Upside Down

(37) Every Last Breath

Chapter 37

Death : Abominable :: Life : Wonderful

Blood.

Lots of blood, so much I could feel that acid liquid feeling of vomit almost rising up from my throat. I looked around and nearly screamed at the chaos around me, at how everything in my family's beautiful house was destroyed. Pictures broken in chunks of glass on the floor, a side table crushed and cracked, holes in the drywall.

I could only pray my family was safe.

"Charmaine!" Kriss screamed and ran towards the stairs.

I followed and felt my heart skip as I looked at Charmaine in front of Kriss, laying on the stairs with blood crusting parts of her blonde hair and soaking through her ripped blouse, staining it black around her wound. Her breath came out in short little choppy in-takes as her widened eyes flashed around the room, landing on me. "Em-Em-Emer-Emerson," She breathed, shaking with every inhale.

"Charmaine, oh god, hang in there. It'll be alright." I told her as I knelt down beside Kriss and set a hand on her thigh. "What happened?"

"T-They just came ... out of nowhere," She choked out.

"Who?" I questioned even though I already had a good idea of who.

But Charmaine didn't answer as her breathing slowed and she didn't move again.

"W-w... Charmaine! No!" I cried and I felt Kriss sob beside me. "No."

Crash!

My head shot up from looking down at Charmaine just as someone screamed and I felt my blood boil. Those bastards!

"Kriss!" I looked at her, tears staining her pale face but as she looked up at me I took note of the fierce look on her face and I couldn't be any more proud. "Kriss, I need you to find a safe spot-"

"Emerson," She cut me off, pulling us in the direction of the scream. "There's no time. I know these monsters and the safest place for anyone right now is to be together. Trust me."

We ran through the kitchen, following a trail of fresh blood and the growing sound of struggles. We brust through the back door to the backyard ... to find nothing. Just the forest behind our house and puddles of blood staining the ground in the dead silence.

"T-they should be right here," Kriss whispered to me as we looked around, stunned.

"Hello, Kristina," A soft voice cooed and we both turned back towards the house with a jump.

Anger coursed through me as I looked that stood in front of us and whom I could only describe as a movie star, a model, a woman with heavenly beauty. Her face was a soft tanned color with fox like angles, high cheek bones, and perfectly done make-up.

"It's so nice to see you again, dear," She smiled what would seem to be a loving smile but when I noticed Kriss flinch under the woman's look I could see the icy cold look in the woman's eyes. "You know, after being gone so long I would have thought you'd be happy to see me. I even brought everyone here to see you, see?"

Kriss froze, sniffed the air and slowly looked around and only then did I noticed the creatures hiding in the woods, tall, dark, silhouettes. Each one was eight to ten feet tall and completely covered in hair, standing on their back feet with their shorten muzzles raised in the air to bark and howl.

"Well, almost everyone. You-know-who was being a little cranky this morning so he had to stay home," The woman said with a faint smile as if she was talking endearingly to a close friend about a mis-behaving son.