My Name Is James

Vacation's End

I was in the kitchen of the cabin, reading the note for the thousandth time, when I was startled by my Mom greeting me. I hurried to fold the paper small enough to fit in my NJ Devils sweatshirt pocket. She asked me what was on the paper. "Nothing."

"Oh, come now. We both know you're hiding something. Your father knows. I know. Everyone knows." Her mouth parted into a wide, lopsided grin as she started to chuckle. Dad appeared behind me. He put his cold, wet hand on my shoulder and I whipped my head around to face him.

"What are you hiding from me, son? What are you hiding, James?" He said the words with cruelty in his eyes.

My mom grabbed my other shoulder and whipped me around to face her. She opened her mouth to reveal a second and a third and then a fourth set of teeth, all normal, all human. Her tongue was split in two and she started to hiss. My dad turned me to be facing out between them as he revealed the same mouth. The two tongues slid into my ears as they were whispering, "James... Tell us your secret... The paper... James, show us the paper..."

I was gasping as my eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly. My hands flew to my ears as I sat up and did a quick scan of the room, convincing myself that it was, indeed a dream. My memory floated back to yesterday. My parents were warning me that they would wake me up early to get a head start on the long drive home. Slipping back to the present, I tried best as I could to go back to sleep. Consciousness eventually left me, and I drifted into a light, fitful, and dreamless sleep.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

It felt like only minutes later when I was woken up by the sound of my door creaking open. I hastily closed my eyes as I tried my best to pretend to still be sleeping. The creaking from the door had ceased and I heard steady, rhythmic groans from the floor approach my bedside until the last of that noise was coming from the side I was facing. I sensed my parent reach out and felt their warm touch. I immediately knew which one it was. Mom.

She gave me a gentle little shake and whispered, "James." I was pretending to be asleep and held out a bit longer. My mother whispered again with a bit more forceful of a shake, "James. It's time to get up and pack the car." I scrunched my eyes and mouth as I let out a deep, gargling groan, feigning grogginess.

I rolled onto my back and saw my mom. She was in front of a wall of light, so I could only see her dark outline. I had to suppress my urge to scream and back away as I pictured that long, grotesque tongue slithering out and into my ears. I swiftly shook my head to clear the mirage. The smell of rain permeated my sinuses, as I yawned to make my ears pop and adjust to the pressure.

"C'mon James. It's time to go." she said as she eased off the edge of the bed, and slipped through the door. I dressed and fed myself as I prepared for the drive ahead.

We packed up our suitcases and piled them haphazardly in the truck bed, eager to get on the road back home. It was going to be a long drive, about 10-12 hours long, and the wind from rainstorm was picking up, so my dad wanted to get an early start.

Mom, cautious as always, suggested staying at the cabin until the storm passed.

My dad responded to this with a simple "No way! With my driving, we'll be fine. We'll get home perfectly safe, Hailey. You know me." He slid over to her and lightly pinched her chin with his thumb and forefinger. Mom shrugged and with a slight nod, conceded. "Let's get going, eh?"

Dad motioned for us to follow him out the door. I shut it behind me as Mom took out an old key and inserted it. She twisted the lick and with a terminal *click*, we walked to the big red truck where Dad was waiting in the driver's seat.

Dad was trying to get the engine to turn over when mom broke the silence. "Honey, I just checked the weather. The storm was just announced as a tropical storm. It might turn into a hurricane. It's not safe, and the map says it's going to follow us all the way down the coast."

He consoled her fears and we pulled out of the dirt driveway and onto the gravel path, despite the steadily burgeoning drum of rain, crashing thunder, and lightning that danced silhouettes in the clouds.

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Thank you for reading the fourth part of My Name Is James! It would really mean a lot to me if you voted on this and previous chapters!

Much love, Sophia <3