Tradition Comes Third

Where We Are

Author's Note: Family Comes First has been nominated for a fiction award! Thank you to every one who is voting for it to be the best Horror Story. If you would like to vote, just search "The Fiction Awards 2017" into the Wattpad search bar and there is all of the instructions on how to vote. Thank you to every single person voting. I have the greatest fans ever. You all warm my heart <3

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 Ava and I split the granola bars Leah gave us. We wanted to savour them, and make them last longer, but we didn't know when the next people would be coming down the stairs. We quickly ate the bars, and I gathered up the wrappers. If someone saw these, we would get punished for sneaking food. I stood up, and looked around the basement.

In the corner, all of our christmas decorations and supplies were stacked on top of each other. Our winter jackets were hanging from a hook on the ceiling. I shoved the wrappers in one of the pockets, and zipped it close.

Ava stayed on the floor by the freezer. I extended my hand down to her, and pulled her up onto her feet. We sat down on the couch. I grabbed the remote off of the coffee table.

"Turn on the news," Ava said. "Maybe they'll have something about us on there."

"We don't have cable," I said. "After my Mom released her book, she hated what people were saying about our family, so she cancelled our TV. We mostly just watched movies together. Besides, there'll be nothing there. No one knows we're missing."

I popped a Disney movie into the DVD player, and sat back on the couch with Ava. We settled down together so that I was lying on my back, and Ava was curled up on my chest. My stomach still ached, but the snacks Leah brought was able to dull my hunger. Ava was softly singing along to the songs from the movie. When the next song came and she didn't make a noise, I looked down at her to see she was asleep.

Her wounded arm was lying on my chest in front of her face. The white gauze had not a speck of blood on it. The cuts I have given her must not have been that bad. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I listened to the movie play, and I felt Ava's warmth spread through me. It was the most peaceful I have felt in days. When the sound of the credits came up, I didn't bother to get up and change it. I listened to the sound of the DVD menu repeat, and didn't move.

The doorbell rang upstairs. There were a few mumbled voices, and then the door slammed shut. There were quick footsteps as people were running around upstairs. I shook Ava's shoulder, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Something is going on," I told her.

She sat up, and looked at the ceiling. The running around upstairs continued. The door to the basement flew open, and Mom and Dad came in. I watched Dad as he walked around behind me.

"What's happen-?" I started to ask.

Dad threw his hand over my mouth, and wrapped his other arm around me. He pinned me against the back of the couch. I let out a muffled scream. Mom came around the couch, and I saw the syringe in her hand. She jabbed the needle into my arm, and I let out another scream. She pulled it out, and then Ava lunged at her. Dad let go of me, and grabbed a hold of Ava's bad arm. He dug his fingers into the gauze, and twisted her arm. She let out a scream, and he threw her down onto the couch. Mom push her down, and straddled her down onto the couch. Mom reached into her pocket and pulled out another syringe. She popped off the cap and injected her in the arm.

I tried to grab Mom and pulled her off of Ava, but I struggled to move. Dad put his hand on my shoulder, and it made me feel like I was glued to the couch. My eyes were heavy, and I struggled to keep them open. Ava's screams seemed as if they were far away, and I soon slipped into unconsciousness.

--

Pain throbbed throughout my temple. I opened my eyes, and the world was blurry. My muscles screamed out in pain as I brought my hand up to my face. My glasses were gone. I squinted to see that I was in the back of Mom's car, and my head was resting against the cool window. I looked up to see that we were stopped at a gas station. I rolled my head to the side to see Ava was next to me unconscious. Her head was resting against the window.

"Someone's awake early," Dad said.

I squinted to see Dad was sitting in the driver's seat. It looked as if he had turned around to survey Ava and I. The car beeped as a door opened, and I saw a blur of Mom getting into the car.

"Hunter is awake," he told her. "Should you give him some more?"

Mom wedged herself between the two front seats. She reached out, and ran her fingers through my curls.

"Hunter, sweetheart," she said softly. "Can you hear me?"

My eyes opened before falling shut. My head rolled, and rested against the cold window.

"He's okay," she said. "He's falling back asleep."

She's right. I fell back asleep before we even left the gas station.

--

I let out a groan as I rolled onto my back. I rubbed the heels of my hand into my eyes before managing to open my eyes completely. The throb in my head had dulled, and I could only feel it on top of my head. My mouth was dry, and it felt like a strip of fire running down my throat everytime I breathed.

I looked to the other side of the bed to see Ava was lying on her stomach. Her face was turned to me, and she was still asleep. I held my head in my hands as I sat up and looked around the room.

We were on a large wooden bed and covered with a faded quilt. A large dresser and mirror were on the one wall. A lamp without a shade was on the nightstand next to me. I stood up, and took a shaky step. My knees felt like jelly, and I kept my hand on the bed to keep my balance. I walked around the bed, and over to the window.

Large metal bars were covering the window. I looked outside to see a large field surrounded by a wooden fence with white paint flaking off. A barn sat in the field, and a few abandoned rusted out shells of cars were next to it. I grabbed one of the bars, and gave it a yank, but it didn't budge.

I sat down on the edge of the bed next to Ava. I ran my fingers through her hair. She stirred, and she rolled onto her side. I leaned down and pressed my lips against her temple. I pulled back, and watched her yawn.

"Where are we?" she asked. Her voice came out hoarse.

"At a farm," I said.

Her eyes grew wide, and she pulled her hands away from her. Her face winced, and I could see she was as sore as me.

"Please tell me you're lying," she said. I shook my head. "This somehow got worse."