The Hounds of Loud
Chapter 1- Don't Dwell on the Past
Edroy, Texas, USA 2024
The sun was rising over the hills of Texas as our white-haired hero took a final swig of water from his travel bottle. Lincoln was his name, but you already knew that. What you probably didn't know is that he's 18 and clad in a leather jacket. Underneath his jacket lies a red prosthetic arm going up to his elbow, replacing a missing left arm. The cool air was pleasant on the young adult especially since he hadn't been used to the hot climate of the state he had resided in for the past couple of days.
The clanking of spur leaden boots welcomed an old friend of Lincoln's, Adam. He was much older than the white-haired boy, he dressed like a stereotypical cowboy minus the hat. He spoke with a thick western accent as his long platinum blonde hair flowed with the wind.
"You all set?" Adam asked Lincoln who responded with a small nod, "Michigan is approximately a thousand miles away on road, should take you roughly two days with minimal stops and light traffic. The bike should have enough gas to take you a quarter of the way."
Lincoln turned to the black motorcycle which he would soon become very acquainted with. He sat down on the seat and got a feel for it, he turned to Adam and asked him calmly:
"You got my Holo-droid?"
Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a handheld device with what looked to be a small camera on the front of it. He handed it over to Lincoln who pushed a button on the side as a holographic screen appeared in front of the lens. The screen showed a map of the united states with a route to Royal Woods in Michigan.
"I thought you got the route memorized." Adam joked.
"Don't need it for the map," Lincoln replied as he plugged a set of earbuds into the side of the Holo-droid.
Adam smirked as whistled for his horse which arrived swiftly. He hopped onto the white mare as Lincoln turned to him.
"What about you, you planning on staying in your hometown for a bit or heading back?" Lincoln asked.
"I'll probably stay for a month or 2, my work is never done but if you ever need a favor then don't be afraid to call." Adam responded.
Lincoln started the engine of the motorcycle as he looked to the prosthetic limb that now occupied his left arm. His face turned sour as memories seeped through his mind. He was pried out of it when Adam yelled:
"Hey! That's all behind you now, your back home and safe. Don't dwell on the past my friend, you've got a whole future ahead of you."
Lincoln smiled as he turned to Adam. Just as Adam was about to spur his horse, Lincoln spoke up.
"In case we never see each other again, I want to let you know that you've been a real friend to me these past couples of years and, although our paths split from here, I'm glad you've helped me through them."
Adam gave a warm smile as he rode in the other direction. Lincoln brought up his Holo-droid again and flipped to his music. After a couple of seconds searching he found a song he liked, 'Carry on Wayward Son' by Kansas. He put the device in the pocket of his jacket as he took off down the road.
Royal Woods, Michigan, USA 2024 (2 days later)
After much time on the open road, Lincoln finally made it back to his hometown, Royal Woods. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of his hometown looking ever so similar to when he left it 7 years ago. Though some things looked different, modern houses, people on holophones, interactive adverts. As he made his way through the town he noticed his old school, Royal Woods Elementary. Looking at the digital sign which told people events at the school he noticed a particular event that was on today, a play put on by the younger members of the school. The real thing that caught his eye was the stars, particularly, a girl by the name of Lily Loud… his youngest sister.
Lincoln parked his motorcycle outside the school and walked through the familiar halls until he found the auditorium. He heard slightly off-key yet cutesy singing coming from behind the door. He entered in to find a packed theatre and a stage of young performers. He took a seat at the very back and watched the performance. Though the play was littered with obvious script reading and a lack of refinement he still enjoyed it. He found that there was something oddly fun about the whole event considering he remember going to his fair share with his older siblings.
The performance truly picked up for him when a familiar looking girl came on stage, she had light blonde hair and was looked identical to Lana and Lola when they were young. He could only deduce that she was Lily. Her singing was far greater than the other students as well as her acting performance. She was a natural performer and it showed. Looking at her, Lincoln couldn't help but regret how much he missed her when she was growing up. His prosthetic hand clenched into a fist as memories came flowing back to him. This was interrupted by a crowd of clapping and cheering people as the performance finished. Lincoln couldn't help but give a standing ovation for the young performers.
As the crowd of parents and student made their way out of the theatre, Lincoln slipped by into the backstage to find his younger sister. He moved quietly and quickly as to not upset any authorities. Looking behind one of the velvet curtains he saw her. He began to wonder if that really was her and what if she wasn't. His suspicions were confirmed however when a blond headed woman came up to the young girl.
"You were amazing Lily!" The woman cried in joy as she knelt down and hugged her, "I am so proud of you."
"Thanks, Lori!" Lily happily replied as she returned the hug.
Lincoln couldn't help but stare in awe and happiness. His oldest sister and his youngest were right in front of him after 7 years. He slowly moved out of the curtains and walked up to them.
"There room for one more?" Lincoln said in a soft tone.
Lily looked at the white-haired boy confused as Lori turned around. She was concerned about this stranger asking to join in on this hug.
"Excuse me sir but do you know me and my sis-" Her expression then changed as she noticed the white hair and freckles, "Lincoln?"
"The one and only." Lincoln said as he stretched out his arms.
"Lori, isn't Lincoln my lost older brother?" The young loud girl asked.
Lori didn't respond as she moved in closer to her now much taller brother. Looking deep into his eyes she saw it, the young goofy brother she had lost. Tears began to form in her eyes as she hugged her brother as hard as she could. Lily got all the information she needed from that. The 2 siblings broke away from their hug as Lori began to ask a ton of questions:
"Where have you been for the past 7 years? what happened? How did you get here? What happened to your arm?" Lori rambled on as Lincoln signaled her to quiet down.
"Answers for another time Lori, for now where's the other sisters or our parents? I'm so excited to see them again after all this time." Lincoln asked.
Lori looked at him with a concerned face as she responded:
"As you said Lincoln, answers for another time." But then she brightened up slightly "Why don't you come back to my place, we can catch up and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
Lincoln agreed as they began making their way out of the auditorium. Lily couldn't help but ask what happened to his arm despite Lori telling her to stop. Lincoln simply ruffled her hair and moved on with Lori outside the school grounds.
"My car is in the parking lot if you want to ride with." Lori explained to Lincoln.
"No thanks Lori, I got my own ride." Lincoln responded as he pointed to the motorcycle, "I'll follow you ok."
Lily couldn't help but stare in awe at the motorcycle.
"Cool!" She said excitedly "Can I ride?"
Lily begged Lincoln. Before Lori could protest, Lincoln responded:
"Not yet, as soon as we get a jacket and a bike helmet for you then I'll take you for a spin."
Lily jumped around in anticipation as Lori shot a concerned yet happy look at Lincoln who turned on his motorcycle ready to follow his 2 sisters.
Lori's House, Royal Wood, Michigan, USA 2024 (10 mins later)
The 3 Loud siblings arrived at the small, modern looking home. It was colored the same light blue as Lori's favorite color with nice looking flowers planted around the front. Lincoln hopped off his motorcycle and whistled at the sight of the house.
"Nice place you got here sis." Lincoln commented as Lori and Lily exited the small sedan that they had been riding around in.
"Thank you, Bobby and I wanted something small and cozy for our first house." Lori replied.
"So, you and Bobby are still together huh. I thought you two were gonna live in the city?" Lincoln asked.
"We were but… things got in the way. Come in, I'll get the kettle started. Are you a coffee or a tea man?" Lori asked as she unlocked the front door.
The inside of the house was well furnished and clean. Carpet laid through most of the house and it had a flowery scent. Lily scampered past Lincoln to the back of the house. He assumed her room was around there since the house had no upper levels. Lincoln took a seat in the living room on one of the nice-looking couches. He was impressed with how nice the place looked as Lori came out of the kitchen.
"Looks nice on the inside too, you guys win a lottery or something?" Lincoln joked.
"Well my lawyer has been paying off quite nicely as of late and business has been good at Bobby's store." Lori responded.
"Quite a way to drive for him, anyway it's nice to see you're doing well for yourselves. Though might I ask why Lily's staying over here?" Lincoln asked.
Lori sighed.
"Where to begin, things haven't been so good after you left. The sisters fell into chaos without you as did our parents, things only got worse after Mom and Dad… died." Lori explained.
"Died!" Lincoln shot up "How?"
"There was an accident or something, the police didn't explain much especially after we all started freaking out. After the funeral, we agreed that when we reach adulthood we would have a responsibility to one younger sibling each. I left a year after our parent's death when I and some of the other siblings had a… falling out. I agreed to look after Lily and send a portion of my earnings to the house for extra help." Lori told her younger brother.
"What happened to the rest of the siblings?" Lincoln asked.
"I don't really know, the only one who's willing to talk to me is Leni and she rarely ever talks about the others. I was going to visit them, but I thought that would only make things worse." Lori replied.
Lincoln sat back down as he began to process what he had just heard. He knew his absence would have an effect his family but not to this degree.
"I know you're a little overwhelmed at the moment, but I'd just like to let you know that this isn't your fault." Lori said to Lincoln in a forgiving fashion.
"I'd like to believe you, Lori… but I don't." Lincoln responded.
"Lincoln," Lori said in a sad tone before switching to a little more lighter tone. "Enough about us, what about you. What happened to you over the past couple of years?"
Lori looked at Lincoln's red, prosthetic hand as Lincoln began to grip it with his other hand.
"It's hard to explain, I was kidnapped… then they forced me to…" Lincoln stumbled as he left out the important details "I don't want to talk about it."
Lori softened her look as she put her hand on Lincoln's.
"It's ok, you don't have to."
The somber moment was interrupted by the clicking of the kettle being done.
Several hours later
Lincoln was outside playing Frisbee with Lily. Despite her height, she was doing pretty well against the much taller sibling. Lori sat on the steps outside of her door watching her 2 younger siblings playing together after so many years of being apart was gratifying for her. The game, however, came to a complete halt when a car pulled into the driveway.
"Bobby's back!" Lily yelled in excitement as she ran to the door of the car.
Lincoln turned around to see the man of his sister's life. Bobby hugged the young girl and proceeded to approach Lincoln. The 2 men stared at each other for a bit until Bobby proceeded to give Lincoln a big, hardy hug.
"Lincoln!" Bobby yelled with joy "Lori told me over the phone that you were back bro, look at you."
"Yeah, no longer the little bro I once was. Nice to see you again Bobby." Lincoln responded.
"Been treating my sisters well I hope." Lincoln joked with Bobby.
Lori and Bobby had a short kiss before going back inside with Lincoln and Lily. They sat around the table talking as Lily was playing on her Holophone.
"Nice prosthetic arm bro, a military model from the looks of it." Bobby commented.
"How did you-" Lincoln was about to asked but Bobby jumped the gun.
"One of my relatives had to get his arm amputated cause of an infection. One of those models were suggested but they were a little expensive for him."
"Yeah, it's bulletproof, waterproof, extremely responsive and has inbuilt solar charging so I never have to stick a cable in it. A friend of mine got it for me." Lincoln explained as he showed it off.
"Well, that's good. Listen Bobby honey, could you get to making dinner. I'm sure Lincoln is very hungry after today." Lori interjected.
Bobby agreed and moved off to make dinner for the Loud siblings. As Lincoln was sitting there he noticed something on Lori's left hand. A ring.
"Lori?" Lincoln asked, "Is that a…" He said as he pointed to her finger.
She looked down then back up at him and smiled.
"Yes Lincoln, it's an engagement ring." Lori responded.
Lincoln smiled as he looked at Lori.
"They're getting married." Lily stated.
Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle at her obvious statement.
"Are they now, well I imagine a certain someone will make a great flower girl." Lincoln told Lily.
The young girl giggled as she looked at her current guardian who was looking at the ring on her hand.
An hour later
Lori lead Lincoln to the couch which was now converted into being a bed.
"Here's where you'll be sleeping tonight Lincoln and I left some of Bobby's old PJs in the bathroom where you can have a shower if you want." Lori told him.
"Thanks Lori, I'm glad to see everything's not all bad around here." Lincoln responded.
Lori nodded then walked out of the room. Lincoln sat on the side of the bed and took out his Holo-droid, he flicked to the music section and found a sound file named ' 3'. He put in his earbuds and played the sound file. The sound of gentle humming ringed softly through the buds as Lincoln drifted soundly to sleep.
Unprepared for the days to come.
And that was the first chapter. For those who are confused or are thinking "Isn't this similar to your other fanfic", I have cancelled that one and am relplacing it with this. I think this is the better version anyway but hey, feel free to share your thoughts. Anyway, Maroon out!