A House of Dead Promise

"Take my hand and never let go," Skyra thought. "I promise to always protect you" Skyra imagined her big brother's voice. "I thought you would protect me, but instead you escaped" Skyra whined. "Even if it cost my life, I would die for you a thousand times Skyra" Skyra could hear her brother's voice piercing through her thoughts. Skyra could only feel pain greater than death as she listened to her brother's voice in her thoughts. "I want to go with you" Skyra cried. Skyra stared in the dark, she knew that the door was up ahead. "You can't go with me" Skyra could hear the panic in her brother's voice as if they were flowing through her ears. "I know, but I miss you brother" Skyra wept. "I promise to help guide you out of here, Skyra you need to listen to my words" Skyra focused on her brother's voice in her thoughts. "I'm listening big bro" Skyra spoke softly. "You will beat these motherfuckers" Skyra could hear what almost felt like a power running in her thoughts from her brother's voice. "How am I supposed to defeat these guys they're grown men and I'm only nine years old"? Skyra questioned. "Skyra you can't be afraid anymore; you have to be their worst nightmare". Skyra could see her brother's spirit in the darkroom giving her advice.

Skyra could hear footsteps walking by her door. She slowly crawled to the spot where her brother was chained up. She remembered when her brother escaped, the light outside the door allowed her to see for a few seconds before her brother closed the door last night. In those few seconds, she remembered that she turned around where her brother was chained and could see her brother's necklace that her mother brought him. She crawled to the necklace and grabbed the necklace as she crawled back to her spot. Skyra stood up on her feet. "I will promise to protect you Skyra; we won't be afraid anymore" Skyra's brother spirit promised. Her eyes pierced through the dark and could see his hands where her hands were. Skyra knew that her brother's spirit was inside of her. Skyra could see that her brother's necklace spelled her name. "Skyra, I love you" Her brother's voice disappeared as her brother's spirit disappeared within her. Skyra put the necklace on her neck. "They will pay" Skyra whispered in anger.

"Babies are yawl excited to see grandma"? Skyra's mother asked. "Yes mommy" Skyra and brother cheered. "If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have gone" Skyra's father joked. Skyra's father blinked as his pupil went to the right of his eye. "Do you want to tell me something"? Skyra's mother asked. "Nothing, I just think you and grandma should have a spa day" Skyra's father joked. "Yes momma, you should have a spa day with grandma and I wanna come too" Skyra laughed. Skyra's mother laughed as she looked at her daughter through the mirror in her car. "I'll think about it baby" She smiled. Skyra's mother looked at her husband. "You know your mother is a pain in the ass" Skyra's mother was irritated by the thought of her husband's mother. "What did you say, momma"? Skyra questioned. "I said I would love to spend time with grandma" Skyra's mother lied. Skyra's father laughed.

"Mommy and Daddy, I will get revenge" Skyra promised. Skyra could hear footsteps walking towards her door. "I can't be afraid," Skyra told herself. The doorknob was rotating to the right. Skyra quickly laid on the floor only looking at the floor. The door opened as a man entered. The man turned the lights on in the room.

"You're hungry"? the man asked. The man placed a dog's bowl full of tuna on the floor as he kicked the bowl towards Skyra. Skyra ignored the food and refused to eat the tuna. "Eat the damn food you fucking dog" the man screamed. "You will die" Skyra replied. "You will respect me bitch" the man demanded. The man started to walk closer to Skyra. Skyra quickly grabbed the bowl and whacked him in the face with the bowl. The man quickly slapped her across the face. She fell to the floor dropping her bowl as well. "Do you want to end up like the rest of your family" the man threatened. Skyra laid on the floor unable to move. "As a punishment, we won't let you attend your brother's funeral" the man raged. "That's only a corpse" Skyra informed. "Damn, that is cold" the man laughed.

"Maybe, we need to give a bit of light of light in this room to keep you sane," the man thought. The man grabbed a little black flashlight out of his pocket, he tossed the flashlight at Skyra. "Thank you" Skyra spoke softly. "Your welcome you see how you treat people with kindness good things will happen for you" the man informed. Skyra felt anger in herself but remained calm to keep the flashlight. "I'm sorry for hitting you in the face with the bowl" Skyra apologized. The man ignored her apology as he left to turn the lights off and then leaving the room. The man closed the door before walking away.

"Momma are we there yet" Skyra and her brother kept repeating. "No, let mommy focus on the road" Skyra's father demanded. The car ride became silent as they were heading through the pathway in the Hill Crest Forest. Skyra looked through her window to see the view. They were all able to see the lake as they were passing by. "Mommy that lake looks so beautiful" Skyra smiled. "Maybe we can be trapped here forever and explore this whole place" Skyra's mother joked. "Can we go to the lake when we come back from grandma's house"? Skyra's brother asked. "Will see" Skyra's father assured him.

Skyra turned her flashlight on was able to see inside of the room. She turned around to look at the chains that she was chained to. She looked at the chains for a minute until she noticed a small hole in the wall. She grabbed her flashlight and started to bang the back of the flashlight against the wall where the small hole was. She was eventually able to make a big enough hole to flash the light. Skyra started to flash the light signaling for help. "Please someone help me" Skyra pleaded. She held the flashlight for at least thirty minutes before she came up with an idea. Skyra started to bang the back of the flashlight against the wall near where the chains have attached the wall. She kept banging the flashlight as she was eventually able to break the wall as one of the chains attached to her right foot dropped to the floor.

'"Did you see that something or someone was running in the woods"? Skyra's mother was concerned. She pointed at the woods to the left side of the car. "It was probably nothing baby" Skyra's father assured her. Skyra was still looking at the lake that spammed fifteen miles. "This lake is so long, mommy I see something coming out of the lake" Skyra was confused. Skyra's mother turned to look at the lake but couldn't see anything. "That's it we need to get away from here" Skyra's father was frightened. Skyra's brother looked at the front mirror and could see a man behind their car. "Mommy theirs a man behind our car" Skyra's brother screamed. They all looked at the front mirror and could see a man behind their car. "Honey drive faster" Skyra's father panicked.

Skyra's mother drove as fast she could speed over a hundred and fifty miles. "Miles, baby grab momma's phone from her purse and give it to daddy" Skyra's mother instructed him. Miles grabbed her purse in the back seat between his feet. He looked through his mother's purse as he was quickly able to find the phone. He grabbed the phone and gave it to his dad. Skyra's father tried to call the police. "Shit, there is no fucking service in this fucking place" Skyra's father cursed. "The lake was about fifteen miles" Skyra informed. Skyra's mother thought about the last time she took a shortcut through the woods when her kids were babies. Skyra's mother revered her as she was leaving Hill Crest Forest. "Honey, what are you doing we need to drive forward" Skyra's father was confused. "I didn't think about the lake when we were driving" Skyra 's mother's voice shook. "it's a lake what about it"? Skyra's father questioned.

"When I took the shortcut to your mother's house when they were babies, there was never a lake, but we did pass by Hill Crest Forest" Skyra's mother informed. "Where the fuck are, we then" Skyra's father wondered. Miles was still looking at the mirror as his mother was reversing the car he could see the man. "Mommy the man is behind the car in the same spot as he was before" Miles warned. Skyra's mother kept reversing her car. "What are you doing"? Skyra's father asked. "I'm going to run over this asshole" Skyra's mother answered. She kept reversing before the man behind them walked off the pathway. "We're just going to go back home," Skyra's mother told them. Skyra's mother kept reversing until they felt something hit their car tires. The car tires were flat as Skyra's mother and father got out of the car to see what they ran over. When they looked at the flat tires, they saw that they ran over a piece of wood with sharp needles on it.

"What are we going to do" Skyra's mother cried. "Baby we're going to get out of here, tell the kids to get out of the car and will walk or run out of this shit place" Skyra's father assured her. Skyra's mother walked to the car telling her children to get out of the car. Skyra and Miles got out of the car and quickly ran to their dad. They all walked on the pathway towards where they came from. "I think we have quite a walk if your daughter was right about this lake being fifteen miles" Skyra's mother guessed. Miles turned around to see five men standing about a hundred feet behind them. "Mom there are five men behind us" Miles freaked. "Run' Skyra's mother whispered. They all started to run as fast as they could. Skyra's father noticed that his daughter couldn't keep up with them and quickly went to pick her up before continuing to run. One of the men threw an ax at the back of Skyra's father's leg. He dropped his daughter as he fell to the ground. "Fuck" Skyra's father yelled. Skyra's mother and brother turned around. "Babe get up" Skyra's mother begged. Skyra's father attempted to get up before falling back to the floor in pain.

"I can't get up just leave me here and protect our kids" Skyra's father pleaded. "Babe, I will protect them" Skyra's mother promised. They kept running straight for a mile before taking a breath. "Mommy, they killed him, right?" Miles felt hopeless.

"We need to keep walking," Skyra's mother told them. They kept walking until they notice two men up ahead. "Mommy we have to warn them" Miles stated. He ran towards the two men. Skyra's mother noticed the two guys were the same as the five guys that were behind them earlier. "Baby runs towards mommy' Skyra's mother screamed. Miles ran towards his mother as the two men started to chase her son. "Baby run" Skyra's mother screamed. "Mommy" Skyra screamed. Skyra's mother turned around to see that the three men from earlier out of the five snatched her daughter behind her. "No"! Skyra's mother cried.

Skyra's mother turned around to see her son running towards the lake. "I'm sorry baby" Skyra's mother apologized. "Miles, swim in the lake" Skyra's mother instructed him. They both ran towards the lake as they jumped in. Skyra's mother and Miles were swimming away from the men. "I'm so sorry" Skyra's mother cried. One of the men pointed a gun at miles as he was swimming. The man shot Miles in his back before he started to drown in the ocean. The man jumped in the ocean swimming towards Miles holding his gun. Skyra's mother was nervous about the gun so she kept swimming. "This has to be a nightmare" Skyra's mother panicked. The man quickly grabbed Miles before he could drown and swam back to the road they came from.

Skyra's mother kept swimming. "What about the women"? one of the men questioned. "Put her down" another guy demanded. The guy shot Skyra's mother in the back as she sunk in the lake. The five men placed the three bodies in the van as it came by with a man that was with them. "Let's get out of here" one of the guys cheered. The men drove off in the van.

Skyra kept banging the flashlight against that surrounded the other chain. "Mommy, daddy, Miles I will be their worst nightmare" Skyra promised. She banged the flashlight against the wall one last time as the other chain that held her left leg fell off the wall. "Now how am I supposed to break the chains off of my foot"? Skyra asked herself. She knew the chains won't break from hitting it with the flashlight.

The sky was dark when Skyra's mother's body landed onshore. Her body laid restlessly unable to move. It took a few minutes before she was able to gain consciousness and coughed the water out of her lungs. Skyra's mother crawled on the sand with the low strength she had left. "Why me god" Skyra's mother prayed. Skyra's mother felt weak as her vision became blurry. Skyra's mother refused to shut her eyes and managed to stand up. She grabbed a band-aid from her pockets that she always brought on trips just in case one of the children need it. Skyra's mother took out the bullet from her back and placed the band-aid on the wound. "You took my kids and husband away from me" Skyra's mother was angry. She thought about her husband's final words about her needing to protect her children. Her soul felt cold as she clenched her fist. "I will kill these men for taking everything I have" Skyra's mother promised herself.

Kyle Skyra's mother decided to swim back towards the road where her kids and husband were taken away from by the five men. Kyle felt strength and fear running in her veins. All she knew was that she couldn't sleep anymore and that she feels a lot of pain. She walked in the water as the water went to her neck, she began swimming. She swam for about thirty minutes because the wound was slowing her down. She was able to make it back to the road, she

got out of the water and onto the road. She sat on the road for a few minutes as she remembered the car. She stood up and walked to the car as she walked, she noticed that her car wasn't her. She wasn't shocked as she knew that they would've most likely tried to hide the evidence as much as possible. Kyle noticed that there were tire prints from the sand. "The van had come from a place where there was sand" Kyle noted to herself. She followed the tire prints.

Kyle followed the tire prints for about fifteen minutes as she noticed the tire prints have stopped. She thought about how she was going to find these men that caused her pain. She walked off-road and noticed a tree up ahead. Kyle ran towards the tree as she noticed the tree was surrounded by stones. "The stones were placed around the tree, I'm sure that is how they mark their surrounding area, so they don't get lost in these woods" Kyle noted to herself. As Kyle looked ahead, she noticed a dirt track up ahead. Kyle grabbed some stones and placed them in her pockets. She walked to the dirt tracks and noticed that bloodstains were leaving a trail.

Kyle felt so much hope that she knew she had to get to their location before it was too late. "These guys have to be smarter than to just let the blood spill on the tracks, that has to mean my husband or one of my children have found a small enough hole to drop blood in hopes to lead someone who comes by to safe them" Kyle imagined. She followed the blood trail on the dirt tracks. "I'll find you" Kyle promised.

"There has to be something I can find in this room that will allow me to break this chain from my legs" Skyra hoped. Skyra walked around the room with the flashlight, she came across a dirty rusted sink. "It stinks so bad" Skyra was disgusted. Skyra checked the cabinets and noticed that all the cabinets were empty. Skyra had already broken out of the chains, so she was already panicking and thinking about how she could escape before someone got into her room, she was held, hostage. The room was empty with only an old rusted sink and empty cabinets. "You have to get out of here now" Skyra could hear her brother's voice in her head. "I know, but how am I supposed to get out of here" Skyra wondered. "You have a flashlight that you use to break the wall and the chains on your feet. Skyra understood her brother and knew what she had to do. Skyra walked to open the door and left the room. "Brother please help me" Skyra begged.

Skyra's father cried silently in the back of the van as it was driving away from the road they came from. All he could think about was his family and how he failed to protect them. "They killed mommy and Miles" Skyra cried. Skyra's body was shaken in fear. "Me too honey" Skyra's father cried. "Don't cry daddy everything will be okay" Skyra spoke softly. She knew that they were not okay but wanted to calm her dad. Skyra remembered how her mother and father would kiss her on the forehead every time she felt afraid. She kissed her father on the forehead. "Daddy it will be okay I promise" Skyra whispered. "Thanks, we need to get out of here" Skyra's father replied. "We can't do anything daddy; you can't walk on your leg it's hurt" Skyra warned her father. "I know just try to look for something that we can use" Skyra's father demanded. "There's a small hole at the bottom left of the backdoor" Skyra informed. "That's good I'll try to spill blood and hope it leads someone good to find us" Skyra's father hoped. He located the hole and scooted over to it. He pressured his leg to let blood flow out of his leg to the hole so it spills on the ground. Skyra found a needle in the back of the van. "Daddy, I need you to not scream" Skyra demanded. She held the needle as she crawled to her father. The needle pinched her father's skin when she jabbed the needle into her father's leg. Her father managed to not scream and allowed for more blood to fly out the small little hole. "It's at least better than nothing" Skyra's father assured himself.

"They killed mommy and Miles" Skyra wept. "I know I still have you and I won't lose you" Skyra's father smiled. "What about the men that are driving they're eventually going to stop this van" Skyra remembered. "I don't know to be honest" Skyra's father confirmed. "I'm scared" Skyra cried. "Princess I need you to cry and scream at the top of your lungs" Skyra's father instructed. She didn't ask any questions as she cried and yelled as loud as she could. The men were all startled by the scream. "Shut the fuck up before I make you" one of the men threatened. Skyra's father used his boots to kick the rear door with his boots. The guys could hear past Skyra's screams and could hear her father kicking the rear door of the van. "We have to get out of the van and stop them from getting out" one of the men thought. "It's fine to let him get out we're already here" another guy informed. The driver parked the van near a house that didn't seem old, but the house felt like despair. Skyra's father kicked the window as the glass shattered. Three men got out of the van and were walking to the back of the van to open the door. "Skyra hurries up this is our chance to escape" Skyra's father panicked.

Skyra's father attempted to climb out of the window but ended up cutting his hand causing it to bleed. He tried too quickly to get out, so he tried to climb out again. He managed to get half his body out of the window before the men reached the back of the van. "I'll help you out there" one of the men laughed. The guy opened the rear door as Skyra's father pulled his out of the window.

Three of the guys grabbed Skyra's father by his leg and dragged him out of the van. One of the other guys was picking up Miles and taking him inside. The driver got out of the van before Skyra jumped out of the van and sprinted out of van. "Run" Skyra's father shouted. Skyra kept running for her life. "I want her dead or there will be consequences" the leader threatened. The leader opened the door as he brought Miles into the house. The rest of you guys bring him inside the house if he makes things complicated yawl know what to do" the leader commanded. Tyler grabbed his M24 sniper and Ka-bar military knife before he started to run after Skyra. "Skyra will manage to find help" Skyra's father hoped. The three guys were dragging Skyra's father, he was too exhausted to put up a fight.