Chapter Two: A Terrible Truth
Your child is dead. Four words that no parent would ever want to hear. Rita closed her eyes a few times to take in what the officer had just said to her. Surely this was all some huge mistake. For all she knew, Lincoln was sleeping soundly in bed. She wanted to deny this; she wanted it all to be some awful joke. But it took only a glimpse at her son's bloodied shirt to bring her back into reality. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her husband held her tighter. There was no getting around it. Lincoln, her precious son, was dead. The officers found Lincoln's body hidden in a shallow grave deep within the woods. His body was left in such a grizzly condition, that the authorities could only identify him by his clothes and teeth. Thankfully, the officer saved most of the details from Rita, lest she were thrown into a heart attack. Curiously enough, the haunting sight reminded the officers of a certain serial killer's handiwork.
The Royal Woods Stalker was what they called him. Many Royal Woods residents have attributed the killer as being behind the disappearances of several children in the neighborhood. Witnesses have claimed that the Royal Woods Stalker is a medium-sized man roughly around his mid-fifties, who also had a graying hairline. However, he had managed to escape the authorities for several years, ultimately causing them to call off the hunt. It seemed as though the infamous child murderer took a cooling off period, or at the very least was dead. No reports of missing children ever reared their ugly head until now. Could it be that Lincoln was murdered by this enigmatic killer, or perhaps it was a copycat? Whatever the reason it was all the same; Lincoln was dead, and it was their faults for taking their superstitions too far.
"Come to think of it, I'd have to ask you two a few questions," states the lanky officer.
Rita tilts her head quizzically. "Sure, I guess so."
The officer scratched his chin deep in thought. "What was an 11-year-old boy doing outside in the first place?"
Rita chuckled anxiously, whilst scratching the back of her head. "Well, you see officer…."
The officer interjects her. What he said next sent a chill down her spine. "Might I ask that you two come with me to the station? I have a few concerns to address" he asked.
Rita gulped fearfully. It would've been just a matter of time before the authorities began to drill her for answers. Her losing her son to a serial killer was bad enough, but the idea that she would possibly be serving jail time for deliberately locking him out sent her in a flurry of mixed emotions. Before she could answer, the girls break into the room, and they start to corner the officers demanding answers.
The officers pull out their tasers. "Back up this instant" yelled the heavy set officer. The two officers simultaneously activate their tasers to show the girls that they would act on their threat. Rita stepped in between her daughters and the two officers fearing the possible outbreak of a war.
"Wait, don't shoot them," sighed Rita "could you just give me a few minutes to break the news to them?" The officers gave an intense glare at the girls causing them to back away.
"Fine, make it quick." Handcuffs were placed onto the two parents' wrists, and they direct Lynn Sr. towards the door.
Before leaving, Lynn Sr. turned to give his wife a sorrowful look. "See you soon, dear." With that, Lynn Sr. is led to the police car.
Rita was alone with her daughters. They looked at each other for what seemed like forever. Not a single word was being uttered. It was so quiet, in fact, that if one were to drop a pin on the floor, it still wouldn't elicit a response. Eventually, Rita was reminded of her limited time, thus forcing her to tell her daughters the terrible truth. "Girls" she strained herself to say "they found Lincoln."
The girls perked up at this. They jumped up and down in delight. Finally, after all of these hours of waiting for some sort of news, it seems that Lincoln is finally coming back home. "Is he alright?" asks Lola.
Rita twiddled her thumbs. How can she break the news to them? They're looking at her with hopeful eyes. She shouldn't quash their hopes, but…there was no going around that. Conflicted as she was, she knew that it had to be done.
"Girls," she began "your brother isn't coming back."
The girls stopped celebrating, and they looked at their mother with confusion. "Not coming back?" replied Lola. The room became silent again. Not coming back? They'd figure that Lincoln would be incensed with them for treating him terribly, but that was just ridiculous.
Luan nervously laughed at her mom as if thinking that she made a joke. "Ha, ha, great joke, Mom! You really had us with that one!" Luan stopped laughing once she noticed that her mother's facial expressions didn't change. "Mom?" she asked in concern.
A lump formed in Rita's throat. "They found his body in the woods. They….they believe that he was murdered."
The girls' hearts shattered on the spot. Tears began to swell in their eyes as they began to crowd their mother. "Please say it ain't so, mom!" whimpers Luna.
"Lincoln's not dead, I know it!" cried Lana. Rita was close to tears as well. The girls came together in an embrace. They began to mourn the loss of their only brother.
"I wish I was wrong," droned Lucy. Even though she was correct in her verdict, she secretly wished that maybe she would be proven wrong. It's not that common for the young gothic girl to be optimistic, but she truly wanted her brother to return in one piece. But that's not the likely case anymore. A horn blared indicating for Rita to leave.
"I'm sorry, girls, but I have to go. Please take care of yourself." With that, Rita pried herself from the group embrace, and walked towards the door. She exhaled deeply, and exited the house. The girls continued to mourn for their brother. Losing him hurt more than any fight that they had gotten in. They had treated Lincoln like garbage all day because they believed that he was bad luck when really they were letting their beliefs clot their judgment. Now, they could never hope to beg Lincoln for forgiveness. They didn't even deserve his forgiveness they thought.
"Our Linky is gone," sobbed Leni.
"And it's all Lynn's fault!" screamed Lola.
The girls turn their attention to Lynn. Lynn was sitting on the far end of the couch. She had been silent ever since their mom just delivered the bad news. Because of her rumor, she unwittingly set into motion the events that culminated in Lincoln's senseless murder. There was no one to blame except herself as far as she was concerned. The sisters marched towards the tomboy, clearly infuriated.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" inquired Luan. Lynn didn't respond.
"Our little bro's dead, and it's your fault," growled Luna. Lynn was slightly unnerved by this. Luna hardly ever got angry. There just seemed to be venom in her tone of voice.
Without warning, Lori grabs Lynn by the shoulders and shakes her hardly. "We should've known to not listen to your shit!"
The other girls were shocked by her sudden burst of anger. Even Lynn was shocked enough to momentarily break out of her catatonic state. What happened next was especially shocking. Lori grabs Lynn by her collar, and slams her fist into her face several times. A mixture of blood and tears were spilling from her open orifices. Lori then throws her onto the floor and grinds her foot on her chest. Lynn winced in pain. Her right eye became swollen and developed a deep purple tint. The other siblings looked at each other, and then back at Lynn. Looking at her broken body frightened them. Lori looked back them, and saw their frightened faces. Her rampage was over. Lori kept looking at them, and then focused behind them for a short moment. On the wall stood a large, wooden trophy case. Lined with various awards and medals- especially Lynn's case. Then there was Lincoln's. An almost empty box, with a lone trophy inside. Lori remembered that, at first glance, it seemed to be a proper award. No, now she saw that it was a damn pity award. Lori hated it- she hated the very sight of it. Her gaze then fell upon her worried sisters. Now she didn't feel bad about their worry. Lori shoved past them and opened up Lincoln's case. Out she pulled his tiny trophy. She then made her way back over to Lynn.
"Lori wh-what are you-" Luna called out to no response.
Lori stood over Lynn, who began to look back at the enraged sister, who towered over her. Lori slammed the trophy down onto Lynn's head- over and over again. Lynn could feel nothing but sheer pain.
The sisters all stood- frozen. Only Leni reacted as she attempted to get Lori to stop. Lori her back and swung at her with the trophy, this time, breaking. Lori turned back to Lynn and proceeded to kick her head one last time, before the rest of the Loud sisters snapped out of their daze once Leni was hit.
Lynn was out of it. Leni was on the floor, crying, while everyone was holding Lori back and yelling at her to calm down.
Leni, turned to her broken sister, who laid on the ground. She stumbled over, Lynn was barely grasping onto consciousness. Blood was drooling out of her mouth and nose, one eye was shut tight while the other was barely staying open. Then giant gase on the side was leaking. And worst, was the pool under head. Leni shrieked in horror at what Lynn must've been going through at the moment.
"No, no, no, no!" Leni cried while rushing to bathroom to find a first aid kit.
Lucy left the rest of the conflicted sisters and looked at what Leni saw. She saw her roomate on the floor- possibly clinging onto life itself. Lucy wanted to vomit.
"L-L-..." Lynn tried to talk but blood kept coming out and was now flooding her mouth. Lynn did her best to get a good look at Lucy, pain was all she could feel. Her vision was getting more and more blurry by the second. She expected a white light of some kind. But, it was only red, as she faded out.