Chapter 4 - Blood

      It was a warm Sunday afternoon. The sun was high up in the sky. Robbin and her aunt Emily were singing at the top of their lungs to the horror of her uncle Jason, who was driving them home. They were returning from church, and it was a long drive home. Jason tried so hard to ignore them, focusing his attention instead on the road ahead. Jason was an ex-soldier who was well-built, calm and very reserved, unlike his wife Emily, who was an ecologist. She had a carefree and outgoing personality. He wished he could get home faster and be locked up in his shed, his own world, away from the horrible singing of his wife and niece.

He looked at his wife affectionately and said, "baby, I love you both, but please stop singing. It's causing my ears to bleed. " She smiled mischievously, turned up the volume of the music playing through the speakers in the car, and continued singing even louder.

Jason let out a loud, exasperated sigh and said, "At least it was worth a try." 

After a short while, the song stopped, and relief washed over Jason's features as he continued the drive in silence. 

Robbin slipped into her own world as she stared at the seemingly endless rows of trees. She hated the long drive home; she hated living in the woods far from any form of civilization. Why do they have to live at the edge of the city? She often whined and complained to her uncle and aunt about this, but her uncle, Jason, always told her how peaceful it was to live in the woods. You know, be one with nature.  He loved nature, just like his wife. They were the perfect match. They fit like a glove. 

Whenever she whined about hanging out with friends and being a normal teenager, her uncle would explain to her how cruel the world was and how she was safer in the woods than anywhere else. He told her stories of kidnap, rape, drugs, and murder. Robbin wasn't sure if he told her these stories just to scare her. She often argued with him about them and told him that he was only telling her the stories to keep her from having fun. He really was a kill joy. Her uncle always smiled softly and he would always say, "You'll understand when you're older."

His response often infuriated her. She would be turning 15 in a few days! How could someone be so calm about everything? She felt like he was downplaying her emotions. He was so insensitive. She often wished something would happen that would cause him to change his mind and see things from her own perspective.

As they approached the house, Robbin got her bag ready. Finally, they were home. She could feel her bed calling her after the long drive. She just wanted to lie down and listen to music or watch a movie. As soon as the car came to a halt and the engine was turned off, she opened the door, preparing to sprint to her room, but was stopped by her aunt, who told her to get the groceries. 

Jason walked out of the car and headed to the front door of the house. He immediately noticed that something was wrong, the house had been broken into. Pieces of the door were lying around on the floor. He reached for his gun, which he always kept behind his wife's flowers, but to his surprise, it was gone. He heard his wife and niece coming up behind him. In a swift action, he put his fingers to his lips, gesturing for them to be quiet. 

Then he softly but firmly whispered to them, "Go back to the car." I'll go check what is going on." 

They both nodded and headed back to the car. With his gun missing, he knew whoever broke into his home was armed and dangerous, and he had to be prepared for a fight. 

He had guns hidden in different parts of his house; he just had to get to them. Slowly, he crept into the house. The living room was a complete mess; chairs were turned and broken, the television was missing, the drawers were torn open, and pieces of glass and debris were lying all around. He knew that this was bad, it seemed like whoever was in here was looking for something.

He crept deeper into the living room, listening to every sound and pausing to look around every few seconds. There seemed to be no one around; he needed a weapon fast. Reaching for the nearest thing he could find, he picked up a broken piece of furniture that used to be his dining table. He continued walking, avoiding debris and fallen objects, his hopes of finding his gun weakening with every step due to the intensity of the damage done. He was just a few inches away from his gun when he heard a loud sound, like an object flying towards him. He instinctively ducked as a huge object flew past him. A young man emerged from under the stairs, running towards him with a knife. Jason sprang into position and swung at him with the piece of furniture, knocking the knife off his hands. As they began to struggle, he heard more footsteps running down the stairs towards them. He felt the cold metal of a gun's barrel pressed against the back of his head as he knelt across the man, whose face was now bloody.

 "Get up," a gruff voice harshly commanded him. Jason complied, realizing he was outnumbered and without a weapon. He slowly got to his feet and looked around. There were about four men, including the one who was being helped to his feet. His face was all bloodied. Jason stifled a smiled at the sight of the man's face. 

Robbin and her aunt waited silently in the car, listening with bated breaths. They were suddenly startled by loud grunts and crashes, then by the sound of multiple footsteps. Robbin was insanely terrified. She could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears. She knew her uncle was able to protect them, but this time, something didn't feel right.

Putting her hand on her shoulder and with a firm voice, her aunt said, "Go to the tree house and hide." I'll go help your uncle. " 

She stared at her aunt for a while. She didn't want to be left alone, but her aunt gave her a reassuring squeeze. She nodded and did as she was told. Silently getting out of the car, she slowly crept towards the tree house, which was a few yards away from the main house, safely hidden behind a lot of trees. She stopped at a shrub to pick up a handgun her uncle had hidden, then hurried towards the treehouse. She climbed up the rope ladder, gun in hand. Reaching the top, she quickly withdrew the ladder, preventing anyone from climbing in after her. She picked up her binoculars, which she always used for bird watching, and watched the house. 

There were four strange-looking men in the house. One had a gun to her uncle's head, another had a bloody face. He was supported by one other person, while the last man had a large bag slung over his shoulder. Fear gripped her as she watched patiently. They were talking, but she couldn't quite make out what was being said. 

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and with that, the man supporting the injured one fell to the ground, dragging his friend along with him. A shiver ran down Robin's spine as she lay there frozen, watching everything unfold. Blood was slowly pooling around the body of the man. The men were thrown into a state of confusion. The bloody-faced man, frightfully crawled away from his dead friend. Robbin watched as the man, who still had a gun slightly pointed at her uncle, nodded towards the direction of the gunshot. Seizing this period of momentary distraction, her uncle Jason sprang to his feet and began wrestling the man with the gun in an attempt to disarm him. She heard another gunshot and her attention was drawn to it. She turned in the direction of the gunshot and saw her aunt crouched down at the back door of the house with a .500 S&W Magnum pointed towards the men. She had just shot down the man who was sent to find her. She paused and took aim again. She fired a shot, this time hitting the bloody-faced man. The struggle between her uncle and the man continued. The man seemed stronger than her uncle. Another shot rang out, but this time it wasn't her aunt. She watched as her uncle stopped struggling and dropped to the ground, clutching his stomach. Robbin's hand was shut over her mouth as a short gasp escaped her lips. Blood flowed from his wound. The man lifted the gun again and pointed the gun at her uncle's head. Her aunt screamed as she was running towards her husband, shooting as she ran. Her bullet hit the man, and he staggered slightly, but he held his ground. Reaching for her husband, she took him in her hands as she cried helplessly. The man with the gun looked angrily at the couple as they held on to each other. Tears flowed from Robbin's eyes as she watched everything unfold, paralyzed by fear. The man looked down and noticed blood flowing down his left arm. He shot his arm up his neck, he realized he was bleeding from a wound in his neck and upper arm. He shouted angrily at them, then lifted his gun and, without hesitation, shot her aunt in the back of her head as she affectionately cradled her husband, killing her instantly. She fell forward her head hitting her husband's chest and her body going limp. Robbin wanted to scream, but she clasped her hands over her mouth as tears violently rushed down her face, blurring her vision. She paused a little, resting her back against the wall of the tree house, trying to still herself. She violently wiped away the tears on her face. 

Startled by the boom of yet another gunshot, Robbin picked up her binoculars and looked. Her uncle weakly held a gun in his hand, while he lay on on the ground, and another man who wasn't there earlier was standing with his back turned to her uncle, he was bleeding from his arm,he turned around, walked over to her uncle Jason, lifted his gun and shot Jason in the head, killing him. She watched as the man bleeding from his neck said something to the one bleeding from his arm. They both looked at the bodies around them, then walked out of the house, through the back door.