Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind | Teen Ink

Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind

January 17, 2018
By Christina Hunsinger BRONZE, Harleysville, Pennsylvania
Christina Hunsinger BRONZE, Harleysville, Pennsylvania
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Jack and Lila are on a journey to hunt down their parents. They haven't seen them for quite some time now and are getting nervous. Together, they walk through the Gremlin forest until they come across an old, little house. What they find inside the house changes their lives forever. 

Chapter 1: Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind

Jack and Lila, acting quickly to avoid being seen, duck behind the decaying, wooden, red barn lying on the outskirts of the perimeter. Each breathe large, long breaths gasping as though this were the last air on earth. As Jack coughs, leaning over and staring at the gravel and twigs, Lila peeks around the corner, staying low to the ground. Something seems strange. It is dark outside and cold for an October night, but unseasonably quiet -- despite the trees and vegetation surrounding them. It was then that Lila sees what looks like a path, slapping Jack on the knee, and pointing.
“Look at that,” whispers Lila. The nervousness in her voice was evident to Jack. She takes one step towards the path, but Jack reaches out to pull her back to reality.
“I don’t know about this, sis,” he says with anxiety building up in his throat. “I don’t think mom and dad would approve.”
“Mom and Dad are missing, Jack. This path could lead us to them,” Lila says courageously.
The twins sit in silence for what seems like a decade before Jack finally nods in agreement. As soon as Lila steps onto the path, a sliver of light shines down from the moon to illuminate the deserted walkway. Little critters run frantically trying to seek shelter from the unknown of the Gremlin Forest. Jack and Lila link arms as a sign of unity as they cautiously tiptoe down the trail. After walking as slow as an elderly woman for 20 minutes, they stumble upon an old shack.
“Don’t get any ideas Lila, we’re not going in there,” Jack says firmly.
“Excuse me, but I’m the older twin and I say we’re going in. What if mom and dad are trapped in there and need our help?” questions Lila.
“First of all, you’re older by two minutes, and second of all, if we’re going in, I’m going first,” states Jack.
They walk up to the mustard yellow door of the crumbling shack. Jack pushes the door handle open and the creaking sounds like a witches nail on a chalkboard. Jack and Lila enter the shack with brave faces in hopes of hiding their fear. A lightning strike appears out of thin air and *BAM* the door slams shut.
“Maybe it was just the wind,” Lila rationalizes.
Jack rolls his eyes at her, for he knows the wind isn’t that powerful. They press on through the unfamiliar cabin and the braveness begins to fade very fast from their faces. The twins round the corner by the front room until they are facing the kitchen head on. Lila scans the kitchen which oddly resembles the butcher shop on south 3rd street. Her eyes grow as big as saucers when she spies her parents sitting at a table set for two. She rushes over to them with Jack not far behind.  Tears rolled down her cheeks as she runs over to them, but confusion soon takes over her face as she notices some alarming differences in her parents. Neither their mom nor their dad has said a word to them yet, they were awfully pale, almost as if they’ve seen a ghost, and their pupils were dilated to an extreme level. Jack and Lila could tell something was a little off.
“Mom? Dad? Are you feeling alright?” Jack worries.
The twins spin around at the slight sound of a footstep behind them. A tall, thin man was standing over them holding a large butcher knife. They try to scream but pure horror takes it away before it escapes their lips.
White. White everywhere. That is all Jack and Lila could see when they woke up. They look down at their clothes and realize that they are both wearing long, white gowns and no shoes. When they look up, they see their parents who look the same as they did at the table in the old shack.
“Mom, where are we? Why are we wearing these gowns? Where are our shoes?!” Lila panics.
“Sh, don’t worry honey,” says their mother in a quiet, calming voice. “You’re in Heaven now.”


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece based off of a prompt I was given in my creative writing class! 


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