AN: It's been a couple months, huh? This will probably end up being indicative of the rest of my posting schedule haha. So be forewarned about well, extremely sporadic updates.
Cross posted on AO3
...
When morning came, I was ready to face the day. My migraines seemed to have disappeared with a good night's sleep, and while I wasn't sure what had caused them, I was ready to enjoy my time with Kendra and Seth in our grandparents' house. I made my way downstairs to see what breakfast would be and found my way to the kitchen, where I came across Lena laboring away at breakfast, a delicious scent wafting throughout the air.
"Good morning, Reynie," she smiled, glancing up at me. "Are Seth and Kendra up yet?"
"Eh, probably not. Kendra will probably be up in," I glanced towards the clock and saw that it was 8:25. "fifteen minutes-ish? Though I suspect Seth will take a bit longer." I took a step towards the stove and looked over at the food. "What are you making?"
"Cream of wheat, along with toast and a couple other things."
"Sounds delicious. Need any help?" I offered.
Lena looked up gratefully. "If you could pick some berries from the garden, that would be great. I like to always include some fresh fruit in breakfast." She winked at me.
"Of course!" I agreed. "Any types of berries in particular?" I asked.
"Whatever you think best should work just fine." Lena told me.
I nodded before grabbing a nearby pail and heading out to the garden in the yard to pick some berries for breakfast.
It was nice and warm outside, despite being a bit early. The bugs were out, and were already creating a colorful mosaic of insects as I went to the garden and began to pick some berries that I thought would go well with the breakfast Lena was cooking.
There were all sorts of delicious looking berries scattered amongst the yard. The raspberries looked particularly tantalizing, and I plucked one off the bush before popping it into my mouth. The berry felt like a bright burst of sunshine in my mouth, a perfect blend between sweet and tart.
I'm definitely gathering some of these, I thought to myself, savoring the intense flavor.
After collecting what I thought was a good enough haul, I lingered at the garden for a while, enjoying the sun and watching the insects, before I went back inside and set the pail of berries next to Lena. She glanced at the pail, giving an approving hum at the array of berries I had collected.
"Thanks for collecting these," Lena said, taking the pail to the sink. I hovered at her side, watching her rinse the berries I had collected.
"Do you need any other help?" I asked.
"No, I'm alright. Why don't you go wait for your siblings in the dining room?" Lena told me.
"Are you sure?" I lingered at the sink for a moment before she waved me off.
"Breakfast will be ready in no time," she reassured me. "All that's really left is to wait for the cream of wheat to finish cooking."
"Alright then," I said, before heading towards the dining room. I paused on the threshold of the kitchen, turning back for a moment. "If you do need any help though, I'll just be in here then." I pointed towards the other room.
I walked into the room and pulled out a chair at the table just as Grandpa entered the room.
"Good morning." I told Grandpa.
"Ah, good morning Reynie," he greeted me back. "Are your siblings not up yet?" He looked up at the ceiling towards where the attic would be.
"Not yet. I figure they'll both be down soon though," I said, seeing that about ten minutes had passed, according to the large grandfather clock in the corner. "Have you been up long?"
He nodded. "Yes, I've already been up for a couple of hours working in the fields," Grandpa said. "But I wanted to keep you and your siblings company during your first day."
We waited around in companiable silence for a bit before I could hear the distinctive clomping of my sleep-addled younger brother echoing down the stairs, followed by a lighter set of footsteps likely belonging to Kendra.
"Morning," I greeted Seth, who had just walked into the kitchen. "I'm surprised you were the first one down here." I remarked, thinking back to the many times I had to wake him up at home so he'd be ready for school.
"Yeah," he was cut off by a large yawn erupting from his mouth. "But Kendra was up first. I just got down faster." Kendra walked in behind him, her clothes making it obvious why Seth had been down first. She had already gotten dressed, and wore a simple t-shirt and pants, while Seth was still wearing some old hand me downs of mine as pajamas.
"Is breakfast ready?" Kendra said, taking a seat at the table across from Grandpa. Seth sat down across from me and started fidgeting with the butter knife, aiming sun rays across the room into Kendra's eyes.
"Not yet." Grandpa said. "Although it should be ready soon. And stop that Seth," he reprimanded, turning his head towards my younger brother. "Nobody likes the sun in their eyes."
Seth put the butter knife down. "Where's Dale?" he asked, seeing Dale wasn't in the room like everybody else.
"Dale and I got up a few hours ago. He's out working. I'm just here to keep you company on your first morning."
Lena walked in the room, carrying a platter of food. "Breakfast's done!"
"Here, let me help you with that," I said, getting up. I took the platter from her and placed a bowl in front of Seth, Kendra and then one where I was sitting.
"What's this?" Seth asked.
"Cream of wheat," Lena replied before heading back to the kitchen for more food.
"Sticks to your ribs." Grandpa added.
Seth poked the food with his spoon. "What's in it? Blood?" He asked, seeing the bright red speckles mixed within the bowl.
"Berries and homemade preserves," Lena said, coming back out of the kitchen with another platter. I took it from her again and put it on the table. "Reynie helped pick the berries from the garden this morning."
"Yeah, I did," I said, spooning some brown sugar into my bowl. "It's really nice out in the garden." I mixed the sugar in before taking a bite. It was absolutely delicious. "This is really great Lena, thanks for making breakfast." I smiled at her.
Kendra and Seth also tried the cream of wheat, and judging from their expressions, they found it just as good as I did.
"This is good!" Seth said. "Just think, Dad is eating snails."
"You kids remember the rules about the woods?" Grandpa asked.
"Stay out of it." I told him.
"And to stay out of the barn." Kendra added.
"Good. There's a swimming pool out back that we got ready for you - all the chemicals are balanced and whatnot. There are gardens to explore, and you can always play in your rooms, just respect the rules and we'll get along fine."
I grabbed some toast as Kendra began to ask about our absentee grandmother.
"When is Grandma coming back?" She asked Grandpa.
Grandpa glanced down at his hands. "That depends on your Aunt Edna. Could be next week. Could be a couple months."
"Good thing Grandma got over her illness," Kendra said.
"Illness?"
"The one that kept her from going to the funeral?" I interjected, mouth half full of toast. "What was it anyway?"
"Right. The illness." Grandpa coughed into his fist, acting a bit peculiar. "It wasn't serious, just a cold, but she was still a little under the weather when she left for Missouri."
"I'm sad we missed her," Kendra said.
"She's sorry too. Well, I better be off." Grandpa had not eaten anything. He pushed his chair back, stood up, and stepped away from the table, rubbing his palms against his jeans. "If you swim, don't forget to wear sunblock. I'll see you three later."
"At lunch?" Seth asked.
"Probably not until supper. Lena will help you with anything you need." He left the room.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, the sound of silverware clinking as we polished off what was left of the absolutely divine breakfast, but after swallowing my last mouthful of cream of wheat, I wiped my face and stood up.
"Well, I'm going to go finish unpacking, but anyone wanna join me in the pool later?" I asked Kendra and Seth.
"Heck yeah!" Seth exclaimed. "But let's go now! I can go get changed in a couple minutes." He pushed his chair out, looking ready to dash upstairs and change into his swim clothes.
"Hey now, hold your horses." I held an arm out towards him. "You gotta wait for a bit and digest, otherwise you can get stomach cramps and drown, and I'm don't want to have to tell Mom and Dad you nearly died when you haven't even been here twenty-four hours."
"Oh, yeah." Seth sat back down, suitably chagrined. "But we can go in hour, right?"
"Hm... an hour should be fine." I told him. "You coming Kendra?"
"Yeah, sounds fun." Kendra smiled.
"Cool." I began grabbing empty plates and made my way to the kitchen to start cleaning up. "I'll see you two then!" I walked into the kitchen before turning around and poking my head back in the dining room. "Don't get in any trouble." I warned the two, looking at each of them in the eyes.
"We won't." Kendra said, Seth staying suspiciously silent.
"Seth, you too." I warned, fixing my gaze at him.
"Yeah, yeah, we won't get in trouble." Seth grumbled, crossing his arms.
"I'm sure you won't." I said, before going back to the kitchen to clean the dishes.
...
About an hour later, I stepped out onto the porch dressed in my swimsuit, holding a towel and a bottle of sunblock in hand. The weather was humid and perhaps would be uncomfortable on another day, but for today it was the perfect temperature for a lazy summer's day at the pool.
Speaking of the pool, I walked towards the porch railing to get a better look at it and the rest of the backyard.
I was the first of my siblings to be outside, but certainly not the first living being.
The yard was already well populated, the gardens teeming with life as sun bleached white stones meandered among the flower beds, hedgerows, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and flowering plants.
Hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies flitted among tangled grapevines curling along suspended lattices and rainbows of flower beds in full bloom.
The pool was just as stunning as the rest of the yard, and from the porch seemed to have a black bottom and was fringed with rocks to give the illusion of being a pond.
I walked down the steps and started down a path towards the pool.
I passed a small fountain featuring a statue of a frog, which curiously enough, had no water.
Slightly further ahead I could see a birdbath, also empty of water. I stopped and walked towards the birdbath.
My eyebrows furrowed as I examined the empty birdbath.
Is there some sort of drought going on? I haven't heard of one, but its also not exactly something you hear about unless you live in Connecticut.
A butterfly flitted over and settled on the rim as I continued glaring at the birdbath.
Ugh. I'm getting a migraine again. I rubbed my brow as I stepped away from the birdbath and continued down the path to the pool.
There just seems to be something about this place that's screwing with me, I swear.
The path deposited me off at the poolside. The area was paved with variegated flagstones and had a few recliners scattered around.
I sat down and began to apply sunblock as I waited for my younger siblings.
Just as I finished smearing all the sunblock on, I saw Seth enter my field of vision.
"Hey, Seth!" I called out to him. "Over here." I patted the chair next to me.
He jogged over and placed his towel on the chair before sitting on top of it.
"Have you just been sitting here?" Seth asked. "Come on, let's get swimming!" He playfully tugged my arm towards the pool.
"We should wait for Kendra first." I looked at him reproachfully. "And hey, speaking of Kendra, do you know if she's ready yet?"
"I think she's still getting dressed." Seth said. "So we should go swimming while we wait for her!" He suggested.
"Oh I don't know..." I said.
"Come on, please?" Seth begged, making puppy-dogs eyes.
"Oh don't look like I killed your dog!" I exclaimed. I tried to stay strong, but soon relented. "Alright, but you have to put on some sunblock first."
I gestured towards the bottle of sunblock I had brought with me and Seth grabbed it, lathering it on his hands.
"Make sure to get everywhere, including behind your ears." I warned him.
"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes, before applying some behind his ears. "All finished!" He exclaimed a minute later. "Race you to the pool!" He shouted, already getting up and running.
"Hey!" I called out, putting my glasses on the table before getting up and following him to the pool. I sprinted after him, but by the time I reached the poolside he had already jumped in, splashing water everywhere.
"I win," Seth boasted, sticking his tongue out at me as he clung to the pool rim.
"You cheated," I told him. "But I'll get my revenge." I said with a malicious grin.
I could see his smug face drop as he saw me back up before running and barreling into the pool. Seth tried to swim away, but he was too late: the resulting waves and splash already hit him, water going everywhere.
Seth shrieked, holding his nose as he tried to swim away from me. "Water in my nose! Water in my nose!" After a dozen or so seconds of his agonized yelling he recovered enough to glare at me. "You're evil." He said, still grasping his nose.
"I'm your older brother," I said, turning my head towards him as I floated in the pool. "It's basically my job to terrorize you and Kendra."
"Then bother Kendra," Seth complained, before looking away at the path leading to the pooI. "In fact, I think I see her now."
I looked over to see a small figure heading down the path towards me and Seth.
Seth gave a conspiratorial glance towards me. "You know, as youngest sibling, it's my job to terrorize my siblings, too."
I caught on to what he was implying and smirked. "I think I know exactly what you mean." We leaned toward each other and began to discuss our evil plans.
…
Kendra arrived at the poolside area just as I had settled down at one of the recliners, acting as if I had decided to sunbath for a while. Seth was doing cannonballs into the pool while Kendra waved to me and put a towel and a mirror down onto the table with my things.
"Don't forget to put on sunblock." I called over to her.
"I know. Did you bring a bottle?" She asked.
"Yeah, it should be around here somewhere..." I scanned the ground for the bottle. "Here it is." I grabbed the sunscreen and tossed it over to Kendra. "Catch!"
She fumbled with the bottle before getting a good hold on it, and began smearing the sunblock over herself. I watched Seth swimming underwater, waiting for his signal to enact our plan. Seth began to surface before a bright splotch of light suddenly covered his face.
"Hey!" he shouted, swimming away from me and Kendra. What was that? I turned my head and spotted Kendra angling the mirror that she brought at Seth so the sun would bounce into his eyes.
"Hey, quit it," I told her. With an sly smirk, she instead turned the mirror towards me. I quickly threw up a hand as the sun began to shoot straight into my eyes. "Gah!" I lifted a hand to block the rays from my eyes. "No, my fatal weakness," I let out of fake wail of agony, flailing around for bit as Kendra and Seth snorted at my acting. "The sun, it burns…" I hissed out. "But unluckily for you, what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger" I quit my flailing before getting up from my chair and beginning to walk towards Kendra.
She pointed the mirror away from me and back towards Seth, clearly not wanting to deal with someone who had clearly became tough as nails from the endless torture of the sun's despicable rays. "I'm his older sister. You say its your job to terrorize us all the time, so it must be my job to terrorize him." She gestured towards Seth.
I stopped short only a couple feet away from her. "Hmm..." I pondered out loud. "You know what? That's fair." I told her, clambering back into my chair. "Go ahead with your terrorizing."
"Traitor!" Seth yelled at me from the pool as he covered his eyes to ward off the mirror's light. "And cut it out, Kendra!"
"What, you don't like that?" She called to him.
"Quit it. I won't do it anymore. Grandpa already yelled at me."
Kendra set the mirror on the table. "That mirror is a lot brighter than a butter knife," she said. "I bet it already did permanent damage to your retinas."
"I hope so, then I'll sue you for a billion dollars." He said. "And I'll sue you for helping!" Seth gestured towards me.
"Hey, I didn't help her." I lazily lifted my head. "I just also didn't help you either." I said, grinning smugly.
"And good luck on getting a billion from either of us. I have about a hundred in the bank, and Reynie probably just has a bunch of student debt."
"Hey!" I interjected, only somewhat affronted. I had actually gotten a full ride for college, being a child genius and all, but my past life? Whole different story there. Thankfully I don't have to with it anymore, being reincarnated and all.
"You might be able to buy some eye patches though." Kendra snarked. Seth began to swam toward her angrily, and Kendra walked forward to the edge of the pool.
As he started climbing out, she shoved him back in. She was about a head taller than him, so she could easily best him. Of course, I just sat there, being entertained by the two of them tussling. Seth tried to get out a couple more times, before realizing the effort's futility. He looked around a bit, before spotting me.
"Reynie!" He shouted at me. "Now!"
"Huh?" I looked at him, distracted. He gestured wildly at me before I remembered our plan. "Oh, yeah!"
I got up and jogged towards the two, trying to remain at least somewhat sneaky, while Seth kept trying to climb out, keeping Kendra preoccupied.
With Seth distracting her, I quickly snuck up behind Kendra and scooped her up in my arms. She yelled, surprised, but quickly realized what had happened and began wiggling to get out of my arms.
"Sorry," I said to her, not really meaning it. "But I hope you're ready to get wet!"
I took a few steps back before sprinting and jumping into the pool, Kendra still in my arms. She shrieked as we both hit the cold water, and she swam away from me, glaring.
She then turned her glare towards Seth as he swam over to me and held his hand up for for a high five.
"Up top!" He told me as I lifted my arm to slap his palm.
My vision was suddenly covered by a wave of water. Wiping it out of my eyes, I saw Kendra had been the one to send it to Seth and I. We began splashing her back, before Seth turned on me and it developed into an all-out splash war.
But we soon grew tired, since it was hard to win a water fight when all the participants were already soaked. "Let's have a race," Kendra suggested as the splashing subsided.
We began to race back and forth across the pool. After the first couple of races I decided to opt out, since I was winning all of them, and swam to the side of the pool to judge the two of them. First Seth and Kendra raced freestyle, then backstroke, breaststroke, and side-stroke, and after that I created some handicaps for the two to do, like racing with no arms or hopping across the shallow end on one foot. Kendra usually won, but Seth was faster at backstroke and some of the handicapped races.
Kendra decided to stop after a while, and decided to get out of the pool. She walked over to the table to get her towel as Seth and I started a diving contest. Seth climbed on top of a big rock near the deep end to do his jump, but I doubted he would beat my absolutely epic cannonball.
"Watch this can opener!" He shouted to Kendra and I as he jumped with one leg straight and the other bent.
"Good job," Kendra said to placate him when he surfaced.
"Eh," I said. "I think my cannonball was better." I said, jokingly. We began ribbing one another for our jumps, before Kendra interrupted us.
"Seth. Reynie." She hissed in a loud whisper, sounding serious. "Come look at this."
"What?" Seth asked.
"Kendra?" I called out to her, worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just come here."
We both got out of the pool and dripped our way over to where Kendra was standing.
Hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies swirled in the air above the handheld mirror that Kendra had been using to torture Seth before. Several other butterflies and a couple of large dragonflies were actually resting on the face of the mirror itself.
"What in the world..?" I said under my breath, confused. I stared at the cloud of insects swirling above the mirror like a storm, when a sudden pain struck my forehead.
I winced and near doubled over, gripping the table for support. It felt as though someone had just struck my head with a frying pan. And the insects above the mirror, they were so strange, yet so familiar...
"Reynie!" Seth exclaimed.
"Are you okay?" Kendra reached over and grabbed my shoulder.
"Er, yeah." I muttered, rubbing my forehead. "Or at least, I will be. Just have the, ergh-" I winced again, the pain increasing as I caught another glimpse of the insect cloud from the corner of my eye. "-just the worst migraine in the world." I stood up, before seeing twin looks of worry on Seth and Kendra's faces. "I'll be fine," I tried to reassured them, although from their dubious expression it didn't seem to be working very well. "I'm going to go head inside."
"Do you need me to walk you there?" Kendra asked.
"No, its fine." I waved her off. "Just, be careful around those bugs, yeah?" I gave another wince, a jolt of pain going through my head at the thought of the insects swirling above the mirror.
"Yeah. Okay." Seth said hesitantly, he and Kendra watching me wrap my towel around my waist and hobble off towards the house, still clutching my head in pain.
...
I made my way to my bedroom before collapsing down onto my bed.
"Owwww..." I groaned to myself, rubbing my forehead in an attempt to relieve my migraine. The pain felt as though God had reached down from the heavens to smack me upside the head.
There's just something about this house that keeps giving me migraines. Seriously, is it haunted or something? Is some sort of demon trying to possess me and that's why my head's been hurting so much here?
I mean, I've had some headaches before, sure, but nothing at this frequency and intensity.
I could feel the pool water from my swimsuit slowly start to seep into my covers, turning them damp as I continued to lay on my bed.
I should probably get up, I thought to myself, before continuing to languish on my bed.
"There's just something about this house," I echoed my thoughts from before. How old was this house, anyway? Was it old enough that my room could secretly have, I don't know, arsenic in the wallpaper or something? I've read articles about old homes where stuff like that has happened.
I turned and rested my cheek on the covers, gazing at my walls as if I could somehow determine if they looked old enough to have had arsenic in it.
...I have no idea. I'm not sure why I thought that I could somehow determine the age of wallpaper like I was some sort of wallpaper inspector or something.
Abandoning that train of thought, I finally dragged myself out of my bed before it got soaked, and trudged to the bathroom.
I took a quick shower to get the pool water off my skin and got changed into a pair of comfy clothes. Grabbing my walkman from the desk, I tried to listen to some music to distract myself and relieve my headache, but my thoughts kept straying back to the insect cloud.
Why had it bothered me so much? And what about an insect cloud could cause such a terrible migraine?
Ugh. Whatever. I'll just take some tylenol or something.
I stuck my walkman in my pocket and went downstairs to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. I filled up my glass and leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping from it as I let my thought wander.
I feel a bit nostalgic today. I'm not sure why, but something just seems so… familiar to me. Although what that something is continues to escape me.
I heaved out a sigh, before a flash of movement from the window caught my attention. It was Kendra, walking outside of the house, looking up at something on the roof of the house. I was about to lean my head out the window and call out to her when I saw her walk away towards something out of my view.
Curious, I placed my glass on the counter before walking out the door and following her.
Up ahead I could see her chatting with Dale near the barn, Dale holding something in his hands. Getting closer I could see that it was a pie tin, before Dale and Kendra noticed my approach and clammed up about whatever they had been talking about before.
"Hey," Dale greeted me, Kendra giving me a small wave.
Now within arms reach, I saw that the pie tin was full of what looked to be milk?
"Hey Kendra, Dale," I nodded to each of them. "What's up with the pie tin?" I asked.
Dale hesitated before exchanging a shifty-eyed glance with Kendra. She nodded, which clearly meant something, before Dale decided to let me in on what they were talking about, and what the pie tin had to do with it.
"This is some milk from the barn," he waved an arm towards the barn behind him. "We've got some cows in there, and they usually make more than enough milk. I put some of the excess in the garden for the insects, to keep them lively and all."
"Okay..." I drew out. "So why's that a secret exactly?" I asked, raising a brow.
"That's what I'd just asked when you came up," Kendra said, both of us looking towards Dale for an answer.
"I'm not sure you grandfather would approve of it. Never asked permission, and he might consider it wasteful." Dale shifted the tin to one hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Seems like a good idea to me. I noticed all the different kinds of butterflies in your garden, and there's more there than I've ever seen. Plus all the hummingbirds." Kendra told Dale.
I let out a soft hum in agreement. "Yeah, it seems innocuous enough. Though I hadn't known insects liked milk."
Dale nodded. "Neither did I, till I saw them drinking it. I like it though, adds to the atmosphere."
"So you're not bringing that to the house?" Kendra asked, referring to the pie tin.
"Oh no," Dale said. "This milk hasn't been pasteurized. Full of bacteria. You could catch all sorts of diseases. Not fit for people. Insects, on the other hand, they seem to prefer it this way. You two won't spoil my secret?" He asked, looking at the two of us.
"We'll stay quiet," I said, Kendra agreeing
"Good." He smiled with a conspiratorial wink.
"Where are you putting that one?" Kendra asked.
"Over there." Dale jerked his head toward the woods. "I set a few on the border of the yard every day."
"Doesn't it spoil?" Kendra wondered.
"I don't leave it out long enough. Some days the insects even consume all the milk before I collect the pans. Thirsty critters." Dale answered her question.
"Speaking of critters, does anything else ever drink the milk?" I asked. "Like, I don't know, squirrels or raccoons or something?"
Dale looked briefly uncomfortable. "No. We don't get many animals around the house. They know not to come into the yard." He answered.
Huh. That... doesn't really make sense?
"Well, see you later Dale," Kendra said, having no further questions about the milk.
"Yeah," Dale replied. "Wait. Have either of you seen Seth hereabout?"
"I think he's in the house," she said.
"That so?" Dale asked, dubious.
Kendra shrugged. "Maybe."
"I haven't seen him since we went to the pool, but he's probably just in the attic or something." I told Dale.
"Alright then. See you two." Dale bid us farewell as Kendra turned and began to head to the house, I following close behind.
Kendra mounted the first stair to the rear porch before pausing and glancing back at Dale. I followed her gaze to see him placing the milk tin behind a small, round bush.
Turning back, I grabbed Kendra's arm, stopping her from going inside. She looked at me questioningly.
"So," I began. "Where is Seth actually?"
"What do you mean?" Kendra asked. "Like I told Dale, he's probably in the house." She said, feigning nonchalance.
"Sure he is." I fixed Kendra with a look that showed I didn't believe her. She looked away towards her feet, scuffing one of them against the ground.
"C'mon," I prompted her. "He's not really in the house, is he?"
Kendra froze for a second, her eyes darting towards the woods. "Maybe."
I let out a long-suffering sigh. "So that's a 'he's really in the woods getting Lyme disease', isn't it." I asked rhetorically.
"In my defense, I told him not to." Kendra said, looking a bit guilty.
"It's fine.' I said, rubbing my eyes in exasperation. "I'll go out and get him. Make sure he doesn't get mauled by a bear. Whatever." I took a step into the house before turning back to Kendra. "Oh, and if I'm not back with Seth in say," I checked my watch. "forty minutes, tell Grandpa where we are, okay?"
Kendra nodded before we parted ways, she presumably going to attic, as I went to my room to grab some supplies before going into the woods.
I stopped off at my room and grabbed a backpack and packed it with stuff that seemed useful, like a first aid kit, some bug spray and sunscreen, and of course, my trusty survival kit.
Stepping out of the house, I stared at the woods encompassing the horizon, ready to head out and get Seth.
...
AN: Thank you all for reading, and remember to review if you're able! And a special thanks to Divide bye Zero for being the first reviewer!