ON THE WAY BACK from the lake, the two children were dripping wet—much to Lottie's dismay—because their splash fight had ended up in pulling each other into the lake.

The trio was walking through the forest, Marcus and Lottie trailing behind Lee. The further from the waterfall they got, the more familiar silence filled the air.

Glancing over at Marcus, Lottie noticed his solemn expression and furrowed her eyebrows in concern. She nudged him softly to get his attention.

"Are you okay?" The girl mouthed, looking him over as if he had been injured. Marcus only gave a small nod and turned back, causing Lottie to sigh. As she tried to think about what would make him feel better, she ran into the large backpack John had on.

Taking a few steps back, Lottie trailed her eyes to look at what caused him to stop. Her eyes went wide when they landed on an old woman, blood pooling from her stomach. She was dead.

John pushed the kids behind him but Lottie looked up in time to see—what she presumed was—the woman's husband. She glanced to Marcus, seeing his scared eyes and feeling a small pang in her heart.

Her head snapped to the side when the man screamed, and she was swept off her feet by John, literally.

The man took off running at a surprisingly fast speed considering the two children in his arms. Lottie felt her heart rate pick up, knowing the creature was going to be only a few feet away from them.

John set the children behind a tree, motioning for them to be quiet so Lottie put a hand over her mouth. She took slow breaths, calming her breathing as she knew it wasn't gonna do any good to panic.

She pushed her hand harder onto her mouth when the loud screeching of the creature. Lottie averted her eyes from John's fearful expression and instead stared at the grass beneath them. It reminded her of the field they had at school, where she would always play variations of tag and duck, duck, goose.

Lottie wondered where her friends were now. Probably dead.

—————

The sun had set, leaving the sky in a practically starless night. As they approached the hill leading up to the house, the lights were red.

The lights that lead the trail of the house were usually white, but inside there was a switch to turn red in case of emergencies.

Lottie's eyes widened as did the other two's, and as if a switch had gone off inside them, the three took off running. They made it halfway, hiding behind a few blankets they had hanging.

John crouched to Lottie and Marcus's level, handing them a flashlight. "Rocket." He signed, looking them in the eyes. Marcus immediately shook his head next to her and she thought about doing the same before pulling it together.

"I need you to make a sound that's louder." He told them both. The man had desperation in his eyes. "Your mother, needs your help." He said, looking them both in the eyes.

He pulled the two into a hug before sending them off.

Lottie and Marcus ran together towards the fireworks. Lottie hopped over longer pieces of grass, a bit ahead of Marcus as she followed the faint light of the flashlight.

The pair made it to where they had fireworks set up and opened the case. Lottie reached for the lighter as Marcus set them up. After a few tries with shaky hands, the flame met the fuse.

Lottie took a shaky breath and she met eyes with Marcus before running again. Too much running.

After only a few seconds, the loud fireworks went off behind them, lighting the sky with a multitude of colors.

After they made a safe distance, the two started walking. With a nudge and a forced smile, Lottie raised her hand for a high five. Marcus rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, going to meet her hand carefully as to not make noise.

Just as she raised her hands to sign something to him, branches snapped behind her. Both of their smiles dropped quickly, turning to meet the noise.

Marcus shined the flashlight on the tall grass, worry painting his face. Lottie took a few steps back to stand by Marcus, eyes flickering rapidly at the grass.

When a roar sounded, the kids took off running once more.

Lottie whipped her head back to make sure the creature wasn't two feet away from her, but dread filled her much more when she saw the empty space behind her. Marcus was gone.

Her footsteps slowed, turning around fully and scanning her surroundings as her breathing picked up in pace. She brought a hand to her mouth to muffle her cries of fear, running again when another branch snapped closer to her.

She turned a few corners, a breath of relief falling from her lips as she spotted Regan. She ran up to her, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Before Regan had the chance to react, Lottie pulled away with a distressed look.

"I lost him! One of the things were there so we ran and then—and then i turned around he was gone, he—" She signed frantically. Regan shook her head, grabbing Lottie's hands to stop her.

"Its okay, we will find him, alright?" The older girl signed, calmer than Lottie. Lottie nodded, taking a few breaths.

The new pair walked quickly, turning their heads to spot Marcus, but to no avail.

They walked down a small path, and Regan spotted a flashlight on the ground. Lottie's heart dropped as she recognized it, thinking of the worst. Her bad thoughts quickly dispersed when Marcus's hand grabbed onto Regan's tightly.

Lottie smiled as they hugged, waiting for them to pull away before pulling him into another hug.

...hey😓