt tears prickle at the corner of my eyes, as I thought of them. "I really wish they were here too, but, whatever happens, we go through it together, okay?" I felt Brooks nod. "Okay, now go to sleep. School tomorrow." My whole mood dropped as I thought of school, because I HATE school. "Okay, nightie-night." Brooks squeezed me tighter as she whispered goodnight. That night, my dreams were peaceful, for the first time in months.  

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