Left behind

𝙃𝙚𝙮 𝙜𝙪𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 Inkitt 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧!!

*************

Lucas get up!" He yelled at me." We're going out on the town tonight and you're not even dressed yet. Dude I'm sure there are some decent outfits in your closet. Get moving or we'll never leave. It's not like we don't have a lot to do today since it is our last day of school before summer vacation. This year's gonna be fun for us at least. We get to play hooky every day of the week from now on if you want to. - Your sister - Brokeup".

I was so tired that I could barely function as he and my lil brother Chris threw all of their dirty clothes into the hamper. I had no energy left in my body to even attempt putt to put it away properly.

After he came home from work he decided that this morning was my last chance at freedom. We'd gotten up early and driven straight into the city. He wanted to treat us to breakfast at one of the best restaurants in the city. I tried to protest but Jake knew his stuff and told me I would thank him later when we were back in the safety of our dorm rooms. So I agreed to go because I couldn't deny anything to him. But Chris hadn't been thrilled about it. He figured it didn't matter much where we went as long as he got us out of our room early enough and got us to our car without being stopped by the police.

It was an old Ford pickup truck. He said that the cops would think it was just another homeless guy getting off early on his way home from work. Besides, who will ever look inside that vehicle anyway? Chris said that's why we were allowed it in the first place, cause all of us had nothing else. Well, most of us did. One day my parents told me to live with the Johnsons. It wasn't that I was poor, it just seemed easier that way. And anyway, Jake said the Johnsons were nice, even if I couldn't see much of them due to his height difference. His friends always teased him though, because, of course, he was taller than me by two inches at age eight. I mean come on! I'm six foot five! That isn't too bad, right? Anyway, Jake and Chrissy were excited because it meant more free food.

The restaurant was called Oasis, located just off one of the main streets in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. I thought Jake said it was only around 10 blocks away from his apartment, but it must have taken us that long to get here. As we pulled onto the curb the sun was already starting to set on the horizon, casting a pinkish glow over Los Angeles as it faded out into evening. The whole scene made it look like one of those postcards where you can see all the different colors of the sky but the picture is blurry beyond the horizon. The sunset was gorgeous, though. It almost looked like a painting. A few buildings across from us were brightly lit up by their owners. They seemed to be doing pretty well too. Their windows all faced away from the street so it was hard to tell which of the lights were theirs and which ones were ours.

They must' had more than one of everything. Maybe they even had a swimming pool! Chris and I was talking nonstop the entire drive and neither of we inclined to quiet down anytime soon. At least we weren't arguing. however, Jake just sat silently looking lost and confused. I guess he wasn't too comfortable being outside after dark. But, he did look happy, even happier when we finally parked.

"So what should we order first?" asked my brother. "Do you think they have steak here or something? Or maybe burgers. They have some good burger places nearby don't they Lucas?" I nodded my head numbly. I didn't know what else to say at this point, besides "yeah" because he expected me to speak at any given time. I felt like an idiot. My mouth refused to move.

All I could think about was how I needed to find a bathroom or somewhere to pee and fast. Luckily I didn't have to. We pulled into an empty parking lot across the street from the restaurant. Jake hopped out of the car to open the door for me and Chris followed behind me like they always did when we went anywhere. We walked close together as we stepped inside the restaurant.

I noticed that both Jake and Chris had their hands in their pockets, making it obvious that they had both tucked their wadded-up hands away. It was strange behaviour, especially coming from them. The boys didn't usually care about that kind of thing. Then again, I don't think they've ever actually seen anyone else in love like they have us. Not until now, at least. I'm beginning to think that Jake might be trying to take advantage of the situation, just in case things end up going south. I hope not. It'll ruin his chances with her at the party. I wonder if she'll ask him to dance. She doesn't seem the type who dances either. I bet he's gonna try to seduce her. How gross would it be if he tried to kiss her while we were in the middle of a crowded place like this? What kind of person would do that? I think she wouldn't mind, I don't think. She looks pretty cool...if you can ignore the fact that she dresses like a hippie, that is.

But she looks pretty cool anyway. I just wish we could spend more time with her, y'know? Jake wants to introduce us so bad. But she doesn't even talk much. She doesn't even smile a lot. I think she's kinda shy. I know that's a lame thing to say, but Jake just seems so interested in her, ya know? It kinda makes me jealous, but I guess that's normal, I don't want my older brothers to start dating each other either. I'm glad I'm still single, 'cause I'd probably mess that up." Oh, man! I forgot to tell you, guys, how much the dinner cost. You'll have to pay me back next month. - Lucas

We walked up to one of the tables near the window and took a seat. Before sitting down, Chris went and ordered some eggs. When I was little my parents used to make it all the time for breakfast. I loved having it on weekends and holidays. I guess that's why we haven't eaten breakfast lately, we were always busy and didn't have the money to cook. Jake ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and then I ordered some bacon and eggs and toast, which was the most affordable meal at the place so we decided to split the bill. After we got our food, we headed back to the table where our bags waited.

We dumped them unceremoniously in front of us and started eating. For me, that felt like forever, because my stomach was still feeling queasy from yesterday's lunchtime nausea. Finally, we finished eating and then started putting our trash in separate garbage bins. While we were busy with that, I saw the waitress walk past and smiled at her. She looked back and gave me a funny look. It wasn't a mean one per se, but I knew something was up. Something was not right. She kept looking at the floor and her face was all red. Why would she do that if she wasn't embarrassed? It's her job to serve people, isn't it? I shrugged to myself and turned away to start walking towards the door again. As we reached the doorway, I heard her call my name. I turned around to see what she wanted. I guess she must've recognized me or something.

"What do you need? I didn't buy anything yet" I replied to her. She sighed heavily and stared at me with her eyes pleading for help. I wondered what she could possibly need from me. There aren't many people in there anyways. If she has a problem she can easily just leave and I won't be able to stop her. So why hasn't she done that? She opened her mouth several times before finally speaking. "There's a man watching us. He keeps trying to follow you around" she whispered. She was shaking now. I frowned in confusion. I didn't recognize anybody, so I didn't think anybody was following me around. She just seemed crazy. "Don't worry about it," I told her. "Just go home. Don't bother hanging around here anymore." "No I think he wants to tell you something really important, so I'm begging you please go talk with him ".

"

I was really uncomfortable with the idea of taking someone else's advice and heading over to a stranger's table to try and meet some weirdo who wanted to tell me something I had no interest in knowing. "Nah I don't think so," I replied. "He must be crazy. "PLEASE". she begged. "Please, please go and talk to him. Just try to listen to what he has to say, it's important. Please". "Ok fine but only if you promise not to tell anybody", I replied, hoping that she would keep her word.

"Of course, I will" she quickly said, "just go now and see if you can sort something out. Thank you" and with that, she left. I sighed and rubbed my temples tiredly. Well, it was worth a shot. I mean I guess it was only right that she should know who the mystery guy was, seeing as I was the one who found him. I grabbed my bag and walked over to where I had last seen the guy standing. He was still there, staring intently at me. When he saw me he walked over to meet me and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Brian," I said and extended my hand for him to shake. "And I'm Lucas"

"You said you wanted to talk to me isn't it?" I inquired as we started making our way toward an outdoor cafe table. "Oh yes, I do! I think you should listen to what I have to say." "Uh uh, I don't want your opinion or anything like that. Just say me what you wanted to say".

"I've got a small challenge for you three".

"A challenge huh? And what could it possibly be?"

Brian let out an evil laugh, "Oh I think you'll just love it!" That was ominous, but I didn't want to give away how nervous I actually was.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Whatever it is, let's hear it," Jake said.

"There's a small secluded house, located in the heart of a small deep woodland area, not too far, just a couple of miles away from here."

"Why do you care so much about a house which is just in the middle of nowhere?".

"I have reason to believe that someone is hiding there, not a person but something else and you all have to go there and find it out before it gets dark ".

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Forgive me, but are you serious?" I thought that this was some kind of joke or prank".

"Look nobody knows about that house's existence and where it's even located at it's still a mystery. So you can be the first to know about it".

"And if you find it you all are gonna get very famous".

"Then what's the deal?" Jake interrupted.

Brian sighed deeply and paused as if waiting to gauge my reaction. Once he figured that I was okay with being included in this little adventure, he continued telling us what the plan was.

"All you have to do is drive into that small forested area. All you gotta do is follow the road through the trees until you reach a large clearing. There's this old cabin hidden somewhere behind those tall pine trees and inside there's a secret room filled with treasure"

"Treasure!? What kind of crap are you spouting Brian? "Jake asked.

"I promise you won't regret coming"

Brian replied. He then proceeded to explain what we needed to do, including everything we would have to do to get to wherever it was that we needed to go. "That is pretty straightforward, right? Is there anything else you want us to know?" "Yeah. If you happen to come across any sort of strange animals, they'll smell your blood and chase after you. They'll eat any part of you they find. And if a beast finds you before you manage to reach the cabin, it'll tear you apart and feed on your flesh until you're completely empty."

I gulped nervously. I did not want to hear these details. "Ok, sounds easy enough to handle." "Well it might not be for you boys" he replied. We nodded to show we understood and he continued talking. "Well.. You all need to find the house before the sun goes down and the rest is all up to you".

After that Brian

said goodbye and left us. Jake immediately stood up and left. I looked at him with concern written all over my face. "Do you think that was a good idea, we don't know who he is. What if we're attacked by monsters?! What if a wolf comes and bites me?!" "Shut up already! We are gonna get famous if we can find the house that is nothing dangerous," Chris grumbled.

"Come on, we've gotta get going. I've still gotta finish unpacking my stuff."

I followed him out of the diner and made our way over to his apartment. By the time we reached it, he hadn't stopped complaining for over 30 minutes. I ignored him and focused on getting all my stuff together. "So are we gonna stay in your bedroom or mine tonight or what? " I asked. I'd gotten pretty exhausted after a long day of unpacking and unpacking. We'd been driving for nearly 10 hours straight and my legs were tired. I also hadn't known when I was coming or where we were coming from. The only thing I cared about was getting to my bed and falling asleep. "We can wait till tomorrow, we'll be gone for another 3 days, so it shouldn't matter. Besides, we both need to sleep anyway. Tomorrow we're probably gonna be jet-lagged".

"Fine then", I muttered. "Where're your clothes?" I looked around and noticed that he still had almost half of his suitcase open on the floor. "Are we sleeping with your suitcases on? How do I put them away?"

"You can put mine in the closet," he replied. I went over to grab it and put it away while he got ready. After a few minutes, he came out wearing a pair of sweatpants and one of his old tee shirts. We both laid down on my bed side by side. We stared at each other blankly for a while. "I hope you're a light sleeper. Or I guess you wouldn't have slept last night". "No worries," I replied, "I'm used to it. Do you mind turning the lights off?" I asked. "Oh yeah sure", he replied and turned the lights off. I stared at the darkness as I waited for my eyes to adjust. "So... I guess that's it," Jake said after a while. "Good night" I replied quietly. "Yeah, good night".

The next morning we all woke up at 6:00 am. I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside and realized that I was still laying on top of Chris. It took him a while to wake up due to not having his alarm clock on, he eventually groaned and sat up. "How're you feeling?", I asked. "Like I just got run over by a train", he mumbled as he stretched his arms over his head. "I'm sure the pain will pass once you start walking today." "Yeah, that's a really comforting thought. Come on let's go and get breakfast", he suggested and began getting up to change his clothes. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, which happened to be the same one as before. He grabbed a clean pair of black pants and a white shirt and quickly headed back into the bathroom to shower. I watched as he walked into the shower and closed the door. The sound of the water running and the steam filling the bathroom was soothing. The only problem was the fact that I could feel myself blushing as I watched the muscles flex beneath his skin. Damn it, Lucas! Get a hold of yourself! I thought to myself. After Chris got done showering I joined him for a cup of coffee and ate my eggs and bacon sitting at the table.

Once he finished eating, he put down his fork and wiped his mouth with the napkin that was still hanging onto his lap. "Let's get going, you ready yet?" He asked me. "Yep let's go". I gathered my things and placed them inside my backpack and followed him out. "Hey, I almost forgot my keys", he said as he ran back inside my house to grab them.

We walked over to his car and got inside. "Is everything alright?", he asked me as he started the ignition. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine". "Ok then. Where are we going anyway? " Didn't you heard

what that weird guy told us last night"? I asked.

"OH yeah yeah, a house in the middle of a forest or something like that".

"Yup, exactly."

"Ok, well I still need directions. Which way are we supposed to go?"

"We're going west".

"West? That's kinda random".

"It's not random, we have to leave town at the end." 'I bet that's why he wanted us to search the town before leaving it', I thought. "Well let me guess. The forest is east. So we should turn right here", he said pointing in the direction of where we needed to go. I nodded and slowly drove to the right side of the street. Soon, we arrived at the place that Brian had indicated. A sign was attached to a wooden gate that had the words 'Forest Road' printed on it in thick, red paint. This was our destination. The road was wide, clear and lined with huge evergreens. "This is quite some road".

"Yeah, but I'm sure we'll be able to make it. After all, we can take turns driving", he added.

Soon we pulled off onto the paved road and made our way forward along the tree-covered pathway that led into the darkness of the woods.

************

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 :)

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐃!!