"Bye Howler!" two campers shouted with a bright smile as they hung out the window in the back. Ericka chuckled, watching the bus leave and her dark red hair fell into her blue eyes. She was admiring her camp shirt that was covered in dirt and grass stains along with campers names.
"Another summer has come and gone, hey Howler?" a fellow camp counselor said. The girl wrapped her arm around Ericka's shoulder with a smile, "You heading to your next job?" she asked brushing her blonde hair out of her face.
Ericka shook her head, "Nope, Lillypad. I am heading home and sleeping for the next week," she chuckled before heading to her vehicle, parked by the sports field. "I'll see you next summer and I'll let you know when I get home!" Ericka shouted, getting to her car. She got in the driver's side and drove off, cranking up some tunes, rolling down the windows to keep herself awake for the drive home.
About an hour later, she pulled into the driveway of her parents house. Ericka noticed something was off, the house was dark and all of the blinds were closed. "Mom always leaves those open..." she said to herself softly as she turned the car off. She got out of her little dark blue Honda Civic and bolted to the back door. It looked like the lock was picked and then kicked open. She slowly pushed the door open and her hand instinctively went to her front right pocket. Ericka slowly walked through the house and heard a scream from upstairs.
She ran upstairs to her little sister’s room and saw her two younger siblings huddled in the far left corner of the bedroom. Ericka looked around the rest of the room and noticed a dark figure in the opposite corner of where her siblings were. Her hand squeezed her pocket and felt her pocket knife, very tempting to pull out. "Ricky! Don't get too close to it!" her youngest sister shouted. The figure in the corner opposite of them hissed at her and the girl squeaked; she kept quiet after that.
Ericka's eyes narrowed and she removed her knife from her pocket. The figure stepped into the light shadows with an evil smile plastered to his face. "What do you want?" she growled as she held the knife. The figure was now more visible and Ericka realized it was a man. She watched him look at her knife and then to her little sisters in the corner. He didn't say a word, but he stalked towards the terrified young girls. "They're off limits you bastard!" she shouted and pointed the knife to the cloaked man. She lunged to try and maim the man, but he dodge it in a split second without turning to look at her, "Turn around you little bitch, so I can--" Ericka's vision went black and she collapsed to the floor.
"Sissy!" both of her sisters shouted. That was the last thing Ericka heard before silence.
~*~*~*~*~
Ericka groaned in pain and woke up in her bed. 'How did I get here?' she thought to herself. She sat up and tried to get up but couldn't. Her littlest sister walked in the room and had tears in her eyes. "Alyx, what's wrong?" Ericka asked worriedly. She scooted over a little and patted the bed for her sister to climb up on.
Alyx sniffled and climbed up onto the bed. Her blonde hair stuck to her small round face and she pushed it away, leaving blood stains on her cheeks. "Mommy is gone...daddy is gone..." she said softly as tears strolled down her cheeks once more.
Ericka looked at her five year old sister and saw her ten year old sister in the doorway with tears in her eyes. She looked down at her five year old sisters hands and saw blood on them and now on her face. Her heart raced and she started to panic. "What happened to mom and dad you two?" She asked hoping it was just a bad dream. Alyx took Ericka's hand and dragged her to the living room. "Maxie, are you coming with?"
Her ten year old sister, Maxie, nodded as she brushed her brown hair from her face. Ericka could see memories of what happened in her sisters green eyes and she knew this wasn't a dream. Ericka flew down the stairs and saw their mother lying at the bottom of them cold and motionless. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes but she batted them away with her eyelids. "Damn it..." Ericka said under her breath.
Her sisters huddled behind her frightened. "Ricky, where's daddy?" Alyx asked. She looked down to her baby sister and knelt down to be at her level. Maxie climbed on Ericka's back, wrapping her arms around her big sister's neck.
"Alyx, I'm not sure where daddy is. I don't even know why this happened...or who did this," Ericka said softly hugging her baby sister, "But whoever did this, is going to pay..."
"Ricky, I think the guy already did pay...look," Maxie said as she pointed in the corner of the living room. Ericka got up, picking up Alyx with her and walked over to the corner of the room. She saw a pile of ash on the floor just under a window with the blinds cracked open to see the sunlight slowly dimming.
"How long was I out for?" She asked as she set her siblings down on the couch. Alyx shrugged and Maxie got up to get something from the kitchen to drink. "Did you two put me in my bed?"
Alyx shook her head, "No, a really large doggy did," she said as she cuddled into her big sister. Her eyes became heavy and she closed them dozing off. Ericka smiled and brushed her sister’s hair from her face before grabbing a blanket from the top of the couch.
"Sleep tight Alyxandrea," Ericka smiled, kissing her on the top of her head. She looked up and saw Maxie walking in with a juice box and a long note. Maxie was reading the note and she almost dropped her juice box, "What is it Max?"
Maxie looked up at her older sister a little shocked, "The note...it's from dad, Ricky..." she said handing her sister the note and sitting on the other side of her, making sure not to disturb her little sister’s slumber.
Ericka looked at her sister and then the note and read it out loud softly to herself, "Dear girls, I'm sorry to leave you and your mother alone, but there is something I need to do before I come home again. Stay strong and stick together. There is a place close to school where you can stay for a while until I get back. They're the Connerton’s and they know you'll be arriving soon. Please stay on your best behavior for them. I am sorry I couldn't save your mother, but even if she isn't there physically, she is always with you no matter where you go. I love you Ricky, Maxie and Alyx. I'll be home soon. Love, Dad." Ericka's blue eyes filled with tears and they fell gently to the paper, letting it soak through before she crumpled it, throwing it across the room. It landed on their mother’s body and the girls didn't move.
"Ricky, why'd you throw it!" Maxie growled as she got up to get the note. She picked it up and looked at her mother's neck a little closer, seeing bite marks of what seemed to be fangs of some sort. "Sissy...c--can you come here...and bring your phone..." she stuttered. Ericka looked at her sister and raised an eyebrow as she slowly got up, making sure not to wake Alyx. She walked over to Maxie and took her phone out to use it as a flashlight. Ericka looked close to her mother’s neck and saw two bite marks. She took a picture of it to examine it a little more on her computer.
"I'll do my research on this okay, right now, we need to pack up some stuff and leave," Ericka said now being the woman of the household. "I'll pack some stuff for me and Alyx, you just get what you need and we'll be gone tonight," she said.
Maxie nodded and hugged her sister tightly, "You were out for a few hours to answer your question from earlier. It's eight pm now, but I'm just glad you're okay...I don't know what I'd do without you and mom..." her voice cracked a little as she pulled away to head upstairs. Ericka watched her sister leave to go to her room and pack and back to her baby sister asleep on the couch. "I love you, Ricky."
"I love you too, Maxie," Ericka said with a soft smile across her lips, "and don't worry kiddo, I'll never leave you." she said softly, turning back to her baby sister. Ericka walked over to the couch and picked up Alyx bringing her upstairs to keep an eye on her as they packed. She walked past Maxie's room and watched as she slowly packed clothing and her favorite stuffed bear she always slept with. "It'll be okay Max. Dad will come back and things will look up. I promise."
Maxie looked over to her sister who stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes. "Why do we have to leave? Why can't we just stay here, Ericka?" she cried.
No one in Ericka's family really ever used her real name, they always called her 'Ricky', even her friends, but when she heard Maxie say it, her heart broke. "Maximum..." Ericka whispered before walking into her sister’s bedroom. She set Alyx down on the bed and sat down on the edge of it, patting the seat next to her for Maxie to take a seat. She wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl in a side hug and rocked her side to side as she spoke, "Max, we need to leave because it's dangerous here. Who knows who else is going to come and try to take you two away from me and dad. Dad wants us to be safe and I do too. I don't want this to happen again without protection sweetheart," Ericka explained and kissed Maxie on the forehead gently. "Now come on, I'll help you finish packing. It won't take me long to pack for Alyx and I. We will be leaving at nine for the Connerton’s, okay?"
Maxie nodded and hugged Ericka tightly once again before leaving the bed and continued to pack her suitcase. "You can go pack, I'm good with packing myself," Maxie said softly and Ericka nodded. "I'll watch Alyx too."
"Okay kiddo, thanks. Meet downstairs in an hour," Ericka said as she left the room to go to her bedroom. She had now noticed how large of a mess it was, someone had trashed her dresser and makeup vanity looking for something. "What the hell..." she said under her breath and picked up some things to take with her. Ericka saw her moon necklace on the floor and picked it up, putting it on since she had forgotten it that morning. She had remembered the stories her parents had told her on how they had given it to her when she was born and that it was the phase of the moon when she was born. Ericka quickly packed up her clothes, stuffed wolf and a picture of her family happy before zipping up her suitcase and going into Alyx's room to pack. She headed to Alyx's room and saw she had already started packing, "I thought you were asleep."
"I was, but Maxie woke me up to pack. She didn't want you to have to do more than you need to," Alyx said as she threw all of her stuffed animals in her suitcase. Ericka chuckled as she watched this and shook her head.
Maxie walked up behind her and hugged her, "I am just looking out for you like you do us sis," she said. She let go and walked around to the front of Ericka to see a smile on her sister's face, but instead she noticed the necklace. "I--I think that's what the guy was looking for when he went in your room before you got home..."
Ericka looked at her sister confused and Alyx ran up to her agreeing with Maxie, "Yeah, that's exactly what he was looking for. Where'd you find it?" she asked as she pulled hers out from under her shirt. Max did the same and Ericka's legs almost gave out.
"I found it under my clothes that were thrown on my floor...what would he want with these though..." she said in wonder and looked at her sister’s in confusion.
"Come on...we need to go," Ericka said, quickly packing some clothes for Alyx and zipping her suitcase. She headed down the stairs in a hurry and went to the back door with her keys in hand and purse across her body.
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