Loud Visions

Chapter 25

**Lori's Nightmare**

Lori woke up in a dark room. It was damp, cold, and smelled musty, like a basement or a cellar. Lori's heart rate accelerated as she shivered while lying on a table. She tried to get up, but she was strapped to the table. She struggled to get free, but it was useless. Before she could cry for help, nearby TV monitors turned on. At first, they were just static, but then they showed footage of her . . . and Lincoln. It showed her being angry at Lincoln.

"Bobby, I gotta go. I'm about to turn Lincoln into a human pretzel!" TV Lori yelled.

Lori gasped as it showed footage where she threatened to beat Lincoln with a nightstand, all the times she yelled at him, belittled him, treated him poorly, etc. Then, it showed the future visions Lincoln showed her and the others at the hospital.

As if it wasn't hard to see them the first time, it felt worse to see them again. Lori watched in horror as she and her sisters savagely beat Lincoln until he was bloody and crying. Then she saw the other vision where Lincoln was beating them. Lori's heart stopped at the part where Lincoln tore part of her neck out with his teeth. Then, as Lori backs away in fear, Lincoln brutally beats her with a wooden club.

Lori gasped softly at what she was witnessing. Then, the TV monitors showed footage of the bad luck incident. All the family treating him like a pariah, not letting him go with them to events like vacations, boarding up his bedroom, selling his furniture, and Lincoln begging for humanity, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. As Lori watched, her veins slowly glowed yellow and burned as if they were hot. She ached in pain the more she watched.

"Geez, babe," a voice spoke.

Lori turned over to see Bobby standing nearby with a revolver in his hands. He slowly loaded the cylinder.

"Bobby?" Lori spoke with fear in her voice.

"You treat your own flesh and blood like that? My little bro? You lock him out of his own home? You're the eldest. Older siblings are supposed to look after and take care of their younger siblings," Bobby stated.

"Bobby. What are you doing? Please let me out!" Lori pleaded.

"What, you're just going to ignore what I'm saying? I know you can hear me."

"Bobby, please. This isn't what it looks like. I messed up."

"Yeah, you messed up. You don't remember the promise you made?"

The TV monitors showed Lori when she was little when baby Lincoln was brought home for the first time. It showed Rita gently laying baby Lincoln in his crib and all the sisters in awe of their new baby brother. Their eyes glistened in astonishment at Lincoln and how innocent and precious he looked.

"Girls, this is your new baby brother, Lincoln," Rita said.

"Lincoln," Lori breathed.

"You must always be nice to him like your younger sisters, Lori."

Lori nodded, "Okay."

"And like your sisters, you must protect him no matter what."

"I will. I promise."

Then the TVs showed all the times Lori was mean to him. Lori's eyes widened in realization. Her glowing veins hurt even more – so much that her eyes were tearing.

"You broke your promise, babe," Bobby said, swinging the fully loaded cylinder in the gun.

Lori turned to him, and standing next to him was another Lori, but her eyes were shrouded in darkness with a dim light above her head.