Locked Away (Preview)

Prologue

Nobody's life was supposed to go this way. In a heartbeat, everything had turned into a mess. Kara and her brother Ryan couldn't take their eyes off the body in front of them. Not knowing what to do, Kara suspected Ryan was looking to her for help, but no teenager was supposed to be faced with this sort of reality. Her day had already been long enough in her mind that the last thing she needed was to be leaning over the top of a dying corpse. Pleading for them to live and wake up so that she didn't need to feel the guilt. Although the pool of blood surrounding Kara's legs told her that the situation was far direr than she wanted to believe.

Two teenagers yelling wouldn't be enough to save her now, and Ryan continued shaking the body. Kara knew in her heart that the shaking wouldn't wake her up either, and she would likely never wake up again. They tried to fight the feeling that it was over, yet their screaming and prayers never stopped. Even though Kara didn't know what she was doing, she attempted to perform CPR but to no avail. Meanwhile, Ryan continued to look at the woman with absolute horror in his eyes.

"You have to wake up, mom! Please. Mom, you can't leave us here alone!" Ryan pleaded for their mother to live.

His words echoed in Kara's head as she continued doing what she could to try and restart their mother's heart, but nothing was happening; there was just more blood. Please hold on, Mom, the ambulance is almost here! Please don't die on me; I'm so sorry for everything! Kara yelled internally as the house's front door swung open, and a team of paramedics came storming in as if they were SWAT. The professionals had finally arrived as Kara removed her blood-soaked hands from the body, and one of the paramedics pushed her away so they could get to work. Doing what her instincts told her, she grabbed the young boy and hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go of him.

"Don't worry, kids, we'll take it from here." The paramedic said with a confident tone, yet they knew the situation they were in. The paramedic's words were only providing false confidence since it would be a miracle if they were able to save her now.

Unfortunately, Kara didn't have any other choice or even time to debate what she was supposed to do in the current situation. It was obvious to her that they couldn't stay in the room with a corpse, meaning the only solution was to take the boy up to her room. They weren't sure if they should run or walk, but the world just seemed to move around them before they found themselves standing outside the bedroom door. Still leading the way, Kara opened the door for Ryan as he walked in, then she followed behind, closing her door once she was across the threshold. For as long as Kara could remember, she had never seen Ryan this upset as he sat in the corner of the room and cried.

His clothes were completely soaked in their mother's blood, while porcelain shards and dust were mixed in with all of it. Out of the two of them, he was the one who found the body, and it was obvious that they both witnessed what would live in their brains until the day they died. Together, they were living in a version of hell and were both fearful of what was going to happen next. At the same time, Kara didn't know if Ryan would end up resenting her or if she was lucky; they'd grow closer. Either way, Kara was still a lost cause, wishing she could've just said goodbye.

That's when her emotions started taking possession of her body, and she slid down, with her back against the room door, she curled up in a ball just like her brother. Together, they cried side by side as their clothes continued dripping blood with every movement they made and each crying convulsion. Aside from the crying, the sound of their clothing squishing filled the room. While the entire narration of the emergency team came through the door. The paramedics yelled clear, followed by the sound of electricity discharging and the body flopping, leading to them shouting again. Over and over again, they had to listen to that word until Kara no longer had any more tears left to cry and simply rested the back of her head against the door. Soon after, her vision started to blur as she felt a set of arms wrap around her, and Kara placed her arm around Ryan's shoulders to hold him close. That's when they heard the words outside.