Ray pulled himself to the edge of his seat and watched the children huddle at the far side of the pool. They jumped at the same time and each one whined or screamed in a different way.
He ran to the aid of the children, whose fear rendered them incapable of climbing the ladder.
"What's the matter? What happened?" He asked, as he pulled them out of the water.
Their heavy breathing drowned out his words. They sat at the picnic table, their faces remained in wide-eyed stares.
"There was—," Danika, the oldest granddaughter, started, "An animal in the bushes."
"No," Lucas, the second oldest, shook his head, "No, it was a person."
Ray had the youngest boy seated on his knee. The child hugged his chest and shook.
Dianne ran down the stairs from the deck to the lawn. She grabbed a shovel and stalked closer to the far side of the pool.
The bushes beyond the fence rustled. The snap of a twig made her flinch.
She held her weapon close to her body. She strangled the wooden handle. Slivers broke free and punctured her palms.
A mumbling sound made her freeze.
The bushes shuttered and a young woman stood from them. Her clothing looked like fitted potato sacks. Her skin was ghost-like. Her eyes were blood shot. Her body was covered in scars and fresh wounds. Crimson lines striped her shins. The young woman's face was smeared in the same substance that leaked from her recent injuries.
Dianne lifted the shovel and took a step forward. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"
The girl stood still. Her hands were motionless. She murmured.
Dianne lowered her arms and took another step forward. "What do you want?"
"You." She whispered.
The squeak of the sliding door made the girl cover her ears.
Dianne looked up at the deck and then back to the bush where the stranger had been. She was gone.
YOU ARE READING
The Franklin Series: Forgotten| On hold
HorrorBook four, the final book, of The Franklin Series Once upon a time she was a daughter to a loving family. Since she went missing ten years ago, the searches stopped and her parents lost all hope they would ever find their child. Now she is loose. B...
