Welcome To The Family

True Horror

 It was somehow even hotter inside the house than it was outside. I stayed behind Finn as we followed Gabe. My eyes scanned over everything in the house. The furniture was worn and old, but nothing seemed out of place. Not a drop of dust or dirt was anywhere in the house.

They walked through a kitchen and into a dining room. A family finishing dinner was around a wooden table. The man at the head of the table looked up at us when he heard us enter. His lips curled into a smile as he pushed his plate away from him. He stood up and strolled around the table with his hands behind his back.

There was a woman at the other end of the table. Her dark hair was full of grey streaks. She had not even turned in her seat since we entered. Her back was to us and she was pushing her food around her plate. Two boys also sat at the table.

"Who do we have here?" the man asked.

"Dad, this is Lindsay and Finn," Gabe said. "They are lost. I said that we could help them."

"Of course we can."

I looked around the kitchen and my eyes fell on some weird structure in the corner. Metal jutted out from the wall and a shower curtain hid whatever was behind it. It looked out of place in the meticulous house.

"We just need a map," Finn said.

"Jenny," Gabe's father put his hand on the woman's shoulder. "Go upstairs and get some maps."

The woman nodded her head. She kept her gaze on the floor as she got out of her chair and walked around us. She headed up a large staircase, and her steps creaked as she walked around upstairs.

"They have two friends outside," Gabe said. "Do you want me to bring them in?"

Gabe's father snapped his fingers. The two boys' heads turned to face him.

"Boys, go out and get the others," Gabe's father said.

Their chairs screeched as they stood. Finn let out a nervous chuckle and held his hand out.

"That's not necessary," Finn said. "I think we should be going."

"That's not going to happen," Gabe's father said.

I yelped as Gabe grabbed my arm and yanked me back toward his chest. There was a click and then something cold and sharp pressed into my neck. By the horror on Finn's face, I could tell that Gabe had just held a knife up against my neck. His other arm was wrapped his arm around my body and pinned me to his chest. Gabe rushed out of the house.

"Listen, man," Finn said. "We'll go and we're not going to say a word to anyone."

"You're not going anywhere," Gabe's father said.

I screamed as I watched him pull his own knife out of his pocket. In one swift motion, he flicked his wrist and forced the blade deep into Finn's back. Finn cried out. His face contorted in pain as he fell to his knees. I shrieked. Gabe threw his hand up over my mouth. I clawed at his hand as I tried to rip it free.

There was another cry, and I recognized it as Alyssa. I was afraid to move my head to look because of the blade against my throat. She came into view, and one of the boys had a fistful of Alyssa's hair and was pulling her into the kitchen. The boy looked to only be a teenager around sixteen years old.

Finn was struggling to try and get up on his knees. He was screaming and panting for breath. My heart ached to watch him in so much pain.

"Wyatt!" Alyssa screamed. "What are you doing to him?"

"Shut up," the boy said. "Get on your knees."

"No!"

The boy rolled his eyes before swinging his leg out and kicking the back of Alyssa's knees. She screamed and fell to the floor. The boy did not let go of Alyssa's hair.