Outside the Fence

CHAPTER 1

I turned around to see my younger brother standing a mere ten feet from the fence. I rushed over to him yelling, "Lloyd! Get away from there!"

When I reached him, I picked him up by the waist and carried him away from the fence. I carried him until we reached the front lawn of our small house.

"What was that for, Lucas?" he screeched in complaint. "I was only looking!"

Looking down angrily at him, I said sternly, "You know it's not safe by the fence!" I let out an exasperated sigh. "That's it. You're never allowed near the fence again."

"But that's not fair," Lloyd squeaked. His voice was wavering and his eyes were turning red. He was close to tears.

I pointed to the front door. "Inside. Now!"

Lloyd glared at me for a moment, then sprinted into the house and slammed the door loudly behind him.

I stood in silence for a while until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw my best friend Travis walking my way. Travis stopped for only a second then he began to jog toward me. Not being very fit, he was panting by the time he reached me.

Travis smiled and chuckled. "Hey," he said. "I was hoping I'd find you." Soon after, the smile vanished from his face and he put his hands in his pockets. "So," he continued, "How is it with just you and Lloyd now?"

"Well..." I hesitated, for I wasn't really sure how to answer. "I guess it's been going better than expected in some ways and worse in others."

"For example...," he inquired.

I ran my fingers through my thick, brown hair and sighed. "Lloyd isn't taking it very well." After the accident, Lloyd and I were still allowed to live in our current house, as long as I took a job. However, Lloyd distanced himself from me, though I tried to comfort him and brighten his life as much as I could.

Travis then ran his hand through his own long-cut hair. "He'll get over it. I guarantee it."

He put his hand up at eye level and I did as well. We then intertwined our fingers and shook hands: our way of making a promise.

Looking back at my house, I said, "I guess I should be getting back. See you tomorrow in class?"

"Sure." He then turned around and headed back down the street.

Wanting to enjoy the nice weather I stayed outside for a little while, but when the sun began to set over the roofs of the houses, I went back inside. The rest of the evening consisted of a spaghetti dinner prepared by me and hours of schoolwork.

Eventually, Lloyd and I went to bed.

CHAPTER 2

I woke up around 1 AM to the sound of the front door opening then closing. It was very faint, but at the same time very distinct.

I pushed the covers off of me and went to the front half of the house in search of any clue of whether someone had been here. Nothing.

I searched the rest of the house and continued to find nothing. The last room I checked was Lloyd's room, as it was furthest from the front door. When I looked in there, I found nothing. Nothing.

Lloyd was gone.

I quickly put on a t-shirt, jeans and a pair of ratty sneakers, and rushed out the door to go searching for Lloyd. I didn't bother locking the door behind me. All I cared about was finding Lloyd.