Like the Darkness, but not the Darkness (A Gone series fan fiction)

Poof (Chapter One)

Poof.

"Dad? Where'd dad go?" Hunter asked, his eyes looking around suspiciously as his father seemed to vanish from thin air.

But that was impossible.

"He's probably just pranking us again!" Alice squealed from her spot, kneeling on her stool in a way that made Ivy want to set her down on the ground.

The little girl was only five, and knowing how prone she was to tripping over her own feet and flat surfaces- falling off the bar stool wouldn't be hard.

"No, he just disappeared. Like, vanished." Hunter further explained, making wild hand gestures with an exasperated look on his face.

Frowning, Ivy got up from where she was lounging in one of the hammocks- slowly making her way over to where Hunter was, crouching on one of the larger rocks at the top of the cliff that led down to the beach of the small lake couldn't be more than seventy five feet long and wide.

It was all in their backyard, their huge lake side property, which somehow also had a forest on the other side. It was a secluded place, a perfect place for a socially awkward military bluff dad and a horribly shy scientist mother.

Their mother had a really important, high up job that she never really spoke about- which seemed like a perfect fit for their family, considering their dad couldn't work due to a crippled leg and they both liked their privacy.

The down side was that they home schooled all five of their children, and made them like a realistic version of the Brady Bunch.

"Did he fall?" Ivy, the oldest child of the family at fourteen, asked in a scared voice, suddenly running across the distance with a panicked feeling. She reached the rocky cliff side, not really believing her idea that her father could've tripped down the rocks.

Even with his mangled leg, he could make it down the rocks with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back.

Holding her brother, who was Ivy's junior by just under one year, having just turned fourteen when Ivy was turning fifteen in just over a month, Hunter leaned forward, his eyes sweeping his rocks for the unwanted sight of his fathers mangled body.

Alice still was watching them from inside, staring through the glass window with wide, curious eyes. Ivy was watching her carefully from where she was making sure Hunter wouldn't fall, calling out to her when she suddenly whipped her head around and scrambled off of her chair, rushing deeper into the house.

Where Ivy couldn't see.

After something Ivy didn't hear.

"He's not down there!" Hunter shouted, his voice sounding more confused than scared- but a distinct fear could still be heard.

But over what? If he wasn't down there, it meant he hadn't tripped.

He had to be somewhere. They just had to find him.

"He's probably inside, let's go see." Ivy suggested in a reassuring voice, stepping back so Hunter could jump off the rock.

He was speedily making his way towards the house before his feet even hit the ground.

Yanking the door open and ducking inside with Ivy hot on his heels, the two oldest siblings of the Blackwell family were soon frantically searching for their three younger siblings.

First you had Deon, at one. Then Alice at six. Then Kimberly at eleven.

A baby boy and two little girls who were always moving and always talking.