• The knife sliced through the chilly night air, again and again, as it continued to make incisions in the dead bodies that had once been my parents. The killer wouldn’t stop; he just kept going and going, even though my parents had been dead for a while. As for me, I was bound to a lawn chair, unable to do anything. I was being forced to watch this repulsive and malicious sight, while tears of hate and agony and sorrow trailed down my face. I am only 16, I thought to myself. No one should have to suffer through seeing this. My heart was torn for my parents, now brutally strewn across the backyard, as though they were nothing more than poultry. Backyard. The place where we spent many nights talking and roasting marshmallows, so close, such a beautiful family… grief shook my tired body as I realized that those would forever be memories of the past. Desperately, I tried to block out the scene in front of me by shutting my eyes tightly, trying to remember the kind faces of my parents, instead of the mutation that was now their bodies. I tried to remember their smiling faces, always glowing. The memories gave me a sense of serenity, but of course, that feeling couldn’t last more than a few seconds. A soft sound brought me back to reality.

    “Sis? Andrea? You are not moving…” an urgent whisper reverberated in my ears.

    “Andy? Are you ok? Why are you here? Where have you been? Where is the killer? Oh my gosh,” a flood of questions flowed out of my mouth as I recognized with pure joy that my little 7 year old brother was safe. I remembered, right before the killer had broken in, and right before he had forced my parents out to the backyard, Andy had run upstairs to play videogames. He had most likely not even noticed the killer was there, until he heard the screams. But alas, he was a smart boy and stayed safe, in his room. And I was grateful for that. He had not been forced to witness the death of our beloved parents. His life had not been crushed like mine had. And most importantly, he was still alive. Seconds after, a feeling of dread engulfed me as the image of the killer materialized in my brain.

    “Andrea! Alive? Yay! The killer? He went somewhere… but I don’t know where! But we gotta go! I will get these strings off you! Ok,” he spoke quickly, trying to process all the questions I had asked. And before I could do anything to stop him, he started untying the rope around my wrists. He kept glancing up, fear in his watery eyes.

    “Go! You need to leave! I know he is close by! I can feel it… please,” the tears rushed down my cold face, my voice coming out in a choked whisper. The ropes had fallen from around my wrists, now he was on to my ankles.

    “But I can’t leave you! Andrea I am almost done! Hold on,” he partially shouted in a hurried tone. And then the ropes came undone, off my ankles. I was free. The momentary feeling of freedom evaporated with a quickness that left me breathless. Emptiness mixed with fear pierced my heart the second I saw the killer from my peripheral vision. He had come out through the back door, the bright light of the stars glinting off the menacing knife that was stained a deep red. It was mesmerizing in a sickening sort of way. With that thought, I shook my head rapidly from side to side, trying to find a way to cool my mind. Somehow, now I was standing up, my hand grasping my younger brother’s hand with a power that secured us as one: family. And before my heart stopped beating from sheer terror, and before my legs became frozen from pure impulse, I put one foot in front of the other.

    And then I was running. Running across my backyard to the woods that lay directly behind it. Running with a speed that I knew I didn’t possess. Running from this monster that destroyed everything. Running not for the safety of myself, but for Andy. Running for my only family. Running because he was the only thing keeping me going. Running because I needed him even more than he needed me. Running.

    Was it for 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 20? Or had it just been a few seconds? I had no idea. The only certain thing was that the full moon was still shining brightly, just at the peak of midnight.

    Realization hit me. I had no strength left. And I knew my brother had no strength left. We couldn’t keep running like this, like marathon runners racing to the finish line. And even if we could, by the time the murderer caught up to us, we would not be able to fight back. We were powerless. I glanced back at my brother, who was now dragging himself. He was no longer running, in fact he was barely even moving. Fearfulness darkened his eyes, and heavy tears were pouring from them. The sight of my brother being hurt pushed me. I kept going, pulling my brother along as if he weighed nothing more than a rag doll. Then I saw it.

    Then I saw it. The haven in the middle of the woods. The tree house. Memories clouded my vision as I saw dad building the tree house, out of love and care for his 2 children. And I saw mom bringing lemonade for him as he worked each and every for a month on this tree house. All for us. I saw Andy smiling as he climbed up. I saw me dancing around in there, all alone, just out of happiness. The memories shattered, leaving me even more broken than before. But it was something that had to happen. It brought me back to reality, the reality where I had to fight to keep my brother and myself alive. I picked up my brother, whispering silently to him about how tall and muscular he was getting, and how I was barely able to pick him up. As I neared the tree house, I assured him that everything was going to be okay, and we just needed to stay together, and that family is forever. I felt as though I needed the assurance more than him, but nonetheless I think it gave him a rush of hope. Reaching the ladder of the tree house, I set Andy down slowly and gently. He slowly opened up his dark eyes, and gazed at the tree house as a look of recognition flitted across his features.

    “The tree house…” he murmured to himself as he gradually brought himself to a standing position. I motioned to him to start climbing, and as soon as he began, I climbed up right after him. I saw him disappear over the top of the ladder, and I quickened my pace, not wanting to lose sight of him for even a second. Finally, I reached the top and peered into the darkness. I saw a shadow within the tree house, and crawled over to it.

    “I am scared, sis,” Andy spoke quietly, fear was very prominent in his voice. I hugged him tightly, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

    “It is all gonna be alright. This will all be over soon,” if only I could feel as confident as I sounded as I whispered those words.

    “You promise?”

    “Of course,” I managed a weak smile, and even though he couldn’t see it, I am sure it brought hope to our situation. And on that note, I heard rustling outside. I stopped breathing, and strained to hear the noise. It was getting closer. Andy felt me tense up and immediately began to whimper.

    “Shh… keep quiet. I need to listen,” I almost silently whispered to my little brother as he began to shake. He simply nodded his head, and I felt him making an effort to stop shaking. Creak creak creak. The ladder groaned as someone, or someone, scaled up on it with ease. My eyes shut involuntarily, and my arms clamped over my little brother’s shivering body as I made one last effort to protect him. Thump thump thump. It was getting closer. My heart was beating so loud I swore that it was echoing off the dead trees in these dark woods. For the last few seconds, I could hear my heart going as fast as it had ever gone before. When I felt the hot breath on my neck, I almost screamed in horror. But something stopped me. For some odd reason, I knew this wasn’t the killer. I felt an aura of… of… I felt an aura that did not contain any evil.

    “Hey, hey. Calm down. We are here to help. We found him. He can’t hurt you anymore. He is handcuffed in a cop car right now. You kids are safe. Everything is gonna be alright, trust me,” a voice spoke softly, kindness and knowing embedded deep within his words. My eyes opened, and I smiled. I hopped up and hugged the police officer, who jumped in surprise, but hugged me back gently. I gazed up at him, my eyes shining with gratitude. Agony still lingered in my watery eyes, but I knew, deep inside my heart, that everything was going to be okay. I just had to believe. I let go of the officer, and took my brother’s hand. We looked at one other, and it seemed like a promise was made at that moment: he was my family, and I was his family. Love, hope, family. 3 things that would help us on the road to recovery. Everything was going to be alright. I knew it.[/b]