Chapter uno! R&R

Blood trickled down my arm from my shoulder. It dripped slowly off of my finger tips and onto the white rubber toes of my shoes as I stumbled down the road; hoping to find somebody, anybody to help me. No cars could be seen, coming or going on the long dirt road. I tripped over a rock in the path, but caught myself before I fell down the hill. As I steadied myself I noticed headlights approaching slowly.

They would help me, they just had to.

I clambered clumsily into the middle of the road, and as the cars headlights showed the driver my condition, it came screeching to a halt. The man inside, the driver, looked to be somewhere in his forties. He had worry lines crossing his brow,

Probably has kids. I thought. He looked friendly enough, but his eyes were filled with fear at my bloody form. He had a wife I noticed, but she was already out of the car stepping cautiously towards me as if she was scared.

"Honey?" She asked with a sweet voice and a pretty smile. She would help me. "Honey what happened to you?"

I couldn't answer that. I really wasn't sure; things had happened so fast…nobody was supposed to get hurt.

Everything came rushing back so fast it almost gave me a headache. Andrew, my older brother of twenty one years, falling to the ground dead; shot down by our…my brother. Mama screaming, but being silenced as another shot rang out in the otherwise silent night. Daddy had tried to stop him, to yank the gun from his hand, but he was silenced as well. Things were getting out of hand, I couldn't sit by and watch silently anymore; I had to get out.

I rose quietly, slowly, hoping he hadn't seen me. Tommy and Nora were hiding behind the couch, too scared and too young to understand what was happening.

Their quiet terrified sobs almost broke my heart as I picked them up gingerly, still trying to avoid the fiery gaze of my once beloved twin brother.

"Sissy where's Mommy!" Nora had screamed and I silently cursed her as I heard the gun being cocked. My breath caught in my throat when the shot went off. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion; I thought I was going to die. I looked down into the terrified faces of my younger siblings, willing them to get out before our brother turned on them too.

I held my breath, just waiting for the pain to come; for my body to go limp and fall to the floor. Nothing happened. I expected to be dead by then, but when I looked at Tommy; I figured out why I wasn't. His tiny little three year old chest was blossoming with crimson liquid; I was later horrified to discover it was blood.

This shouldn't be happening! I thought fleetingly as another bang sounded from the gun, luckily he had aimed too high and it bounced off of the ceiling.

I tried to open the door; to escape and save at least me and Nora, but it proved impossible. My arms were full. I couldn't let go of Tommy though. I just couldn't leave him there. He had a glazed look in his eyes, almost like he was blind, and as much as I didn't want to think about it, my baby brother was dead.

I somehow managed to pry open the door and stick my foot out before one final shot sounded.

Pain raced through my shoulder; I could feel the bullet pass through my bone and exit out the other side. I screamed in pain and stumbled out the door, bleeding down the hallway as I tried to escape. I heard my brother cursing at me as he pursued, but I wasn't going to slow down. I had to get away; I didn't want to die.

I don't know how long I ran, bleeding with my baby brother and sister in my arms; but it was too long. I didn't stop until I saw the "Welcome to Oklahoma sign," and I was too exhausted to go on. My siblings were like lead blocks strapped to my arms, but I couldn't drop them. Not here, not ever.

Nora had been quiet the entire time, I hadn't thought anything of it before, but when I looked at her once rosy cheeks, I realized why. There was a bullet hole in her forehead.

It's the same one that got me! I remember thinking before collapsing on the ground from blood loss and grief. My entire family, had been wiped out in a matter of minutes…hours? I really didn't know. My head swam with fuzzy images, a car passing slowly, but not noticing me, a bird landing on the sign…

"Honey come here." The woman's voice woke me from my trance and she wrapped a dainty arm around my shoulder, causing me to cry out in pain. "Shhh…" she cooed as she ushered me towards the back seat of the car. "Just relax, we're going to take you to a hospital, you're okay now. You're safe." I suddenly realized Nora and Tommy were still behind me, laying somewhere on the side of the road.

"No!" I screamed and tried to wriggle free of her arm. "No I have to go back!" She was stronger than she looked, and she held tight to my un-injured arm.

"Easy baby, let's go to the hospital. We can call your parents from there." At the mention of my parents, every limb on my body went stiff. My heart stopped beating and I felt like I couldn't breathe. The woman must've noticed, but she didn't say anything, just pulled gently on my arm until I climbed into the back seat with her.

Thanks for READING! lol R&R