I do not own The Loud House. All rights belong to Nickelodeon.

Chapter 20

When morning came, Lincoln felt like he was in the lion's den. His eyes kept scanning the room and at his sisters. He was ready to dash out the back door in a heartbeat or grab something to use as a weapon. He kept his distance and didn't breathe a word to anyone. This didn't go unnoticed by his sisters. However, they were busy discussing their activities.

As Lincoln and his sisters left the kitchen, their mother called out, "Lincoln! Lana!"

Lincoln's heart jumped before he looked over his shoulder. Lana turned around with her arms crossed. She was standing with her husband. All the other Loud sisters stopped and watched.

Rita started, "Lincoln honey, we know that we haven't exactly displayed the most ideal parenting. Which is why you said you don't like who we are, and the truth is—"

She turned to her husband, and Lynn Sr. continued, "The truth is we've let you down. So, we were hoping you'd give us a chance to reconnect. Maybe the four of us can go to Dairyland together this weekend."

Lincoln and Lana glanced at each other. Lana kept her arms crossed.

"I don't know," Lana spoke weakly.

"Lana, please. All we're asking is a chance," Rita pleaded.

"You two hurt me. I wasn't just attacked. My life was in danger, and Lincoln is the only reason why I'm still alive. You could have done something, Dad . . . but you didn't. You know, sometimes at night . . . I get nightmares of what would have happened if Lincoln didn't save me. I've seen what alligators and crocodiles do to their prey . . . and that day, that could have been me," Lana explained.

Lynn Sr. was on the verge of crying. Rita forced herself to stay strong.

"And you have no idea how grateful we are that it didn't come to that. The thought of losing one of my babies," Rita paused and closed to resist crying as she choked up, "I don't know what I'd do."

Lincoln turned away while rolling his eyes.

'Give me a fucking break, Mom. If we're so important to you, why are you so willing to side with superstition and not believe your own goddamn son when he tells the truth that he's not bad luck? Or how about when your 'babies' are fighting? Where are you and Dad to put your foot down and end it? Instead, it's a goddamn free-for-all during their stupid protocol,' Lincoln thought to himself.

"Lately, I feel that we're more distant from each other, and we shouldn't be. We're family. So, how about we do something fun together and continue to work on how to spend more time together," Rita proposed.

"Please, we're begging you. Just one chance to make things right, that's all we're asking," Lynn Sr. begged.

Lana looked back at Lincoln and glanced at all the other sisters. Some looked unsure, while others, like Lori, nodded to encourage them to give their parents a chance.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go. Okay, let's do it," Lana said.

"Great. In fact, why don't we all go?" Lynn Sr. proposed.

The rest of the Loud sisters either shrugged or smiled at the opportunity. However, Rita noticed that Lincoln still didn't give his answer.

"Lincoln? How about it, honey?" Rita asked.

All eyes were on him. Lincoln remained silent for a few moments.

"Yeah, sure," Lincoln muttered, "Who doesn't like Dairyland?"

"So, it's a date then?" Rita smiled.

"I guess," Lana spoke.

Lincoln left before anyone could say anything more to him. He was out the door and ready for the bus. He took several deep breaths to calm his heart, but it was almost impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, even to blink, he saw everything from his visions. He saw either his sisters beating him or him beating his sisters. The worst was the blood. The blood and pain. Lincoln felt he needed to leave for good. If his family was capable of doing these horrible things to him, they weren't good for him. Lincoln knew that if he was going down this path, he was going to lose his family. He did not know what would become of them after he left them, but he was too afraid to stay.

While waiting for the bus, Lucy approached him, "Lincoln, you forgot your breakfast burrito and OJ."

Lincoln turned around and grabbed it, "Thanks."

He ate his breakfast before the bus arrived. The rest of the day, he stayed focused on keeping out of trouble. During recess, he went straight to the library and looked for a book about survival. He found one. It was basic, but it covered many areas, including city survival and the dangers of being on your own. He glanced inside and found some valuable tips.

When the day was over, Lincoln approached his house very carefully. He listened and heard the everyday commotion from his sisters – talking bout Dream Boat. He kept his distance, did his homework, and stayed in his room. He drew in his sketchbook to draw his feelings before he went to bed. That night he had an unexpected visitor – Lynn. She shook him awake, and he was startled. She had a disappointed look, with a frown and one eyebrow raised.

"Stinkin," Lynn spoke.

"Lynn. What are you doing here?" Lincoln asked.

"Did you sabotage my burrito yesterday?"

"That's what you came in here for?"

Lynn leaned in close and looked him in the eye, "Did you sabotage that burrito?!"

"Yeah, I did."

Lynn growled, and Lincoln instantly tensed up and clenched his fists, ready to defend himself. Lynn grabbed Lincoln's shirt and yanked him close.

"Do you have any idea how much you messed things up for me?!" Lynn demanded, "You almost completely screwed my training. Baseball season is coming up, and I cannot afford any foul-ups!"

Lincoln roughly shook her off, and she landed on the floor. She was somewhat surprised by that as Lincoln stood up from his bed.

"Well, maybe Lynn, if you just ate your own breakfast instead of stealing mine, I wouldn't have to sabotage a perfectly good burrito just to make you learn your lesson!" Lincoln objected.

"You could have cost me my opening!" Lynn countered.

"I don't care, Lynn! Because there are some things more important than your stupid sports!"

Lynn grabbed his mouth, "Shh! Don't say that, Stinkin! It's bad luck."

Lincoln roughly shoved off her hands again, "There's no such thing as luck!"

"Only a guy whose bad luck would say that!" Lynn jabbed.

"Shut up, Lynn, and listen to me!"

"No, you shut up! This season is important to me and to the school. Everything has to be just right, and I can't have anything messing up the good luck energy. So, don't do anything to mess this up for me, Stinkin. I know luck, man, and the only way to win is to follow the luck rituals."

Lincoln glared at her. Everything he didn't like about her was cranked up to eleven. Seeing her so neck-deep and far down this delusional belief nauseated Lincoln.

"Get out," Lincoln ordered.

"I'm serious, Stinkin. You have no idea how important it is to me," Lynn stated.

"Get out of my room, Lynn," Lincoln repeated more seriously.

"You better not mess this up for—"

Before she could finish that sentence, Lincoln grabbed her and threw her out of his room. Lynn landed hard on the floor and groaned as she sat up.

"You know what, Lynn? There's going to come a time and place in your life where luck won't save you . . . and it won't save the things you love. If you believe so strongly in luck and if winning sports matters to you this much, then I truly hope you can live with it. Because one day sooner or later . . . it's gonna be the only thing you have left in your life after you lose everything else. Think on that," Lincoln stated before closing his door and locking it.

Lynn was speechless. She sat there for a long while as her brother's words sank into her core. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she marched back to her room.

'You don't know what you're talking about, Stinkin! Big stupid dope!' Lynn thought to herself.

'Just one more day. One day, then it's a one-way bus ride to Big Lake City, and Ronnie Anne and her family can help me start over,' Lincoln thought to himself as he got back in bed, 'Just one more day.'

The Next Morning

Lincoln was anxious the whole morning and day. He texted Ronnie Anne, and Stella how much closer he was to the end of the day. Ronnie Anne made it clear that as soon as he gets to the bus station, he has to get rid of the phone so they don't track him.

STELLA: Did you tell Clyde yet?

LINCOLN: Not yet. I didn't want to ruin his vacation.

RONNIE ANNE: That's probably the right decision. If you tell him now, he'll spend his whole time worrying about you. How much time until school's over?

LINCOLN: I got two classes left.

STELLA: Don't drag your feet. Get what you need and get on that bus. Stay safe.

LINCOLN: I will.

Once the day was over, Lincoln was tense as he headed home. The thought of what he would do was jarring his mind – run away. Running away from home. Before his future vision powers came to him, the mere thought of that never crossed his mind. That was until he learned what kind of people his family was. What they were capable of and incapable of. However, he felt that he needed to leave if there was any hope for him to have a better life and true happiness. He needed to get far away.

Once he arrived at his house, he noticed that it was usually quiet, and there was this feeling of familiarity. A nerve-racking chill ran up his spine, and his eyes widened as his heart rate accelerated. He instantly knew what this meant. Lori and Leni bought the same stupid dress, fought, and now their protocol was in effect. Lincoln was panting, and his hands were trembling. He could see the two visions as vivid and clearly as the dreams. Lincoln shook his hands and his head. He took several deep breaths.

"Don't provoke them. Keep your distance. Just go straight to your room, grab your other backpack, and get out of there," Lincoln told himself.

He looked at his watch and realized that time was running out. He needs to go now. He dashed in and went to Luna, who was standing guard at the kitchen doorway.

"Luna! Is Lori in the kitchen?" Lincoln asked.

Luna answered, "Yeah, bro, but she and Leni had a major throwdown. So, kitchen's—"

"Is Leni up in the bathroom?!"

"Uh, yeah. How did—?"

Before she could finish that sentence, he left. Lynn, Lola, and Lucy were sitting on the couch reading. As Lincoln entered the living room, he realized he needed his comics and graphic novels, and one of them was on the coffee table, right next to the controller. When he reached for it, the three girls lunged for him, but Lincoln saw it coming and dodged and pinned Lynn and Lola to the floor as he grabbed his Ace Savvy comic.

"TV's off limits!" Lynn said.

"I'm not grabbing the remote. I just wanted my comic," Lincoln said, trying to hide his fear.

His sisters approached him again as he tried to head for the stairs. He dodged them again, narrowly missing them. They came up to him. Lincoln saw the anger in their eyes as he backed away. He held his hands in surrender.

"You can't go to the bathroom. Leni's in there cooling off," Lola stated.

"You can't go up there!" Lynn jabbed.

Lincoln spoke very quickly, "I'm just going up to my bedroom! I'm just going up to my bedroom! All I'm doing is going up to my bedroom!"

All frustration and anger were completely dispelled. Lynn, Lola, and Lucy saw the fear in Lincoln's eyes. With his wide-open eyes, his nervous movement, and the tone in his voice, it was like someone was pointing a loaded gun at his face. Lucy was especially worried as she wondered if it had something to do with his future vision powers.

"Lincoln?" Lola spoke.

Lynn started, "Are you okay—?"

Lincoln shoved them off and ran upstairs. He didn't notice that the bus receipt fell out of the back of his pants.

"Ugh, Lincoln!" Lola shouted.

As they got up, Lynn was the first to find the receipt, and their eyes widened when they read it.

"What is this? A receipt for a bus ticket?!" Lynn exclaimed.

As Lynn and Lola marched upstairs, Lucy panicked. She felt she needed Lori. She ran to the kitchen, but Luna stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Nobody goes in there," Luna instructed.

"Luna, please! We need Lori. It's Lincoln. I think something bad is going to happen," Lucy stated.

"Whatever it is, it'll have to wait," Luna said.

"Lincoln bought a bus ticket!"

This caught their attention. Luna raised an eyebrow, and Lori looked over her shoulder and walked over.

"A bus ticket?" Lori asked.

Upstairs, Lincoln put on a grey hoodie sweater and packed his comics and graphic novels. There was no room for his sketchbook. He'll have to leave it behind and buy a new one once he got to Great Lake City. Maybe Ronnie Anne, or Bobby could hook him up in his family's shop store or another job to earn money. First, he needed to get out of Royal Woods.

However, as he finished packing, Lynn kicked the door open with Lola standing behind her. Lincoln's heart jumped as he turned around.

"Lincoln, what is this?" Lynn asked, holding the receipt.

Lincoln's eyes widened as he desperately searched his pockets, realizing he packed his ticket in his backpack but not the receipt.

"Why do you have a—" Lynn stopped when she saw his backpack, "Are you going somewhere?"

Lynn had an angry look in her eyes and the tone of her voice as she demanded answers, but all Lincoln saw was his visions. He saw it all. All the fighting, all the blood, and all the pain. Fear gripped him completely. Lincoln felt Lynn was going to get answers out of him even if she had to beat him. Lincoln grabbed an action figure from the dresser and

POW!

He whacked Lynn in the head so hard that the plastic toy broke on impact. Lynn grunted and cried in pain as she got hit. Lola gasped in fright. The side of Lynn's head was bleeding. Lincoln didn't waste any time as he grabbed Lynn and threw her overhead behind him to the wall of his room. Lynn crashed into the wall hard, nearly cracking the drywall. Lynn groaned in pain and gritted her teeth as she slowly slid down the wall, and her head landed on the floor.

"Lincoln! What are you doing?!" Lola cried out.

Lincoln tossed his backpack over Lola and jumped over her, landing on his side. When he did, Lincoln used both his feet to kick Lola, making her land on Lynn. Lynn looked up from the floor wide-eyed. He quickly closed the door and grabbed his backpack.

Both Lynn and Lola called out, "Lincoln!"

Lana saw from down the hall. Lisa and Luan poked their heads out of their rooms, looking just as confused as Lana.

"What's going on?" Lana asked.

Lincoln dashed down the stairs and out the door. Lori and Lana glanced at each other confused, while Lucy was worried out of her mind.

"What's happening?" Luna asked.

"Stop him! Stop Lincoln!" Lynn called.

Lincoln grabbed a bike and gunned it for the bus station. He was running for his life, peddling as fast as he could, shifting the bike to higher power gears to make the bike go faster.

"Lynn, what is going on? Are you bleeding?" Lori asked.

"Lincoln's running away from home!" Lynn answered.

The sisters were all shocked to hear this. Luan, Lisa, and Lana uttered when they heard those words.

"What?" Lori spoke.

"Get Vanzilla! We gotta stop him! He's headed for the bus station!" Lynn yelled before running out the door.

Lynn grabbed another bike and chased after Lincoln, but he had a head start. It didn't take long to get dark and for the streetlights to turn on.

"Lincoln, stop!" Lynn called.

Lincoln looked back and saw her chasing him. His senses were dialed to eleven, and he almost felt lightheaded. He peddled faster. He knew Lynn would catch up to him easily. He had to lose her somehow. The bus station wasn't far from the park. He turned and headed for the park. He peddled through jogging and walking paths – all of which had trees and thick bushes on both sides.

Lincoln tripped and fell. He rolled on his side a few times, but when he got back on his feet, he saw the bike had a bent tire, and the chain was undone. Lincoln growled a grunt before taking off into the bushes. He ran and ran until he took cover in some bushes by the trees. He covered his mouth to silence his breathing and listened. He heard the sound of a bike peddling from a near distance – it skidded to a stop.

"Lincoln! Lincoln!" Lynn called.

He heard another bike approaching, "Lynn!" Then it stopped, "Did you find Lincoln?"

"No, but he came through here. We gotta find him."

"Why's he doing this? I don't understand," Luna said.

"I don't know. It may have something to do with the Sister Fight Protocol. Maybe it scared him. I don't know. We have to find him. Let's focus on that," Lynn stated.

"Okay, let's spread out. I'll go that way. You continue this way," Luna pointed.

Lincoln waited patiently before peeking through the leaves and out of the bushes. He looked around to see that the coast was clear. He carefully snuck around and through the park. He made sure to stay out of street lights. He hugged the walls and the blocks under statues.

Lincoln took several deep breaths. He thought of using his future vision powers to determine where to avoid Lynn and Luna but was afraid of getting dizzy and passing out. Knowing Lisa, she was most likely tracking him through his phone, so he wouldn't use it until he texted Ronnie Anne that he was about to enter the bus. He heard Lynn and Luna calling his name from a distance.

He crossed several paths and jogged across a few fields until he reached a path sidewalk leading to the giant park staircase. He breathed a sigh of relief because a busy road was at the bottom of the stairs, and the bus station was just a few blocks away. He was almost there. However, as he got close, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Lincoln!" Lynn called.

His heart jumped in his chest as he turned around and saw her on her bike, and Luna wasn't too far behind.

"Bro! Stop!" Luna yelled.

Lincoln sprinted as fast as he could to get away. He leaped over park benches and bushes before running as fast as he could to the stairs. His whole body was beating like a drum from his heartbeat. He ran down the stairs, sometimes leaping to skip some stairs. Once across the streets, Lincoln could lose them in the alleyways or the crowds.

However, when he got close to the bottom of the stairs, the most unexpected thing arrived – Vanzilla. Lori was driving with Leni inside in the passenger seat. Lincoln skidded on the concrete to stop.

"Lincoln! Stop! What are you doing?!" Lori demanded.

Leni got out, "Lincoln, wait. This is totes crazy!"

Lincoln quickly glanced back and forth between them and Lynn running down the stair with Luna. Lincoln ran on top of the stone side and jumped on top of Vanzilla and onto the street.

"Just stop!" Lori called as she tried to grab him.

The road had five lanes of cars going in the same direction and was busy with many vehicles. The two lanes beside Vanzilla were slow, so Lincoln slid on the hoods as he ran. However, when he got through the second lane, he didn't see the oncoming car driving fast in the third.

"Lincoln!" Lynn called.

Lincoln jumped just in time to avoid his legs getting broken, but his head and torso hit the windshield, and he flew at least ten feet. The car stopped hard, as did some of the other vehicles. The Loud sisters' faces turned pale as their pupils shrank. Lincoln lay motionless on the road with his eyes closed and his head bleeding.

"No!" Lori cried.

Leni screamed in terror as her hands shook frantically near her face.

"Lincoln!" Lynn and Luna screamed.

They ran over, and Lori held her brother close in her arms. They cried as Lori and Lynn desperately tried to wake him up. People around the area slowly approached.

"No, no, no, oh god no," Luna uttered.

"Lincoln! Wake up! Please!" Lori pleaded as she held him.

"Lincoln, can you hear us?! Lincoln! Wake up!" Lynn shook him.

Leni held her hands over her mouth as her tears made her mascara run. All the sisters had tears building up in their eyes. Lori put her finger under Lincoln's jaw by the side of his neck.

"I got a pulse! He's still alive!" Lori cried out.

Lynn turned to Luna, "Hurry!"

Luna frantically pulled out her phone to dial 911.

Lori held her brother close with her cheek brushing against his hair as the tears streamed down her face, "Hold on, Lincoln. Please (sobs) please hold on. (sobs) Help is coming. Just hang on."

Lynn held Lincoln's hand, "Don't leave, Lincoln. Please don't go."

Well, now you know what Future Lincoln was up to. Everything he was doing lead to this, and you'll see why when they're all in the hospital in the next chapter.