The Vacation

Raven and her family go on a lovely vacation at their Cabin, but things don't end with scary stories around the fire. They become the bone chilling story.

Raven sat on her knees. She could feel the muddy grass seeping through her jeans. Her gloved hands laid on her thighs and her tears streaked her filthy face. She could feel her heart thudding against her rib cage like a trapped bird in a cage. Her hair fell over her face like a chocolate brown river that ran from under her knitted cap and framed her face in ringlets. The images of her fallen family crowd her mind. Red splashed against white does bring out a beautiful contrast doesn’t it? Death seems peaceful, but Raven does not wish for it. She has run miles and miles in the numbing cold to find the safety and warmth of another cottage.

Her family and her were on vacation. They had spent the weekend in a winter wonderland. Drinking hot chocolate until their tongues were stained brown and eating cookies until their stomachs felt like a ton of bricks. Even now she can feel the hot liquid rushing in a chocolaty brown river down her throat and she can still see the crumbs littering the empty plates. It was a normal night when the door was kicked from its hinges and shots were fired. She had dropped to the floor with her oldest brother and he had wrapped his body around hers.

Two shots went off and then the sound of crumbling books hitting the floor filled the room. Her head shot up and the screams of her younger sister, Anna,  echoed off the walls. Their mother and father were on the floor unmoving. Her older brother, Sebastian, took no time and had both girls to their feet. He rushed the two of them through the hallway and pushed them into the cold and threw them their winter essentials. He grabbed his coat, but didn’t make it out. The sound of crashing rocks ringed throughout the woods and pain froze on his face. He fell like a dummy and the man behind the gun walked into the light. His features were sharp and his head was bald. He pulled back the hammer of the gun and pointed. She snatched up her sister and was able to pull her to safety, but she herself was scraped in the arm. The stinging shot felt like a bee had plunged into her arm. She didn’t have time to react and she ran with Anna.  

She ran until she felt they were safe. She turned to speak to Anna, but before a word escaped blood splattered her face and the snow. The shock stopped her heart for a second, but then she was on the move. Miles later she had to stop. She kneeled and sat on her knees.  She could feel her heart thudding against her rib cage like a trapped bird in a cage. She hadn’t lost him. The shot rang and the blinding light took place and all pain stopped and her heart fluttered like a butterfly one last time.