luna mortimer-smith had long learned not to trust anyone, staying in the middle of the woods as to avoid any contact with the dead or any other humans.
one evening, she'd gone out to check her hunting traps like usual. little did she realize, thoug...
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Luna's eyes drooped slightly, the words on the page in front of her becoming blurry. Her head slowly leaned forward as her eyes shut, but she quickly snapped awake at the sounds of coughing. Looking around, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned-it was pitch black outside, the only light coming from a candle on her dresser. She pulled herself out of bed, walking down the hall and pushing open the slightly cracked door. Her stepmother sat in her bed, looking sicker than ever, though Luna knew there was nothing she could do to help.
"I'm sorry, Lu." Lucille spoke, clearing her throat. "Did I wake you?"
"No, I've been up." Luna shook her head. "Can I get you anything? We still have some cases of water down in the basement."
"I'm fine." Lucille shook her head. "Come here." Luna walked across the room, crawling into bed next to her stepmom. Lucille's arm wrapped around Luna's shoulders, and she sighed lightly. "I just wanted to tell you...you've been such a help these past few months. Having you here, it makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Just promise me something, okay?" Luna nodded. "Promise me that you'll be good for your father, alright? He's doing everything he can, for both of us."
"Okay, I promise." Luna nodded. "Do you think he'll be home soon?"
"I...I hope so." Lucille nodded, glancing out the window. "It's late, Lu, you should be getting to bed. Maybe he'll be home when you wake up in the morning." Luna couldn't help but smile at the notion.
"Night, Lucille." Luna hugged her stepmother, feeling her arms wrap gently around her. After Lucille had released her, she slipped off the bed and moved to the door. She turned around in the doorway, giving her smile. "Love you."
"I love you too, Lu." Lucille mustered a small smile, and Luna shut the door. It wasn't long before Luna was fast asleep in her bed, the smell of the recently blown out candle still floating around the room. Down the hall, Lucille was staring at the pile of pills in her hand, taking a deep breath as tears slipped down her face.
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The sun in Luna's eyes made her groan and roll over onto her other side. She laid there for a minute, before the sound hit her ears. The growling of the dead, inside the house. She shot out of bed, quickly grabbing the knife from her nightstand and peaking out her bedroom door. She didn't see anything, but the sound was louder. She slowly moved down the hall, thinking that maybe one had broken through the living room window, when she noticed the writing on her dad and Lucille's bedroom door.
"Don't leave me like this." She mumbled as she read, seeing a heart drawn at the end of the message. The sound was coming from inside the room, so Luna quickly pushed the door open. She froze in place, seeing something she never thought she'd see. Lucille was sitting up in bed, a bag around her head and a zip tie around her neck that was keeping her tied to the bed frame. Her greyed arms were outstretched towards Luna, and the snarls that came from her mouth were only slightly muffled by the bag. Luna couldn't help as she became choked up, dropping her knife as she hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She sank down against the door, unable to help the sobs that wracked her body as she listened to the snarling on the other side.
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Luna shot awake, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. Her sight was slightly blurry, but as she blinked more Carl's worried face came into view in front of her.
"Luna! Are you okay? What happened?" He asked quickly. Luna's breath slowed, and she ran a hand over her face. "Nightmare?"
"Yeah." She nodded, sitting up more and sighing. "It was my uh, my stepmom. When she died, when I found her."
"You okay?" He asked, inching closer and putting a hand on her leg. She nodded as she rubbed her eyes.
"I'm fine." She said. "What time is it?"
"Dunno, I've been up for a few hours, though." He said. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, noticing the look on her face. She nodded, shaking her head lightly and pulling herself together.
"Yeah, I'm sure." She gave him a light smile, though he wasn't convinced. "So, what are we doing today?"
