Another school project.

You may notice that not only does this hardly seem school apropriate, but you also may notice how short, and how often I simply skip along to another area. This is because I'm hardly used to writing a story in three pages. I was attempting to write suspen

 

The light flickering off her face was a rare sight in her household. It bounced and fragmented off the tears of one woman's nose as she stubbornly refused to believe the words and sounds and poured into her mind. One conclusion led to another as her heart began to sink.

What displayed in front of her, was real.

“On Thursday, September 30^th, John Brakenstein broke loose from the county jail. Eye witness reports say he is most likely hiding in the Arbuckle mountains in southern Oklahoma. All searches have come up empty. Please, if you have any information on this suspect please --”

Why she cried perplexed her, surely everything was fine. But at the same time the strange, motherly sense began to scream for her to take action. The light still screening information on the suspect, she picked up the phone, and quickly dialed a number.

“Hello?” The electronic voice broke through.

“Yes...uhm...scoutmaster Barry?”

“This is him.”

“Hi, this is Lucy Garren, my little girls are in your troop.”

“Yes! Fine girls!”

“Yes, well, I know the troop is camping in the Arbuckle mountains this week, and, I was curious if that was still rolling through.”

“Yes, we departed days ago, did your husband not tell you?”

“Were....divorced. Either way, I want to know when they'll return.”

“Well, were all packed, and should be leaving tomorrow. I wouldn't worry, were on the northern side of the mountains. Your talking about the Brakenstein incident I presume?”

“Yes yes....they're okay?”

“Yes ma'am, were on a completely different side of the mountain. You have my word, your daughters are safe.”

“Could I talk to them?”

“uh, sure, one second please.”

There was silence for a moment. Shouting poured in though the receiver as chaos seemed to break loose. Words were screamed, though none she could understand.

Her heart raced. Panic raised up in her chest as the screaming grew more and more confusing.

“M-Mr. Barry?”

No voice broke through.

“Mr. Barry!” She screamed into the receiver.

“Y-yes?” He said, back again, calmness spreading.

“W-what was that?” She said, panting.

“Well...ma'am, we have a problem. You see, we uh, can't find your daughters. They, must have wandered off I...”

“You lost my daughters!?”

“Well, in a sense, yes, but were sure they just went off for a walk, or, maybe to the bathroom. Listen, ma'am, everything will be fine. Just...”

“You lost my daughters with a killer wandering around and you want me to calm down!”

“We are on the opposite side of the mountains ma'am, guards are posted. He couldn't possibly get to us.”

She sighed, falling back into her seat, her eyes wide, her hand slowly letting go of the phone. Her heart rate quickened, and a dull pressure began to form on her back. She moaned out in terror as confusion washed over her. Thoughts raced as her mind slowly decayed. She wondered what had caused this pain. When her mind began to produce the last fragments of thought, she remembered her heart history. A small tear ran down her face as she slowly died, pain coursing through her, the receiver still open, and her heart, broken.

“Lucy? Seriously, this is just whack.” The small girl said, her green skirt getting caught in a few bushes. “Lost...again.”

Slowly, three girls tore their way through thick underbrush. Clothing, caught in the varies trees, ripped and tore. One led the pack of three. She, being the oldest, and the tallest was seen as a sort of leader, and naturally, the smaller girls who followed suit, looked up to her without question.

“Well! It's not my fault! Seriously, you should try navigating this place! It's all a shithole!” Lucy screamed, untangling a branch from her shirt.

“Uhm...Lucy...that's not a good word. Mommy really wouldn't like that word...”

“Mollie, shut up, seriously.”

“Yeah Mollie, seriously.

Mollie was the youngest, and undoubtly, the most innocent. She followed mommie like “a poor lost puppie” as her sisters would sarcastically remark. But she didn't honestly care. She was what mommy wanted her to be, and she liked things that way. The ridiculing she received from her sisters was not at all insulting, it more closely boarded on annoyance than anything else. But she loved her two sisters, no matter how naughty they could be.

“Hey Lucy?” Mollie whimpered from the back. “How long will we be lost?”

“Forever.” The middle girl snapped.

“Casy! Please be quiet! I asked Lucy.”

“Well...” Lucy began. “In a shithole—I'm sorry, poop corner like this, it could be forever.”

“What're we gonna do then!” Casy, the middle child screamed.

“Well, for now. Were gonna sit, and try to sleep. I don't care where, I just don't want to walk. This...poop...corner isn't gonna end soon so...lets just do what our trust scout manual says and...sit tight.”

“Okay!” Mollie chirped. She sat. Her legs, her sore legs throbbed from the near endless walking that had been done that day.

They all sat in a clearing that was a small enclave from the sea of underbrush that surrounded them. The brush here was torn away, and small piles of it rested around the area. The leaves, laid pushed away to the edges, and trees were ripped from the ground. Whats interesting is; the girls never noticed the human effort that went into making the area around them. All they seemed to notice, was the vague fatigue that seemed to never fade away.

“I'm hungry...” Mollie cried.

“Well...I'm sorry Mollie ya just gotta ignore it for the night alright? Tomorrow they'll find us.”

“Yeah Mollie! They'll have like a bagigazillion helicopters zoomn' around looking for us!” Casy exclaimed.

Either way, time wore on, and the hunger grew. The girls tried to shrug it off, and tried to accept the uncomfortable landscape as home.

Sleep soon settled in, as the girls accepted their mistake.

Several hours later, Mollie awoke to the sound of brush slowly being pushed aside, and trampled. It was clear that whatever it was, was trying to be silent. Though, Mollie was a light sleeper. The girls around her, snoozed quietly.

It stepped again. She gasped, her eyes dilating to the darkness as she desperately began to search for the sound.

“H-hewow?” She whimpered, tears beginning to stream from her face. Fear welled up inside of her. Terrible, bloodsucking beasts tore through her mind. And for a moment, she could see the thick outline of some terrible monster, but it faded away, a sick mind trick.

The noise rang out again. And her heart beat in a flurry of fear. She wanted to run. Oh! How her legs desperately wanted to dash from the area, never to look back. But she couldn't, fear tattooed her to the landscape as the creature, stepped once more.

“Who...are...you...” A slow, thick voice cried. “Who....are...you!”

“No!” She screamed, throwing her arms into the air. The darkness, the thick unforgiving darkness corrupted her surroundings. No longer were birds softly fluttering from one tree to the next. No longer did the sun slowly beat down on her. Instead the painful silence, mixed with her racing heart dominated the air.

Only darkness...

“A child?” The voice said, soft, and surprised. “Awe..c'mere little baby. Do you want a hug?”

The noise once again tore through her mind.

“No closer!” She bellowed, falling to her knees.

This, woke the sisters, who were, up to this point, sleeping soundly. It took them a moment to realize the situation. They rushed to their sister, pulling her up from her knees.

“Mollie...baby...bad dream?” The oldest one cooed.

“No...” Mollie screamed. “There's a man...he's here, a monster behind you!”

It was then that everything grew still. Light, painful bright light lit the area around them. A large circle swooped through the area as Lucy felt a hot sting rip through her.

“Away from my child!” The man screamed, ripping the knife farther down her back.

She let out a soft mumbled cry as she fell to her knees, and eventually the ground. The last face she ever made, haunted Mollie.

And so they ran, not understanding the rushing, swooping sound that went on above. Aliens, large aliens must be killing them. Killed their sister, their big sister. Their friend.

Casy screamed at her sister to get up, not moving from the site of her sisters death, while Mollie slowly tore her way through the underbrush.

“Will you hurt my child?” The thick voice whispered in Casy's ear.

“No...shes not your child....shes my sister shes my sister! She's not your child! You killed my sister you...you killed my sister! Why would you do that! She did nothing to you!”

It was then the noise stopped, replaced by mumbled cries that Mollie never heard.

She hid behind a rock, several meters from her sisters lasts moments. The light grew closer, and soon, it came over her.

The strange craft called out her name, along with her sisters names, before lowering a small rope ladder to her. Shakily, she wrapped her hands around the hard rope, and put her feet on the dangling steps.

It was getting cold out, and slowly the helicopter began to raise up the ladder. Her heart, confused, and her mind, delusional imagined the monster once more, tearing away her sisters lives. And for moment, she thought it was all gone, just a small figment of her imagination. And hopefully, she would wake up, and the cold nip on her neck wasn't the wind, but merely a fan on her bedside. And so, she lived with that, merely a fan. Mommy would wake her up soon. And she would grudgingly go to school, halfway wishing the dream were real. She smiled slightly, thinking that she would sacrifice her sisters, to not have to go to school. How absurd. Mommy wouldn't like that much.

A hard grip appeared on her ankle, pulling her from the ladder. Her shoes were pulled off as she stubbornly held on to the ladder. It was hard, and it hurt her ankle. The helicopter though still raised up the ladder, unknowing of the monsters existence.

“Help!” She bellowed, Kicking at the monster. “Save me I--”

A shot rang out. It was loud, and at her young age, she knew not what it was, but the grip loosened, and then fell away.

Once in the helicopter, a young man removed the rifle from his shoulder, and gently placed Mollie on the seat of the helicopter.

“It's going to be alright.” he said, yelling to be heard over the rotating torrent of metal above them. “That was a bad man, but it's alright! Now...where are your sisters?”

Mollie looked down, tears streaming from her face. “It doesn't matter!” She screamed. “This is all just a dream anyway...right?”

“This isn't a dream Mollie!”

“Dream...just a fan...mommy will wake me up...just a dream...mommy will...”

“Mommys at home Mollie! Hurry, we need to find your sisters.

And for a second, Mollie did feel the soft warmth of her mothers embrace, and though she would never feel it again, she never forgot it. And never in her life didn't she forget her sisters, no matter how naughty they were. And every night she would sit up, and rub her ankle, for it was the last time, anyone had ever loved her.

Author's Note

Nag at me if suspense isn't grand!