House of Memories

Chapter 1 - Never put Poisonous Spiders in your Sister's Hair

I might of taken it too far with the snakes.

Sure, the spiders may of been a tad extreme, but the snakes were probably overdoing it. Probably. I couldn't be sure until Taylor woke up.

"Aaah!" sounded a scream upstairs.

Yep. I overdid it.

"Luke! If you caused this, I swear I'll ask Elder Davis to banish you to The Grove!"

That's my sister Taylor for you, always thinking of her greater good, and getting the town Elder into our petty problems.

But of course, I'm a better person than that.

Sometimes, I wonder if me and Taylor are even related.

I rolled my eyes. That threat was made so often that it's lost its entire meaning. No one wanted to go beyond Fort Redwater's walls anyways. Elder Davis said it was too dangerous for someone to survive longer than a few days. Rumor had it that five men went out to explore one day and never came back. That was twenty years ago, my parents say. No one dares to go to The Grove. But now, everyone you pass says it like how someone would say a name. Every minute or so. It just became an insult overtime that became even more overused. I found it quite insulting for The Grove's sake, even though I've never been there.

"You can try!" I called back to Taylor smugly. "We all know I'm Elder Davis's favourite citizen, though!"

Taylor snarled and stomped down our wooden stairs and onto our main floor. We lived in a small old-fashioned two-story building near the center of Fort Redwater. It was one of the more larger houses in our town, since we were related to the Elders. My mom, Shelby, always said we didn't need anything special just because of relation. My father, Neil always chastened her for her opinion, saying we should be grateful that Elder Davis was generous enough.

Sometimes, I questioned my parent's relationship.

Taylor came into the room with a snake around her neck and spiders dangling from her hair, bird droppings smeared all over her nightgown and arms. Her gray eyes blazed with hatred.

"Luke Samuel O'Brian! I swear to god when dad gets home, I am going to tell him you-"

"Relax," I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall. "If you're worried about dad finding out, you're fine. Ima go clean it all up now."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Taylor cried, tossing her head. A spider fell to the ground with a small plop. When she saw the spider, she screamed again. "Is that a black widow?!" Taylor hollered.

I smirked. "Maybe,"

"Luke!" She yelled, glaring at me. The snake around her neck stuck its tongue out.

I blinked at her innocently. "What?"

She blinked back at me and huffed, spinning around. "You're insufferable!" She growled.

"It's a gift." I answered smugly.

She stormed back up the stairs, leaving a trail of spiders and bird feathers in her wake. I smiled to myself, making a mental note on my victory. What was the total, 45+ victories, now? I had lost count a few weeks ago. All I knew was that I was winning. Taylor never made a comeback.

Now, don't think I'm that kid who's mean to their older sister just because. Believe me, Taylor deserved it. Even if I'm the guy, she's still the oldest. She gets all the glory, and rubs it in my face constantly. She also makes fun of me for not having friends and makes a show in front of guests how stupid I am. Sure, I didn't go to school, which was the reason why I wasn't the brightest, but I had good reason. The Fort Redwater education system was a bust. But that wasn't the only reason. Something was up with Redwater, and I wanted to figure out what.