Chapter 1: Into The Fire

July 19th, Day 1

"Grr! Pour me some tea, lassie!" a girl's voice growled playfully. She leaned in, her fingers wrapped around a green stuffed dinosaur hovering over the pink tea set. The other girl across from her giggled, holding the teapot with both hands.

"Dinosaurs don't drink tea!" she replied with a grin, laughing at her friend's antics.

The girl with the dinosaur pointed to the tiny tiara crudely glued on top of the toy's head. "Yeah, but princess dinosaurs do! Isn't that right, Captain... huh?" she said, glancing around for another toy.

The other girl looked up from the tea set, following her friend's gaze. "Hey, where's Captain Yellowbear?" she asked, a small frown creasing her forehead. She looked around, eyeing the grass surrounding them for any sign of their missing party member.

The dinosaur girl sighed and stood up, her toy dropping from her hand. "Be right back!" she called out, heading towards the glass door behind her friend.
As she disappeared inside, the other girl sat alone with the tea set, listening to the sounds of nature around her. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees nearby, and a distant bird chirped in the distance.

The glass door slid open with a faint hiss, and Clementine's gaze darted towards the entrance, anticipating the arrival of her friend. Yet, instead of the familiar sight of her best friend, she was met with the face of her babysitter, Sandra.

"Lunchtime, Clementine! I made a bunch of sandwiches with apples, so you better hurry in and get them before Rachel eats them all up." Sandra's voice echoed through the room, beckoning the young girl inside.

Clementine sprang up from her seated position. "Coming!" she called back.

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

Clementine slid the door shut behind her and took in her surroundings. Sandra was cleaning up the kitchen while Rachel was happily eating away at the bar counter, her previously missing stuffed yellow bear sitting patiently beside her plate. Rachel, pulling away from her mission to shove as many apple slices into her mouth at once (without choking), called out to her. 

"Clem! Come sith here! These are so good! She put thurkey in them!" Rachel exclaimed with a mouthful of food; her words slightly muffled as she gestured towards the empty seat beside her.

Sandra huffed. "Rach, what did I say about talking with your mouth full?"

Rachel pointed to the refrigerator. "Can you ged me somefin to drink?" Rachel, speech obscured by the food in her mouth as she looked up at Sandra.

Sandra crossed her arms and gave the girl a poignant look. "Can you get me something to drink...?"

"Before I choke?"

Sandra sighed before grabbing a cup from the cupboard and pouring both girls a glass of milk.

"Hey, Rachel? Is your brother picking you up today?" Sandra asked, placing the glasses in front of them.

Rachel swallowed and toyed with the edges of her plate. "No, he said he had a field trip or something today."

"Can you sleep over? We can stay up late and watch T.V.!" Clementine asked excitedly, her excitement rubbing off on Rachel as she looked to their caretaker's for approval.

Sandra dried her hands with a dish towel. "I dunno, girls. Rach would have to ask her mom about that. And Clem, your parents told you that you're not supposed to stay up all night."

"Awww..."

"But, if you girls don't cause any trouble—" Sandra eyed Rachel, who stuck out her tongue in response. "We'll go to the Zoo."

The girls perk up at the mention of a Zoo.

Rachel practically stood up in her stool. "Can we see the lions and the lizards?!" the girl asked gleefully.

"Only if you both behave for the rest of the day. That goes double for you, Rach." Sandra checked her watch for a brief second. "Perfect timing. That show you both like should be on right about now. What's it called? Disco...Veggie?"

"Disco Broccoli!"

"Yeah, that one! Alright, hop to it! Remote should be on the table. I'm going to use the bathroom." Sandra added before disappearing up the steps. Clementine and Rachel skipped down the steps leading to the living area and climbed upon the couch. Rachel gives Clementine the remote control.

"C'mon, Clem! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!"

"I'm trying!"

After fumbling with the buttons on the remote for a few seconds, they'd finally manage to land on the channel hosting their favorite show. Only, as soon as they did, the screen flickered from an image of Disco Broccoli... to a black screen. Following that was a string of white letters that read while emanating a piercing alarm:

Emergency Alert System

[A civil authority has issued A LOCAL AREA EMERGENCY for the following counties or areas...]

Rachel and Clementine exchanged glances, their furrowed brows showing their mutual confusion. Rachel picked up the remote and examined it closely. "Did you accidentally hit the wrong button?" she asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I always remember which channel it's on," replied Clementine with a hint of frustration.

"Hmm...maybe the TV's broken?" Rachel suggested, scrutinizing the remote. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from upstairs, and they turned to see Sandra, leaning over the couch to look at the screen. She muttered to herself for a moment before reaching out to turn off the TV and patting the girls' heads.

"How about you two go play upstairs in Clem's room?" Sandra suggested with a gentle smile. Clementine eagerly hopped off the couch, and Rachel followed behind her, though they'd rather watch T.V instead.

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

8:00 P.M.

The two girls were lost in their own world, huddled beside the chair by the window, with the soft rays of dim setting sunlight and the standing lamp illuminating their faces. Rachel was flipping through the pages of her fifth book that afternoon, her eyes glued to vivid illustrations. She pointed to a character and tapped the picture, eyes filled with excitement.

"Her!" she exclaimed. The picture showed a woman with long, flowing golden hair that she was using as a zipline to escape from two menacing pirates behind her. A small paragraph above the drawing read, 'Daisy, a tall, brave woman, fled from goblins who wanted to steal her treasure...'

Clementine peered over Rachel's shoulder, "Who's she?" she asked.

Rachel beamed. "That's Daisy the Danger Duchess. See her hair? It's like some kind of magic rope or something. It can grow and shrink whenever she wants!"

Clementine looked the artwork for a moment before turning to the page next to it. As she read, Rachel leaned in closer, her eyes scanning the page. The story described Daisy's story with her running through forests and crossing rivers. The drawing above showed Daisy being carried on a large basket by a crowd of villagers, with a crown on her head showing off that she was seen as the village's leader: 'After days of running, she made it to a nearby village and became a legend for her bravery.'

The girls were so engrossed in the book that they didn't notice Sandra enter the room until she cleared her throat. "Girls, how about we take a break from reading and play a game before getting ready for bed?"

Rachel and Clementine looked up, slightly disappointed to be pulled away from their books, but nodded in agreement.

Sandra looked at the haphazard pile of books scattered across the floor and sighed. "Well first, let's put away all these books," she said. The girls eagerly jumped into action, their hands quickly scooping up the books and sorting them back onto the shelf. Clementine lifted her father's engineering books, while the girls handled the old hand-me-down books and finally the children's books, placing them last with care. Clementine reached out for the final book, but it slipped from her grasp and hit the floor with a thud.
Rachel looked up from her bookshelf rearrangement, "Oh, you okay, Clem?" she asked, gently pushing her own book into place.

Clementine nodded and picked up the book that had fallen. "Yeah, it's okay," she replied before turning her attention back to Sandra. "We're ready!" she exclaimed with excitement.

Sandra smiled down at the two girls. "Alrighty, we're going to play hide 'n seek," she said, the excitement in her voice mirroring the girls. "I'll count to thirty while you girls hide somewhere in this room."

The girls' faces lit up at the mention of hide n' seek, having played it many times before. Clementine ran over to the dining table and grabbed two two-way radios. She handed one to Sandra, while she and Rachel kept the other one.

"We can use these to give you clues!" Clementine suggested excitedly.

Rachel nodded. "Like Hot 'n Cold! I play that with my brother all the time!" she added, eager to show off.

Sandra tested the radio by clicking the red button on the side and then turning it off again. "Alrighty, I'll count to twenty while you girls go hide. Ready? Go!" she said. Sandra turned around, blocking her eyes with her hands as she began to count backwards from twenty. The girls wasted no time, darting towards the closet near the backdoor, jostling each other as they scrambled inside. Clementine slid the door shut behind them, and they were engulfed in the soft light seeping through the keyhole in the door.

Sandra's voice drifted over, "Six... five... four... three... two... one! Ready or not, here I come!" And so, the game of hide and seek began. Sandra prowled around the living room, peering under the coffee table and then venturing up the stairs slightly. Suddenly, her radio crackled, and a whisper emerged.

"Coldest!"

She must be close, the girls thought. Sandra checked the bottom cabinets, but no one was there. She returned to the living area and listened as the radio chirped again.

"Colder!"
If she was colder in the kitchen, that meant the girls were hiding somewhere near there. Sandra's gaze fell on the closet, and she made her way towards it, step by silent step.

Rachel leaned to the right and peered out of the keyhole. She saw Sandra creeping closer to the kitchen, her eyes fixed on the closet door. Rachel tapped Clementine's shoulder and placed a finger to her lips. "She's coming!" she whispered.

Clementine pressed the button on her radio to give Sandra a clue, but before she could say anything, the closet door swung open, and Rachel leaped out, catching Sandra off guard.

"Raaaah!" Rachel shouted, laughing as she pointed at Sandra's slightly flustered expression. The teenager quickly regained her composure and snatched Rachel by her dress, holding her like a pillow under her arm. Sandra's gaze shifted to Clementine, who attempted to dash past her but was caught up in her playful wrath.

"Oh-hooo no you don't. C'mere!" Sandra grabbed the loose girl while still holding a giggling and squirming Rachel under her right arm. "Gotcha!"
"Ha-ha-ha! No fair, we're too little!" Clementine exclaimed.

Sandra playfully swung them around, saying, "Well, the littler you two are, the easier it is for the tickle monster to get you!" With that, she launched into a frenzy of tickling, her fingers running all over their arms. The room practically echoed with laughter.

As they settled down, the girls collapsed onto the soft rug, breathing heavily and grinning from ear to ear. Sandra plopped down beside them, looking every bit as satisfied as they did. "That was fun," she said, "but I think it's time for bed."

"But we're not really tired yet," Rachel yawned, "can we stay up a bit longer?"

"C'mon, Rach. One game and we'd get ready for bed. That's the deal." Sandra reminded them. "How will you make it to the Zoo if you're falling asleep on the way there?"
"Are we really going to the Zoo?!" Clementine chirped.

"Well, that depends if you girls can—"

Scritch-scritch...
The trio stop their conversation and look towards the direction of the front door. The girls look at one another before Sandra stood up and walked to the door. She looked through the peephole, trying to make out whosever face was blocking her view. But she could only make out a blurry, distorted silhouette.

"Is it the mailman?" Clementine asked, curiously. Sandra shook her head.

"I don't think so, it's almost eight-thirty. Besides, they would've just left the mail in the mailbox..." Sandra noted.

"Maybe it's a stray kitty?" Rachel wondered.

The scratching noise at the door was a harsh and almost grating sound that echoed through the living room. It was a persistent and rhythmic noise, almost as if someone was scraping their fingernails against the hard surface of the door. Each scratch seemed to grow louder and more insistent, a feeling of unease settled in the pit of Sandra's stomach. The sound continued, it seemed to increase in intensity, becoming more and more frantic. The noise was accompanied by faint tapping sound, like something... or someone, was trying to gain entry into the house.

It was clear, at least to the oldest of the group, that this was not a cat.

Sandra turned to face the two girls, who looked at her with puzzled expressions. Concern etched across her face, Sandra gestured for them to step back behind her, allowing her to take the lead. With cautious hands, she turned the lock on the door knob before doing the same to the lock above it. As Sandra turned the knob and pulled the door open a dark figure lunged forward, grabbing her by the shoulders with a dead weight grip as if they were pushing their whole body upon her. Sandra's body jerked backward, her feet slipping on the smooth surface, as the sudden force sent the two girls behind her stumbling into each other.

The young girls screamed in terror, their eyes wide with shock as they watch the stranger overpower Sandra. The suddenness of the attack left them frozen as Sandra and the attacker tumbled to the ground. The stranger was on top of Sandra, pinning her down with their weight, and she struggled to break free. Her muscles strained as she pushed against the stranger's face with force, but to no avail.

In a moment of desperation, Sandra clawed at the stranger's face with her free hand, digging her nails into their skin. Even as she clearly drew blood, the assailant didn't flinch, their grip on her arm only tightened as they leaned in and sunk their teeth into her bare flesh. Sandra let out a sharp cry of pain, her body writhing as she tried to shake the attacker off.

The girls, still rooted in fear, watched in horror as Sandra continued to fight for her life. They knew they had to act fast, call the police, maybe even hit the stranger with something, but their bodies refused to move. The air was thick with the sound of Sandra's grunts and the stranger's growls, the struggle for dominance playing out before their eyes.

"S-Stop it!" Clementine managed to blurt out. The attacker stopped their feast on Sandra's now mutilated arm. They turn their head towards her and she could see their face clearly. Their skin was a sickly grey, and their eyes were dull and lifeless. The stranger's clothes hung off its emaciated frame, torn and stained with blood and dirt. Its limbs seemed to drag and move without any conscious control, crawling forward and back as it struggled to maintain its balance. They emitted a low, guttural moan, a sound that sent chills up the young girl's spine the minute she heard it. Its movements were slow and sluggish, but there was an obvious sense of menace and hunger that made it clear that this person... no... this thing wasn't human.

Rather, it just happened to look like one.

The wretched thing detached from Sandra's limp body and dragged its mangled form towards form towards the girls, its movements erratic and unnatural. Its decaying limbs twitched and waved as it approached them, its rotting stench in the air suddenly more obvious to them. With a guttural moan, it moved towards them, its gnarled fingers outstretched and grasping for them.

Clementine and Rachel bolted from the monster and toward the back door, their hearts pounding with fear. But the creature once again got the upper hand, and its cold, lifeless hand caught hold of Clementine's ankle, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. She cried out in surprise and terror as the creature dragged itself towards her.
The creature's attention snapped to Sandra as she tugged at its leg with her good arm, using all her waning might to pull it away from Clementine. The monster made no move toward her but Sandra's distraction had worked—Clementine was able to scramble back slightly. But the monster noticed this and renewed its attention back to her and once again snatched at the girl's ankle.

Rachel didn't hesitate. She let go of Clementine's hand and darted to the girl's aid, her heart pounding loudly in her chest and to her ears. Summoning all her courage, and using what her mom taught her to, Rachel landed a solid boot to the monster's head, her foot connecting with a sickening thud. Clementine, emboldened by Rachel's bravery, followed up with another kick to the monster's face.

With a sickening thud the monster's grotesque face smashed into the cold hardwood floor. Finally, its grip on Clementine's foot loosened and she scrambled to retrieve her walkie-talkie. The girls waste no time in making a break for the door, their adrenaline fully running. As they dashed out into the warm sunset, Clementine slammed the glass door shut behind them, the sound echoing through the backyard.

Breathlessly, they sprinted towards the safety of the treehouse. It wasn't until they heard the sound of Sandra's hand hitting the glass door that they slowed down, cautiously looking back. Through smeared glass, they saw her bloodied hand trailing down, her body going limp.