Run and Hide

Chapter Thirteen

Salty pieces of popcorn and sweet cookie dough bites fell into my mouth one by one. The savory and sugary mix complimented each other perfectly. The Notebook was on, it was the best sappy love story, they always roped me in. Tears flowed down my face at the end of the movie, I needed to calm myself down.

Scrolling through the other channels, I came across an interesting documentary. As I'm getting into it, I notice something familiar about the house. It was ours, and I truly knew nothing about it.

"This haunted home is known as The Murder House. This seemingly normal bedroom had something sinister happen behind the walls. A hidden door on the other side of the mirror haunted investigators for years to come. Detectives found the body of young Cynthia Flowers; she had been murdered by the person who was supposed to love and protect her; her own mother."

I gasped, remembering her disappearance. Cynthia was only seven years old when she vanished from her home in the middle of the night. But she was home, dead within the walls.

"Ghost hunters investigated the home in hopes of finding paranormal activity, they were successful. Now, I am going to show you real footage of what was captured that night." The camera man followed the direction of noises coming from the kitchen. A little girl with long black hair stared into the camera, then static covered the Tv.

Turning it off quickly, I pulled out my laptop to do some research on the house. There have been thirteen documented murders, I have only seen a handful of spirits since we moved in. "Why are you up?" Dad asked, sleepily sipping his coffee. "I couldn't sleep, the documentary I watched about our house was interesting..." I cleared my throat.

"Did you know the history of the property?" I questioned him, he nodded. "We already knew, that's why it was so cheap on the market." My eyebrows furrowed; I couldn't help but just stare. "Go to bed, I don't want you walking around like a zombie all day." Taking Dad's advice, I headed up to my room and fell asleep as soon as I hit the mattress.

The darkness startled me as I looked around the room. My phone screen lit up, it read Nine O'clock. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, I could hear humming coming from the kitchen.

"Mom? What are you doing up?" I asked, confused. Mom's blue apron was wrapped around her waist, her hair was up in a messy bun. "Would you like to help me finish putting in the chocolate chips?" As much as I wanted to help, something felt wrong. I smiled at her, "actually, I don't think I should be, I feel a little nauseous."

Slowly stepping backwards, I walked back down the hallway. Peeking in on Sophia, she was asleep with her back turned away from me. Cracking the door, I went to go find Dad. Flicking on the bedroom light, I looked around the bedroom. As I rounded the corner, my legs gave out.

Dad was lying face down on the floor, blood was splattered across the beige carpet. Running out of the room in a panic, I headed to Dane's room. If seeing Dad dead wasn't enough, finding Dane made it that much worse. He was stabbed and beaten; Dane was almost unrecognizable.

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but I struggled to breathe at the thought of who I've lost. I couldn't reassure them that everything was going to be okay, comfort them, or say goodbye. My heart was ripped out of my chest, and it was because of my mother.

I heard mom's feet dragging down the hallway, she was scraping a metal whisk against the wall as she moved closer to Dane's room. "Nate, Nicole, you can come out now. There's no need to be afraid. Cookies are cooling on the counter, they're red velvet." Weight fell off my shoulders slightly, hearing she didn't kill Nate was relieving. I watched as she passed Dane's room, it gave me a chance to run and hide.

Quietly entering my bedroom, I hid where they found Cynthia. Shining my light around the crawlspace, I noticed something. There were small holes along the wall, just enough to see through, but not be seen.

Following the holes, I looked through each one hoping to see Nate.

While searching for him, I was also following mom. Her paleness was concerning, it was as if I was looking at a ghost. Her eyes were droopy and bloodshot, it felt like my nightmare from the other night; it scared me.

Approximately the eighth hole down, I spotted Nate hiding between the couch and side table. Continuing along the crawlspace, there was another door. Bunches of clothes hung on the hall closet rack, I swiftly left to go get Nate. "Let's go, I have somewhere to hide and get help."

Once we were deep into the crawlspace, I turned and hugged Nate. "Mommy is sick, we have to stay away and safe." I whisper, trying to control the shakiness in my voice.

I called the police while holding Nate close. I was relieved someone was coming to save us, but sad knowing mom was going away, and the police would soon see why.

Nate and I were escorted out of the house with a backpack each. While we sat in the back of one police car, mom was handcuffed in another. Nate wouldn't stop staring at her through the tinted window, I knew he was scared and saddened by the fact she was capable of such horrible things.

As the police car started moving, Mom and I locked eyes for a second. Her stare was empty, there was no emotion. Going down a gravel road, we pulled up to a large building that read Little Whispers Home for The Lost.

Officer Casey walked us up to the door, I could see sadness showering over his face. "I am so sorry about the things you two went through tonight. I will do everything in my power to connect with your family, but this must be home for now. If you need anything at all, here is my personal number." He hands me a small, laminated card, I tuck it away in my pocket.

"We'll work on a sleeping situation in the morning, but for tonight you can sleep in the den." Wrapping my arms around Nate, I thank her for taking us in. "It's going to be okay, buddy. We need to keep our heads up and hope for the best." He holds onto Douglas tightly, falling asleep in my arms.

On the news:

"Pregnant mother attempts to murder her whole family. Three have been pronounced dead at the scene, one is in critical condition. Renae Duncan has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and will remain in Ross Institution until further investigation."