Who needs sleep anyways?

Join The Family

My heart is racing. Tears running down my face. My hands won't stop shaking.

I look down. He is dead. My poor brother, Luke. He was stabbed to death.

I hear footsteps from faraway & they are getting closer. What do I do? Should I run? Should I stay with my brother?

I can't just leave his lifeless body here, but if I stay I could be next or I could be blamed. My hands have been stained red by all his blood.

The footsteps are getting closer. What do I do? I start panicking. I have no choice. I start running, but don't worry brother, I will get help & come back for you.

I run for about fifteen minutes straight. The woods are big & I'm sure I'm lost, but I have to keep running. I finally stop when the exhaustion wins, but luckily I have run enough that I'm sure I'm safe.. at least for now.

I sit by a tree to rest for a bit. I look back, just to make sure I wasn't followed, & I wasn't. I look up at the sky. I see the pale white moon & the bright stars shining in the night. It's a beautiful night.. full of evil.

I start thinking about Luke. I remember that me & him were the best of brothers. We did everything together. I remember I used to look up to him & always wanted to be like him. He was adored by everybody. He was very popular in school.. even the teachers liked him! I remember one time we... shhh! I hear footsteps.

What do I do? Should I run? No. The footsteps sound too close. I look back and I can see a man's shadow. What do I do? .. I should run.

I turn around & see that he has gotten closer. Running isn't a choice no more as I see he is carrying a gun. He would for sure shoot me if I ran. I will just have to stay here and hope for the best. Maybe he won't see me and walk away, but if he does I'll have to be careful.

I look down when I notice my hands are still stained with blood. He can't see my hands like this; he would become suspicious & may even attack me. I notice there's a mud puddle beside me, so I stick my hands in the mud & if asked, I will say I tripped.

I stay sitting by the tree, hoping he will pass without noticing me. Damn. He saw and he's coming this way. He's pointing the gun at me. I imagine this is how it will end. First my brother & now me.

He walks closer until we are face to face. He is still pointing the gun at me.

"Who are you & what are you doing here?," he asks.

"My name is Mark Douglas & I'm kind of lost," I say nervously.

"The name's Ronald.. Well what were you doing out in do woods so late?," he asks.

Ronald, I don't really like that name. Something like.. Carter. Carter would have been a great name & he looks more like a Carter to me.

"Today was my brother's last day in the city before he left to an out of state graduate college to become a doctor. He wanted to spend the last day together before he left," I tell him.

"Well, where's this brother you are talking about?," he asks suspiciously.

"He.. he..," my voice cracks & I can't speak. Tears start rolling down my face. "He.. he.. he was murdered," I struggle to say.

"So that body I saw back there.. it was your brother's?," he asks. I nod wiping the tears off my face with my sleeve.

"And you must have been the person I saw running," he says. I say yes.

He saw me. The footsteps I heard must have belonged to him. But what was he doing here? I was scared to ask him because it could have been him who did the horrible thing back there, but I build up the courage and ask him.

"I come up here to the woods to hunt prey. That's why I have this gun. I ran out of bullets though. I just have some sleeping tranquilizers left, but one of these little suckers could knock out a big brown bear.. or three humans," he stops & laughs.

"Creepy," I think to myself.

"I don't usually come hunting this late, but I wanted to get a break from the old wife, if you know what I mean," he laughs. "But seriously, I know these woods pretty well. I just need to see my surroundings to see where we are exactly, but I should be able to get us out."

"Thank you," I say.

I see he looks down at my hands. I tell him I fell in some mud, but I get the feeling he doesn't believe me. He turns away from me like everything is fine & starts trying to see where we are.

For some reason, I can't shake off the feeling that he thinks I killed my brother. What should I do? I can't run. He has the gun & he seems like he is really athletic. I would never outrun him. I guess I have no choice. There's only one thing I could do at this moment.

I quitley walk up to Ronald while he is still looking in the other direction. I carefully pull out the knife I was hiding in my pants pocket & quickly stab Ronald in the neck.

He tries to fight back, but it's too late, the stab to the neck has killed him. Blood is gushing out of his wound.. I love it, but it's staining my clothes & his!

Now I have two more additions to the family. My brother Luke & Ronald.. no, Carter. Yes, he is Carter.. my cousin.

Come on Carter, let's go home. First we have to get my brother Luke, but then we'll go home where you can meet the rest of the family.

I start walking towards Luke, dragging Carter's body behind me.

Carter, you don't have any parents yet, but I promise you will soon. I will come back to the woods & find them for you. It may take a while, but it's okay, I'm patient. I waited a month for you two to show up. I'll just be here, waiting for the next person to join the family.