I woke to the sound of a bird blaring the most annoying song right below my open window. I suppose it was my own fault for leaving it open and I know father would be so mad if he found out. However, the previous night was so hot it was worth the risk of being found out. Or so I told myself as i got out of bed and walked toward the horrible sound. As I reached up to close the frame i noticed a large slash in the screen. It hadn't been there the night before I was sure of it. A sudden chill came through me and I turned from my room, leaving the offending aperture for the time being. As I crept through the small house I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. My father and mother should have left for work by now and should have taken my little brother to school. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I wasn't alone in the cottage-like home I had grown up in. My entire body was on edge as I crept down the stairs silently, avoiding the last step that creaked if any amount of weight was applied. Choosing to jump the last step to avoid making anymore sound, I gently landed on the upper pads of my feet. My nose was bombarded with a sick rusty smell as soon as I made my way through the kitchen. The smell made all of the small hairs on my body stand to attention, alerting me of an unknown danger.
"Mom?... Dad?" I cautiously spoke out, knowing they would hear me from anywhere in the house.
There was no answer however and my heart sank at the possibility that it was not them that my body was alerting me to. When I rounded the corner to the living room, the soft light from the TV illuminated the dark space. Although it was day the curtains were drawn and lights off, a typical precaution of my father's that he would normally remedy when the morning sun appeared. The fact that he had yet to do it, made me even more nervous. The rusted-metallic smell grew even more potent and had me desperately trying not to gag. My nose had become much more sensitive as i approached my eighteenth birthday. Something that was usual for our kind, and a large reason for the precautions my father took at night and in life.
When I made my way around the room, towards the sofa, my foot landed with a slosh into a wet spot on the carpeted floor. When I lifted it, the substance with thicker than water and the rust smell was multiplied ten-fold. At that moment I knew something was seriously wrong and my imagination had not gotten the better of me. Although, I would have preferred if it were so. Although the sickening smell had my mind screaming to turn around and leave, my dread of what I would find behind the large couch kept me moving forward. My head reached to look on the couch and I sighed when nothing was there. I was about to turn back and walk out of the room I noticed something large on the ground near the Television. When I looked at the form, my eyes adapted to make out what it was. I noticed the hair first, a gruesome sight I will probably never get out of my mind. The hair was attached to my father's form, his completely blank expression as he stared at me, should have let me know his fate. Not believing it, or maybe just completely in shock, I knelt down beside him.
"Daddy" I whispered, barely getting the words out. "Please, Please,Please" I kept chanting as I touched his cold face. "Please Wake up".
Knowing this was useless but not knowing what else to do, I cried as I held his large hand in my small one. After awhile of quiet sobbing, I got to my feet, now covered in my father's blood, and walked through the rest of the house. I climbed the stairs to find my mother, not knowing what I would find. The smell was back as I entered her room. Finding her was easy, as she had not even made it out of bed. I cried more for my mother as she lay there motionless and cold. I could not go looking for my four-year-old brother. My parents were one thing, but to see his life cut so short would truly drive me mad. So I sat there at the end of the bed and cried for my lost family. Guilty for foolishly leaving my window open, for living, and for causing the death of three of the most important people in my life. I knew the danger and I did it anyway. My selfishness awarding my family with the cruelest of fates.
The thought that I lived through this ordeal entered my conscience. Why had they left me alive? What was the point? Was this just to torture me with being the one survivor? The thought plagued my mind until the faint sound of soft breathing reached my ears, and I realized I wasn't alone.
I slowly got up and walked around the room trying to distinguish where the breathing was coming from. The sound was shaky and barely audible but to my ears it was distinctive. The breathing became slightly louder as I stepped closer to hallow boards in the wall near my parents bed. This was a hiding place I was fond of as a little kid. My parent built it under safety procedure, should the hunters come looking for us one day. No one but our family knew about it and this gave me hope for my little brother.
I walked toward the boards and knocked lightly three times, this was the safe knock that our parents talked about often. When nothing happened I realized my mind had been playing tricks on me and my brother was most likely dead also. I sighed and started to walk out of the room. Only to hear the creak of the boards open. Whipping around in time to see My little brother Aiden peep his small blond head out of the opening.
When his giant green eyes connected with my dark blue ones, they filled with tears. Running out of the hiding space and jumping straight into my waiting arms. The relief that flooded my mind was earth shattering, as I held my baby brother in my arms.
"Tawin..... I'm..... scawed" his soft voice choked out between sobs. It broke my heart as he held onto my shoulders tightly, cuddling into the crook of my neck.
"I know buddy but it's going to be okay now, I've got you" soon his sobbing stopped as a stroked his back lovingly, whispering encouragements in his ear. His hiccups were the only thing left of the break down and soon he pulled back to look at me with the saddest look.
"They were so mean Tawin" he said still hiccuping. "They aren't gowing to come back awe they?"
"Don't worry little man they won't hurt you anymore. Can you do me a favor though?" I asked him softly. He nodded his head in agreement. "Good, can you go into your room and wait for me there? I'll only be a minute" I said when he grabbed onto my neck tightly.
"But..." he said frightened
"I promise, count to sixty and I will be right there before you know it" I smiled reassuringly. He nodded once more and slowly left down the hall to his room, counting loudly.
I tried not to look around the room as I collected the things we needed. I went to the safe, also tucked in the hiding place Aiden had been in earlier, and quickly turned the combination. I opened it, taking out the a set of passports for myself and Aiden along with all of the money. I grabbed the License that said I was twenty-one and also the birth certificate claiming I was Aiden's mother. My parents had known this day was coming and had prepared for every option and outcome. I heard Aiden counting to fifty and quickly gathered everything into my mother's black one shoulder bag, and left the room. As I reached Aiden's room he was on fifty-eight.
"See I told you I would be back in a minute" I said to him smiling slightly at the relieved look on his small face. "Where is Gary?" I asked of his favorite stuffed Giraffe.
He pointed to the bed and I grabbed it quickly as I moved towards his closet. Grabbing his Spider-man backpack, I started to stuff his clothes into it. When I was finished I went to the bathroom with Aiden in tow and grabbed both of our tooth brushes and any other toiletries we might need. I then went into my room and began putting my necessities into a backpack of my own.
"Tawin, where awe we gowing?" Aiden asked as he watched me pack the last of my things.
"Away for a while bud" I said as he looked up at me with a tear stained face.
"Awe we coming back?" He asked innocently
"Maybe one day kid" I smiled knowing I was flat out lying.
"Here Take Gary and your bag and put them in the car" I told him as we got outside. He did as I asked and hopped into his car seat buckling himself in. I went to the garage and pulled out two new license plates from a box underneath the tool bench. As I switched them, I thought about how drastic our lives would be now.
I went back into the house and turned on the stove, blowing our the burners. I quickly left and grabbed some gasoline from the garage. Pouring the gas on a wooden 4x4 I took the lighter from the jeans pocket. Lighting the wood I threw the stick through a window and ran toward the car, quickly dring down the road. The Explosion was heard from a mile away and I thanked God no one lived near by. I regretted not giving them a proper burial, but this was the right thing to do. We couldn't have the hunters or the Police on our tails. \
As we drove, I thought about what I would have to do now. I could no longer be the self-centered teen I was before today. Now, I would have to be strong for both Aiden and Myself. There was no more relaxed living, we would be simply surviving. On the run from the hunters that killed our parents.