Unfortunate

Chapter 15: Lisa

I stared at my old house. I looked at the front yard, the memories hitting me hard. The wall I had built along the edge of the driveway to hide behind had been smashed down and was falling apart. It had felt like years since I was last here. My memories played tricks on my eyes. I could see Kristy running around in the front yard as Luca and I chased her. I could see us inside watching a movie on our flat screen, sitting on the couch in the living room as Luca sat and watched out the window. We would eat microwave popcorn poured into a bowl from the cupboard room where we stored most of our food. Luca wouldn't leave the window because he always waited for dad to come home... Luca...

I wondered...

I got out of the car, finally finding my composure and my sanity. I grabbed my keys from the car and walked over to the door. I took a second, checked the door and it was still locked. That was a good sign. I pushed the spare key into the lock and turned it with some effort. My key was stashed in my car and I didn't bother going to get it in the hopes that the spare was still in the fake brick and in fact, it was. I pushed hard on the door, which would always stick no matter how many time we tried to fix it. I slowly walked into the house, the others following behind me.

"Luca?" I called out quietly, just in case someone had been at the house since it all happened and never got a chance to leave. We used to rent out the basement to our neighbor's kids, because it brought in more money because it had only dad working to support us. I had wanted to get a job as soon as I turned fourteen, but dad refused, saying it wasn't my place to make money and that he was the one that was supposed to care for us. He wanted me to have some sort of life besides work and school so he just let me continue being a kid for as long as he could.

"Who's Luca?" Bev questioned when all of us fell silent. I heard the familiar clicking sound of claws against the hardwood floor in the hallway upstairs. I sucked in a breath and held up a hand quickly, and everyone froze. A medium sized Doberman came around the corner with a short-haired brown bear in its mouth. It had been Kristy's stuffed bear that he always took when she wasn't looking. I guess he could have it now. Then it hit me. He was still alive!

"Luca!" I said, running up to him. He was quite thin from the last time I had seen him, and I was surprised he had even made it this long locked up in the house. It was a good thing that we had a dog door installed into the back door or else it would smell like absolute crap in the house, literally. Another sound got my attention quickly. More clicking, coming around the corner fast. Another dog, this one a Doberman pup, came bounding around the corner, sliding into the wall. Bev awed at the pup, and I smiled. I walked upstairs, letting everyone in.

"This was my fathers house. If there is food, eat it, but don't touch the crispies if you find any. I claim them all." I said, and people started to explore.

"Oh and be careful. I'm not sure if we're alone yet or not. So stay on guard. The basement is the last place we check. Clear all the rooms, then when that's done, we'll go into the basement." I said, and Karen tapped me on the shoulder.

"What's in the basement?" She questioned and I shrugged.

"We used to rent it out, back when the world was normal. Obviously, I'm not 100% sure if they were here or not when it happened..." I said and she nodded.

"Lisa?" I heard Bev question from down the hallway.

"Bathroom is the last door in the hallway." I said and she said thanks as she ran to the bathroom.

I didn't know whether to be happy I was home, or saddened by the fact that I was here without them. I wanted to be happy, and I thought they would want me to be happy, but it dampened my mood being here. Luca sniffed my leg and pushed his nose against my stomach. He always did this when he was hungry.