Chapter One: A Whisper (pt1)

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"Shhh." I hushed, my heart was pounding furiously in my ears, but I could only focus on the tear-stained faces of my little sisters, well, of the two that were awake, "Quiet." I whispered nervously, "I-I think they're coming back."

That only set off a high-pitched whine from Camila that made me want to smack her quiet. Instead, I pushed her dirty face into my collarbone and rubbed her back with a shaky hand.

"Shhh. No llores."

Thankfully, the echoing gunshots didn't wake up Olivia and Eva because then we'd truly be screwed. Their crying would draw in whatever monsters had come back to the nursing home like moths to a flame. And this time, Abuelita and Tía Esther wouldn't be here to help us.

Isabella squirmed, trying not to shift from where she was sitting in the corner with Olivia snoring on her lap, "What do we d-do? Is it them?"

Doors were being opened and closed, people were going through the different rooms... searching for something. It wasn't Mamí or Papí. It couldn't even be Alexander. There were too many footsteps for that and they hadn't come straight to our designated hiding spot first.

"I don't know." I whispered back, she opened her mouth again but I hissed, "Quiet!"

The footsteps that echoed throughout the hall were as terrifying as the growls of los muertos... so much so that I kind of hoped that it was the dead coming into the nursing home instead of people. However, quiet, hushed voices -definitely not dead then- were moving closer and closer to the auditorium where we'd been hiding under the stage for the last couple of hours.

I pushed Camila closer to Isabella and motioned for her to wrap Camila into a hug. Poor Camila was covering her mouth with trembling hands, and her eyes were shut forcefully, so only Isabella saw me press a shaking finger to my lips before I started to crawl toward the white vent. Isabella shook her head in fear but stopped when I gave her a hard look and pressed my finger to my lips again. We- I needed to know.

I needed to know if it was them.

I crawled carefully on my hands and knees, avoiding the bags and emergency supplies that'd been stored under here for safekeeping until I made it to the vent. I didn't push my face right up against it like an idiot, but peered through it from the side instead so that whoever was out there couldn't see me.

"-best bet. Cleared a few rooms, we could barricade those if we have to. We'll be alright." a male voice reassured the others. His voice sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd heard it before. I heard a woman make a snide comment, but it was hard to make out their whole conversation since they were all whispering.

I almost couldn't see anything, not over the still figures of Abuelita and Tía from where they'd tried to cover the big vent with their bodies. I ignored the smell coming from- and the flies. All I saw were legs at first, but behind the leg of a table, I saw something that I hadn't seen the first time these assholes burst through the nursing home with their guns... I saw a kid. A boy and then a girl... they both looked around my age and definitely not like killers. Before I could get a better look, Olivia's distinctive cry pierced the air for a moment before it was quickly smothered.

I couldn't hold back the full-body flinch if I'd tried.

"Shh." another deep voice commanded the group, "Did'ya hear that?"

Another whine came from Olivia, and Isabella's terrified, "Shhhh!" reached my ears as the whine was smothered once more.

Dios.

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