Loan Loud was twenty-one years old, had no job, and was still living with her parents.

It wasn't completely her fault, though. She had extreme paranoia, found it hard to trust even those close to her, and sometimes even heard faint voices in her head. These attributes had been weighing down on her for her entire life. They made it hard for Loan to make friends, let alone for her to function properly in society.

She tried not to let it bother her. Keyword: tried. Still, she couldn't help but to often fantasize what it would be like to be normal, to not be so mentally handicapped.

The best coping mechanism she had found was in video games. For hours a day, she played on her console in front of the television. Growing up, she had never personally seen the appeal in spending hours in front of a screen—believe it or not, she used to love the outdoors, back before her anxiety and agoraphobia developed, of course—but that quickly changed starting to moment that her father first introduced them to her.

It was a sunny day, perfect for Loan to beg her parents to take her down the block where the town park was, but, of course, that wasn't going to happen.

"Cleaning day!" Dad announced, marching into the kitchen while Loan and her sisters were eating breakfast. She was seven, and her sister Liena, five, pouted.

"I don't wanna clean!" she hit the table in protest.

Loan joined in. "We should go to the park!"

"Now, now," Dad said, picking up Liena and putting her on his lap. He ruffled Loan's hair. "There's time for fun, but there's also time for work. When you two get older, you're going to be pitching in to help with the household chores a lot more. Right now, though, I only ask that you give me a hand upstairs in the attic. How does that sound?"

Loan, too, pouted. She crossed her arms in silent protest.

"Tell you what," Dad said, picking up Leina and sitting her back down on the chair. He went over to the kitchen counter, kissed Mom good morning, and grabbed a plate. "If you two help… I may just have to take you both to Dairy Queen." He smiled, a grin of victory, and began to shovel bacon and eggs on his plate.

Both Loan and Liena squealed in glee. Dairy Queen was their absolute favorite place to go. The last time Loan had gone, she had eaten her ice cream gone so quickly that she had gotten it all over her face; some even managed to find its way into her hair. She was sticky, and needed to take a long shower that night.

Later that day, when Loan was dusting off boxes, she heard Dad gasp from on the other side of the room. She turned around, frightened. Had he stumbled across something bad? A spider? A snake? Snakes were slimy and scary. Dad wouldn't gasp at just anything. It had to be a snake; she had to go help him.

She scurried across the attic, her bare feet making light patters on the wooden floor. Loan ran so fast that she almost tripped over her own feet. When she came to Dad, however, there was no snake, nor even a spider. He was looking at a box.

"I was wondering where this went!" he cried.

The box in question was cardboard and marked Lincoln's Gaming Shit. Dad blushed and turned Loan around so she couldn't stare at the 'bad word', he called it.

"Aunt Lisa has a very, uh… colorful vocabulary."

Downstairs, Dad set down the box (the tape with the label written on it had been ripped off). "Every day, I spent hours on this thing when I was your age," he said, opening the flaps. They worked together to set it up (Loan, can you hand me the blue wire? ...That's not blue, sweetie, that's purple) and Loan had been addicted ever since.

It was funny, not really in a comedic way, but in a poetic way; because she had agreed to help her father clean the attic, Loan had begun to transform to an outdoor loving little girl (the fields, she remembered, had been her favorite. She loved to run free, especially without her shoes and socks on, through the fields, especially the corn fields. Usually, when Loan got sad, it was because she was nostalgic; it could be something as simple as mom shucking corn for dinner—she recalled the smell of the corn, intoxicating, overpowering, and the freedom it brought her. She could close her eyes, run at full speed, arms freely frailing behind her, and feel the true catalyst of youth, of childhood) to an outdoor hating girl.

It wasn't that she immediately grew to dislike going outside. No, that change was gradual, and happened mostly because of her rapidly developing fear of wide, open spaces.

Now, look at her. Presently, her hair was a mess, she was sitting in a slumped posture in from of the television (not even on the couch—she could see the screen better up close), video game controller in hand, and she hadn't bothered to shower in days.

This revelation came crashing down on her in a horrible wave. She was twenty-one. She had no job, no real friends. Her hopes died a long time ago. Because of her mental state, Loan was doomed to spend the rest of her life as a mooch, a failure, never being able to support herself.

In other words, she was a failure.

Thoughts like this didn't typically bother her. Loan had come to accept her life as it was. Tonight, though… it hit hard for some reason (maybe she was bipolar, too). Her body began to shake and she became unable to focus on the game in front of her. Quickly, she put down the controller. Loan made her way to the front door.

Liena looked up. "Uh, where are you going?"

"Out," she said simply, and left.

The night air was cool against her skin. It was getting dark; the streetlights were on. The moon shined brightly, illuminating the suburban street in front of her.

Loan walked, though she didn't know how long. She needed the bad thoughts to go away. She needed to escape.

Eventually, she came to the park, the very same park that she had wanted to go to during the morning of the day that she had helped her father clean out the attic. Wow, she thought. I haven't been here in a while.

If her mind wasn't so clouded, Loan would be terrified. She was in a wide open place, after all—but she remained surprisingly calm. Her breathing was steady, her senses were sharp.

Automatically, she took the first path she saw. It led her into a wooded area. The forest was thick. She heard crickets chirping, and she saw a squirrel scurry its way across the path in front of her. Loan spotted a nearby park bench, and collapsed into it.

She looked around. What am I doing? It was very unlike her to leave the house, let alone go very far. She had walked all the way to the park.

A man walking with a cane came up the path, and saw Loan. He tipped his hat. "Evenin'."

Loan's eyes go wide. W-Who is this guy?

"Who a-are you?" she asked, frightened.

The man frowned. "Name's T-Bone, but I don't think I know you. Are… are you lost?"

Loan's fear intensified. She was going to lose her life this very night.

Fight. Defend yourself!

No! He's just an old man! He won't hurt me!

Evil takes the form of innocence - you know this, Loan. Save yourself! Attack!

I-I can't! I'll get in trouble! He probably has a family!

You have a family, Loan. Do you really want all of your siblings to have to go to your funeral? Do you want to die at twenty-one?

No!

Then fight!

Loan stood, and slowly approached the man. "Who are you?" she repeated.

The man held up his walking stick and pointed it at Loan. "Lady, you need to back off. I don't mean to cause no trouble, you hear?" His voice is meek.

Loan froze in place. There is a moment of terrible tension as the two stare at one another… then, she chucked and scratched the back of her neck. "Oh, I'm sorry. I… for some reason, I thought you were dangerous." She laughed, hearing the absurdity of her paranoia out loud. Loan is surprised at how emotional that the admission makes her, and it wears her down; she feels light-headed.

The man put his walking cane back on the ground and chuckled. "Oh, no worries. You never know who you'll run into at this hour, I suppose."

The last syllable of his last word is cut off when Loan put her hands around his neck and squeezed. He tried to speak, then to yell, but is unable to. Her grip is too tight.

Eventually, the man becomes limp—lifeless—in the grasp of Loan.

I just killed a man.

She began to run away. Loan went as fast as she can, faster than she ever ran in her life. She needed to get away from the body, from the murder. She just took another human's life. It was hard to believe, but undeniably true. The grass, the field, it came back to her in this moment: the earth was wet, and mud stuck to her feet as she ran through the cornfield. She didn't care, though; Loan was having too much fun to care. Barefoot, she ran down the neverending field. She saw a tractor in the distance, big and red, and it was cutting down corn. Big, red, and shiny, glistening in the sun. Cutting the corn from the stem. Oh! How easily it cut down that corn! How easily the man became lifeless in her hands, so old and fragile and feeble. But she was protecting herself! She did it in defense!

Down the path she went, and up her street, heading back to her house. The lights were an orange blur, especially now that there were tears on Loan's eyes. What had she just done?

Loan Loud was twenty-one years old, and had just become a murderer.

A/N

This is quite literally the first time I've ever put anything I've written online, so I really don't know what to expect. I've been reading fics on this site for some time, now, and the sin kids have always been interesting for me. Ever since learning about them, I've been fond of the characters and wanted to use them. This is where I start.

Reviews would be greatly appreciated! I honestly have no idea what people are going to think of a story like this, and I'm hesitant to even continue. Was it good? Bad? Horrible? I'm open to all types of criticism, both in reviews and private messages—whatever you prefer.

Oh, and thank you for reading!