Wild Minds || Animal Kingdom

0

|||||

Prologue

|||||

Ashton covered her mouth as she watched the bullets fly into her mother's body, her eight year old body trembling as she sat curled into the corner of the closet. She'd been tucked away there when the knocks came at the door, they'd shot her father first then they came after her mother. She sobbed silently, tears rolling down her cheeks as the blood grew closer to the doors; her eyes staring into her mother's blank ones.

The young girl watched the masked man searched through her parents things, pulling out drawers and throwing clothes; stealing things. Her whole body shook, soft whimpers left her mouth. Her mother's last words echoed in her head, if something happens, call Smurf. She'd only met Smurf once, she was a blonde haired lady with bright blue eyes and a kind smile. She gave her strawberry pie, the best kind she'd ever tasted.

The room fell silent, her eyes snapped to the gap in the door. The man was gone. Ashton pushed open the door, stopping when it hit her mother's hand. She could hardly find it in herself to move, she was so scared. The blood soaked the carpet as she crawled through it, tears still falling from her cheeks. She crawled over to her mother's body, her shaking hands moving to cup her face; begging her to wake up.

She didn't stay too long, the feeling of the blood under her knees was making her queasy. She ran to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth, bile rising in the throat. Though, she didn't make it to bathroom as she collapsed on her knees in the middle off the hall, throwing up over the carpet. With shaky hands, she moved to wipe her mouth with her blood covered hand; gasping when she saw her father's shoes in the doorway up ahead.

'Call Smurf,' She whispered to herself; 'Call Smurf.'

She pushed herself up to stand and stumbled up the hall, searching her mother's handbag that had been poured out on the ground. The money and her wallet was gone, but there amongst all the rubbished lay the cracked phone. Ashton turned it on and unlocked it, trying to navigate the phone to find Smurf's number. It was the only contact in there, she discovered, making her task easier as she tapped on it; eyes searching the doorways around her for any more danger.

'Christine, do you have any idea the time?' An unfamiliar voice answered the call.

'H-Hello?' She stammered; 'M-My name's Ashton. My mummy said I-I had to call you if something happened to her.'

'Ashton, sweetheart, are you ok?'

'Mummy and daddy are dead. Some-Someone killed them.'

The line went quiet for a second, 'Baby, why don't you go pack some of your things into a bag and I'll come and get you?'

'O-ok... I'm scared.'

'You're alright, Ashton. Ok? I'll will be there soon.'

'Ok.'

The girl held her phone tight in her hands as she made her way to her room, tucking some clothes and her favourite teddy into her black and red motocross backpack. Then, she sat and waited in the corner of her bedroom; clutching her bag to her chest.