piety in adventure

    Love. A combustion of emotion. Do not upset the female praying mantis if you could avoid to do so. She bites the head of her lover and chews down his neck. Not always. Love. A deadly combustion of emotion. 

    Pink Campo, a 12 year old schoolgirl, witnesses the mantis devouring her mate in the woods. She has never seen these insects before; Pink is completely mesmerized. She had black long hair and a school uniform with black boots, and an interest in the universe around her. It's been 27 years since the incident of Bill and Carry. "Whoa,” the mantis continued to gain nutrition. Pink lifts her hand and reveals a roach crawling on her palm. She offers it to the mantis. Pink rests her palm onto the tree branch. The mantis studied it as it crawls into her vicinity and chirps as nature allowed -- snatch! The mantis had successfully attained her meal, severing the head first and beginning her feast. "Wow," said Pink. "I'll call you Tom," she hadn't known it was a female.    

    Twigs snap, cackles of laughter dilating  behind Pink, "Yea, I shoulda' ran his neck for not answering me, huh boys," they laugh. Pink crunches her face by the boys comments, but focuses on the mantis. "I wonder where Tom lives."

"Look guys! Its rainbow worm," snickers a bully as Pink faces them. "Who you calling rainbow worm, you jerks," Pink retaliates, arms at a cross. There were three of them. Their leader was the scrawniest but he was the tallest, and had daddy's money. The one to the right was short and chubby and likes to chew on hay. The other is overweight and bald. Their leader walked up first, "Watch your mouth rainbow worm," his buddies cackled.

"I ain't no rainbow worm."

"And I ain't no jerk." 

"Just leave me alone."

"Aren't ya spose to be at school," he shows his crooked teeth.

"Aren't ya supposed to be in detention." The bully felt offended. He pushes Pink and she lands on the giant branch behind. "Tom!" She turned and found the mantis alright. Tom wasn't eating. He was attentive on the situation. He was threatened. The bullies laughed to the clouds. The bully took notice on what Pink was preoccupied with.

"Ugh, look marines! The brats got a pet." Pink faced them, "he's not a pet. He's a person living in the forest, just like us!" The bullies faces cringe and were disgusted.

"Hold her down!" The other two ran for Pink and pins her against a nearby tree. "What do you wanna do, captain," snarled the chubby kid.

"Get off me," yelled Pink, "my dads not gonna be happy!"

The so-called captain stared at the mantis, he grabs a rock and aims it over Tom. "Stop! No, Gerald, Tom's small! You can't-"

"-shut it worm! Hold her tight boys." Gerald came in front of Pink. "I told you to never call me that," Gerald punches her stomach. Pink slumped over, gasping and coughing for oxygen. Gerald goes back to kill Tom.

Her language became slow, "Please... What if someone smashed-you with a rock," Pink asks Gerald. He was dumbfounded and smirked. "I ain't never getting no rock thrown at me worm." His buddies chuckle and Pink still tried to squirm her way off their hold. Gerald gazed on the building ahead of everyone. It was covered in trees and the canopy covered the name of the abandoned architecture. Gerald spoke as he faced Pink, "You heard about the stories of this place?" Pink ignores him, struggling to get free.

"Tom, go!"

Gerald throws the rock in contra to Pinks yell for Tom, but hits the branch, missing the mantis.

"Stop!" She almost breaks free but Gerald's guys pin her against the tree once more. Gerald rose another rock. Pink had grit her teeth. "I will, worm," he was condescending. "You wanna save this roach?"

"He's not a roach!"

Angry, "Then what is it?"

Pink settles her thoughts, "I don't know." 

"You heard, boys. She don't know what kind of vermin it is," they cackled.

"His names Tom you jerks!" Gerald aims the rock at Pink.

"Watch your mouth. Maybe I'll squash you." Pink tears up.

"He didn't do nothin'." 

"I don't like the way it looks at me." 

The boys were snickering, waiting for something to happen. "But I'll tell you what," he smiled and drained a water canister then tossed Tom in the canister. 

"What are you doing," screamed Pink. Gerald covered the canister with his palm, "I'll shake it and kill the runt if you say another word." Pink said nothing and tears began to fill her red cheeks. 

"See that's all you gotta do. Huh boys?" The others agreed with nods and chuckles. Gerald spoke, "I hear boys. People sneak here and enter the old school. Apparently," he started chuckling. "Apparently they all go missing." His boys were scared but Pink stayed true. "Want my opinion? I bet you this is where people go to hell. The devil sleeps here," Gerald was the only one laughing then his boys chuckled in, but Gerald knew they were nervous. "Grow some back!" They turned serious. "Heres the deal worm. Survive the night and I'll let Timmy go."

"Tom!"

"Shut up!" The boys were nervous. "Hey cap, you really gonna send her," asked the other bully.

"It's all her choice." You could tell the overweight kid had the most sympathy.

"You think I'm scared," Pink was confident but deep down petrified. "I ain't afraid of nothing." 

"Let go of her boys." They pushed her to the soil making her uniform dirty. Gerald moved behind her to join his boys and make sure she doesn't try anything. Pink gets up. She cares her eyes for the canister in Geralds hands then at the giant school ahead.

"Just the night?"  The bully responds with a devilish nod. Pink trots her way for the school. As Pink proceeds, insects become quieter. And leaves become more frequent as if to hide the school. She sizes the building one more time before actually entering. The bullies run away, throwing the canister into the air; luckily the mantis flew from the canister and disperses into the woods.

***

    Pink came from the slightly open entrance. She kept fiddling with her fingers, she didn't want to be here. She jerked her head every whichaway, making sure she was safe. Pink noticed the scattered leaves and grass that spewed from cracks. Not a critter in sight, she thought. No sound. "I wonder if Tom ever visits." The place is oddly... beautiful. Pink followed a hill that led to a fence of three doors. There was an ominous wind which swung the middle door continuously. I don't remember wind. She slips in once wide enough. It reminded her of a lonely swing. The door sways as if something were on it as if supernatural.

    Why are those guys so mean. I mean their so much bigger than Tom, how could anyone ever. 

    Passing the fence, on Pinks left side, a wall swoops in and back, connecting to the receptionist's office. "The Principle and the nurse must work here. Maybe I'll spend the night here. I'm sure there's a bed." As she continued she noticed the quad and the small jungle that fused with it. It was open and it was much to Pink's liking. "Wow! It’s like a park for kids! Maybe it's not so bad. It's kind of like an adventure, right." There were many benches and green. She went towards the biggest bench in a hurry as if everything she saw was new. And I mean it was. She's never been in an abandoned building. The quad intrigued her more and more as she sat down and enjoyed the moment. Pink watches the still school. As still as a mantis. She continued her adventure towards the lunchroom. There was giant glass that encased the lunchroom but Pink couldn't see inside. Wind begins to pick up and shuts the alone swinging door, and rustled tall grass and leaf. This had made Pink nervous, so she ran inside the lunchroom and the door slams behind her. 

    She crosses her arms for comfort and quickly became cold as another door on her far left side had shut! Someone's here? Maybe their looking for bugs. My favorite are the ladybugs. I have one at home. I miss Lucy. It had to be the wind though... Right? This place is haunted or whatever? But Geralds just a bully, so maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about. My school had the same windows for lunch. You can never see in only out. Which means I would've seen someone enter... Right? But there's no-one in here. They could be hiding, but why hide?

    Pink crouches to where she could see under all the round tables, "hello," she called. No response. Pink continued at a crouch through the maze of tables, making sure she wasn't followed by anything from hell. "Stupid boys. Their just trying to scare me." Pink stood up again, "Gerald!? Nathaniel, Brutus?" No one responds. "Maybe it really was in my head." She verified the room, and saw black prickly hairs poking in the air from underneath a round table. "Hey!" A boy perked up. Too far to see what he looked like. "Hey," she said again. "Hello," he replied quiet. As she got closer it was a face she hadn't seen. "What are you doing," Pink asked.

"I have to get to class." He's sweet.

"You go to Blue Mountain?"

"No," he replied anxiously as he was shuffling items. 

"I graduated. That's why I'm not in school," Pink chuckled at her lie. Boys always think their better than queens. Before you knew it, the boy had zipped up a backpack and ran out the lunchroom. "Wait," Pink calls, "Didn't you just come in? How did you find this place?" 

"I went the wrong way! Sorry I'm late, class is about to start!" He was gone and Pink's spooked. "But your 3 miles from anywhere," she tells herself. She follows him from inside and sees him enter the hallways. He's cute and confused, he'll probably get lost without me. But really, she thought the situation was odd and was more freaked to think about what may happen if she loses him. Pink exits with a banner in the back floating towards the floor. 

    Pink goes by the 400's and enters the 300 hall from where the boy disappeared. The door glass was broken, dirt encompassed the first few feet of the hall. The hall was narrow and no cute-boy in sight. Not as much grass spewed the halls, and of course the wind had died. I don't ever recall the wind being this obnoxious. Its summer, Pink had thought as she followed the dim rooms and lockers. 

    It was the fifth room down when she heard chalk being written on. Pink walks in and notices a peach chair behind a black desk in front of a chalkboard. A person writes on the chalkboard and the room was an English room. The man who wrote on the board was sitting so Pink wondered if he may have been a gimp. She was curious to whom could be acting to give a lecture. Pink inspects the room and spots the same kid in the lunchroom sitting in the front row writing in his journal. "Hey, kid," said Pink but the boy ignored her. He was sweating and never stopped writing. The chair swiveled enough to wear Pink could see the teachers face. He had a stubble and black eyes. He was short too. And what was really odd... He faced Pink and she bore witness to the instructors one stubby hand with patterned holes across his arm and the chalk from which he wrote on was held not by a finger, but a slimy phalange of sorts that came from the holes of his stubbed hand like a groundhog. He hops towards the boy and Pink notices his one leg, no hips or shoes. Just a hairy belly and his face was attached to what Pink thought was a swiveling chair. It was not. It was in fact the embodiment of a human ear which formed his back and hind. His face sat in its ear canal. Pink was grossed out, her arms shook and her jaw was left open. "Wh-who are y-you," she stammered. His language was odd. He shouted at the boy with his face turning bright red, but no sound ever came out.

"I don't know! I never seen her before," solicited the boy. This scared Pink to her core, she's never seen anything like this. How could this thing be real? How does this kid know what he's saying? How is any of this possible?

"Why did you come here," shouted the boy! Pink strangled her hair for normality.

"What's going on here," she yelled! The instructor leaps into the air smashing a desk down the middle with his one leg two rows ahead of Pink and continued to shout with no sound. Pink, with her sea legs, ran for the boy grabbing his hand,"let's get outta here!" The boy, baffled, “your insane,” he wailed! Pink forces him towards the exit when the instructor leaps and destroys the boys chair, “your the crazy one,” Pink told the boy. First Tom, now this kid? What a day. They reach the door where a bi-pedal ladybug in a suit greeted the two. Pink was astounded at this phenomena while the boy got more nervous. Pink turns and saw the instructor charge his leg once more but she tackles the boy to the floor leading to a causality in the instructor lunging and attacking the bug in suit.

    Using this opening, Pink takes the boy and makes a sharp turn going pass roots, cracks and their inevitable end. Pink heard fast fluttering wings, louder than any small bug could ever procure. Pink made the decisive choice to make another sharp turn into a dim classroom; shutting and locks the door behind catching a glimpse of the flying monster zooming pass. It even was fast enough to match her eyes in a chase. “Hurry,” Pink shouted, “bring any desk you can!”

“Principal King says my parents are furious!“ 

“Shut up and bring me anything you can stupid!”

He did as he was told and Pink helps barricade the door with the teacher's desk. The kid noticed she was struggling so he decides to help her push, "what's your name?"

"Donald," the boy replied.

She smiles, "I'm Pink." Donald was dumbfounded. 

The suit-bug came to the doors window and stares them down. The boys instructor also showed and and they both began to smash the door. The bugs spoke to each other as if they knew what they were saying. Even with silent language. The door already started breaking from the initial instructors kick creating dents in the middle and splintered wood.

 “What do we do,” Pink pleaded. Pink ran through her thoughts, okay we stay, we’ll die. There’s no way out but walls. And there’s no way I could defend against monsters. Pink ran to a wall in a dark part of the room and knocks on it. “Hollow,” she said.

Donalds frustration was apparent, "Their gonna force me to study longer, holy crap their gonna take away my breaks," Donald started to rub his face harshly. "Their gonna start whacking me with a sturdier ruler and their gonna-"

    Crash! The window had been smashed through. The instructor had fallen from the sharp glass being lodged in his leg. Pink searches the room and decides to grab a meter stick which laid against a desk and ran for the shattered window. Principal King Ladybug's head began to poke in but was met with Pink's ferocious meter stick running through its mouth! This gave them time. Principal King flies back erratically. Pink then takes a chair and runs back to the wall to begin smashing the wall. Bam! It cracks. Donald started to cry in his lap. "They said my parents are on the way," he breaks down! Bam! Pink made a small dent. "Why don't you just shut it!" Bam! Now there was a small hole. Click. A wormy phalange had unlocked the door. BAM! Pink makes a hole big enough for the two. Donald stared at the bug, but Pink drags him into the wall's interior as the creature began to open the door and walk in. 

   The smell of dust intense, it was dark and musty. "Watch your head," Pink said.

"I can't see," Donald trips and bangs his knee; "ow!"

Buzzing was growing from Donald’s yell inch by inch! Principal King Ladybug was well on his way. Pink with no choice pulls Donald up and under a wooden plank in the dark. Donald was incapable of maneuvering in labyrinth of wood. Pink places him on her lap against wood and... waits. Their breath was slow as the only light rays from the hole transmuted into the shadow of the principal. 

    It arrived. Too dark to actually view it but you could see its geometry. As it passed the kids, blood dripped from where Pink stabbed it. Pink's thoughts began to race, I am insane, huh. This is terrifying, yet... magnificent. Magnifikent? How lucky am I to bear witness to something impossible passing my eyes. A scary happiness. 

    It almost disappeared but stupid Donald's mouth had slobbered her palm, "ew," silence. Then a flutter. Damn. It heard me. Pink bursts from their position and takes Donald back into the English room ignoring the nimble flutters of the enemy en route! It was so surprised when in flight, it was hitting the walls and wood.

"Whats with the smile," Donald asked.

"Oh. I'm smiling," she chuckled; "this is an adventure Donald!" Before they reached the room's entrance, two assassin bugs block their exit in swim attire and hobbles instead of crawling. Pink couldn't continue their escape. "What in the-"

"Mom! Dad," yelled Donald.

"These are your parents?"

The taller one vibrated it's beak onto one of it's legs and Donald started to cry! "Donald," bellowed Pink. Crash! It seems the principal had a tough time exiting the wall but their time was running out and the shorter bug was beginning to comfort Don with its legs. Odd but Pink grabs a chair and smashes the bug just watching Donald. "No," yelled Donald! But, he just watched in awe and the bug which comforted Donald had let him go, and launched its long beak at Pink. 

    Pink had lunged herself back into the classroom dodging the sharp beak. The bug had thrown Donald against a set of lockers outside the room to focus on Pink as she picks up another chair, and smashes down on the bugs beak before it could stab Pink. She ran after Donald down the hall, at the same time, Principal King Ladybug had finally come out the wall and dusty. King gathers his senses then zooms after the kids knocking down Donald's mother.

    As they went past lockers a piece of the wall ahead of the kids was beginning to crack and breakaway to a swarm of instructors. All the same. Clones?  The same instructor who was brainwashing Donald from the first room, "Mr. Richardson," screamed Donald!

    The swarm, birthed from wall couldn't seem to stand appropriately with the constant of landing on one-another. Pink and Donald managed to run past the flood of Mr. Richardsons. Mr. Richardsons began to leap into the air from the emerged hole and disorientated King Ladybugs flight motion by now having to calculate their trajectories and goes into a walking position. Pink spins her head in a fast 180 degree motion, and catches King's sharp jagged mandibles aiming for her face, before his giant leap down the hallway with the force of his wings. She couldn’t face her exit, Pink was astonished as to any bright ideas were faded. As astonished as her adventure was and still is. Too astonished too completely understand what just now had happened. Too astonished to believe that she kills the cow and the pig to piss and laugh. Why shouldn't this insect use me for fuel to continue evolution? Nature's beautiful conundrum. Too astonished to notice the grasp a Mr. Richardson had on her arm which pulls her to the floor missing the mandibles of Principal King Ladybug. King, now focused on a new opening couldn't focus on Pink nor Donald. And Pink's eyes slayed onto the vision in sight. That she would've been eaten too if it weren't for this savage Mr. Richardson who pulled her. The same one who had now just died from another Mr. Richardsons leg missing its target, and now its leg was lodged into his chest. "Do we stop," asked Donald. Pink got to her feet from crouch and pulls Donald left into the first hallway and leads him to the exit while King Ladybug dodged the flying Mr. Richardsons ramming themselves nonsensically onto the ceiling and lockers.

    Sweaty and tired, they were both at the front of the school. And around them were giant stick bugs decorating the canopy of the building and some of the walls and trees. Still as rocks they were, but limbs weren't regular at all. They were animal limbs. Of the lion zebra and dog. How odd. Pink gathered her breaths. She looks beyond the entrance. Goosebumps invade her body. She felt awakened from a dream into reality's nightmare. Just an empty void beyond the entrance. Nowhere to escape. "Kid," she started. "How do we get out?"

"I need to finish my test Pink."

Pink became more irritated,"are you one of those things?"

"What things?" With the situation at hand Pink did not find his answers cute anymore. Slam! The horde of Mr. Richardsons swarmed the area! Pink grabs Donalds hand and they run to the end of the school, "is that a gym at the end?" Donald hadn't responded from the immeasurable amount of entities. "Donald!"

"There should be another exit there. Yes, sorry." Donald was on the edge. She was getting so tired. Somehow Donald seemed to have more energy. Barely breaking a sweat. He was just slow and stupid. As they reached the end, Pink felt now was as good as a time as ever. "Where do you live," she asked as their hands became even hotter. From the weather? The panic? Or are they nervous?

"Here."

"You sleep here?"

"I don't."

"Your crazy kid. You don't live here. Monsters are trying to kill us, there's no way a stupid kid would survive this long."

Donald grits his teeth. He swats his hand off her grasp; "they're people just like you and me! They're my family so why don't you shut up!" Pink was furious and her favorite way to show it was a calm eye directed straight at Donald. They got to the fenced gate that separated the gyms building and Pink twisted Don's head so he could face the swarm of Mr. Richardsons. "Tell that to your teacher."

    Hundreds of Mr. Richardsons jump sporadically to catch up to them. Hundreds of crashing into the trees, the tables, benches and windows. Hundreds of Mr. Richardsons toppling one another. Hundreds of gallons in blood knit the school's floor. Hundreds of bones crack, break, and hundreds more Mr. Richardsons continue to tackle each other. Killing each other. And Principal King Ladybug fights his way through the swarm by tearing their neckless heads with his tarantula hands, and eating parts of their noses and eyes. I guess he has an opinion of delicacies. Desserts, Pink was thinking. A lot of them began to grow like a bloody building. An odd sight. "This isn't your family Donald." Nature's beautiful but the scene is still grotesque. They went through the gate and into the gym building in the calamity. 

    It was fairly spacious. More roots and grass. Broken trophy case and another weird stick-bug basking on top of a set of double-doors that actually led to the gym. Their were three sets. You could see the gym through the window, it was amazingly lit. The back end of the gym's wall had a great portion completely gone that allowed sunlight to bathe the area. Pink pushes the bar on the middle doors. Locked, "damn." She checks the ones on the right, "locked," then the ones where the stick bug was. "Damn." Locked. Pink sat on her thoughts, she was completely frustrated shaking her hair and thinking to herself as hard as she could. Donald just watched like a lost kid. 

"Maybe I should go back," 

"Could you be any more dense," she said as Pink looked at him stupid; then Pink's eyes widened like she knew something brilliant.

"Are you okay," asked Donald.

"The trophies." Pink boots towards the trophy case, she picks out the one she thought was heaviest ignoring their looming doom. A big bronze trophy awarded for attendance. Ridiculous, she thought. Bam, bam bud-duh, bum! BA-bam! The horde of Mr. Richardsons had made their way to the building with the launching and smashing of their bodies.

    Pink hastes to a set of double-doors leading to the gym and aims the trophy at the window. Dub! Bum-dub, bam! The slamming continues. The glass is so thick. Their thumping reminds me of home when the hail smashed our house.

    Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Click, swoo! Pink swings open a wardrobe closet revealing, “found you Bobbi,” grins Pink. Sleeves and shirts fluctuate over the face of her little brother Bobbis; a grey-eyed, stubbed hair runt who was not too happy Pink had found him. Bobbi erupts from his hiding place and runs out the room.

"Hey! Its your turn Bobbi!" Pink chases him. Pink wasn't much shorter four years ago, in fact she seemed faster. Pink sees Bobbi run down the steps and she follows. "Bobbi!" Pink reaches a homey first floor. Carpeted, marbled countertops, white curtains. A couple of brown couches face a nice television and a wooden stool that peeks out a window. Their blinds were slightly open which allowed to shed light into their living room. "Bobbi," calls Pink almost menacing. She enters their kitchen and pretends to be unaware of Bobbi's presence on top of the fridge. "Hmm," she wonders. "Where could he be," she announces. Pink opens a cabinet, "ah-ha! I thought he was going to be in the silverware cabinet." Clap. Bobbi finds an opening and jumps from the fridge. He lands excellently and spurts back into the living room. "Bobbi," shouts Pink! "I found you twice already," she chases him.

"We're playing tag," he replies. His voice is soft.

"No! We're playing hide-and-seek, uh." Bobbi paid too much attention at Pink to how far she actually was, and runs into a wall. Bam! Bobbi falls and cries.

"Oh, Bobbi." Pink matches his height and looks at his head. There was already a bump and red. She touches it. "Ow," yells Bobbi.

"That didn't hurt." Bobbi continues to cry.

"The-there is no room to play," he whines.

"I don't know why your running, I already found you stupid." 

"I'm not stupid," he yells. Pink, annoyed, leaves him to cry and watches television in the living room. Bobbi cries by himself. She doesn't acknowledge him until her show becomes unbearable. "Bobbi. Come on."

Bobbi sniffs, "what?"

"How long are you going to cry?"

"Until dad comes home!"

"Okay. One sec." Pink drops her small feet to the floor and goes into the bathroom. She opens a cabinet. "Oh, dad left the good bandage."

"Is that going to help," he asks when Pink came in view. 

"Only the purple one. Don't tell him, it's only for emergencies." She kneels and opens the bandage. She begins to place it over his bump.

"Ow." He backs up.

"Whats wrong?"

"It stings. I think your lying."

"Your big sister is never going to lie to you," she authenticated.

"That's what you would say."

"Come here or I'm going to force it on you. I play around Bobbi, I'm much faster than you!"

Bobbi whines, but closes his eyes to cue Pink it was okay. He wasn't interested in having to fend off his sister. Pink places the purple bandage over the bump on his forehead; Bobbi winces. "There," states Pink. Bobbi tries to look upwards. "Are you sure it's going to work?"

"Yea," she smiles; "only the purple ones work the best. What? You don't feel it working?"

Bobbi ponders and glistens in happiness, "wow, I think it is!"

"See," she's gleeful. Creak. A sturdy man in a brown mustache and garbage uniform walks in from the garage with groceries. His eyes never falter from the floor. He sees Pink and Bobbi laying on the floor. His first smile appears, "hey guys. What are we up to?"

"Ew, dad." Pink pinches her nose and Bobbi runs too hug his father. "Dad!"

"What Pink," their father asks.

"You went to the store smelling like that? Go take a shower," she squeaks, deriving the sound out of her closed nostrils. Their father pats Bobbi. "Yea, yea," he says. "Bobbi go wash yourself."

"What? But I'm just hugging you."

"Pink's right. Garbage men get stinky. You probably got germs all over you." He hands the groceries too Pink. "Please put them away." Pink grudgingly listens. Their dad, with an arm over his son, both walk up the stairs to get clean. They were a quarter of the way up when their father notices his bandage.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Pink tricked me and made me run into a wall." Hey," Pink called! "I did not! You don't know where your running to?!"

"Shut up!"

"Stop you guys. Play nice. After you get cleaned up, put some ice over it." Pink walks over to the couch to watch cartoons.

"Pink gave me your secret bandage." 

"Did she now?" By then, they were gone. 

    "Pink," calls Bobbi when coming down the steps after his shower. His hair's wet and Pink could smell his shampoo even though he was by the stairs.

"Yea?"

"Wanna go outside?"

"Dad said you can't right?"

"I don't remember."

"You should ask."

"He's still showering."

"Then wait." Bobbi began to whine. "Shut up Bob."

"You lied about the band-aid, you should make up for that, so let's play outside!" 

"No Bobbi, go ask dad."

He walks over and covers the tv. "Move." Bobbi picks his nose and ignores her.

"Bobbi, I can't see," she complained. Bobbi turns to her; "I don't care." Pink trots and pushes him out the way. "Hey," he yells.

"I don't care," she rebuts. Bobbie, then pushes Pink.

"You little!" Pink goes over to punch Bobbi's cheek. Bobbi launches a fist on her head, but she's unfazed. She tackles him down and clasp their hands together. She pushes with all her strength to pin his wrists against the floor. Bobbi struggles to free himself, "Get off Pink!"

"Are you gonna get out the way!"

"Let's play outside!"

"Ask dad!" 

"Hey," their father runs down the steps in a towel. "What's going on?!" He sees Pink taking Bobbi down, "get off him Pink!" Pink doesn't listen. "Not until he promises to not cover the tv!" They were beyond pissed! Their dad runs after them. He pulls Pink off Bobbi with one hand, and lectures her; "stop-"

"He knows I'm watching tv-"

"No. You do not fight with your brother. Your in charge when I am not around. How can I trust you while I'm gone? Your older than him Pink," he pleads. Pink crosses her arms and does not face him. 

"I know," she mutters.

"What?" Pink becomes more annoyed when she sees Bobbi's smirk. 

"I know," she enunciated.

"Good." He walks upstairs but comments one more time; "don't go outside for two days." Pink was on her way to her seat but was stopped at his order. "You mean, Bobbi?"

"Yea. I mean, no. The both of you."

"What," the two kids said together.

"Why," Pink asks. She was upset. Pink only crossed her arms when she felt saddened or angry.

"Your grounded for fighting with your brother," he points out and continues upstairs. Bobbi laughed, "your not out the fire either Bobbi."

"Why?!"

"For bringing bad grades. Do better next semester."

"But Bobbi started it! He purposely wanted to bother me dad," she whined. 

"Enough," he yells now up the stairs. Pink stops, afraid she was going to get a worst punishment. Bobbi was left criss-crossed. When Pink heard her father slam his door she spoke to Bobbi, "you see what you do."

"You were just watching tv."

"Yea, but I need to catch more green peas."

"Their called aphids."

"I don't care!" Their dads voice came through his door, hey; they heard. "We're too loud. Look what you did Bobbi, your gonna kill Lucy."

"I went online. They only live for a year." Pink began to cry. 

"What," Bobbi was ignorant. Their dad came down the steps and goes into the kitchen, "what's wrong Pink," he grunts.

"Nothing," she cried. Their dad sets up his ingredients to begin dinner. "Damn!" He smashes the countertop. Bobbi and Pink check on their dad nervously. Pink ceases her tears. They watch onwardly. "You alright, dad," asked Pink. He sighs.

"I forgot the brisket." He walks over to the garage to leave. "Be good, please. Pink your in charge. Don't let anyone in and do not go outside," he glares and he was gone. Pink lingered in her thoughts while Bobbi took the television from Pink. The garage door had opened and once it closes Pink sprints upstairs into her room and shouts, "don't be knockin' on my door!" Donald was left dumbfounded. "No one would ever wanna go in there anyway."

    To the average human, Pinks room is indistinguishable from a treasure hunters. Nobody would ever suspect an eight year old girl slept here. There were maps of old and new plastered among her walls, posters of the universe and its comets. There was a spinning globe she had sitting on a wooden desk next to her laptop. Her desk also includes a shelf for a small library. She didn't have many books but the ones she did own, their spines were creased and cracked. She owned encyclopedias about Earth, political biographies as well. When Pink charged in, per usual, she flies from the door atop her bed. From there, she crawls to her window side. On her windows ledge she had a glass jar with a ladybug in it. The lid had holes poked into it and the ladybug sat on a leaf over a moist napkin. It was in a nice spot to receive plenty of light. Pink holds a fixated worried look on the ladybug. "I'm so sorry baby. I can't catch you food today. Stupid Bobbi ruined that for you, Lucy. I'm such crappy mother." She turns and lays like a starfish staring into her ceiling. Pink looks at Lucy again and feels more terrible. She bites her lips and scrunches her forehead. She sees Lucy flutter but doesn't take flight. "Your hungry, huh?" Lucy flutters once more. Pink lays her chin on her wrists. She worries over Lucy's flightless body. "What kind of mother lets her children starve."

    Pink goes into her walk-in closet and brings out a rolled ladder, a plastic jar with a lid and a brush. She puts the things on he bed and grabs her hiking bag that layed against her bed. She unzips it and puts her things in it except the ladder. Pink goes to her window and lifts the glass, she removes her screen and throws the ladder over. Pink had notches that held the ladder from inside her room. Before stepping out, Pink puts Lucy on her desk so she could have room to step over her ledge. Pink takes her lamp that sat next to her microscope, and shines its light over Lucy's jar. 

    Already outside, she starts to climb down, disregarding her fathers commands. At the bottom of the ladder, Pink was still some fight off the ground, but Pink was far smarter and prepared for this situation; she had already set up a pile of leaves below the ladders end, so she could fall on safely; ch! She chuckles at her success and jumps off into the forest.

    She speeds through; missing each branch and root by even an inch. She cackles in the forest. Pink lands on a log and jumps over a spiders trap. She must've already known it was there. She reaches a garden of sunflowers and gushes at the sight. She bends down and takes out her brush and jar. She takes the brush and gently lifts the leaves of the sunflower carefully, just enough to see it's underside. Her eyes widen and glow. "Green peas," she muttered. Pink hadn't known it but she found a gold mine of these so-called green peas. Which were actually aphids. A delicacy of the ladybug. Preferred alive. Pink was good at finding Lucy's meals from time to time.

    Pink places the jar between her knees and holds it steady to open with one hand. She then places the jar under the insects, "I only need fifty." Gently, Pink brushes the insects of their leaf and into the jar. One, two, three, four, five, six? And so on. She did this until she found fifty-eight aphids. More than enough. After, she puts her things back into her bag and jogs back home. "Nice. Dad'll never know."

"He will when I tell him."

Spooked, Pink jerks her head backwards and finds Bobbi in the sunflower garden. "What are you doing!? Why are you here!?"

Bobbi checks his nails as if he was an evil villain. "I got hungry."

"You just had breakfast."

"Yea, like two hours ago."

"How did you find me," she was annoyed.

"Your always going to the forest."

"So what, your gonna tell dad?"

"Maybe."

"You. Twerp."

"Unless you give me what I want."

She snickers, "which is?"

"Hide-and-seek." Pinks frown faded to a smirk.

"Dad probably just got to the store."

"And I won't hide far," he said joyfully.

"One game."

    "Ready or not here I come," shouts Pink! She removes her hand from her face and scours the sunflower garden. She skips behind trees and doesn't find Bobbi. Pink presses her index finger against her temple, "oh where could my stupid brother be." She continues deeper into the forest where the chirping seemed to be getting louder. "Bobbi," she loomed. She finds a sturdy branch on a relative tall tree. Pink jumps and holds onto the branch. She tries to pull herself up but falls on her hind. "Ow," she rubs her pain. Crack crunch. Twigs fall on top of her head. "What the," she looks up and sees Bobbi hugging a thick branch like a Koala, "found you!"

"Are you sure," he replies.

"Get down here," Pink said sternly. He did as he was told. "Alright, let's get outta here."

"What? One more please."

"No Bobbi. Dad will be home soon, we'll get in big trouble stupid."

"Please Pink!" He grabs onto her arm. "Please don't go. That was the highest I've ever been." Pink looks at the height of the tree.

"Yea. You were pretty high. It's not fair you climb better than me."

"I guess I'm a monkey."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yea!" Pink couldn't agree with him. 

"No. Let's go." Pink leaves. Bobbi begins to pout and whine. She rolls her eyes and finds Bobbi on the floor. 

"I don't wanna go," he wails. Pink crosses her arms. 

"I'm gonna hit you."

Bobbi grunts then runs into the woods. "Bobbi! Come back!"

"Catch me if you can," he fades. Pink grabs her face and chases Bobbi. 

"You idiot! Dads gonna find out!" Pink doesn't lose sight of Bobbi and is already catching up. "Your too slow Bobbi!" Bobbi turns and becomes scared as Pinks arm almost reaches his shoulder!

"No," he shouts! Swoo! Bobbi runs off the hill! Pink watches him fall and going too fast herself, she slips and rolls down the hill. Bouncing off her side and landing back into the soil! Bobbi and Pink get separated. Pink rolls face-down to the bottom of the hill. She opens her eyes and sees a caterpillar with bristles on it. She grunts but crawls towards the caterpillar. Calmer then any palm before any disastrous storm take the trees. As calm as this caterpillar nibbling on the leaf.  “How cute,” she goes over to pet the caterpillar - - Boom-slam! Clapbakoom! Thunder! Over the forest! The younger Pink broke her neck upwards to see gray clouds approaching.

“Bobbi,” she gasped and takes off into the woods catching Bobbis red boots climbing over the hill. He pokes his head at Pink then mocks her, "haha!"

"Bobbi, it's time to go home," she was angry. He needs to come inside. Dads gonna start cooking soon. He hates when we eat cold plates. “Bobbi!” Pink called. No answer. Vaboom! Thunder! Then a light drizzle had started. Bobbi's laughter was heard deep in the forest. “Come on kid, I’ll let you be first player,” she laughed as she goes over the hill and whizzes through the branches that pricked her forced smile. "Bobby, where are you," Pink becoming more concerned as the thunder may be covering Bobbi's voice. She couldn't hear his laugh anymore. Her moves get more jagged and unfamiliar as she thought he could be hiding deeper into the woods. Bugs are so distracting. "Alright, you win kid; I give up! Bobbi?!" Clapkaboom! Thunder! "Bobbi! It's game over!" Pink continues her tread as it turns into a small hill. At the crest she stops her run and gathers her breathing. She looks around and can't decide which direction he went towards. She places her hands on her hips. "I'm screwed."

“Pink,” called a man with a rustier tone. She turned and faces her father. He was down the hill. “Dad,” she was panicked. “What’s up?” Her dads eyes were bloodshot. More red than his raincoat. Hotter than a sun. Pink felt extremely nervous, she kept tying her fingers together.

"I told you to not go outside." The father is gloomy. Odd.

"Are you okay," she asked. He brushed his face with his large rough hands as if too freshen up but his mustache was far too stiff to be disturbed by a measly brush. He sniffled as well. "I made some brisket, kid."

"You only call Bobbi that," Pink was stern. Then a large piece of hail had fallen in between of them breaking a branch coming down. Pink was distracted by it's pretty translucency, but was brought to reality when the drizzle became rougher. The father too was distracted by the ice. "Hail," she told her father worried. A light silence had rooted their atmosphere. Clapkaboom! Thunder! Pink runs into the woods, deeper; embracing the black clouds.

Her father calls, "No, Pink wait!"

I need to find my brother. He's selfish. He only likes to win, "Bobbi! Come out, please!" Her voice becoming more shaky by the second. Her breath colder, her body begins to tremble with the rain. And her boots sinking with the soil making each step with more vigor. "Bobbi, dad said he made us brisket," she sounded crazy. Pink ignored all calls her father tried to make leaving him to fade. He would never catch up to me anyway. Sooner I find this idiot sooner we can eat. I've always been faster than Bobbi so there's no way he could go far. Yes! Is that him? I hear someone talking.

Pink wanted to call out Bobbi, but the voice turned into a multiple of voices. As their voice became clearer, so was the crushing of ice on the forest floor. I never seen hail before. Pink grew closer to the voices but as they became more apparent, they would say words she just couldn't understand. Caution tape? Paramedic? Whats a gurney? Jellybean?

"Watch it!" He was tall and handsome. He looked like an officer. Pink was embarrassed she ran into him. She jumped back, "sorry," she said kindly. "I'm just looking for my brother." Pink saw the officers face turn pale and his jaw slowly dropped.

"Where did you last see him?" She looked around and noticed multiple officers were in the vicinity. "Um. I don't know," she said. "We play for a long time. It takes awhile to find him." She tried to walk around him but his brute would not let her through.

"Sorry, but there's an investigation happening. I suggest you turn back." Before Pink could respond she saw a very familiar set of brown boots in her peripheral, heels to the floor pointing towards the black clouds. She cocks her head and sees an officer walking over to the body covering the vision of her brother's familiar boots. Pink pretends to walk back only to turn back around and juke the officer, "Kid," he yelled.

"I need to know," she tells herself.

"Officers there's a kid here!" They were confused but surveyed the area and a few of the officers see Pink and try to grab her. "Bobbi," Pink screamed! No response.

"Stop it girl," shouted the largest cop, much faster than Pink, he had caught her shoulder, and with the pull Pink saw her brothers face. His eyes were closed. The cop began pulling Pink's arm out the area. Blood marked a side of his head, "Bobbi!"

"Stop it," the officer pulled harder as she tried to reach his body with her short arm. It was as though she could extend it at any length. "Bobby, stop playing right now! Get up," her eyes began to match the rain. "I win! I found you idiot! Bobbi!" And her crying was as if the rain had been acquainted with Pinks tears. She fell to the wet soil, thinking her weight and crawl would be greater than the officer's strength but was feeble.

"Is this your child, sir?" The officer was talking to another man. He had let her arm go and the other man carried Pink off the floor. Her head fell over his shoulder, dirtying it with mud and she hugs him tight and dwelled in her depression. She cried and cried.

"I know Pink. I know," her father stated with tears complementing his cheeks. He carries Pink out the woods. "Things happen my love." Pink bellowed through the storm. Her father laid his large hand over her small head, "watch it. Ice is falling hard. But it looks like it stopped." The rain had also become light.

"I was supposed to find him dad," she sobbed.

"I know my love. But he finally found your mother." Pinks head began to blow, heavens real? Why would they take him away? Why send him a painful death? Is there power to kill good people quickly? Painfully? Do they choose like rolling dice? It doesn't matter. Hail killed my brother. Dying cannot be not painful. Their dead. I'm hurting. I hurt every single day. Dying is painful. How bad did it hurt? Did he cry? Was it quick? How fast was the ice falling? How deep did it need to cut for that much blood? That night was the worst night of my life. I couldn't sleep. My brothers murderer had come back to haunt me and hail thumped my house half the night. It was truly awful. This is what killed my brother? The ice sounds hard. Was it as tough as this bronze trophy? Was this trophy the hard ice and this glass my brothers head? Or was it harder than the second force I used to smash this thick glass? Maybe the third? Was my brothers skull this tough? Did he take a barrage of ice to his head!? Bam-bum daub-bub-dum bo, boom bum-bam! Or was it harder than the fifth or sixth which smashes the gym doors glass!  Shatter!