Vivian

My little sister was and always will be my little angel.

I was very close with my sister, Brielle, who I cared for as my own daughter. We were seven years apart, me being seven-years-old when she was born, watching my mother die as she held her newborn baby girl in her arms; the birth had been too much for her. My father was always working in the Science Lab at the university, and even though I wished so badly for me to be there with him, watching him experiment like I always loved to do, I took care of Brielle, filling in as her mother at seven-years-old.

I made her bottles, taught her how to walk, potty-trained her, and I even cried when she was five-years-old and went to her first day of Kindergarten.I had watched her grow up, and learn her ABC's, count to 100 and tell me the names of all of our Presidents. I was a very proud sister, and very protective of her just as a mother would be for their child. The first time she really got hurt, she fell down the stairs of our house, needing to get stitches in her forehead, and I completely panicked, crying with her as they stitched her cut shut.

One summer, in August, when Brielle was seven and I was fourteen, my father took us on vacation to Brazil, even though for him it was more like a trip for work because he always left us on our own as he went into the Amazon Rainforest with a group of people, harvesting rare plants for their research.

Brielle was extremely antsy, sitting cooped up in the house we were staying in, and she was bouncing off of the walls, driving me insane even though I usually was very patient with her.

"What do you want to do?" I asked Brielle one day, after she had decided to make a fort in the middle of the living room, using up all of the blankets, pillows, and couch cushions.

"I want to go exploring like daddy," Brielle told me, popping her head out through the opening of her fort. Her red hair, that matched mine, was braided in pigtails, her freckles spotting over her nose.

"We can't go out into the jungle," I reasoned with her. "It's too dangerous for us. There's lots of wild animals." I emphasized the last part making her eyes go wide.

"Wild animals?" her voice was excited, ringing around the room. "Oh please Viv! Can we please go? I've wanted to see a dinosaur in real life for my whole life!"

I laughed. "You're only seven, you'll have chances when you're older. Plus, there are no more dinosaurs. They're extinct."

"Extinct like mommy?" Her eyes were curious, yet sad. My heart broke.

"Let's not talk about mommy, sweetie," I told her, walking closer to her fort. Truth was, the pain of losing my mother had never gone away, but I tried to numb myself every day by being a mother figure for Brielle.

"Then are we going exploring?" Brielle crawled out from under the blankets and ran up to me, wrapping her arms around my thighs. "Please, Viv! I promise it won't be dangerous. I'll make sure of it!" She looked up towards me, her eyes begging me to say yes.

"Okay," I agreed, making her squeal as she let go of my legs so that she could jump in excitement. "But only a couple of feet in, that's it. If we go too far, we will get lost."

Brielle nodded her head enthusiastically, running for her shoes and slipping them on her feet and knotting the shoe ties. She held my hand as she skipped and we made our way to the jungle, towards the same spot I had seen my father and his fellow scientists enter.

"Brielle," I said, squeezing her hand. "You stay right by me, and we are only staying out her for a couple of minutes. Dad would be so mad if something happened."

"Okay," she replied, letting go of my hand as we stepped into the jungle. Her and I were both silent as we gazed at this new world around us.

The tree trunks were the widest I had ever seen in my life, thick green vines hanging down from every branch. It reminded me of Tarzan, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he came swinging by in his leopard print loincloth.

As I was gazing around at the scenery, I felt something missing. I glanced down to where Brielle had been, to find her gone. My head spun around frantically, hoping that she would just be crouched down looking at something, but she was no where to be seen. I immediately panicked.

"Brielle!" I yelled her name, walking in one direction, then turning back the other way. "BRIELLE!" My voice became more shrill, tears filling my eyes as my heart seemed like it was about to pound out of my chest.

The line of the jungle began to disappear and soon I found myself lost, not knowing which direction I had come in. I stumbled through the rainforest floor, falling a couple of times and scraping my hands and knees, but I continued to get up and yell her name again.

A scream of pain and terror filled my ears, making my body go still. "Brielle!" I yelled again, as I heard another scream, this one more of a cry. I went in the direction of her voice, weaving around trees and vines.

Brielle's cry got closer and closer to me as I made my way towards her. I dodged around a tree as I ran and finally saw her. Her braids were coming undone, tears running down her red face, her hands clenching her leg, blood pouring out underneath them.

"Oh my god, Brielle," I said, a slight relief coming over me that I had at least found her, but then panic hitting me once again as I eyed the amount of blood on her.

Brielle's eyes didn't glance towards me as I spoke to her. Instead, they stayed focused on something else in front of her. My eyes slowly trailed to the spot she was staring at, and I ran to Brielle to protect her, willing to put my body in front of hers if I had to.

I never looked away from the animal, the creature, that stood a few yards away from us, watching us. I almost thought it was a panther at first, with its pointed ears, four legs, and black body, but the longer I looked the more I realized that it wasn't a panther. Its black color wasn't fur, but instead a slimy black texture that looked like wet rubber. The creature's face wasn't short either like a panthers would be, instead it was more sharp, it's fangs hanging down over its jaw. Blood dripped from its fangs, its eyes a crimson red that stared at us hungrily.

Slowly, the creature started to back away, fading into the jungle, disappearing as if it had never even existed. I kept my eyes fixed on the spot it had left, waiting for it to return, but after a couple of seconds I turned my attention to my bleeding hysterical sister.

I pulled her hands away from calf, almost falling backwards as I saw the damage. A deep red ring, of different teeth marks, went around her whole leg, with no tears. I puzzled as to why the creature didn't tear away at her leg, eating her, why it had only bit her and walked away, but I pushed the thought aside, seeing my sister's face go pale.

"Vivvy," Brielle said quietly. "I don't feel good."

"It's okay sweetie," I told her. "I'll get you home and we'll go to a doctor."

I lifted her up into my arms, cradling her like a baby, even though it was difficult for her size, but she nestled her head into my arm, making my strength grow in numbers.

I was careful where I stepped as I made my way away from the spot of her attack, towards where I had come from. Once I got to a tree that looked familiar, I was completely lost again. I walked around for what seemed hours, but I'm sure it was only thirty minutes, and my arms and legs began to give out on me.

Finally, I saw a break in the trees and by some miracle, I stepped out of the jungle, eying the house, just up the hill. My legs had feeling again and I ran, with Brielle in my arms, towards the front door. Our dad was already outside.

"Vivian!" He yelled, still wearing his exploring gear. "Where have you two been? Do you realize how worried..." His voice trailed off as he saw the blood covering Brielle and I. "Oh my god, what happened?"

Dad didn't give me time to answer as he snatched Brielle out of my arms and ran to the car, me following behind them. He laid her down across the backseat, and hopped into the driver's side as I hopped in the other side watching him fumble with the keys nervously.

"Just go Dad!" I yelled at him, turning over the seat to look at Brielle.

"Vivian," Dad said calmly. "Not another word."

I zipped my lips, nerves filling my body the whole way to the hospital.

The doctors fixed up Brielle's leg, finding no sign of any kind of infection and released us to her that night. After a good talking to from Dad to Brielle and I, he booked us a flight home the next day.

The first night we got back from Brazil, Brielle got sick.

She threw up any form of liquid that we gave her, even water, her eyes becoming bloodshot from all of the retching. We took her to the hospital again, afraid that she had contracted some virus, but once again the doctors found nothing, but kept her overnight to hydrate her with IV's.

When Brielle woke up the next morning in her hospital bed, it was as if she was never sick. The blood vessels in her eyes had popped and were still red but a smile lit up her face when she saw all of the balloons tied to her bed.

We took her home, Dad happy that everything ended up okay, but me in the back of my mind worrying. Could her sickness have had something to do with that creature? Did it give her some kind of disease that the medicine industry doesn't know about?

My fears began to fade as months went by and Brielle was as healthy as she could ever possibly be. Her eighth birthday passed, Dad's work leaving me to plan the party, she got all A's on her report card and I helped her get over her fear of swimming in our pool only ten months after me thinking that I was going to lose her forever.

At the end of June, Brielle had her first episode. She wanted to go to the park down the street after dark and I had said no, Dad would have said no too if he were home. A rage boiled out of her that I had never seen before, not even from a grown man.

Her face turned purple as she screamed at me, her fists clenching so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms, cutting her skin. I just stood paralyzed, shocked at what was happening, too afraid to do anything. She frightened me like this. She didn't look like an eight-year-old as she screamed at me; she looked like something else.

Suddenly, as if there had been an off switch, Brielle caught her breath, her face turning back its neutral color and started to watch TV again. My hands started to shake, my breathing uneven, my legs gave out underneath me and I dropped to the floor. The clunk of my knees, made Brielle turn around. She looked at me confused.

"Are you okay, Vivvy?" she asked me innocently. "What's wrong?"

My mouth popped open. She truly had no idea what had just happened.

"You look scared," she said quietly, looking around the room. "Did you see a ghost? I told you we had one."

I found the need to lie to her, protect her from herself. "Yes!" I said, my voice shaky. "I thought I saw something, but maybe I was wrong." I hoped to God I was wrong.

"It's okay," Brielle said, smiling. "He's probably like Casper, the friendly ghost."

"I hope so." But I knew that I was hoping for way too much.

Brielle's episodes became more and more frequent, always forgetting what happened, Dad seeing a couple of them in the few times he was home. One time her nose started to bleed and she coughed up blood, spewing it all over the floor.

Dad took time off of work, taking her to hospital after hospital, sometimes traveling to ones across the country, trying to find out what was wrong with our Brielle. Every single doctor said the same thing.

"I'm sorry," they said. "There seems to be nothing wrong with your daughter. We can't help you."

Dad grew more and more frustrated, working in his lab at home, trying to find his own reasoning for what was wrong with Brielle, but every night he came home empty handed.

One night, almost the day of the anniversary of our jungle scare, Brielle asked for ice cream.

"I want chocolate," she said, smiling as she sat at the table.

"All we have is vanilla, Brielle," I told her as I scooped the ice cream out of the tub and into her bowl. I walked to the table, placing the bowl and a spoon in front of her. I turned to go back into the kitchen, her voice stopping me dead in my tracks.

"I said I wanted chocolate," she said, not sounding like herself. Her voice was deep and demonic, slithering out of her lips. I slowly turned around and saw that same look in her eye that she got every time she had an episode.

I kept quiet, knowing that anything I say will just set her off. I ached inside looking at my little angel, who always did what she was told with no questions asked, just to make me, her big sister, happy. Now a deep hatred filled her gaze as she looked me up and down, waiting for me to say something.

"Give me what I WANT!" Brielle yelled, slamming her fist down onto the table, making her bowl shake.

Dad tiptoed into the kitchen, his eyes just as sad as mine, knowing what was about to happen. Brielle saw his figure in her peripherals and spun her head to look at him.

"What are you doing here?" she sneered at him. "Why don't you just go back to work? I hate you."

We had both heard those three words a lot now, but every time it stung just as bad. I heard dad take a breath, as I kept my gaze fixed on Brielle, waiting for her to snap.

"I love you, Brielle," he said, timidly. "Vivian and I both love you very much."

"Shut the fuck up!" My eight-year-old sister screamed. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

Tears started to fill my eyes and I covered my mouth with my hands, trying to control my sobs, but they crept out through my fingers, echoing across the room.

Brielle, suddenly stopped screaming. "I hate you most of all, you bitch," she said, standing up from her chair, stepping around the table.

I slowly stepped back, from my little sister, afraid at what she might do. She matched me for every step I took, an evil smile creeping onto her face as I backed into the counter, having no further to move.

"Brielle, stop!" Dad yelled, but I knew it was no use as she closed the distance between us.

"You're always treating me like I'm a baby, and I'm not," Brielle whispered menacingly to me. "You're not my mother. My mother is dead, just like you're going to be."

I was confused by her last words, making me unprepared for what happened next. Brielle, grabbed the ends of my long hair and yanked me down to the ground, pieces of it ripping out into her hands. She climbed on top of me, throwing away the hair in her hand and began to pummel me with her fists, punching me in my jaw, breaking my nose.

I couldn't fight back. She was my angel. I closed my eyes, taking every hit she gave me, tears making a constant river out of my eyes. Dad tried to pull her off of me, grabbing at her arms, pulling at her ears and hair, but somehow little Brielle fought him off, and started to claw my face.

Finally, Dad pulled her off of me, her legs kicking and slamming me in the ribs in the process. I sat up when she was off of me, feeling my face and gazing at the blood that covered my fingers. I began to sob again, pain filling my face and my heart.

"Daddy?" Brielle suddenly asked, her voice simply innocent. "What's wrong with Vivvy? Why are you grabbing me like this?"

Dad let go of her, her arms falling limply to her sides. She looked at her bloody, swollen hands, her eyes widening, holding them away from her like she could get rid of them.

"No, no, no," she cried, falling onto the floor. "It was me, Vivvy!" She cried, crawling towards me.

I cried with her, holding my arms out to her, as she nestled herself in them, sobbing uncontrollably. I could hear Dad crying with us, as he bent down to wrap his arms around the both of us, holding us close to him.

After Brielle went to bed, and my nose had been reset at the ER, Dad pulled me aside in the kitchen where the attack had happened.

"It can't go on like this Viv," He whispered to me, afraid that Brielle might be listening. "I can't let her hurt you like that again. She can't hurt anyone like that."

"Well, what is there we can do Dad?" I asked, feeling defeated. "No one will help us. They say she's just having temper tantrums, and her form of coping is acting like it didn't happen. But I know it's something more. She truly forgets what happened, it's like she blacks out or something takes over her."

"I know what I'm going to do about it," he said, sure of himself. "And I need you to let me go through with this. It's going to be hard for us, but it will keep all of us safe."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, worried that he might be planning on killing her.

"I'm going to lock her in the basement until I figure out what else I can do." I opened my mouth to protest but he continued. "I know it sounds horrible and I hate having to do this. But we can move her whole bedroom down there, give her a TV and toys. We can bring food down to her and if she starts to have an episode, we'll run out and lock her in."

"Dad.. that's horrible," I said, my eyes filling with tears again.

"It's our only choice," he said, as he bowed his head, and walked into his bedroom, closing the door tight behind him.

We moved Brielle to the basement the next day, Brielle excited the whole time, feeling like she had her own house.

"All this space for me?!" She asked, not believing this was really happening. "This is so cool!"

Dad and I both kept quiet, not wanting to say anything to set her off. It turns out that was the wrong decision.

"WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING TO ME!?" She screamed, stomping her feet.

Dad grabbed my arm, yanking me up the stairs and slamming the door shut and locking it just as Brielle's fists pounded against the door. She screamed at the top of her lungs for an hour, her voice eventually giving out. We weren't sure if she completely went back to normal, or if she was just staring at the door, waiting for us to open it so that she could kill us.

I couldn't leave her alone down there though. The next morning I opened the basement door, finding the bed and empty of her.  I looked towards the TV, seeing it turned on cartoons, but her little body wasn't perched in front of it giggling at their ridiculous jokes.

"Brielle?" I asked hesitantly, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

In response I heard a low growl. I spun my head to the corner of the basement, to her standing motionless, her eyes locked onto mine. Her green eyes were replaced by a pair of cold, midnight black ones. Her head cocked the side, taking a deep breath as if she was trying to find my scent.

I reached my hand back to the stair rail, taking a step backwards onto the first step. Brielle suddenly let out an ear piercing scream and sprinted towards me, her teeth bared and her fingers clawing the air.

I turned around sprinting up the stairs, staring at the door like it seemed so far away. Brielle's fingers wrapped around my ankles, tripping me, my knees knocking against the wood as my face slammed down into a step.

Brielle sprung on top of me, pinning me awkwardly to the stairs. I heard her snarling behind me, and I spun around under her wait to look at her.

This was not my Brielle. This was a monster. Her irises were so black they matched her pupils, her breathing heavy between her teeth. Her jaw opened wide like she was about to take a bite out of me.

A gunshot rang from above me, and I watched as a bullet entered the skull of my little sister, blood squirting from the hole in the middle of her forehead. Her body fell limp onto mine, her heavy breathing replaced by nothing.

I trembled with her on top of me, not wanting to move because then that would mean that this was all real, this wasn't a dream. My little angel was dead.

I began to scream as if I were about to die, and I did die on the inside that day. I held her as my Dad ran down the stairs with a syringe in his arm.

"Daddy, why!?" I screamed, calling him daddy for the first time in years. "Why Brielle!?"

"I don't know, Vivian," he replied, crying with me. He held out her arm, sticking the syringe into her skin and extracting her blood.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I screeched at him, yanking the syringe out of her arm and pulling her dead body away from him.

"Keeping her blood," Dad replied calmly, tears still streaming down his face.

"For what?"

"Revenge."

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