School was coming to a close and the children were eagerly waiting for the bell to ring their final dismissal of the year. As soon as it rung, everyone was dashing for the door.
“Have a safe summer everyone!” shouted the teacher, but nobody heard her.
Jenny was walking with her little sister, Ace, after school to the woods. Jenny respected nature and anything living, so she always loved to go there when possible. Another reason, which she doesn't tell anyone, was that it made her feel like she was in hiding. It's “cool” as she says. Ace just worries that Jenny might get lost since she's a bit adventurous, so she follows her.
“If you fall, I'm gonna laugh,” Ace stated as she watched Jenny climbing a tree. Jenny just gave out a short laugh as she got higher and higher. Silence, and Jenny's slight grunts, was all they actually hear when they're here. Occasionally, one of them would start a conversation, but most of the time, it's silent.
“Hey,” Jenny spoke, immediately catching Ace's attention.
“Do you think there's life after death?”
Ace was silent for awhile.
“Yeah, do you?” Ace answered.
“Yepa~” replied Jenny, smiling a bit.
“If you think about it, every living thing has a soul. Me, you, mama, papa.” Tears started to form in her eyes.
“Heck! I would be surprised if grass had one!” Ace chuckled at that, which made Jenny smile. Silence took over again. This time though, Ace talked.
“I miss them...” she said, tears streaming down her face. Jenny noticed this and quickly got down from the tree. She sat down next to her on the floor.
“I miss them too Acey...” Tears slid down her check as she thought of that horrible day. The day their family was destroyed.
-Flash Back- You see, Jenny's and Ace's parents were kind and loving. They told them to not trust people easily, no matter how nice they seem. They always listened to their parents, but Jenny was always trusting people too easily.
They were shopping when Jenny got separated from her mother. She was only six years old, so she cried. A man around his mid-thirties came up to her and asked her what's causing her to cry.
“I-I can't f-find mama,” Jenny told the man. He just smiled kindly at her to show he's no harm.
“Don't worry little one,” he told her.
“I'll find them for you, but I need to know where you live”
Jenny didn't hesitate to give him a piece of paper with her address and phone number.
The man walked with Jenny from a distance, heading towards the exit. When her parents saw Jenny nearby, they quickly scooped her up, her mother having tear stains on her face. They have been waiting there in case something like this were to happen. The man continued walking as if he didn't notice anything.
Later that night, there were screams coming from Jenny's house.
-Flash Back Ends-
A couple of days later, a married couple came to the orphanage the sisters resided in. They were going to adopt a child since the wife couldn't get pregnant. It just so happens that they wanted to adopt Jenny.
And only Jenny.
Jenny was heart struck. She was being taken away from her only family member left!
When she went to go pack her things, Ace was just looking at her with two backpacks. Jenny smiled at her as she took one of them, after all, she wasn't going to allow them to separate her from Ace.
The sisters were walking in the woods with their flashlights shining their path. Ace was unusually quiet, even before the news of the adoption. Jenny watched a lot of horror movies, so she was suspecting outrageous things that might be wrong with Ace. She tried to ignore it when Ace stopped walking. Jenny stopped too, confusion on her face.
“Why'd you stop?” Jenny asked.
Ace, with her dark brown hair covering her face, didn't respond. This caused Jenny to grow worried.
“Is something wrong?”
Ace started to laugh, which caught Jenny off guard.
“A-Acey...?” Jenny was starting to panic. Ace's laughing got louder and louder by the second. Soon she was laughing crazily. Jenny started to back away slowly, but she stopped when Ace suddenly went quiet.
“... Acey?” Jenny hoped what she was thinking wasn't right, but she thought correctly when Ace flashed her a crazy grin.
“I'm sorry, but Ace isn't here right now.” She spoke in a demonic voice.
Jenny ran as fast as she could away from her, which caused Ace to laugh again.
“Run! Run!” She yelled.
“I love it when they run!”
Jenny ditched her backpack and climbed up the tree as fast as she could. She knew that she'd just get caught if she tried to run out of the forest, and Jenny knew for a fact that Ace couldn't climb trees. Jenny tried to control her heavy breathing as she rested on the highest branch she could reach.
Jenny tried to think what was going on with her little sister. She thought of demons, insanity, even if this was some cruel joke.
“Come out, come out wherever you are!” Ace shouted again, appearing in Jenny's view. Jenny froze in place as the monster inside Ace's body looked around. Suddenly, Jenny felt like something grabbed her, and then threw her out of the tree she was hiding in. She screamed as she fell, the ground coming closer and closer.
And Ace just laughed.
“Come on Leo!” Shouted a boy around 13 years old.
“W-wait Bruce!” Leo replied, trying desperately to catch up to his friend. The boy, Bruce, just continued to run further into the woods laughing.
“Quit being such a turtle!” Bruce
“Quit calling me that!” Shouted Leo.
“Turtle! Turtle!” Taunted Bruce.
As Bruce continued to call Leo names, Leo noticed a girl around his age in the distance. He was confused as to why a girl would be in the woods by herself. Bruce noticed this also, confusion was also on his face.
“Hey you!” Bruce shouted before he ran towards the mysterious girl, Leo running behind him. When they were near her, they were able to see her more clearly. Only then did they wish that they never came up to her.
The girl was wearing a navy blue, baggy sweater with just as baggy black jeans. Her slightly dark skin, brown eyes, and dark hair told the boys that she was hispanic. The only thing that really stood out was the dirt and blood all over her. Her lifeless eyes looked at the two teens as they looked back at her with terror instead.
“You're just like me...” she whispered. This confused Bruce and Leo greatly. They didn't get to think much before she continued.
“You don't get a choice.”