The steady pounding of their feet beat out in time with their breathing. The sisters grinned at each other. Bright red noses, flushed cheeks, puffing like trains. The cold night air of a Boston fall blew around them, making them wish for the summer just been. April looked at the line of trees ahead of them and slowed. Franklin Park ended beyond those trees, and she and Juliette were going to be on the road soon. After running over the lush grass, the damp earth, April hated running on the sidewalk.
"Want to cut through Wilderness?" April puffed to her sister. Across Circuit Drive, the woodland reserve was a short cut home. But with the sky darkening, April knew her younger sister would be hesitant about cutting through.
"Um, can't we just stick to the sidewalk?" The sisters slowed to a brisk walk.
"Come on, it'll be quicker. I know you're tired."
"I'm keeping up just fine!" Juliette quipped.
April smiled. "Yes, sweetie, you are. I just thought it would be nice to go through is all," April said gently.
Julie cocked her head to the side, watching her older sister. "Oh alright." She gave in.
April grinned and started to speed up. "Good."
"But wait, I want to ask you something."
April laughed, "So the truth comes out! Go on then."
"Are you going to prom with Carl?"
"Carl!" April laughed. She bet her sister had seen them hanging out at school. The joy of having a sister two years younger who went to your high school. "He hasn't asked me yet. But, yes, we'll go together. Why?"
Julie bit her lip, "Are you going to bring him to meet Mom and Dad?" Julie blushed and stared at the trees.
April raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What are you really thinking?"
Julie looked at her with wide eyes. April knew her sister too well, there was something that she wanted to say but didn't really know how. She waited.
"I like someone."
"Ooooh," April teased lovingly, "Who?"
"Sam. Sam Fleet."
"Do I know him?"
"Um, he's in band." Julie blushed, clearly not having wanted to give this information out so early.
"The flute player?" April grinned appreciatively. Sam Fleet was tall and gangly and not altogether bad looking.
"Yes! And he's really nice, and sweet. And he asked me to the prom, and I don't know what to do! Because Mom and Dad, they won't let me go, and I really want to go, and, April, what do I do?"
"Calm down Julz! Just tell Mom and Dad you're going and tell them he's in the band. They'll think that he's respectable enough and you are assured to go. And plus, I'll be there, so what harm could possibly come to you!" April swung her arm around her sister's shoulder. They were about the same height, even with the age gap.
Julie grinned, "You're right. They may even make me go, just so that I can look after you.
April laughed. Their parents did like to use the sisters as each other's chaperone. Her Mom seemed to consider it a great personal inconvenience that real chaperones were not as accepted in today's society as they were in Jane Austen's time.
They crossed Circuit Drive and set off again at April's rigorous pace through the trees. April led the way, holding back a little on the pace for her sister. Even though they'd been out running for over an hour, April still had energy to burn. Maybe because it was Sunday and she didn't have gymnastics training in the weekend, meaning her body was just enjoying working out again after two days full rest. That was partly why she loved her Sunday runs with Julie. But mostly because they were with Julie. She glanced back at her sister, who was watching the ground for roots or stones, careful not to trip in the dark. April smiled at the differences between them. April found the dark exciting, a challenge. Julie found it intimidating and though she wouldn't admit it readily, scary. But not so much when she was with April. April was glad that she could make her sister feel safe.
When April had first started going running in the dark, her parents had hated it. They had tried to make her go during the day time but had relented. Her Dad had come a few times, but he knew he was holding his daughter back. So he'd made Julie go. Since then, the two sisters had gone running every week. It was good to have time with her sister, April thought, because between gymnastics and cheerleading and friends, there was little time left. Her homework already suffered. But Julie helped her there too. She really needed to get that calculus done tonight.
April slowed to a brisk walk and Julie fell into step, "So, how's your Senior maths skills? Because mine are shocking. I still can't figure out this whole differentiation with roots and fractions. You done that yet?" April retied her long dark brown hair, pulling it back off her face.
Julie snorted delicately, "No. I am in junior, not senior math," Julie reminded her sister again. As a sophomore, she was in half of the junior classes already. "But, that could be complex number differentiation. I could give it a go."
April raised her eyebrows, she remembered the teacher calling them that. "Yeah, complex. That's why-" She heard something. She turned to her right. There was something between the trees. She grabbed Julie's hand and they started to jog, speeding up.
Julie looked at her with wide eyes. "April?" She hadn't seen him.
April wondered if she had even seen anyone. She glanced behind her, wondering if she'd just got spooked for nothing. There was no one there. But her heart was still racing. She kept up the pace.
"April, what is it?" Julie begged, trying not to sound terrified.
April looked away from the woods, and tried to look calm, "Probably just an owl," she said gently, and squeezed Julie's hand. She kept the brisk jog up, wondering how far until they reached Glen Road.
Julie shrieked.
April spun.
A large shape charged them from their right. The man shoved April with one hand, sending her sprawling across the ground, thudding into a tree. Her head snapped back, her shoulder taking the brunt of the hit. He moved in on Julie who was torn between running away and her sister. The man grabbed her by the hair, yanking hard. His large fist pulled back then pounded into Julie's face. April watched, confused, from the ground as the man's fist smashed into her sister's face again and again. Julie's shrieks changed to whimpers and April's head cleared. She struggled to her feet and charged the man. She launched at them, knocking them over. The man lay sprawled over Julie, now trapping her with his weight. He used both hands to beat Julie as April pushed at him. She screamed at him to stop, begging him, cursing him. She kicked and punched him. He wouldn't stop. April began to claw at his face, smacking his head. He paused and turned to face her.
Looking straight at him, April felt fear truly seize her. His eyes, his face, were distorted with an angry wildness that was savage. No reason would touch him. He was utterly lost to his sick rage. He backhanded her and she fell to the ground again. He got up from Julie and walked lazily over to April. She scurried backwards and hit the tree again. He crouched down before her. April looked away from him, over his shoulder to Julie. Her face was a bloody hash, her body limp. She wasn't even whimpering anymore. The man grabbed April's hair and dragged her over to beside her sister. She screamed and kicked and dragged on his arm. She tried to grab the tree, or a root, anything.
He flung her on the ground and his fist smacked into her face. Her head shuddered against the ground. Softer than the sidewalk, she thought absently. His fist connected again, hitting her cheek so hard that it felt like her eye socket squeezed tight. April still clawed and struck out at him; dizzy and disorientated, she knew she wasn't much of a fight. April squirmed, desperately trying to roll away. She begged him to stop, she beat him, she yelled at him to stop. He thumped her in the face again. Head flattened to the side, April saw Julie still wasn't moving. She didn't even look to be breathing. The man's fists pounded into her ribs. All the air squeezed out of her.
She caught his eye again, seeing once more the manic look. She knew what was coming for her, for her and her sister. She screamed one last desperate cry for him to stop. He froze. Her desperation drove her to clarity. 'Get away from me'. He backed away. April crawled closer to Julie. Her eyes must have been closed, but it was hard to tell. Her face was bloodied, purpling and puffing up already. She was too still. April grabbed her hand. She looked frantically over her shoulder at the man. He was trying to move towards her but seemed to be struggling against something, like a gale force wind or invisible wall. He was fighting it. April turned to the man, wishing him all the pain in the world. She had never felt hatred like this before. 'You should stop breathing' she snarled and turned to Juliette. She wasn't moving, she wasn't breathing. 'Breathe' she begged her. The girl took a shallow breath. Then another.
A strange sound alerted April that the man was still there. His eyes were bulging as he fell to his knees. He grasped at his throat, trying to drag in a breath. He choked. Foam gurgled in his throat. She watched as his face changed colour; the redness fading to white as he fell to the ground. She watched him writhe on the ground. He didn't look away from her, even when he stopped struggling. She watched the anger and fear die in his eyes and stared at the dullness that remained.
Her sister kept breathing but she was too injured to move. April felt in Julie's pocket for her mobile. It had been smashed with the sheer force of their attacker's fists. April had left hers at home. She was going to have to go for help. "Julie, Julie sweetie, it's going to be okay. I'll be right back." She stroked her sister's blonde hair off of her swollen face. 'Keep breathing'.
Before she left her sister alone, April stumbled over to the body of their attacker. He was a strange colour. White, with a tinge of blue. April took a moment to realise that she had killed him. Somehow, she had wished he was dead and then he was. She shuffled away from him and broke into a run. Julie was all that mattered right now, she told herself.