Akeldama | lrh

five - smiles and weird revelations

You didn't paint smiles on these faces, you built them.

-unknown

•••

Screaming. Horrible, loud and painful screaming, and I have no idea where it's coming from.

I shoot awake in the tent, but soon realize it's not a tent. It's my bed. At home. In my bedroom.

The screaming continues.

Scrambling out from under the covers, I rip my door open and stumble out into the hall. The screaming is even louder now, and I can tell it's coming from the front yard. I recognize it, too.

It's my little sister. My little sister Isabelle.

"IZZY!" I yell, sprinting through the living room and out onto the lawn. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears, and the atmosphere is foggy around me. I have no idea what's going on.

"Over here!" Her yell sounds from the garden shed, and I run over and throw the door open. Nothing.

"No here!" The yell is from the garage this time. My feet move faster than I thought capable and I launch myself into the area, only to find nothing at all.

"Sissy please!" This time it's from the back of the house. I hurl myself over the fence, running into the yard.

Nothing.

Then I hear it.

It's a horrible, deathly sound. Like crackling fire and a hoarse voice at the same time. There's a distinct choke to it too, which is the only thing that makes me turn around.

My sister stands before me, but there's something wrong. Her eyes are blood red and her nose and mouth are leaking pus, her ears pouring greenish black fluid. Her fingers are twisted and deformed, her teeth sharp and jagged.

I start to scream, but it's like there's a hand around my throat. I can't even breathe. My sister, my adorable twelve year old little sister, is standing before me in her soiled blue dress with an expression of pure agony.

"Please help me, sissy." She says, her voice high and innocent and so full of hurt, before she just vanishes.

***

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy.."

"ALEX!"

I shoot straight up into a sitting position, only to slam my forehead into somebody else's. Groaning, I reach up to rub my scalp as I flop back down on top of the pillow. My whole head is throbbing. I vaguely recognize Zay swearing from outside of the tent.

"Alex, Jesus Christ." He sputters, and a head full of orange hair pokes back through the flap. There's a massive pink spot just between his eyebrows. I can see the morning sky behind him. "Are you ok? You wouldn't stop whispering in your sleep, it was freaking me out."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Coughing, I sit up again. "What time is it?"

"Around noon I think. Everyone else is awake." He furrows his eyebrows. "You're bleeding."