Lost Souls

1

Katie Rusk was having a bad day. The journey to the families new home seemed to be taking forever, and the closer they got to the wonderful new life her father had promised them all, the more her veins filled with icy dread.

She'd left behind her friends, her memories, even the Millennium tree she'd planted in their rear garden with Stephen Twist, the only boyfriend she'd ever had in her sixteen years of life, and she'd only just celebrated her seventh birthday when he'd dumped her to go watch some lousy football match with his mate's dad.

Katie sighed heavily as the vast open spaces of the motorway were replaced by such narrow and twisting country lanes, that Katie felt she could open her window, and allow her fingers to brush against the thick green foliage lining the hedgerows. To make matters even worse, her father seemed to believe he'd mysteriously turned into a formula one racing driver as he constantly threw the car from side to side in his seemingly earnest attempt to break the land speed record...or worse, everybody's necks!

Depressed, Katie reached down between her feet and pulled out a bottle of still mineral water from her denim rucksack. She wouldn't ever dream of going anywhere far without it in close proximity as it contained everything she considered vital to make it through any given situation. Soldiers went to war with their rifles. Katie Rusk took her life support bag!

Before leaving their four bedroom Victorian house that had been home to the family for the past sixteen years, Katie had spent the last minutes locked away in her bedroom jamming everything she felt she might need into the faded bag. The current novel she was reading, artist materials, lip gloss, bottled water, CD's, her favourite I-pod, diary, brush, make-up, hair gel and some loose change in case she ever got lost. The last thing she'd placed into the rucksack was her most prized possession, a signed framed photograph of the singer Ed Sheeran.

As her fingers had brushed against the glass frame, Katie remembered the stabbing pain she'd felt in her chest when Ed had recently done the unthinkable and had married.

Inside the car, She shuddered as she recalled the previous nights nightmare. The new Mrs Sheeran, who seemed lovely in the photographs she'd seen, but was now a sworn enemy, continued to visit Katie in her sleep and hover above her bed playing a guitar loudly and yelling that Ed was hers forever, before smiling sweetly and disappearing in a puff of bright pink fluorescent smoke.  Katie didn't even know if she could strum a note let alone deafen her with a solo? Katie, despite herself knew that the woman must be nice. Otherwise surely the smoke would be coal black and smell of death, and Ed's fan base would be a lot smaller than it was!

The sound of loud snoring interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see Alex, her twelve year old brother dribbling down his freckled covered cheek. His light brown hair was badly spiked, and looked like an elderly hedgehog had taken up residence on top of his head. Katie giggled as his top lip curled into a snarl, and he made a noise like a snarling dog as he drifted into a deeper sleep. Sitting beside Alex, was the youngest of the Rusk children, seven year old Amber. Her delicate face and almond coloured eyes hidden from view by her fringe.

Katie watched as Amber's small fingers held the crayon she was drawing with tightly, as she busily coloured in a picture of a large clown. Surrounding the smiling clown were dozens of multi-shaped eyes that she'd sketched, creating a strangely macabre border. Katie had once asked her little sister why she always drew eyes onto everything, only for Amber to shrug and reply "Why not?"

Katie could feel the tension building around her lower back and neck. She tried to stretch her limbs, but the car was filled to capacity with essentials for their first day in a new home, and leg room was at a premium. Angrily, Katie sipped from the bottle of water she'd taken from her rucksack, before leaning her forehead against the cool refreshing glass of the car window.