Chapter One: Remembering

2010

Allison Frog walked in the back of her house. It wasn't much, just a small forest, but it was something.

Behind her, Sam Emerson walked along, following her path.

"Which way is the way home again?" He asked her, getting tired of walking already.

Her mother, Natalie, had asked him to go with her to make sure nothing happened to her. She was so protective after what happened to Alan.

"The way we're going Sam," The sixteen year old sighed. She was tired of Sam's complaining.

"You know, we better watch where we step because your Uncle Edgar-" Sam's sentence was cut short as a rope tied around his foot, dragging him up so he was dangling out of a tree limb.

"Sam?" Allie asked, turning around. She took one step forward and faced the same fate.

"...sets...traps..." Sam finished his sentence, crossing his arms as he hung upside down. "Now we're NEVER going to get home!"

"Shut up, you're not making this any better."

"Well it can't get any worse!"

The two of them were like brother and sister, always bickering over the small things, but other times they were like best friends. Allie had her younger cousins to deal with, so Sam got on her nerves most of the time.

"Do you have your phone with you?" Sam asked her.

"No, I was afraid I was going to lose it. You have yours?"

"I think so..." Sam scavenged through his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

He began dialing the house phone when he saw a tiny black dot float down in front of the screen. His eyes focused and the image cleared; it was a spider, something Sam hated. Spiders were right under 'vampires' in his fear list.

He stared at it in shock. It might have been small but it still scared him, even if he was thirty-nine. He reached his hand to grab the spider and quickly throw it to the ground below, but it crawled up his arm. The hand that was holding Sam's phone shot across and smacked his arm, dropping the phone (and squashing the spider) in the process.

"Damn it!" He cursed.

"What?" Allie didn't see what just happened, her eyes were closed and she was trying to think of a way to explain this to her mother.

"I dropped the phone."

"YOU WHAT? Sam! Now you can't blame me for being stuck out here!"

"Well if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be out here in the first place..."Sam grumbled, crossing his arms again.

He looked a lot like a vampire. Allie had gone vampire hunting twice with her uncle and aunt, sometimes even her mother went but that was not very common, and every single time she saw a vampire sleeping during the day they looked almost exactly as Sam did at that moment.

"You're just pissed because you don't like to be responsible," She replied to him.

Sam chuckled.

"What the hell could make you laugh at a time like this?" Allie noted her swearing; but that wasn't her fault. When she was nervous or mad, that's pretty much what she did- swear.

"You sound like your mother," He kept chuckling.

She sighed, ignoring Sam the best she could, and began to think, try to sleep even- something to pass the time.

The first thought that came to mind was her father. She remembered him well, she was only about nine when he got turned, and how much better this would of been with him hanging in the other tree. From what she could remember he was always laughing at stuff like that, even if it happened to him. If he was here she wouldn't be listening to Sam's complaints. The two of them would probably be laughing at this. Hell, her mother might have been in this situation with them if there was another trap.

The thinking brought her into her memories. Memories she wished she could forget sometimes, but was grateful to have them.

2005

"Allison Frog what the hell are you doing?" Her mother asked her, looking up from her book that she was reading. Allie remembered the cover being black, with a green, scaly, clawed hand reaching out of the sewer. The name was faint but soon floated into her mind. IT. IT by Stephen King. That's what it was.

Allie was trying to get under the couch, hiding from her cousin, Alex.

"Shhh, Mom! I'm trying to hide from Alex! He's gonna find me if you keep talking!" Allie told Natalie.

"Where's Cassie?"

Allie was now completely under the couch when her mother whispered the question.

"She's in the kitchen, but don't tell Alex."

Her cousin Cassie was Edgar and Sky's child, only a year younger than Allie. She was the middle aged child in the Frog family, Alex being the youngest because he was born two years after Allie.

"I won't." Her mother promised, laughing quietly.

"Eight...nine...ten!" Alex ran into the living room first, knowing his sister would hide there. His mousy brown hair bounced as he ran. He resembled Edgar, his father, like that. He had his brown eyes and everything.

"Hey Alex, don't tell them I told you, but they're upstairs." Allie heard her mother whisper.

Allie listened to her cousin's footsteps as he ran up the staircase and into the hallway.

"Nice on, Mom." Allie giggled.

Natalie chuckled and continued reading.

Outside, Edgar pulled in the driveway. Sam sat in the back, Sky and Edgar in driver and passenger. They left with four but returned with three.

"How are we going to explain this to her?" Edgar asked his wife.

She looked over to him, slight tears in her eyes. The water glistened in the moonlight as she stared at him, thinking.

"We'll just have to tell her. She's going to find out sooner or later." She explained.

Sam was silent during the conversation. He had just lost one of his best friends- possibly forever. He had no clue, no one did, how long it would take to get Alan back.

"Let's get this over with." Sam sighed, getting out.

Edgar and Sky followed after him.

"Alright, everyone to bed. If your parents find out I kept you up this late...who knows what will happen." Natalie said jokingly to her niece and nephew. In truth, she didn't want them to find out about vampires yet. Edgar and Sky had agreed with her and Alan not to tell their children unless they absolutely had to.

Alex had found Cassie but was still searching for Allie.

"Awww! Aunt Nat! Wait until I find Allie!" Alex begged, wanting more time.

"Nope. Up to bed. Come on." Nat rose from the couch and ushered them to the staircase where they made their way into their bedrooms. Natalie returned back downstairs to find out how the vampire hunt had gone.

"If we're quiet, we can sit on the stairs and listen to what their talking about." Cassie whispered to Allie once her brother was in his room.

"If you want to. We just can't get caught." Allie whispered back.

"We won't. Promise."

The two of them sat on a spot on the stairs, listening to the door creak open and awaiting conversation.

Edgar looked at Nat, glancing at the floor awkwardly. He had no way how he was going to do this. She would be crushed, maybe even more than he was. Sky and Sam walked in behind him and looked at the walls and ceiling, trying to avoid this conversation as much as Edgar.

Nat rose up on her tip toes, looking behind them to see if Alan was there. His presence was absent. She looked in confusion; where was he?

"Where's Alan?" She asked innocently, sounding like the teenager she once was.

"Umm...Nat...you see..." Sam started to say. He searched for the right words but couldn't find them. This was going to be horrible.

Sky stepped forward. If no one could tell her, then she would. Nat was her best friend and the it didn't matter who gave the grave news, it would still be the same reaction.

"Let me explain what happened..."

As she listened to her aunt explain what had happened, Alex cut into Allie's hearing.

"What are they talking about?" He asked.

"SHHH!" Both girls said.

"Go back to your room!" Cassie said.

"But I want to know what they're saying!" Alex whined.

"I'll tell you tomorrow! Go away, we're missing it!" Allie told him.

"Fine." Alex pouted away like Edgar probably would have done.

The girls tuned in to the adults' talking once more. All they got in reply were sobs and choked speech.

"I-I told him not- not to go. I asked him if he- if he wanted to stay home tonight and- and- and-"

Allie heard her mother's words. She could tell that her mom was trying not to cry, but it was hopeless. She could tell that Natalie was going to cry any second now.

"Sky, what am I gonna do?" Sky hugged her best friend as she cried. Tears fell from her cheeks and rolled onto her shirt, but Sky didn't care. She was crying herself.

"It'll be fine." She sounded like a mother talking to Nat. It was odd, she hadn't really ever seen Natalie cry before.

"But what am I going to tell," She stopped and sniffled. "What am I going to tell Allie?"

"You're going to have to tell the truth." Sam said, looking at the floor so he didn't see the tears and started crying himself.

Edgar glanced at the blonde. He knew he was right, but how was Allie going to handle the knowledge that vampires were real? She'd probably think they were all crazy.

"I think I'm going to go sleep now." Natalie's voice was monotone and full of sorrow.

As she walked towards the stairs, the two girls ran to their rooms as to not be caught. Allie's mind was spinning with questions but she ignored them. She would eventually find out; Sam had said so.

Natalie spun around on her heels and walked to Edgar. She hugged him; if she was feeling this much pain about Alan, she had no idea what Edgar was feeling. They were brothers and he was far closer to Alan than she ever could be. Her brother-in-law hugged her back.

"I'm sorry Edgar." She whispered. "I have no idea how hard this is to you, but I can't even imagine it."

Edgar's eyes shut tightly, trying but failing to keep a tear from falling.

"Thanks." He replied.

Nat let go of him and retreated to her own bedroom. She lay down in the bed, her face turned towards the wall. She didn't want to turn around; she was afraid at what she might see. She knew in her heart that the other side next to her was empty but seeing it with her own eyes might just kill her with heartbreak. Curiosity got the best of her and she turned slightly, just enough to get a glance at the emptiness. Her eyes watered up and she cried into her pillow.

Damn. I swear to God that was one of the hardest tings to write ever...I think I teared up a bit at that one.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to write the next chapter soon enough so I can write something happier than that.

(Meh...sorry for errors once again. I didn't edit...again.)