Lockwood Highschool Breach

Chapter 14

Cassidy

It was dark and cold... So cold... Cassidy found herself back at home, laying in the comfort of her bed tucked away under her covers. It was much more peaceful here. Nice and quiet. The room was dark but a splinter of light came in from the hall, her door cracked open and the sweet smell of pancakes wafting up from downstairs. The tantalizing scent seemed to hug her nose, filling her room as if her mother had the stovetop right outside her door. Cassidy got up slowly, rolling out of her bed and making her way out of her room. Going downstairs she entered the kitchen to see her mother happily flipping pancakes, her father sitting at the table reading his newspaper like usual and her little brother sat in the living room playing with his toys.

"Good morning~" Cassidy greeted them with a lazy smile and lidded eyes. Her voice echoed, bouncing off the walls as if she were in a cave. She walked over to her mom and hugged her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder as she peeked down into the pan at... nothing. "I can't wait to eat~" Turning her attention to her father, she walked over and left a peck on his cheek. "Any good news?" He took a sip from his coffee mug and shook his head.

"Nothing really, sweetie," he said in his husky voice. Just like the pan her mother cooked with, the paper he held was completely blank. "We just have to stay here. Aren't you glad it's the weekend? We can spend all our time together here, safe in the house."

"I'd love that," she replied with a smile. Cassidy looked up and over into the living room at her sweet little brother. She walked over to him and sat with him on the floor; he was playing with his toy dinosaurs, making little sound effects and smashing them together in a fight. She blinked slowly as she watched him for a moment, a big goofy grin spread on her face. Here she couldn't help but smile, eyes never fully open, but she didn't mind. She reached out and pat the top of her brother's head and he looked up at her, seeming to not have noticed her until now.

"Cassy can play!" he said with the adorable slur of a toddler. She agreed and took one of the toys he left sitting on the table. They both started to make growling sounds and laughed together as they made the small toys fight. Any small moment with a family member here felt like it lasted for hours, but the time of day outside never seemed to change. She didn't mind... She was with her family and that was all that mattered to her. She wondered how her friends were doing... She hasn't talked to them in a while.

Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the front door. Cassidy turned to look before getting up and leaving her brother to continue playing. Her body swayed as she walked, another goofy smile appearing on her face as she got to the door. The handle burned as she grabbed it, jolting her from her stupor and giving her the first feeling of awareness she's had here. She blinked a couple times, fingertips tingling like there was a current of... something flowing from the door. From the outside world she hasn't seen here.

Opening the door, she was greeted by an ugly creature. It's jaw was hanging loosely and its exposed teeth were bloody, the thick red liquid dripping on their welcome mat. The thing was pale, pasty white skin not hiding a single vein that protruded from its body, clothes torn, filthy, and hanging off of it like it had been washed down a rough stream and ended up in a pile of mud. Its eyes... Its eyes were so lifeless, nothing but glowing yellow orbs in the sockets. It just stood there, breathing slow and ragged.

Cassidy tilted her head at the thing, previous smile long gone. The creature turned its head in a swift motion to look past her into the house, its neck cracking from the movement. Her brow furrowed and she took a step back, heart hammering in her chest. "Dad..." The call was weak, echo even more noticeable as there were no other sounds in the house; no sizzling pancakes, no crumpling of paper, no toys slamming the table. She waited for a response as she backed away a little more, eyes refusing to leave the mysterious thing.