The Chosen One

“A family vacation? Sounds great but why all of a sudden?” asked Zoe. “Well your dad and I have been talking about it for a while now and we think it's finally time you kids to see the cabin. It's been passed down for generations so go upstairs and pack your things.” said Christa to Zoe and Gabby. “I’ll get the things ready for your little brother and head down to the car. Oh and try not bringing too much.”. Zoe and Gabby happily got their stuff and ran to the car. Once they all settled down they began to head off. About half an hour into the car ride Gabby and Mason fell asleep. Zoe was a little envious of them because she has trouble falling asleep ever since she was twelve-years-old. It has felt like a long three years of no sleep for her. After a long five hours they had finally arrived at the cabin. 

They all stared at the house in amazement. As the family was unloading they would hear an occasional rustle in the leaves but thought nothing of it as they were in the middle of a forest with animals living inside it. The kids, still full of excitement and energy, ran around the yard and then into the house. “It's so cold in here.” said Gabby in a complaining tone. Zoe closed the window for her and they continued unpacking. They enjoyed the rest of their evening eating pizza on the couch and watching movies in the living room. Once it hit 10pm the kids were sent to bed. At this time Gabby, the middle child who was eight-years-old, and Mason who was barely four-years-old, had fallen asleep whereas Zoe had trouble like always, it was no surprise to her. While trying to fall asleep she would hear what sounded like tree branches snapping and distant mumbling, she tried listening from her bed but couldn't make out any words and didn’t think much of the noises outside. At that point she had given up and eventually fallen asleep. 

As soon as she woke up she began shaking, she was cold, she stood up to close the window. It took her a while but she then realized that she had definitely closed the window as soon as they got here. Zoe went to go get her little brother and take him downstairs. At the table she saw her parents sitting there,greeting them with a smile and pancakes as they came down the stairs. Zoe stopped in her tracks, her face filled with happiness and nearly started tearing up. It wasn’t often where her parents made them breakfast as they were very busy people, it was usually Zoe in charge of feeding her siblings. Seeing a change like that was such a big thing for her. Gabby ran down the stairs and yelled “Pancakes! Yum!” and began to sing her song about breakfast foods. They all ate and finished their food. 

Christa suggested a game of hide and seek to keep the kids entertained. At first Zoe was hesitant because she felt as if she was too old for hide and seek but ultimately gave in and joined the game. Joseph went outside to work on fixing the house a little while they all played. Gabby volunteered to count and go look for them. Their mom hid with Mason so he wouldn’t get hurt. Zoe ran upstairs again and hid under her bed. A classic spot but it was all she could come up with. A couple of seconds later a faint shout, “Ready or not, here I come” was heard. Zoes heart began to race as she didn’t want to be the first one caught. Footsteps came closer and closer. They stopped at the front door and walked away. They sounded like heavy footsteps, as if her dad came back inside. She thought nothing of it and continued to stay hidden. Not long after Gabby came running by, she ran straight to their closet and opened it. Seeing nothing, she ran to Zoes bed, lifting the bedsheets revealing Zoe. Zoe greeted her with a smile as if she was proud that she was found but still a little upset. They both went together to find Mason and Christa as they still were missing. Going room through room they couldn’t find them or any sign of them. They finally appeared at the bathroom door, they opened it and to their surprise they saw Mason on the floor. No sign of Christa. Gabby and Zoe looked at each other in confusion. They knew their mom wouldn’t leave Mason alone. As they went to reach down for Mason they saw a shadow appear over them. They turned around to see their mom. “What? You guys are looking at me as if you just saw a ghost.” Christa said with a laugh. “Nothing.” Zoe said in shock. They all returned to the living room and sat in silence. Zoe began to feel dizzy and it got worse over time. Everything had gone dark. 

She awoke to her sister also sleeping on the couch and her mom and mason being gone. Zoe woke her little sister up and told her to follow her and go tell dad what had happened. Zoe took her outside and walked up to their dad and told him they had both fainted. Their dad stared at them with a blank expression. Zoe grew confused “They weren’t supposed to be awake yet.” said Joseph. “I know. It was my mistake” said Christa from behind them. Zoe froze as the voice sounded slightly different. Zoe turned around to see her mom but something was disturbing about her. There were seams along the neck, skin was coming off. The girls were both grabbed and tied by their hands. Gabby was tossing herself around trying to be let go while Zoe was frozen trying to process what was happening. “I guess it's happening now then.” said what was believed to be their mom. Trying to catch her breath the woman yelled “Help me with her! She’s moving too much.”. Their dad started walking towards them with an axe. Seeing this, Zoe began to freak out and started trying to free herself too. He swung the axe up and back down in a swift motion onto Gabbys leg. At this moment Zoe realized that these people weren’t her actual parents. They were fakes. Zoe stopped moving completely as she understood what would happen to her if she were to move too much. Cries could have been heard for miles. Gabby screamed as loud as she possibly could. “Shut up!” yelled the woman as she put a piece of cloth in both of the girls mouths. They were being dragged into the forest, with tears now rolling down both of their faces. 

There saw a faint light in the distance. It slowly grew closer and closer. There was a fountain with a statue in the middle. Both of the girls were dropped and left alone. Zoe was too scared to make a run for it. She sat there, frozen. It was quiet with the occasional cricket chirp, until they heard footsteps. Someone with blue markings on their face and a tall hat made of leaves and flowers appeared in front of them. At this point Gabby had passed out again due to the loss of blood. Another set of footsteps approached, then another and another. Now they were surrounded by 5 different people, they all had the same blue markings on their face. Not noticing it before, Zoe saw that they all had a scar on their left arm, it looked like a hook. The man in the tall hat raised both of his hands as if he was gesturing for something. Two people, holding torches, came forward and picked up Gabby, who was still unconscious. They stepped inside the fountain with her and helped her stand up. The man in the tall hat smiled at Zoe and turned around and walked towards Gabby. In doing so, he was handed a spear by one of the other people in the circle. They stopped to bow to each other and then he continued on, stopping in front of Gabby he turned around and stared at Zoe. Moving himself just enough so that Zoe had a clear view of her little sister, he slit Gabby’s throat slowly, the blood gushing out and falling into the fountain. All that was heard was Zoes muffled screams and cries. It felt as if they were trying to torture Zoe mentally. The two men holding Gabby there let the blood drip for a bit and then proceeded to carry her dead body out. “Over there, along with the others.” said the man in the tall hat pointing to the left where a couple of wooden sticks were located. Zoe looked over and tried making out what she was seeing. It was too dark to tell. The men began walking towards the wooden sticks. As the light crept up the stick it became more apparent what it was. “What is that?” she thought. At that moment it finally hit her what she had been staring at. It was her parents and little brother hung up on sticks, their faces were gone. She felt like throwing up. She had to watch her sister get decapitated, skinned and hung up as well. Zoe was sobbing and felt very weak. She had given up on everything. Everyone in the circle turned to look at her. She threw herself fully onto the floor laying flat down facing up. What was thought to be her parents came up to her with their hands behind their backs. They pulled out a needle and stabbed her. As to what was in that needle, is unknown. Zoes vision started fading in and out. She was fully knocked out in under a minute. Gasping for air Zoe awoke. “Oh, it was just a dream” not yet noticing the blood runs down her arm.