Please see AN at the end
His alarm clock went off, telling him to join the land of the living. Lincoln smacked it, trying to end the awful sound. He was dreary-eyed, seeing double as his eyes took in the time. Five-thirty. He roused himself from his bed, a feeling of something different having laid its foundation in his mind. He remembered it was summer vacation. He knew he had turned off the alarm. Lincoln shuffled forth from his room. He checked Lynn's room, finding that no-one was within it. He moved towards Lily and Lisa's room. Still, no-one was on the other side. He went through each of his sisters rooms, greeting the lack of residents within them.
Lincoln knew something wasn't right about the situation. He had checked all of the rooms that were to have occupants, save for his parents room, and found not one soul. He heard the shower turn on, dreading whomever would be on the other side. He opened the door slowly, noticing that no-one was in the open.
"Hello?" he checked, ear ready to receive a reply. Silence. He inched toward the curtains of the shower, heart beating faster than he thought possible. He threw the curtains back, ill-prepared for the sight that he held before him. Lynn was laying in the tub naked, milky-eyed, pale, a corpse. He didn't see blood or any other sign of how she died. He stopped breathing, forcing him to try to gasp for air. His ears were assaulted by laughter, unable to discern where it was coming from. He recognized it as Luan, with more and more voices joining the abomination that was his experience. He looked into the mirror, looking at how he himself was dying without air.
Lincoln saw her body begin to move, sitting straight up. The body of his dead sister twisted itself to look at him, opening it's mouth to speak.
"Why?" it asked him in a voice that was slightly warped. "Why?" The body started to crawl out. "Why?" Slowly it reached him, putting an arm on his left leg. He felt like passing out from the lack of oxygen. "Why?" it begged, searching for an answer. "Why?" it repeated in an endless loop. He could only hear the question come out of its mouth, joining the chorus of laughter. He passed out, still being assaulted by the words and voices.
Lincoln's eyes shot open with him panting heavily. He felt like he had awoken from a dream in which he was falling, nearly hitting the ground before rousing. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, making damn sure he was unable to resume his sleep. He could see the vanguard of the sun rising through his window. The clock read six. He managed to calm down, his heart rate returning to normal. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, his mind starting to glaze over with sleep. He didn't want Mr. Sandman to visit him once more, his eyes fighting against the impending sleep. The eyes glazed over, letting him sleep without really sleeping.
Lincoln turned his head to see that it was eight-fifteen. Might as well, he thought to himself, crawling out of bed. He moved like a zombie, such was his tiredness. He made it down to breakfast, finding that all of his sisters were enjoying the most important meal of the day. The adult table was packed with its normal attendants, forcing him to enjoy his breakfast at the kid table. He nearly ate his meal in the way a pig enjoys it. The lack of sleep played havoc, forcing him to shovel his food before he made his face enjoy some.
Lynn sat at the adult table, nearly done with her meal. She occasionally peeked at Luan from her spot, seeing each time that her sister was holding a grin. Neither spoke to the other after Lynn's date, leaving silence to fill the void in their voices stead. Luna seemed to be a wreck for some reason, from what Lynn could tell. It was like she had committed murder or was freaking out after not using some rubbers. It all seemed peculiar to her, seeing that only three of the total sisters were the odd ones out this fine morning. Luan finished prior to Lynn, taking her dishes to the sink. She left a moment later, scurrying to her room. Lynn hurried with the remainder of her breakfast, legging it so that she could talk to Luan without much worry of Luna overhearing anything.
She made it to the stairs, trying to hurry before she saw Luan leaving with some of her comedy gear.
Damn it, she has to be somewhere, Lynn silently cursed in her mind. She had one chance and now the next one was going to take forever to appear. Luan just moved past her, an air of smugness trailing behind. The smile seemed to have changed into one of victory. Lynn, now having lost her chance of getting an explanation, moved to the room she slept in. She might as well try to finish starting the day, preparing for all it had in store for her.
Luna barely finished her breakfast, moving to start on the dishes. She looked into the kitchen, spotting Lincoln. Her heart dropped ever so much further from its place. She couldn't even look at him without fear and self-hate hitting her system. She just played the events in the bathroom over and over in her mind, unable to believe what she almost did. But she had to do the dishes. It was her turn. An internal struggle of power began, over whether or not she could keep further tears from flowing in the open, right in front of her family, right in front of Lincoln. Her legs moved, but not of their own volition. Leaded feelings were making her feel heavy from it all, like she would fall through the floor of their house.
Luna still pressed onward, hoping her brother would simply ignore her. He didn't look up from the now empty bowl, focusing on the bottom with a stoner's gaze. She ran the water, prepping the dishes. He walked up and left his bowl right next to the sink, muttering a "Thanks" before wandering off. His voice alone mauled her heartstrings, making her battle that much worse.
Lincoln went back up, trying to see if he could get some more sleep in for the day. He lay back in bed, the thought and feeling of sleep settling in. Just the thought and feeling. No sleep chose to attack, leaving a state of peace without rest upon him. He lay there watching the ceiling, waiting for slumber to truly come. Nothing. He did see that time had passed while he waited. The clock read nine-twenty-six. With a sigh, he crawled back out. Nothing wanted to go his way today it seemed. He left, seeing if he could occupy himself with a little t.v. He arrived, spotting Lori enjoying a show. Well, "enjoy" is a bit too loose here. More like she was enjoying her phone, what with her face and hands glued to its bright, little screen.
He knew better than to take that as a sign he could change the channel. No, the death penalty wasn't for him. She did seem to be happier, possibly due to being back together with Bobby again. He sighed, choosing to soak in the sun rather than become a human pretzel. He went through the front door and sat on the steps, hearing Luna play in the garage. With nothing better to do, he set for where the music was coming from. Lincoln peeked in through the open garage door, spotting his sister strumming some sort of song. Luna didn't bother to sing along with the notes she was churning out.
Instead, misery was her company, standing by and providing her an audience. Lincoln didn't make his presence known, having chosen instead to watch his older sister play something depressing. His ears were amazed at the level of self-hatred that was cranked out. He stared, frozen. She finally stopped playing, having plucked the last note. Her face disappeared into her palms, forcing her brother out of his place of witness.
Luna was too busy wallowing to notice him approaching her, allowing for him to perform a sneak attack with a hug. She stopped shedding tears, barely able to process it all. He wrapped his arms around her, making an effort to comfort her. The exact opposite was achieved when he began his embrace. She cried even harder, the guilt driving ever farther into her heart. He waited for the tears to stop, hoping it wouldn't be long. Time passed at an unknown rate, what with the lack of devices to tell time in the garage.
"What's wrong?" he finally asked, patience running low. She finally looked at him, eyes beyond obliterated. Whatever makeup was on, was now running down her face. She couldn't just tell him that she was in the bathroom, ready to take a peep at his manhood whilst he showered the day before. She couldn't tell him that she loved him. No, she couldn't tell him a thing. She chose her next best option.
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him, trying to keep him from learning her secret.
"And just why not?" he pried, trying to use any and all tactics he could think of to see if she was in need of his help.
"Because I feel awful enough just having experienced it. I don't want to open that wound again," she reasoned, hoping he would be satisfied in his quest for knowing of her pain's cause. No dice.
"Luna, whatever it is, I want to help," he said, adding "so you can tell me or I'll follow you until I get my answer." She thought over his words, afraid of what would happen should he find her secret. A thought came to mind, letting her flesh it into a lie. Better this than that, she told herself.
"I got heckled at my last performance," she lied, trying to throw him off the trail of her true reasons. He seemed hurt that someone would dare to harm what confidence she held as a performer.
"I think your music's pretty good," he complimented, hoping that it would bring her spirits up. She looked at his face, eyeing a smile rooted to his lips. This did bring her spirits up, if only marginally. Having seen her brighten up, he started to change directions from where the conversation was currently at.
"Say Luna, can I ask you something?" she looked at him with caution driving into her mind.
"Sure, link," she granted, praying that it wouldn't involve her and her feelings in some way.
"I just... I keep having these... nightmares that I don't know how to handle," he started, removing contact from his sister, "I keep worrying that they might be telling me something and I don't know how to stop them or do anything else with them." Luna was caught unawares at the admission.
"What are your nightmares about?" she wondered, hoping it wasn't something involving her. He marched onwards, only ever hesitating in the slightest.
"I... they... they involve Lynn and her dying, but," he trailed off before, resuming, "I keep seeing her die or having already died and there doesn't seem to be any way to stop her death." He felt awful for his admission, but he needed someone to talk to and he couldn't talk with his girlfriend. At least not without being told to not worry about it. Luna seemed to be stunned, stuck at an utter loss for words.
"And what goes on in these awful excuses for dreams?" she asked, praying that she wasn't the cause for it all.
"The night before I saw..." he paused, not wanting to reveal his ex-girlfriend as the culprit, fibbing just a little, "some shadow drown her, leaving me to watch as I was tied to a chair." Luna thought back to that morning, having heard him scream from his room. She was paying attention, waiting for him to start back up. "Then, last night, I dreamed that I found Lynn dead in the shower, just as if she were killed by something that didn't leave a mark." He seemed to be afraid, having opened up his fresh set of fears. Luna watched as he began to have fear spread across his face. "I better go," he said suddenly before leaving. She was too stunned to really stop him, let alone seek further information. She wanted to know why Lynn was being killed, but that would weigh evermore on her mind. She turned her focus back to the instrument she was using, and stared at it as she pondered all of her life's choices.
Ronnie Anne was in her room, debating a fierce battle of whether she should make any movements in the fragile ecosystem she had become a part of. She looked back to the call that Luan made to her the night before. The comedienne called, having a proposition for the grief-stricken girl. Ronnie Anne listened to all that was offered, hearing her out, but with no promises being made. Her thoughts delved to a level of darkness she never thought possible.
If I help Luan, then there's the chance that I can show Lincoln how stupid his decision was, she thought, the idea of vengeance cropping up. Even so, what good would that do? We're never going to be back together, she countered, reasoning so as to keep from making an atrocious move. A sigh escaped her lips. Should I warn Lincoln? The battle kept raging, tearing her apart repeatedly. She did say that she would share him, but... I can't do something so depraved and heartless against Lincoln. The thought circulated, letting her absorb it in its entirety. Why am I considering this?
Luan returned from her job, having entertained some kid for his birthday. It allowed her to plot further, even though the party was meant to be quite lively. She walked through the door, still dressed as a clown, a prop in one of her hands. The smile that was still rooted to her lips held properties that would make anyone fearful of her, should they bother to examine it thoroughly. Lincoln being all hers was reason enough to own such a smile. The steps were barely behind her when Lynn approached.
The door opened and both stepped into the vacant room. Luan sat in front of her mirror, taking off all of her costume.
"Hey, Lynn," she greeted, playing dumb to what Lynn was there for.
"Hi, Luan," Lynn replied, a touch of anger in her voice. "So, we went to that restaurant you suggested."
"Was it pleasant?" she said, still playing dumb.
"The food was, but we had to take it to go," she gave, the anger creeping in just a hint more.
"And why was that?" Luan continued with her feint of lack of knowledge.
"Oh, I don't know, probably because Lincoln had his first date with Ronnie Anne there," Lynn continued, fury now apparent in her voice. Luan finished the last of her makeup removal.
"Really?" Luan played, just barely showing her hand in the poker game that was their exchange. Lynn seemed to boil at the tone of voice that was being used.
"Yeah, and I can't help but feel you knew that beforehand," Lynn skewered, trying her hardest to keep as few people out of the loop of their exchange as possible. Luan just smirked.
"And so what if I did?" she continued to keep leaving her replies to Lynn in the form of questions. Lynn was livid with the direction of the conversation and the one steering it that way.
"Why?" Lynn sought.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out," was all that Luan delivered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." With that, Luan left, the Machiavellian smile present on her lips. Her younger sister stood there, both dumbfounded and full of rage. She knew Luan was pulling the strings behind it all, yet what proof did she have? She couldn't tell her parents about it for numerous reasons. Lincoln was out of the question since she didn't want to put anything on his plate. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. All she had for options was to simply play Luan's game and hope she won.
Lincoln worried that he had said too much to his sister, wondering if Lynn would kill him for what he had said. The panic that was hitting him came from many directions, forcing him into each to follow the panic. Suddenly it dawned on him. He started to think about why his older sister was crying. He knew that a heckler couldn't do that to her. No, he never heard anyone do such a thing to his sister, or if they did, she brushed it off as some sleazebag without a gram of talent. He continued in his line of thought, trying to reach the end of it. A hypothesis was suddenly forming. What if she was crying because... that was as far as he could get.
Luna came back to her shared room, her tears having stopped for awhile now. She felt a little better with the knowledge that her brother was so kind and sweet, trying to find her problem so he could fix it. She felt a bit worse at that, yet she changed from that thought to something of chiding herself, albeit for a semi-separate reason.
Why couldn't you just say that it was your time of the month, she yelled in her mind. That would've gotten him to leave or at least not try to comfort her. Nothing can change the past and she knew it. She had brought her guitar in, ready to sit down and inspect it for maintenance. She pulled out some special tools, wishing that something would go right for her today. The call for dinner reached across the house, summoning everyone to attend. She set all of her stuff down, leaving it to be taken care of when she got back.
Luna sat at the adult table, playing her part in the tense and weird atmosphere. She could see Lynn staring at her younger sister from across the table, almost as if she was trying to impale Luan with her gaze. The wrath could be felt dripping off of her. She chanced a peek at Luan from the left side of her vision, who seemed to be creating a smug air about her. Luna was able to tell that her depression added to it all. The Loud parents thought it best to see what all was happening to warrant such an air at the table.
"So," began their mother, "What did you girls do today?" She shifted her focus over to Lori. "Lori, I remember us telling you about no phones at the table." Lori was glued to her screen, only peering up when she heard talk about phones.
"But Bobby–," she tried.
"Bobby can wait," her father stated sternly. Lori sent one last text, turning the phone off since she couldn't trust herself with not touching it.
"Shall we try again?" their mother rhetorically asked.
"Well, I started looking into various colleges," she told her parents. After having graduated, she wanted to further her education, but the caveat to it all was that Bobby had to be nearby.
"That's good," their father commented. "Leni, what about you?"
"I tried looking for some place called 'Nowhere' but I can't find it anywhere," she claimed, sounding defeated. The rest of her family thought it would take a miracle for her to graduate.
"Okay, how about you Luna?" their mother directed. Luna was completely stumped for what to say before a lie came to the tip of her tongue. What choice did she have, in the grand scheme of things?
"I got booked someplace," she said, knowing that it was far from the truth.
"Good for you, honey," their mother complimented. "Luan?"
"I had to perform for a party," she said nonchalantly. This was true, but the rest of her day was completely left untouched.
"How about you Lynn?" their father queried.
"I was practicing," she said, her teeth nearly grinding. This was partly true, considering she was practicing to get information from Luan.
Things were different at the kid table. Lisa was still studying the twins, yet the study itself was eluding Lincoln's mind. He did want to know what she was looking for, but the interest he had in it was quite minimal. He focused on trying to find the answer to all that was torturing him. Whether it was Luna's depression, Luan's... whatever, and Lynn's love, he had no real answers. Maybe tonight he would get whatever he needed to seek the truth of it all. Dinner ended rather quickly, allowing everyone to do their own things before bed.
Luna returned to her guitar, starting her efforts of maintenance all over again. Luan came in, seating herself on a beanbag with some sort of book. Luna figured it was some sort of novel relating to comedy, not bothering to pay attention.
"So, what were you doing looking through my tapes?" Luan grilled, not moving her eyes from the book. Luna made a face before it hit her, realizing what she was talking about.
"I wasn't looking through your tapes," she denied, praying Luan wouldn't go any further.
"Well, you see," Luan continued, still staring at the book, "It's just that I saw some tapes were moved around and that I also have the tape of you looking through them." Luna paused in her work.
Shit! She cursed. She didn't want Luan to continue. "Why do you bring it up?"
"You see, I also saw you watch a particular tape," Luan let sink in, allowing Luna to feel the full weight of what was to come, "And you seemed to have changed since watching it."
Fuck fuck fuck, Luna panicked.
"Which tape was it Luna?" she asked with some level of fake interest, ennui adorning her voice. Luna felt her throat become cotton, barely able to breathe, let alone talk. Luan didn't enjoy waiting, instead choosing to finish for her. "Was it the one where Lincoln and Lynn kissed?" Luna was losing her cool, opting for damage control.
"So what if it was?" she told her defiantly. Luan just stared at her book.
"You love him too, don't you?" Luan interrogated. Victory was tainting her voice. She chose to look up from the item she was reading. Luna was blushing, trying and failing to hide it, her hatred for herself expanding. A Cheshire smile grew for Luan. "That's okay," she said returning her attention to her book. Luna was horrendously worried, becoming mortified on top of it all.
"Well...," she searched for the proper words to fit the situation she had found herself in.
"That's quite alright," Luan told her sister. Luna seemed a bit confused. "Just make sure you don't get in my way." Something was off about that sentence.
"What?" Luna wondered. Luan was still keeping her Cheshire-Machiavellian hybrid of a grin.
"I simply said to make sure you don't get in my way," she responded, turning the page as she did so.
"And what are you going to do if I ignore you?" Luna challenged, trying to make any semblance of sense of it all.
"Well, I was simply going to leave you alone but now I think you'll work better under me," Luan opined, vicious thoughts circling in her head.
"How're you going to do that, huh," Luna challenged. She set everything down, save for her guitar, leaving it across her lap.
"It's very simple: I'll show Lincoln everything about you and your feelings for our only brother," she threatened, still keeping a cheery tone.
"Screw you, I'm going to tell Lincoln about this," Luna warned, moving her guitar to the side, leaving the bed. She barely held the doorknob when Luan spoke.
"I failed to mention that Mom and Dad will be shown this evidence as well," she foretold, still having not looked up from her book. "I think our whole family would enjoy being shown what you tried to do in the bathroom to Lincoln." Luna was pale, rivaling Lucy in color. Her hand was on the doorknob, ready to turn to let her out. She relinquished her grip. "That's a good girl."
Lucy was in the vents, observing the exchange. She saw it all, even heard it all. Lucy had to get to Lynn with what was going on. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell that she would allow unprecedented evil like this to run rampant.
Author's Notes: Well then, that got very dark very fast. I am working on chapter five, so that'll be out sometime soon. The reason why this was uploaded a bit later than the other chapters was partly because I decided to get lost in the province of Skyrim once more. No, it's not SE, sadly. However, that said, I will make a poll after chapter five goes up, so I do ask you to take part in the polling. There might be some further information in the next instalment, so watch out for that. I am asking that you, dear readers, leave reviews for me so that I can get a read on what everyone's thoughts are about my writings.
I cannot stress how much I want to know in how people are viewing my style and what improvements could be made. I know there are plenty of you who seem to be okay with it, but even if you aren't, tell me. So, in short, leave me reviews, PM me so I can discuss items of interest you have, and to keep reading.
P.S.: I would like to give a big thank you to The Loud Author. They have inspired me to write my own stories, especially since they have written great stories. I seriously encourage you to read their stuff.
Edit: And another one. Soon, it'll be completely done.