I Found You

The Limping Man.

"Who's that?" I pointed at a man in the distance who seemed as though he was having trouble walking.
"I can't tell from here," Tessa said, shrugging.
We were at the park, humming along to the music on my iPod until I paused it to investigate the man. We swung on the swings for a little longer, just watching the man slowly but surely limp towards us. He was almost at the entrance of the park, making us slightly worried because of all the stories of those 'weird men' our mom would tell us.

As he got closer to the entrance, his legs got wobbly and he fell flat onto his stomach. We looked at each other then back at him. He reached out his arm which indicated to us that he needed help.
"Come on," I commanded, jogging to the man, Tessa following. As we got closer, his features became more grotesque. His eyes were blood shot and his teeth were terribly stained. His veins were almost popping out of his skin and his clothing was violently ripped.

"Oh my goodness, we have to take him to Mom!" I squealed, "Sir, we're going to help you, you'll be okay. Tessa grab his left arm, I'll grab the other and pull him up." Tessa stepped over him and gripped onto his arm. The man slowly turned his head, clicked his jaws together, sunk his teeth into her flawless skin and took a deep bite out of my sisters wrist. She let out a blood curling scream as he continued to carve through her tissues. It took me a moment to process this. I let his arm slip out of my grip and I pinched my upper arm. The flesh between my fingers stung and reddened. I wasn't dreaming.

"Tessa!" I screeched. I grabbed her arm and yanked it out of his mouth, sending us both onto the grass. She screamed and cried into my jumper and the man crawled towards us. He no longer looked human.
"No!" I shouted, and kicked him in the stomach with my chunky boots, which didn't seem to make any impact on his well being at all. I pulled Tessa onto my back with one quick lift and ran as fast as I could back home.

Home was only around the corner but it felt like forever to get there. As I was running I looked around for someone to help, but there was no one, like the town was abandoned. Blood was streaming from Tessa's limp wrist, down my neck and making my burgundy jumper even darker.
"Someone help!" I shouted so hard that I swear I was about to vomit, but silence replied to my call. When I approached the front garden gate, I found that the door was already open.
"Mom! Momma! Help, Tessa is hurt!" I shouted as I ran through the mudroom into the living room, shoving her on the sofa.

"I'm hurting, Louisa, get Momma!" she cried.
"Don't worry Tessa, Mom will help, just breathe." I said, as she sobbed and kicked her legs against the arm rest with dirty feet. I ran upstairs and looked in Mom's room, my room, Tessa's room and the bathroom but I couldn't find her. I hyperventilated and carried on searching for Mom in the garden then the kitchen. She wasn't there when we needed her.

The phone. I darted across the room and dialled 911 on the home phone.
"Hello? Hello? 911! Please, my sister is hurt! Please!" I whimpered into speaker. Nobody was there. I fell onto the carpet and held the right hand of my sister, who was now sweating as though she was the one who did all the running. She gasped for air over her tears and presented her injured wrist to me. It had a gaping hole in it, oozing with purple blood, pulsating with her rapid heart beat.

~

Her brown hair was laid across her face, flying up every exhale. She wore her baby blue Sunday dress with flowers dotted around. Her small, soft hand with pink nail polish loosened slowly. On her right wrist was the friendship bracelet I made her, and on my left wrist was the beaded bracelet she had made me.

I couldn't believe it, who was that man? Why did he bite my sister? My sister, why my sister? I'm supposed to protect her, but there's nothing I can do now. I snapped out of my trance and glanced at her poor, tiny body draped across the sofa like an unwanted doll. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slowing. I gently pushed my fingers through her hair and watched her chest rise up, then down, then up, then down, then - Nothing.

I placed my head on her stomach and wailed, not caring how loud I was. My baby sister was dead. I lifted her head and placed it on my shoulder, wanting to feel her with me one more time. I embraced the lifeless body until I had used up all my tears.

~

Half an hour had passed since I witness my sister's last breath. She still looked as though she was just taking an after school nap, like she usually would. She was only nine, she had so much to do, and so much to see. She was in fifth grade and I was in seventh, so she would always see me as her older and wiser sister. Mom was a nurse, so sometimes when we came home she wouldn't be here, however today was a weekend, and she was home before we went to the park. Where was she?

I opened my eyes, as if I had just awoke from a coma, and looked around the room. Small red droplets covered the old brown carpet and drifted to the doorway. Carefully, I placed my sister back onto the sofa, kissed her head and stood up. I followed the stains.
I stepped outside and placed my hand over my brow to block the sunlight. Walking down the street, I found that all the doors were open, and occasionally there was some blood stains on the stepping stones. This made me shiver. What was happening? I attempted to convince myself that it was jam, like mom had said when we saw a blood drenched man being held up against a dollar store wall by Sheriffs, while driving to Grandma and Grandpa's. But considering I had just watched my innocent sister die a most gruesome death, it was kind of impossible.

I made my way back to my house, feeling nauseous, when all of a sudden an ear piercing BOOM echoed through the streets, followed by screams and shouts. Oh, where's my mom. I wobbled back to the house and stared at Tessa. I carried her into the front garden and gently laid her on to the flower bed neatly placing her hands together, downwards. Her bloody wrist soaked her bloody dress. I glanced at her flawless, doll-like face. She looked calm, like nothing had happened. I couldn't resist embracing her feeble, still-warm body her one more time.

I felt movement. I jolted upright to see Tessa with white blood shot eyes, like the man at the park, and purple veins beaming out of her skin. I scrambled onto my feet and walked backwards. One leg at a time, she stood up and limped towards me.
"Tessa stop, this isn't funny," I said, in the hope that she would tell me this was all a big, stupid, sick, disgusting joke. But of course, she didn't. Her boney fingers reached for my neck but I ran, I didn't care anymore. I just ran. I stumbled and tripped but I just wanted to get out of there. I could tell from then on, that life was going to get tough.