Lincoln stood next to his sisters and mother in front of the vacation home, his anxiety overflowing as tears ran down his face and his heart pounded in his chest. The place was almost completely engulfed in flames, and his 8-year old sister was trapped inside.
"Dad's been in there trying to find her for over five minutes, we gotta do something!"
Rita's eyes went wide. "No way, Lincoln. You can't go back inside, it's far too dangerous!"
Lincoln was being held back by Lori and Lynn when a scream was heard from within the house. Imagining the worst scenario, Lincoln fell to his knees as the waterworks continued. When the place began to fall apart, he looked up.
Lynn Sr. emerged from the house with Lucy on his shoulder. He looked as if he returned from a fierce battle, and Lucy's clothing was well beyond disheveled.
"I got her! I got her, let's go!"
They all piled into the available vehicles, Lori and Rita immediately starting up the cars. Lucy coughed uncontrollably as she lied in Lincoln's arms with their dad sitting next to them. Her eyes were visible. They looked weak, but the fear stood out.
"L-Lucy, what happened in there?" Lincoln smoothed her thick black hair. Coughing up some smoke, she looked more pale than usual. Her eyes were locked on his when she began to form a verbal response, but to no avail. Lincoln's bottom lip quivered as Lucy's eyes slowly closed and her body began to feel heavy.
Everyone turned to look at him. He was hyperventilating. He tried to feel her pulse and her heartbeat when one dreadful thought came to mind.
"Lucy, are you alright? Lucy? Lucy! LUCY!"
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Nickelodeon. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 1: The Delayed Departure
There is always that summer that changes you. The summer solstice is a season of fun, adventure, relaxation, love and much more. The days are longer and the nights are shorter. Everyone gets the opportunity to enjoy vacationing, swimming, spending quality time with friends or simply not having to attend school. It would soon be the Loud children's first time vacationing at a luxury vacation home.
A summer morning in Royal Woods is quite the experience: The entire town glowed under the rising sun's morning warmth. Morning breezes from the north create a tranquil atmosphere never felt other times of the day. The leaves in the trees and the grass glistered in the sun, which gleamed through the high level cumulus clouds that were boundless to the horizon. The limitless sky showed its endless beauty. A blazing glow slowly rising indicated the beginning of a new day. Everyone awoke to the spots of rising sunlight swaying and flickering across the interior of their rooms, a fragrance of lilies and gardenias traveling through open windows. The broad, extensive gloomy to bright sky meets front lawns and parks throughout the town. The singing of birds perched in trees heard on every residential block made early risers slowly and temporarily forget about their stresses.
This was true for all except one family on one particular morning.
It was a morning like no other at the Loud residence. Suitcases and duffel bags were stacked high at the front door as everyone was running up and down the stairs to gather all of their belongings. The sink was filled with last night's dishes, and the Loud parents were filled with anxiety. Lincoln and his family were on their way to their vacation cottage.
"We don't have much time Lori, mom and dad are, like, freaking out." Leni stated, her hair slightly messy.
"Well, it's literally your fault for not setting the alarm clock correctly."
"Yeah I did… click the snooze button before you go to sleep."
"Just…" Lori looked down. "Just make sure Lily eats all her breakfast." She said sternly before heading to the living room.
Lori had spent the majority of her time texting Bobby and barely lifting a finger to move any bags that didn't belong to her, which is why she was in utter shock when she took a moment to observe her surroundings. Lynn Sr. and Rita were speaking in private while on the phone with the nearest taxicab company. Lisa was sitting on an abnormally large suitcase writing on a notepad. Luan chose the worst time to play tag with Lola and Lana, the running disrupting what everyone was doing. To the eldest sister, Lynn seemed to be the only one doing real work, since she was carrying everyone's luggage downstairs.
After the athlete of the family dropped two more bags at the door, she turned to acknowledge who was approaching her. "Lynn, could you move these further from the door, they're blocking the entrance."
The 13 year old felt like a wet noodle. "Dang it, Lori. Order someone else to do it, like lazy bones over there." Lynn turned to point at Lisa.
"No can do sis, I'm writing a catalog of our imperative needs so nothing is left behind, we cannot miss our flight." Lisa informed them. "I advise you to take your Dramamine before entering the cab." She stated, turning to look up at Lori.
"Right..."
The Louds would be taking a flight to their vacation home located on the outskirts of the North Peninsula in Michigan. It was a trip Lynn Sr. and Rita had been planning for a long time, which they announced to the kids just the night before. Two weeks of paradise is what everyone had in mind. Boarding passes were distributed, luggage bags were packed and everyone was read to head out of the Loud residence.
Lori told Lynn to sit down momentarily as she searched the entire bottom floor to make sure nobody forgot anything. She checked the cabinets, couch cushions, and even underneath furniture. The last thing she needed was a reason why their family couldn't go on vacation. After feeling confident that everything was in check and some reassuring from her mother, Lori's stomach began to convulse before she ran to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Minutes later, the majority of the sisters were in the living room waiting for the cabs to arrive. Lynn Sr. and Rita moved the luggage from the door after Lisa announced how much time till the transportation would arrive. Lori's mind was racing as she quickly covered slices of bread with globs of peanut butter, realizing that she probably wasn't the only one hungry after waking so early. After she was finished, she took a bite out of one and threw the rest in a cooler with some napkins.
"Dudes, how long till the cabs arrive?" Luna asked upon reaching the bottom step of the stairs.
"Approximately eight minutes, 42 seconds." Lisa checked her watch. "Maybe nine minutes. Its best we do a head count before we leave."
"You can count on me!" Luan called out as she held a calculator in the air. Because the majority was excited to depart, everyone laughed.
"Lola, Lana, quit running and sit down!" Rita ordered the twins.
"Okay, that was a clever one Luan." Lisa joked as she began the head count. "Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn,"
"Lincoln?"
Everyone in the living room, including Lucy who arrived shortly after Luna, turned their heads towards Lori.
"Lincoln, where's Lincoln?"
Everyone looked around after realizing his absence since the previous night.
"Maybe he's still packing, kid's got a lot of junk in his room." Lynn suggested.
"Yeah, you're one to talk." Lucy replied with a clever reposte.
"Where did you even come from?" Lynn retorted with a glare.
"Dang it Lincoln…" The eldest sister whispered to herself. "I'll get him."
As Lori reached the top of the stairs and headed to Lincoln's door, she noticed a lack of noise. What is he doing? With no hesitation, she approached her brother's bedroom door and knocked a few times. To her surprise, there was no response. She tried this again, a little louder this time. Seconds later, slight scuffling was heard on the other side of the door, which was followed by the turning of the knob. Thinking back on how they had to depart in just a few, Lori began to grow irritated.
The door quickly creaked open, the figure of a half-asleep boy now in Lori's vision. She studied his face, curious as to why he looked like he'd just woken from a deep sleep. She then looked passed that after taking notice of an empty duffel bag. Lincoln didn't seem to be getting ready to leave the house like his sisters expected. In fact, he just stood in the doorway as if he was stoned. Lori's irritation was instantly replaced with a baffled feeling. Lori lightly tapped him on his right shoulder a couple times to get his attention.
"Wha-What is it." Lincoln finally said after a long stretch.
Lori exhaled and shook her head."Our vacation, Lincoln. Tell me you didn't forget." Lori then pointed to his duffel bag, indicating that it was time to pack. She then headed back downstairs. Lincoln then slowly turned around to take a look at his alarm clock.
"I'm late!" Lincoln yelled, now fully awake. It wasn't in his best interest to sleep late.
The sound of car horns were heard coming from outside the house. Registering how limited his time was, Lincoln flung open his drawers and threw countless shirts, pants and underclothes into his duffel bag. He then threw on an old pair of Adidas shoes and ran down the hall to the bathroom.
The rest of the family was loading their luggage in the cars. The cab/uber vehicles were three large SUVs, one parked in the driveway and two on the street in front of the Loud residence. They couldn't use Vanzilla because Pop-Pop was borrowing it. The car would also be too small to fit thirteen people and substantial luggage.
"Alright everyone, we've got 55 minutes before our flight leaves, let's be quick with the luggage." Rita announced loud enough for the entire block to hear as she stood on the front porch. "Lisa, time status?"
"There's little traffic on the route to Royal Woods Airport, so if we depart in approximately 3 minutes…we'll arrive 45 minutes from now."
The Loud family was never more dysfunctional than when in a rush to go someplace. The idea of a vacation getaway only made it more difficult for everyone to communicate rationally. Meanwhile, Lincoln was upstairs brushing his teeth as fast as he could. Water flew onto his shirt and to the floor when he inadvertently spat his mouthwash at the counter, making him hastier. Living with so many sisters made hygiene a top priority when leaving the house.
Can't be late, can't be late! The white-haired boy yelled to himself as he ran back to his room to get a clean shirt. He grabbed an orange polo from a hanger above his dresser and began to put it on. He was then distracted by the loud noises outside his window, which made getting out the house an arduous task.
"I'm sitting near the window!" Lola yelled to Lana, hooking Lincoln's attention.
"Not if I get in the car first!" Lana scolded back, causing the two to wrestle for the seat in one of the vehicles.
"Both of you get window seats. Bloody hell, there are three cars!" Luna chided, the scowl on her face making the twins abide to her.
Lincoln was in panic mode after hearing this. Without realizing a shoe flew off his foot, he quickly grabbed his duffel bags with both hands as his head was stuck in his shirt. The rest of the family was nearly done loading the vehicles with their luggage and began seat placement. Would they seriously leave him behind?
"All the cars are loaded, time to hit the road!" Lynn shouted as she closed the trunk in the driveway. She then took a seat as Lisa began to do a second headcount. She exited one of the cars to check the rest, making sure everyone was present. Double checking things was a silly Loud family principle she had to abide by from time to time. She proceeded to quickly skim the windows, subsequently giving Rita a thumbs up. Upon arriving back to her seat, Lori grabbed her attention.
"Lisa, did you see Lincoln leave the house yet?"
Lisa nodded. "I'm pretty sure he's sitting next to Luna, but I only looked for a second…can't stand that irksome rock music she listens to."
"Alright, I'll check just to make sure."
Lori stepped out of the SUV and walked over to the other two. To her surprise, Lincoln wasn't present. After searching once more and feeling pressured for time, she backed up to stand at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the house. She kept her stomach tucked and slowly inhaled, filling her lungs with oxygen. "LINCOLN!" The eldest sister screamed loud enough to stop traffic, causing the rest to lower their car windows to look in her direction. "GET DOWN HERE, WE GOTTA GO!"
"Tick tock, Lincoln." Lucy said to herself.
Lincoln was halfway down the stairs when he realized something was missing. "My shoe came off?!" He grunted as he continued to fight with his shirt. He then dropped his luggage and headed back to his room, nervous he'd be left behind. As he entered his room, he was unaware of how much of a mess it was, which included one of Lynn's soccer balls, a piece of broken glass, and a pile of laundry. The shirt covering his eyes made it even more difficult to navigate. About halfway into the room, the 11-year old heard a muffled tearing noise near the ground, which was followed by a loud scream.
"AAAAAARRGH!" The eleven year old screamed as he fell to the ground clutching his foot. The yelp echoed through the home, but not quite loud enough for those outside to hear.
Lincoln quickly threw off his shirt to examine his foot. The blood that gushed from the wound underneath his foot was a sight he wouldn't forget for a long time. Scared to move his lower extremity, he inhaled and exhaled rapidly, almost hyperventilating. Lincoln had sustained injuries before, but never one involving so much blood. Out of bravery, the white-haired boy put his shirt in his mouth and bit down hard. He then carefully gripped the sharp piece of glass that was lodged in his foot and at the speed of a snail, began to pull it out. The pain was quite immense at first, but his mind set on other things made the process slightly less dreadful. He wasn't very resilient to pain, but he sucessfully pulled the glass out. Blood began to stain the green carpeting, but thinking about the vacation made him look past it. He carefully scooted closer to a role of tape that was on his dresser. He grabbed it, took a well-absorbent washcloth out of a drawer and wrapped his foot with it, subsequently putting tape around it.
Well, this is the shocking event of the year. He thought to himself as he carefully used the dresser to pull himself up. After Lincoln picked up the missing shoe and loosened the laces to create more room, he attentively placed his wounded foot in and cautiously took a few steps back and forth. "Alright…ready to go."
A deafening yell of his name was heard from the window shortly after, causing Lincoln to immediately jump. It was Lori. Before he could react, he landed on the aforementioned soccer ball and attempted to keep his balance. Like a circus act, the ball moved back and forth and he only had one foot on it. Luckily, it wasn't his injured foot. Not wanting to risk injuring himself again, he thought about jumping off. This was a moment he wish he'd had sparred more with Lynn.
He began to grow nervous as the ball began to roll closer to his bedroom window. Because Lincoln didn't have very strong legs, keeping his balance any longer would take some serious effort. Eventually feeling his calf muscles throbbing, he began taking other things into consideration. The broken glass was definitely something to avoid, but arriving to the airport on time was an imperative priority. The ball began to move faster as he finally lost his balance. Lincoln was now off the ground, uncontrollably moving closer to his window. Out of instinct, he attempted to grip his bed frame, but to no avail.
After Lori unintentionally grabbed the attention of the entire block, everyone except Lily and the cab drivers exited their vehicles. The sisters were anxious as to why Lincoln was taking so long to pack. Everyone was now beyond worried, unaware of what was going on upstairs.
"I'm gonna go check on my bro." Luna said after closing her car door.
"Sure, but hurry!" Rita responded as Luna sprinted into the house. "Leni, please sit with Lily."
The rest walked towards the entrance to wait for Lincoln when the most ear piercing scream quickly hooked their attention. This was a record for how many screams could be heard in one morning. After the outburst, the group ran back outside to see Leni in front of the driveway on her knees, pointing to one of the cars. Her face was red and her eyes were filled with tears when everyone approached her. They were horrified at what they saw.
"…Oh my …" Rita weakly voiced as she stood frozen in place.
Author's Note: Well, that's the first submission. I wasn't really sure how to start it, but it's a way to break the ice. Anyways, I'd appreciate it if any grammatical errors were called out. Feel free to ask any questions or thoughts that come to mind and I'll make sure to answer them throughout the story.