Intrusion

The little girl ran towards a large oak tree; her yellow ribbon flapped among her copper-colored locks. She was wearing a sleeveless, vivid-colored dress with a pink butterfly embroidered on its chest. She hid behind the tree and placed her face at its edge, trying to catch her breath. From this angle, she would see her brother coming before he discovered her hiding spot. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, smiling. Her dad had told her he would bring them to a pretty point in the forest, but he never prepared them for the true beauty of the place. Here, Bobby and Laura were free to play as much as their hearts desired; no speeding cars or upset neighbors were yelling at them because the ball passed their side of the fence. Laura sneak-picked again, and this time she saw Bobby closing in. He had a stick and was shuffling the thick layer of decaying leaves surrounding the area. Bobby raised his head and looked around. Seeing his sister's ribbon standing out from the tree trunk a few meters ahead of him, he acted as if he didn't notice but instead moved towards his left. Laura held her breath; she didn't want to betray her position. Bobby had already won the first two rounds, but she knew she could beat him.

"Where is she hiding? Laura? Where are you, you little fart?" Bobby said, raising his voice. He was sure his sister wasn't aware that he saw her. He was about to approach her slowly from this side and then sprint to her so he could win their game.

"You are the fart, lowlife!!" the girl screamed at him, appearing from behind the tree and mockingly showing him her tongue.

"You don't even know what that means! Come here; I'll teach you!!" Bobby threw his stick and ran to catch her.

"Guys, don't stray too far away!" the voice of their mom came from their picnic spot nearby.

"Oookay!" Laura screamed, laughing.

The girl rushed to the nearest cluster of trees, laughing and adorning her brother with additional adjectives, for which she didn't know the true meaning. Before she managed to disappear from Bobby's sight, she tripped on something hard, losing her balance and gracefully falling to the ground. Clang! The sound of hollow metal echoed underneath her. Laura stood up, putting her hands on her knees. They were grazed and hurt a bit. Rust stains were covering her forearms. The girl teared up.

"Bobby, I fell," She said to her brother, who had caught up with her and was now panting. She showed him her arms. Bobby looked at them and scolded her for being careless, then tapped her on the head.

"It's alright, only a scratch, you'll be alright, Laura. What is this thing anyway?" Bobby asked, pointing at the large lid underneath them.

"Oh Bobby, it must have a treasure inside, don't you think?" Laura's eyes were shining with anticipation.

"Hmm. Maybe you are right." Bobby gave it a thought.

"Alright, stay back for a bit." He rolled up his sleeves and held tightly to the handle on top of the lid. It seemed to him that he could unscrew it, but no matter how much force he put in, Bobby didn't manage to make it move.

"It's no use, Laura; it looks old and rusty. I don't think I can do it. Maybe dad will be able to if we ask him."

"But who put it here? I thought we were the only ones that knew about this place. Mom said nobody ever comes in this part of the forest," Laura said curiously.

"No idea sis. Come on, let's go. We can ask mom and dad; they might know something about it. Oh, and don't think I forgot about our game! I'll take you on after we solve this great mystery," Bobby winked at her as he took Laura's hand and stepped off the lid. The two children took their way back to their parents.

They were only a few steps away when a thud faintly echoed from the lid behind them. The both of them paused and turned their heads.

"Bobby?" a voice said from inside the lid. It was faint, like it was coming from far within.

"Bobby are you there?" the voice continued. Bobby was confused, the voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't be sure. He took a step back towards the lid.

"What is it, Bobby?" Laura asked him, puzzled. She didn't seem to have heard the voice.

"Did you hear that?" Bobby said.

"Hear what?" The girl held her breath, trying to listen to anything apart from the local birds' chirping. But even they have cut down their ongoing blabbering. Laura noticed that it was strangely quiet now; it seemed like only the rustle of the tree leaves kept going. The sunlight was dim as if clouds were blocking it, despite the sky being clear. Bobby let go of her and carefully approached the lid. He was sure that he heard someone calling his name, and while it didn't make any sense, he was curious enough to at least check on it.

"Bobby? Help me, Bobby, please." The boy was now positive that the voice was coming from under the lid. Maybe someone had fallen in, and they couldn't find their way out.

"Bobby let's go back; it feels strange here," Laura said, watching her surroundings nervously.

"Just a second, I want to check on something," Bobby answered, reaching the lid and kneeling, putting his head close to it.

"Hello! Is anybody there?" Bobby said, feeling a bit silly and kind of brave as if he was the knight coming to the captive princess' rescue.

"Please, I need help. Can you open the lid, Bobby?"

"I can't; it's stuck," Bobby shouted. He wasn't sure whoever was down there could hear him clearly.

"Who are you talking to, Bobby?" Laura said. She was nervous now; her brother was acting strange. Her first thought was to run to tell their parents, but she didn't want to leave him alone. Bobby ignored her question and grabbed the metallic handle again, bracing his feet to the ground and putting all his strength in turning it counter-clockwise. The boy pushed again and again until his face became red and sweat drops appeared on his forehead. With one final push, the handle finally moved.

"Stop it, Bobby! Come back; you will hurt yourself!" Laura grabbed his arm and pulled him down the lid.

"What are you doing? Leave me alone! I need to help them; can't you hear their cries?" Bobby yelled at her, pointing in the hatch's direction.

"No, sorry, I don't hear anything. But I don't like this; something is not right. Please let's go back," Laura begged him with tears in her eyes. Bobby took a look at the handle and then at his sister.

"Alright. But we're coming back, ok? At least me and dad, you can stay with mom if you want."

"Ok big brother. Can we hurry now, please?"

The girl was shaking, without even knowing why. She grabbed her brother's hand, and he nodded at her. The two kids turned their backs to the hatch. Before making a step, they heard a loud thud. The lid that Bobby had unlocked opened wide, creating a cloud of dust as it broke the fallen, dried leaves on the ground. Bobby turned his head, startled, while Laura shaking more than ever, grabbed him tightly. A low growl came echoing from the hatch. The last, faint sunlight disappeared along with the boy's braveness.

From inside the dusty cloud that filled the opening, a rotten, hairy thing appeared so quickly that Bobby didn't have time even to move a muscle. The thing looked like a hand. It stretched till it grabbed tight to Laura's face while she had her back turned and pulled her violently. The girl's neck snapped, and her head dislocated from its shoulders. Thick blood poured out, covering her dress. The pink butterfly ripped apart as the girl's backbone uprooted, and her ribs opened wide, protruding from her body. The hand drove her lifeless body into the hatch, leaving Bobby screaming with agonizing terror.