Homesick

9

Emily

Wednesday, June 5

Ever since I confronted Abby about the box, she's been very distant. From me and mom. At night I hear her talking to someone, at first I figured it was a friend from back home. But the more I listen, the stranger the voice becomes. It's deep, too deep to be a really humans voice. It sounds like it has an accent, but I'm not sure yet. Abby locks herself in her room now. Mom slips a plate of food under her door for her, and Abby slides it back out when she's done.

"I'm really worried about her", I told mom. "She's probably going through a phase. I'm sure she'll be out soon, don't you worry honey".

I placed through the kitchen thinking why she would do that. Mom didn't know about the box , and we planned to keep that way. I would try to knock on Abbys door, but she doesn't answer. I tried to call her, text her, but she won't answer those either. I hear her come out of her room sometimes and she goes into another room. I've tried to catch her but she's already gone when I get out there. I've looked in every single room, but she's never in any of them. What if she's in the attic, I thought. She would never even look at it. We've been here for four days, and each day gets worse and worse. We don't leave until next Saturday, so I'm hoping that she'll come out before then.

I was texting my friend Alyssa from home, when I heard another loud bang. "Not again", I said. I didn't hear any doors open, so maybe it was just my imagination. Then Abbys door opened. I ran to my door listening, she walked across the hall into another room and my heart stopped. She laughed. It wasn't her funny, sweet laugh I heard. It was cold, and evil. I walked out of my room over to her. She was laughing at our mom. Mom was on the ground underneath the ceiling, just like dad. I pushed Abby out of the room.

"What the he'll is wrong with you! Why are you laughing, this isn't funny". I noticed she was holding the box, I grabbed it from her and ran downstairs. It was already unlocked so I opened it and took out the scroll. I went outside with the box and scroll separate, and ran to the fire pit. The lighter I was holding from earlier was still in my pocket. I threw them both into the pit along with the lighter. They installed toy caught fire and burned. Abby ran outside screaming bloody murder. I had to cover my ears as I watched her face turn from scared to evil. She walked toward me with a grin so big, she almost looked like the Grinch. I ran towards the road and into town. She followed me, still walking but catching up fast. I ran as fast as I could to the police station. I looked back and saw her. It wasn't the Abby I knew. This Abby had fangs. Large, sharp, terrifying fangs. She also had claws, if it was a she. More of a thing. It had glowing red eyes, and it wasn't walking anymore... It was running, at me. I started to Sprint as fast as legs would take me. I found the police station, but it wasn't open!

"Please Abby, if you're in there, listen to me. This is not you", it continued to run at me. "Please Abby listen. I'm sorry I went in your room, but I'm glad I did. And I'm glad that box was burned. It's changing you, Abby. Mom dead! Because of that box! And you're talking to it!" She stopped and returned to her normal self. But I saw another figure, a man, an old man. He came out of Abbys body, as if they had been connected somehow. He glared at me with piercing eyes.

"You're sister is gone, and you're not getting her back", he said. "She's mine!" The same sound that came from Abbys mouth when I burned the box came from his. I covered my ears and it stopped. He laughed and pulled from behind his back. The box

"How is that possible! I burned it", I said. He threw the box at me. The one I burned had been a decoy. Of course it had! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I slammed mom palm against my forehead, sighing in frustration. Abby and the man walked toward me. Then I remembered I had the box laying right in front of me. I quickly grabbed before he could and ran fast back out of town in the opposite direction of home. I found a path that led off the road. I hid the box in some bushes and climbed a tree. I reached as far as could before I saw them running past me. They were back to one person, or thing. My heart slowed to its normal pace and I climbed down the tree. As I was reaching for the box, an icy cold hand grabbed me from behind. I looked up and nearly screamed. It wasn't Abby, it was my mom. She wasn't alive, but she wasn't dead either. Her face was blue, probably from suffocation. She hugged me. I was startled by that, I hugged her back. I stepped back and I wasn't looking at mom anymore, it was the thing. It had me in its grasp and I couldn't get away. It held me so tight, it's "knuckles" we're turning white. I was paralyzed with fear. It's face was so close to mine I could smell it's breath, like beans and chicken. I gagged as an awful smell was coming off its body. It smelled like dead people.