Hello everyone! I am back with a new story, The backyard. It is my first story to use the horror/supernatural genre and I am looking forward to seeing how well this does. This story will have almost no OC's and will stick to mainly Lincoln and his family. Enjoy the pilot chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House.
Lincoln was sitting in the passenger seat of Lori's old ketchup red car. He was on one of his rare trips to Great Lakes City to visit Ronnie Anne, piggybacking on a date with Lori and Bobby. He was looking forward to it, as face calls with Ronnie Anne only went so far
"Thanks for taking me all the way out here Lori," Lincoln said.
"No problem Linc," Lori said. "Happy to help out."
In the distance the skyscrapers and towers of Great Lakes City grew into sight. The trees and green grass on either side of the road slowly changed into concrete lining and steel buildings. Lincoln looked at the jumbotrons advertising soda's and fashion brands as they passed through downtown.
The car came to a stop outside of the sun bleached yellow apartment. Lincoln and Lori stepped outside of the car and walked up to the doors of the Mercado. Lori pushed the door open which made a jingling noise and Lincoln followed her in.
Bobby walked out from behind a shelf to greet them. "Hey Babe!"
"Boo-Boo Bear!" she replied, rushing up to hug him. Lincoln walked up to Bobby after Lori broke away from their embrace.
"Hey Bobby," he said. "How's it going?"
"It's been good," Bobby replied. "Nice of you to come down here to visit us."
"Of course! It's been too long since I visited you guys in person."
"And you're right. Want me to go find Ronnie Anne?"
"Yeah, I'll come with you."
All three of them passed the shelfs to an apple red door at the back of the mercado. Bobby pulled it open and entered. Lincoln saw Ronnie Anne sitting on the stairs leading upstairs with her hands in the pocket of her purple hoodie. She looked down at the visitors and said, "Hey Lame-o."
"Hey Ronnie Anne," Lincoln replied as he walked up the stairs. "How are you doing?"
"I've been doing fine," she replied. "How about you?"
"About the same."
"Good to hear. Want to come to my room?"
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Both of them turned to the apartment door while Lori and Bobby went into Bobby's apartment. They entered the great room of the apartment, turned and walked down the tan hallway. He counted the doors as they passed by. One, two, three, four, five and six. Almost the same amount as the upstairs hallway back home.
"What are we doing today?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, we got some time to ourselves," Ronnie began. "Afterwards I was thinking of going to the zoo."
"Cool. What do they have there?"
"Just about everything. Lizards, crocodiles, too many marmosets and an elephant to name a few. What animals do you want to see?"
"Do they have any fish?"
"I think so."
They reached the farthest door down and entered Ronnie Anne's room. Lincoln looked at the bed and desk tucked into the walls of the room and the various skateboard themed posters on the walls. Her room looked reminiscent of his. They sat down on the purple covering of the bed.
"How long do you think it will be before we go to the zoo?"
"Long enough for Bobby and Lori to do this," she said as she faked making out. Both of them sniggered at this.
"Well, in that case we'll have plenty of time on our hands," Lincoln chuckled. Ronnie Anne pulled one of the drawers under her bed open with the toe of her foot. She bent down and pulled out two Portable Game Boys with accompanying Muscle Fish cartridges. She handed one to Lincoln.
"What are we playing for?" Lincoln asked as he took the controller.
"Whoever has the highest score by the time they're done making out downstairs wins."
"You're on," Lincoln said. He had spent hours playing this and was in it to win it.
"You ready?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Always," he replied.
"Three… two… one… go!"
"Come on, come on," Lincoln muttered to himself. He had to jump and dodge only a few more obstacles to beat his high score. After that there would be no way that Ronnie Anne could beat him. He saw an incoming projectile and moved to jump over it when the door suddenly opened. The noise broke his concentration and he landed too early and fell between the floor sections.
"Well there goes my high score," he said to himself as he turned towards the door. Lori and Bobby were standing at the door frame.
"Are you guys ready to go to the zoo?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah," Ronnie Anne said as she placed the console down on the bed.
"We'll be waiting in the foyer," Lori said as she and Bobby turned and left. Ronnie Anne turned to Lincoln. "What score did you get?"
Lincoln looked at the top right corner of the screen. "I got… 12563478. What about you?"
Ronnie Anne looked down at her console. "No way," she said. "I got the same score."
Lincoln looked at her screen and saw that she had indeed got the same score as he did. "Well, I'll take a tie over a loss."
"Just wait until we have a rematch," Ronnie Anne said with a smile. She placed the consoles back into the drawer under the bed. She then walked over to the other side of the room where her skateboards were hanging.
"Have you ever used a skateboard before?" she asked.
"No, I haven't," he replied.
She pulled her usual turquoise skateboard off the wall and set it down on the floor before pulling off a checkerboard colored skateboard.
"Want to try it out today?"
Lincoln walked over to the checkered skateboard. He stood on and shifted his weight around so the skateboard moved back and forth slightly across the room.
"Is it like riding a bike?" he asked.
"No, not really. You won't be able to pull off any cool stunts or anything like that at first. Just think of it as walking, but better." She stood out of the way and gestured down the hallway. "Try going down the hallway on it."
Lincoln placed a foot onto the rugged floor. He moved his leg back, placed it in front of himself and pulled back again. He was gaining speed and nearing the end of the hallway when he realized he never thought about how to slow down. He tried placing a foot down in front of the skateboard. The skateboard kept going and he was flung onto the floor.
Ronnie Anne chuckled and walked over to Lincoln. "Try not to do that outside. Trust me when I say this, the sidewalk is not as comfy as this carpet." She extended her hand to Lincoln, which he took and she pulled him up.
"When trying to stop, place your foot down behind the board, like this." She put her skateboard down on the floor, stepped onto it and set her foot behind the left of it. "Now you try."
Lincoln got back onto his skateboard which had come to a stop next to the orange armchair. He started to push again and moved down the hallway. He placed his foot behind the board and came to a stop right outside of Ronnie Anne's room.
"Good job Lincoln," Ronnie congratulated. "Now you're ready to go outside." They both picked up their skateboards and exited the apartment. They walked down the coffee colored stairs and into the foyer where Bobby and Lori were waiting.
"Are you guys ready to go?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah," both Ronnie and Lincoln replied. Bobby held the door open as the rest passed by him and onto the sidewalk.
"Zoo's straight down this way," Ronnie Anne said as she put her skateboard on the sidewalk.
Lincoln did the same and stood on the board.
"Since when did you skateboard?" Lori asked.
"I just felt that today seemed like a good day to try something new," Lincoln replied as both he and Ronnie Anne began skating down the path, followed behind by Lori and Bobby.
Some distance away from where they were was Conagher Bar. A man stumbled out from the entrance moving towards a vintage mustang, followed closely by the bartender.
"Hey Dally," the bartender said. "Where are you going?"
"I got places to be at," he slurred in reply. He got to the car and was fumbling with the keys, trying to put them in the door. The bartender caught up to him.
"I can't have you driving drunk, Dally."
"Piss off Dell," Dally snapped in return. He finally got the key into the lock and opened the door.
"Look son, I know you got places to go, just let me drive you there," Dell said as he rested his hand on Dally's shoulder. Dally swung around and punched him in the throat. "Get your hands off me!"
Dally got into the car and turned the ignition switch. Dell, still coughing and clutching his throat, barely got out of the way before Dally pulled out of the parking lot and tore down 13th street.
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were having the time of their life's. They were swerving around the other people on the sidewalk and each other. They had left Lori and Bobby in the dust a long time ago, which was fine with them. Lori might have gotten nervous and ruined their fun.
They came to a stop at 13th street. Ronnie Anne skidded to a halt next to the traffic light and leaned against it. "You seem to be getting the hang of this Lame-o," she said. "How about a race?"
"I'd love to," Lincoln replied with a smile.
"Then how about we sweeten the pot?" Ronnie Anne said with a growing smile.
"Why not?" Lincoln agreed.
"If I win, I prank you like there's no tomorrow."
"And if I win?"
"If you win you may get a kiss."
"Oh, you're on," Lincoln said with a sly grin. Ronnie Anne pressed the street walk button and they both stood on their boards on the edge of the concrete. The cars slowly came to a standstill and he set his foot far forward. The white stick figure flashed on the sign opposite to them and he moved forward. So focused he was on getting Ronnie Anne's kiss he didn't notice the roar of an engine.
And then pain. So much pain. More than he had ever felt in his life. He weightless for a moment before feeling like he was being crushed into the ground by a massive shoe. He heard a terrible scraping noise and screaming. He couldn't see anything, just a blank white of agony.
"¡No, Dios por favor, no!" he heard. He tried to say something back, to calm down the fear and shock he heard, but he couldn't speak. He felt his head being cradled. His vision was restored for only a few moments to see Ronnie Anne sobbing hysterically over him before it faded away again, this time into darkness.
Lincoln opened his eyes to overcast skies, partially hidden by a tree. He felt the damp blades of grass caressing the sides of his head. He tried to stand up but couldn't. He felt tired. So tired, as if he had spent an eternity laying where he was.
With renewed effort he finally got back up on his feet. He saw that he was in the backyard next to the tree and the entrance to Lisa's bunker. Wasn't he supposed to be miles away in Great Lakes City visiting Ronnie Anne?
He remembered, or thought he remembered, being there. She had taught him how to skateboard and they were going to visit the zoo. They had stopped at a light and they made a deal. If she won, he got mercilessly pranked. If he won, he got a kiss from her. The cross light turned on and…
He couldn't remember what happened next. He felt some disappointment not knowing if he got that kiss or not. "Must have been a daydream," he said to himself. If he had dreamed it up laying out here, he must have been hit in the head too hard from one of Lynn's footballs.
He looked around the yard but couldn't see Lynn. There were balls scattered around though, with a bat and catcher's mitts laying haphazardly in a pile. He suddenly felt like he was starving, even though he had eaten breakfast. He walked up the stairs and into the kitchen. Utensils and ingredients were laying out on the counter and looking through the doorway he saw half eaten lunches still laying on the table.
"Hello?" he called out. No answer. He opened the door to the basement and peered in to see if anyone was doing laundry. He heard the thumps of the washing machine banging against the cinderblock wall but saw none of his sisters or parents.
He closed the basement door and walked through the kitchen and dining room. The living room was also devoid of noise or activity and he saw that the door to his parents bedroom was flung open. Looking through he saw no one was there either.
He walked up the stairs and into the hallway. He turned left and stopped at the door of Leni's room. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. No answer.
"Hey Leni?" he asked. Still no response. He placed his hand on the door handle and entered the room. The room was empty. He left and closed the door before turning to Luna and Luan's room.
He knocked on the door and waited for a response. Nothing. Not waiting to ask for permission he opened the door and walked in. Also empty. Luna's guitar was leaning on the wall next to the bunk bed and Mr. Coconuts was sitting on the vanity.
He closed the door and moved onto Lynn and Lucy's room. He opened the door. Nothing. He moved to Lana and Lola's room and then Lisa and Lily's. Nothing.
He tried the attic next. He pulled the hatch down and climbed up the ladder. He coughed as dust fell on him as he went up. He got off the ladder and looked around at the old boxes and furniture.
"Lucy," he called out, "You up here?"
He heard no response. He sighed and climbed back down into the hallway. He pushed the hatch back into place and turned to his room. He entered and saw that no one was in here either.
"Huh," he said to himself. Where could they all be? He eyed the stack of Ace Savvy comics on his desk, heard the grumbling of his demanding stomach and thought of the perfect way to enjoy his surprise alone time.
He grabbed the stack and carried it downstairs to the couch. He set it on the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. He used two pieces of bread from a loaf that had been left out on the counter along with peanut butter and sauerkraut from the fridge. He made his favorite sandwich and put it on a plate. He took the plate out to the coffee table next to his comics. He unzipped his jeans and threw it on the table.
He laid down on his back on the couch laying his head against the arm rest. He grabbed issue #1 of Ace Savvy and took a bite from his sandwich. A light shower had started, pelting the glass panes with small droplets and making a calming pitter-patter.
"Ahh," Lincoln said aloud, "What a nice way to enjoy the day."
Lincoln had read through half of his comic book pile and finished his sandwich. The light shower outside had developed into a moderate pour creating a constant buzz. He heard the noise of a car through the buzz and he lifted his head to look out the window. He saw the outline of Vanzilla pull up next to the house. He relaxed his head and went back to reading his comic.
He heard the click of the lock and the squeaking of the front door. He heard crying and then abrupt choking. He shifted his comic down to see what was going on. To his surprise he saw only his sisters, who looked like they had been crying hard for some time.
They didn't make a sound. They stared at him and he stared back, not breaking the silence. Lori's mascara was running down her cheeks, they all had puffy red eyes and some were visibly shaking.
"Lincoln!" Lily said. She wiggled out of Leni's arms, who didn't seem to care that Lily was free. Lily waddled between her older sisters over to Lincoln. She grabbed his arm and hugged it tightly.
"Hi Lily," Lincoln said, rubbing the top of Lilys head with his other hand. Lily hugged his arm tighter. Lincoln looked back to the rest of his sisters.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked.
Lynn made a choking noise. "Y-you…,"
Lincoln sat up on the couch. "Yeah?"
"Your… you're dead."
To get constructive criticism to better my writing, reviewers who post before the publishing date of the story's last chapter will be put on the credits. I hope you enjoyed the pilot chapter of The backyard. I will be back soon with the next chapter.