The Ruins Of Us

Flames Engulf Us

I used to cry so much as a child, something Jake mercilessly teased me about but now, to cry was something captured rarely. Tears came too easily and I despised the relief it granted me. It couldn't be that easy.

To cry was to start a forest fire in our cabin, one that would refuse to burn out until all that was worthy to destroy could no longer be found. It was with this knowing that I pulled my aching legs from the dirt and made my way back to the cabin.

One would think it would always be this simple after six years of peace, but it was when that came into view the tears I dried were breathed back to life.

It stood like a reaper, pointing at me with its scythe, whispering this was it, these coming days were our last. We once used to think a car was an opportunity, something to scavenge, to syphon or act as a temporary place to lay our heads. Now, it was a black raven.

A black four-by-four vehicle with tinted windows of near obsidian sat on a dirt road, it's doors swung open as if those creatures had sprung from the car in a hurry. My body became numb as I rushed back, ignoring my pain in my legs as they pumped forward and back home. It was nonstop.

From the ridiculous fantasy of married life and someone to love and protect, came an invasion of the most sickly possibilities. It was no longer Mum and Dad, but Tilly and Jake sagged on the floor like ragdolls, their faces pale and bodies devoid of blood as freaks feasted on their flesh.

The air smelt of death and far off, a knell played to the beat of my thrumming heart. I couldn't describe thinking while your mind only provided silence, like screaming into the void. I didn't know if I was screaming or if my mouth was wide in order to gather breaths that didn't sustain me.

The fear coursing through my veins was palpable, like butter melting into every crevice and pour upon my skin, skulking through my thoughts like a parasite. I could feel it like the sky coming down on my head- the weight of it was tremendous.

As I ran it was almost like my skeleton was trying to detach from my body and once I saw the silhouette of the cabin, I forgot about the wagon and sprinted with all my might toward my siblings.

There was no monster in sight and I took no precautions as I burst into the cabin.

"Jake! Tilly! Matilda!" I screeched at the top of my lungs, throwing myself into my younger sister's room.

Watching her sit up, her teddy clutched close and eyes wide in terror was better than death. Her body trembling was better than her stone cold, crumpled upon the floor.

"Oh my God, you're alive, thank God you're alive" my voice trembled, my arms unable to stop themselves as I crushed my sister into my body. I pressed multiple kisses to her head, brushing down her hair like I was close to death, curating one last memory. I failed to notice my brother holding an axe tiredly in his grip.

"What the fuck Liv", I looked back, his shadow was in the doorway. His body was heaving with laboured breaths as he caught me in my hysteria.

"The-They're..." my lips could barely form the words, I tried to swallow down my nerves for a few more seconds before continuing. My voice was no more steady than before but, it was when I saw the tears and snot tracking down Tilly's face that I slowly pulled myself from the room.

From where I sat in the kitchen I could hear Jake shushing our younger sister, who now let her sobs break out throughout the cabin, shocking my body into emotional sobriety. I had to only wait another fifteen minutes before Jake joined me. He announced his presence once his axe cluttered to the floor and shoulders deflated with an audible sigh.

"What are you on? Where the hell have you been?", my head remained down until he crossed the room, so quick I couldn't register. His eyes met mine as he ducked under my lowered head. "What were you thinking scaring her like that?"