My Humble Abode

2.

3 Months Later

August

"Wendy? What are you reading? And why is it so dang thick?" Seulgi entered the pale blue bedroom, sitting next to Wendy. "Nothing." She closed the book and snuck it into her underwear drawer.

 "Come on... We're twins! We vowed to reveal our secrets!" Seulgi groaned. Wendy put her index finger on her lush lips. "Shut up! I don't want Ms. Kilens to hear." Wendy harshly whispered in the girl's ear, being wary of cameras and bugs in the room. 

"I'm on page 978... It's Dr. Kilen's journal. The last one he wrote... To be exact." "He wrote down all of his experiments, how they worked, the result, etc..." 

"You don't have to read it like a book though..." Seulgi said. "It's more interesting this way. Plus, I can become the most powerful scientist with this kind of information!" Wendy chuckled silently. 

"Whatever. You're such a nerd." Seulgi playfully rolled her eyes. "You know what I also found? Dr. Kilen's legendary science lab!" Wendy smiled proudly. 

"Really? Where is it?" Seulgi jumped off the bed. "Second floor, the room above the kitchen," Wendy smirked as she took Seulgi by the wrist and dragged her downstairs.

"Girls. What are you doing?" Ms. Kilens dropped her cloth shopping bag and put her hands on her hips. 

"Exploring." Seulgi shrugged. 

"Okay. Just don't get lost. I bought some cereal for you to eat downstairs." Ms. Kilens informed, going into her bedroom. 

They decided to listen to Ms. Kilens ran downstairs and found Yeri, Joy, and Irene, eating the cereal. Seulgi quickly poured herself a bowl of the colorful cereal and began to eat at it. 

"Is it me or this cereal is really hard?" Irene said, her face twisted in pain as she swallowed. Joy ate the cereal with ease. As soon as Yeri was about to bite. Her teeth were stopped by something hard. She could taste and feel the metallic item on her tongue. She opened her mouth and a bolt nut that was colored blue rolled out of her mouth. Everybody gasped. Before Wendy ate her cereal. She looked at her spoon, it was full of colored bolts drenched in milk. "Oh my god..." Irene covered her mouth as she checked the cereal box. The bottom had cereal in it but the top was full of bolts. 

Irene's breath shuddered as she placed the cereal box down. 

"I need laxatives. Now!" The oldest girl screamed as she ran away. Seulgi and Wendy looked at each other. "Ms. Kilens." They both snarled.

*

"Did you feed us bolts?!?" Wendy slammed open the widow's door. "What?!? Bolts?!" She looked at them in disbelief. 

"In our cereal! You were the only one who bought it!" Seulgi shouted as she slammed the box down at the floor, the bolts making a loud sound whilst the mini colorful pebbles scattered around.

 "I never opened the box my dears. Oh god... I'm going to call the family doctor." The woman frantically rambled. "Go ahead. Irene already consumed laxatives." The twins stomped away and slammed the door.

"There were never any bolts in mine." Joy shrugged as she rested on a sun chair. She was pretty unbothered for a girl who just had their siblings consume bolts in their cereal.

 "She's the only one who could've planted it into there!" Wendy huffed as she paced around the tennis court. "Do you know how serious this is? She literally tried to kill us... Why though?" She squinted in confusion.

 "I don't know. But I think we should keep an eye on her." Seulgi suggested as she swirled the handle of the racket. We watched a group of staff leave the mansion with their suitcases.

"She just fired all of them!" Yeri laughed as she served the tennis ball. "I'm hungry for muffins. Wendy come with me." Seulgi dropped her racket as she left the tennis ball bouncing. "Really? What if she planted the bolts in all the foods?" Seulgi ignored Wendy and walked back to the house "... Fine, I'll also check up on Irene too!" Wendy grumbled as she followed Seulgi.

"How are you doing Irene?" Wendy knocked on the door. "I'm ok!" She shouted. "How is she?" "No don't go-" Wendy stuttered as Seulgi opened the door, munching on a cupcake. "-In." she finished. 

"Get out!" Irene screamed. "Okay okay!" Seulgi leaped out of the door and started coughing. "Are you okay?" Wendy smacked Seulgi's back until a purplish button flew out of her mouth. "Oh my god." Wendy groaned, facepalming herself.

———

Wendy lit up a candle and laid down with the journal. She and the others locked the door so the widow couldn't do anything malicious to them. They think she's innocent but Wendy knows. She's positive that Ms. Kilens was attempted to murder them. And she's going to find out the reason tonight. Right in Dr. Kilen's journal. She pulled out her bookmark and flipped through the pages, reading each word like they were her last. Her pupils zoomed across the yellowed, aged paper. Quietly mumbling each word he wrote, messy, inked writing splattered the pages. His pages were useless for evidence. Until she noticed a dry, reddish stained page at the end of the book. She immediately flipped to it.

Page 2058

I'm hiding in a room hidden behind a bookshelf. There's an axe mounted on the wall, but I've accepted my death. As I have been too naive. Whoever discovers this journal first and manages to escape the wrath of my wife, will inherit my wealth, all my studies, and experiments. -Dr. Cedar Kilens

"... What?" Wendy's face furrowed as she read the page behind it.

Page 2057

I failed her. She wanted immortality and permanent beauty. I could only give her so much. She found out when she chopped her index finger off. She can only survive any type of laceration, the limit is decapitation. With those 5 girls, however, I succeeded. I suppose the younger they are the more serum they can handle with their cells. But I am afraid it'll affect their mentality when they rediscover themselves. Smart but sick.

Wendy gasped, dropping the journal. "Wendy dear? Are you alright? I heard a big bang." Ms. Kilens knocked on the door as she attempted to unlock the door. "I'm alright! Just watching a scary movie!" Wendy shouted as she retrieved the book. "Okay dear, just remember that your bedtime is almost near." She walked away. "Oh, Ms. Kilens... I never knew you were so homicidal." Wendy closed her eyes and gulped in fear.

———

Yeri played with her dolls, a candle lighting up only her doll and a small portion of her dollhouse. She could hear the high heels of a woman coming towards her bedroom hearing a gun quietly load. Her eyes widen in fear for a couple of seconds as the woman pick locked the door. Wendy was right. She thought. She blew out the candle and hid under the bed, her long blanket covering all of the sides. 

"That little brat must've gone into the kitchen." The woman snarled and walked back downstairs. Yeri processed what happened. You don't have to be young to know someone's intentions. She trembled and rolled up into a ball, wrinkling her used-to-be, smooth blue nightgown.