Chapter 2: Chapter 1
A repeated ringing and buzzing filled a young man's bedroom as he tried reaching to silence his alarm. After the third attempt and causing his phone to fall, he gave up and let out a deep groan. He turned over on his back to look at his white ceiling.
"A good way to start your birthday, huh, Lucas?" He thought to himself as he sat up and ran his fingers through his brown hair before dragging himself out of bed. After showering, fixing his hair, and brushing his teeth, he came to a stop in front of a mirror.
He looked himself up and down as if expecting something to have changed. To his own disappointment, he was the same as always. Shaggy hair and an average look. He hated how he looked and dreamt of the day he would be so much more. So until that day happens, he stood up straight and looked in the mirror with confidence.
"Today will be a good day." He said to himself with a forced smile. He then stuck a few superheroes' poses, causing a few chuckles out of himself. Every day he would always say these few words to himself and struck these poses on the off chance they came true, or at least he tried to make them come true. He mainly did it as a confidence boost to start the day on a bare minimum good note.
Lucas put on a shirt, grabbed his jacket, and went towards his door with a nod of reassurance and striking his very last and favorite superhero pose. He did a final glance at his room. It was clean and spotless yet felt empty. He had 5 posters hanging in his room. He had one of his favorite superheroes from comics, one from manga, a signed poster from his favorite band, and a post his mom got him as a gift. His room was the way he liked it, so he gave a nod of reassurance. He then closed his door and began his walk down the quiet hallway.
Closing his eyes for a quick second as he let out a deep yawn, Lucas felt as if he ran straight into a brick wall. This sudden impact caused him to fall and land straight on his ass with a thump. As he sat there feeling the pain, he had this weird sensation come over him. It was almost like fear or dread had rushed right through him all of a sudden. He quickly looked up and thought he saw a hulking beast in the hallway with him. He quickly blinked his eyes in disbelief; however, it was gone within seconds. That image and sensation that appeared so suddenly were not there as if it never happened. Instead, his older sister stood there, looking really concerned at him.
"Are…you alright?" his sister, Martha, said in a very monotone voice, yet her face did show some concern for her brother.
Martha was taller than Lucas by a couple of inches. She was very lean, but one could tell she had some muscle to her. Her hazel eyes stared at Lucas's face, then his body as if she was reading or even examining him. With a single blink, she extended a hand out to her brother in an attempt to help him up.
"Oh. Good morning, Sis." Lucas said kindly, declining her gesture, before picking himself up. "Sorry. I didn't notice you there." He chuckled while rubbing a hand through his hair. He didn't tell her about his weird experience just now but mainly chalked it up as him not being fully awake yet. He stretched a little, trying to wake himself up and allowing that finally yawn to escape. He then noticed his sister's attire. She was wearing a light blue sundress with her favorite silver bracelets around her hands, flat shoes, and even had her hair braided into a ponytail. Lucas immediately knew this could only mean one of two things. Either she and their mom were heading out for a work-related trip, or she was in a very good mood. "So, mom has you going with her again?" he asked, going with the most likely choice.
"I do not know yet. However, she does wish for you to come downstairs for breakfast before you leave for work," Martha said with a blank expression as if she was relay a message. Martha did a small pivot turn and began to walk towards the stairs as if her job was done. She stopped for a brief moment before rotating her whole body to face her brother.
"Happy Birthday." She said, giving him a warm smile that only lasted for a few seconds before she turned her back and continued down the stairs.
Her actions made Lucas pause for a solid moment. He knew his sister as a tough person that only spoke so little. She had a soft side, but she always acted like a soldier or robot most of the time and would always seem like she's not fully there or just waiting to be given an order by their mom. It was rare for her to speak past a few words or sentences a day unless she relayed a message from mom, answering a question, or getting her point across. She had her moments where she would show emotions, but her smiling was the rarest thing he could ever see. So having her say happy birthday and even go as far as to smile for a few solid seconds was the best gift he could ever receive from her.
Lucas muttered the words thank you to her, even though she was nearly halfway down the stairs and out of her earshot. However, unknown to him, she kept the smile on her face as she heard his thank you. She even went as far as to allow a very faint giggle to escape. Lucas quickly went downstairs to join her and his mom for breakfast.
In the kitchen, a woman stood over a hot stove, humming the tune to the happy birthday song as she was cooking some eggs for her son. She could hear the creaks of the wooden floor as Martha entered the kitchen, with Lucas following shortly behind. They both took their seats at the island as their mom pivoted gracefully on her toes to face her children with a big smile on her face and gripped her hands together.
"Good morning, Lucas, and happy birthday." She said in the most cheerful voice he's ever heard her in.
"Good morning, mom," Lucas said, smiling back at her. His eyes then noticed that she had the flames on very high, and the eggs were starting to smoke. "Uh. Mom. The eggs are…ugh", He tried to point it out to her.
"Sooo. How does it feel being 20? It must be amazing. My baby is almost an adult now….Or are you 19 now?" She said, ignoring his concern. She placed a hand on her head and shook it as she realized she forgot how old he was. "See Martha. I told you I was getting old. I can't even remember my own son's age." She quickly changed the topic, completely forgetting about the eggs that started to burn and cause a small fire.
"Uh. Mother." Martha said with a concerned look on her face. She was hoping her mother would notice both of them trying to point a finger at the small fire that started to grow behind her.
"I knew it! You did think I was getting old. I am not old. My memory is just bad. I'm starting to think about what else I'm forgetting. God! Did I forget about your birthday as well? Did I forget to replace the milk because it went bad? Did I remember to water my….."
"For the love of God! Turn around, mom!!" Lucas yelled as the fire started to become bigger.
For a good moment, she paused and turned around to see the fire. It took a good second for her to take in what was happening, but she just turned back around to finish her worrying complaints. Lucas could actually see the gears in his mother's head turn as she finally realized what was fully going on. She then let out a high pitch scream as she turned back around and began to fan at the fire with a small towel by her side.
Before Lucas could act or even their mom could hurt herself, Martha jumped into action, moving at an incredible speed. Within seconds, Martha had found the fire extinguisher in the walk-in pantry, pulled the pin, and spread it at the fire and the now burning towel since their mom managed to catch it on fire as well. A thick form covered both the fire and their mom within moments as everything seemed to settle back down. Both Lucas and his mom turned their heads to see Martha holding the fire extinguisher in her hands. Martha let out a deep exhale of relief as she could feel her own heart pumping from the sudden adrenalin rush.
"Oh, the stars! Thank you, Martha." Lucas said, nearly grabbing his chest from this situation.
This was the fifth time his mother, Elizabeth Homes, did something like this within a month. Lucas loved his mother to death, but sometimes she could be a real airhead and/or too nice for her own good. From forgetting to pick him up from his classes to nearly going out with random strangers who asked her, picking up on bad phrases, or miss understanding certain lingo that was bad (like the time when she kept calling herself a M.I.L.F due to her overhearing some teenagers call her that), or any other random things normal people would understand or say no too. If she wasn't being too airheaded, she was sometimes overbearing. He allowed that to pass because she just wanted to be very protective of him, but it did have its bad moments. He was glad that Martha was always by her side, so she didn't hurt herself or get involved in bad situations.
"Cold. Cold." His mother said she began to shake some of the foam off her hands, even shivering from the coldness. She then looked down at the pan of what used to be eggs, and a look of utter sorrow could be seen across her face. "Oh no. The eggs are burnt." She quickly turned her head towards Lucas, almost on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Lulu. I didn't mean to ruin your birthday breakfast."
"It's alright, mom. It's only eggs." Lucas said as his mom gave him puppy dog eyes, knowing he couldn't be mad at her for the way she was. " I'm just glad you're safe, and you didn't get hurt." He said, checking his phone for the time.
"Ah. It's all thanks to Martha." She said, instantly flipping back to her cheerful self again. She then opened her arms in a hugging fashion and moved her hands to signal to her daughter to come close for one.
Martha almost dropped the fire extinguisher in excitement but quickly brought her emotions back under control. Lucas looked up for a moment and could see her blushing ever so slightly. Martha quickly and gently placed the extinguisher on the counter and went over to Elizabeth. She went into her mom's warm embrace and returned with the same affection. Elizabeth started to rub Martha's head as her daughter almost melted in her arms like a small child.
Lucas chuckled at his older sister as she dropped her tough, nonsense attitude and seemly turned into a soft marshmallow. Martha heard it and immediately made eye contact with Lucas. She had a very embarrassed yet pissed-off look on her face. Without Elizabeth knowing it, Martha shot Lucas her middle finger from behind Elizabeth's back. Lucas held back his laughter as he got up from the table.
"Love you too, Sis. I gotta run, Mom. Will I see you both tonight or no?" He asked, coming to a dead stop at the corner as he almost forgot to ask.
Elizabeth snapped back to reality before letting her daughter go. She thought about it for a moment before remembering what she was going to tell him. "Oh yes. Martha and I will be out very late tonight. So you will be home alone for a good portion of the night. So please don't wait up for us. Okay, sweetheart?" she said, giving him a reassuring smile and a cheerful thumbs-up.
"Yes, Ma'am. I won't," he said, going back on his way towards the door.
"I love you, and I will see you tonight," Elizabeth said as Lucas opened the front door.
Lucas took a moment to take in the morning light and look over their grassy plains with trees in the distance. A soft smile filled his heart as he turned his head back towards the area from where he heard his mom yell.
"Love you too." He said, fully closing the door behind him. As he walked off the porch, he dug around in his pocket, looking for his earbuds for his walk to the bus station. It's one of the few things he enjoyed about where they currently stayed. Although it was a pain to walk the path, he always felt at peace with the forest surrounding him. The walk allowed him to freely think or vent when he needed to and made a fun jog with music on days he wanted to feel healthy. Although it was only 6:30 and the walk was at least 15 minutes, the bus would not appear until 7 and gave him plenty of time to enjoy his walk and music. While he started his walk and disappeared from the view of the house, a pair of lingering eyes watched his every movement from the kitchen window.
"Is he gone?" Elizabeth asked as her tone of voice changed to a more serious one as she was nearly done cleaning off the stove from her "accident."
"Yes, ma'am," Martha said in her monotone voice while staring out of the window from where she saw Lucas had walked past and could get a good view of him disappearing into the wooden area. "The parameter is safe and secure as well."
"Good," Elizabeth said, tossing the sponge into the sink and popping her fingers. She turned to look at Martha, who was now sitting on the counter since she couldn't see Lucas anymore. Elizabeth closed the distance between her daughter and herself. Martha's atmosphere became uncomfortable as Elizabeth looked down at her and into the girl's hazel eyes. "Is she still asleep?" Elizabeth said in an unnerved voice wanting to hear the answer she always heard before.
"Yes, ma'am. She was the first thing I checked before anything else this morning. She is still asleep, and her door was locked." Martha said, calming Elizabeth's concerns.
Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief. "Good. The last thing we need is for her to awaken so soon. Especially while my baby boy is home alone." She said, looking towards where the basement door was located. Her mind was plagued with different worries about what she was doing and what she had done.
"I'm just not ready for him to find out about this other side and that demon just yet."
She said, grabbing her shoulders as she pushed those very thoughts and worries deep into the back of her mind while trying to justify her own actions. Martha could feel what her mother was going through and felt a sense of pity towards Lucas. She grew to worry about him as well, remembering the look on his face when he saw her this morning.
Elizabeth then shook off those though and could see her own daughter was worrying like her. She smiled bitterly as she rubbed her daughter's face and pushed some of her loose hair back out of her face and around her ear. "Thank you, Martha. I don't say it enough, but I do appreciate everything you have done. Thank you for carrying this burden with me as well." Elizabeth said softly, smiling at her daughter. Martha's eyes grew wide, and a big smile came across her face as she loved the attention Elizabeth was giving her.
Elizabeth then pulled away, heading towards the hallway to head upstairs. "Make sure you are packed for the job. We will live in 5 minutes." Elizabeth said to Martha before leaving her alone to go pack up.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Timothy_Hogan
Timothy_Hogan Hey. If you are reading this then thank you. I'm trying to do my best and I really do appreciate it. Just so you know. The reason why this and the next few chapters are weirdly formated or seem off is due for me transferring it over from word document. I'm also trying to get a flow going at most. So if the chapters do seems weird from one another, that's on me.
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