The Book of Death, Alexis Sapp [ebook offline .txt] 📗

All I could think was 'This can't be happening.' I walked in to wake her. She was laying perfectly still in bed, barely breathing. There was a book open next to her. When Abby saw me, she whispered something. It sounded like 'Burn the book.'I didn't know what to do. After she spoke, she died. I panicked. I mean I had just watched her die. What was I supposed to do? I froze. It took a minute for the full impact of what had just happened to hit me. And believe me, when it hit me, it hit me like a bullet train. I fell to my knees,not daring to make a sound. I didn't want to wake my parents. My eyes were watering, but I blinked back the tears. I thought to myself 'Be strong May.'

For a minute all I could do was sit there. Then I thought, 'Wait, she said burn the book, what was that supposed to mean?' I raised my head and for the first time, dared to look towards Abby. I saw the book open next to her. I knew what I had to do now. I got to my feet, being careful not to make a sound. By the time I was on my feet the room was spinning. My mind was rushing. I kept thinking over and over 'This can't be happening, this can't be happening.' But it was. I just couldn't believe it. I closed my eyes. I squeezed them shut, determined to open them and find this was all a dream. When I opened my eyes, I saw that, to my disappointment, nothing had changed. Abby was still dead, and the book was still there, open where my sister took her last, agonizing breaths. My parents would be up soon, then all chances of getting the book were lost for good. If I was to get the book, I had to hurry. I shuffled quietly over to Abby's bedside. Once I was there I snuck a quick glance at the book, and I noticed something. There were vines growing out of the book. Lots of them. They were covered in sharp deadly looking spikes. How I didn't notice before, I will never know. I guess I was in shock, I mean if you read the beginning of this, you can see why I was a little unobservant at the time. If you don't get that then seriously, reread it. I mean, I had watched my sister die.

Anyway, I didn't really have time to hesitate so I shoved the vines in and slammed the book closed. Once I had the book I tip-toed back to my room, taking care to shut Abby's door on the way out. After I had set the book down in my room I closed the door with a click.
I heard my parents stirring downstairs, and knew they would be up to wake me and Abby soon. I shoved the book behind my desk and hopped into bed, shutting off my lamp somewhere in between those two. I had all of two seconds to settle in before I heard heavy footsteps in the hall. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing so my parents would think I was asleep. I heard footsteps just outside my bedroom door. My heart was racing. I struggled to keep up the act. My door opened with a light squeaking sound. I heard my mom tiptoe to my bed side. She put a hand on my back and shook me lightly. "Wake up May." She said with a gentle tone. "It's time to get ready for school." I groaned and stretched, pretending she had just woke me up. "Hi mom." I spoke tiredly. "Good morning honey. Get up and dressed okay?" I blinked a few times and smiled. " Okay."

Just as I had finished talking I heard my dad's voice. "Um Linda..!" My mom replied calmly, having no idea what was going on. "Yes dear?" "Um... you might want to come here for a minute, there's something wrong with Abby. Um.. come quickly." "On my way." My mom looked at me and nodded, in a dismissive sort of way. She stood up and hurried out of my room, shutting the door behind her. I heard her voice down the hall a few moments later. "OH MY GOD!!" My dad spoke next, trying to calm her. "Shh.. May is just a few doors down. We don't want her to hear about this until Abby's body is gone. We'll say that Abby is staying home sick, and tell her when she gets home from school." I had to listen at the door to hear my dad's part. "Okay I'll tell her she's walking to school by herself today." "I'll make sure someone comes to get Abby."

I heard my mom's footsteps in the hall so I rushed over to my closet and pretended I was trying to pick out an outfit. I was looking at my jeans, deciding on a color when my mom walked in. I turned around gingerly. "Hey mom, what's up?" My mom's eyes were sunk, but her mouth wore a giant, fake grin. I hate when adults try to pretend everything's okay. I wish they would just tell us the truth instead of lying to us. I mean really, who do they think they're fooling? She spoke in a voice so cheery it made me want to vomit. "May, your sister is sick, so you'll be walking to school by yourself today." "Okay mom. Which color? Red, blue or purple?" "Oh, definitely blue. It brings out your eyes." "Okay, thanks mom. Be down in a few."

My mom nodded and went downstairs. Once I was sure she was gone I retrieved the book from behind my desk. I read the spine. It said 'The book of death.' Sounded like a good read. I knew it wasn't though. Obviously,like, read the last few pages. I'm not going to write this all down if you're not going to pay that close attention to it.

I slipped the book into my backpack. I went back to my closet and grabbed my blue skinny jeans and a blue T-shirt. Normally I don't really care if my outfits match, but today just seems like a good day to look good. I go over to my vanity and look in the mirror. My hair is disheveled, my eyes puffy. I straightened my hair, which makes it look a little better. Then I throw it up into a side ponytail and tied a blue ribbon in it. as much as I hate to admit it, I looked pretty good. I was a pretty lucky child. Both my parents were doctors. Money was never really a problem, but on any normal day you wouldn't have guessed it by looking at me. My usual outfit consists of whatever T-shirt happens to be clean, and whatever jeans aren't dirt stained. For shoes I would normally just wear whatever shoes I could find. Today after I was dressed and my hair was done I put on some eyeliner. Jet black, as always. I put on my blue and black plaid converse. Normally my shoes don't match whatsoever. Heck, half the time they don't even match each other.

I collected my phone and chap stick and set them gently in my right pocket, chap stick towards the inside, phone towards the outside. That's how it always was. Everyday in the same place. I'll admit I was literally addicted to a certain brand of chap stick I used, but it's not like anything bad came out of it, I just felt weird without it. Another addiction of mine was gum. I couldn't really focus unless I had gum in my mouth. A habit I would soon have to break. I was supposed to be getting braces in the next few months. I was thinking that when I got my braces I would get it so it was a rainbow across my teeth. Then it would always match and it would be just plain awesome. So anyway, I had a few odd addictions, nothing harmful. Expensive, yes, hurtful in anyway whatsoever, nah.

Once I was dressed I brushed my teeth and stuck a piece of gum in my mouth. I walked down the stairs as quietly as I could so that I could try to catch some of my parents' conversation over their morning coffee. I'll admit, I have a total lack of respect for authority. Matter of fact, I loathe it. I pretty much do what I want because people have given up on disciplining me. If my parents dared tell me to do anything they got a stream of disrespect and foul language that made it easier to just do whatever it was themselves.

Once I had reached the base of the steps I ducked behind the wall separating the kitchen and living room. I put my ear to the wall and listened. I heard my mom's voice first. " Oh man, Abby was only fifteen. I just can't believe it. And May is gonna be devastated." "Yeah I know. How are we gonna tell her?" "I don't know. I guess we'll figure it out when the time comes. For now just keep her in the dark until Abby is out of the house." My mom yawned and stood up for more coffee. I stood up and walked back over to the bottom step silently. Then I jumped from the bottom step to the ground to make it clear I was there. My parents fell silent instantaneously. They both looked in my direction.

"Hey mom, hey dad." My dad smiled a huge fake grin and kicked my mom under the table. She perked up and smiled too. My dad spoke to me for the first time that morning. "Hey honey. Do you need anything?" "What? Oh, no just wanted to see if you needed me to pick anything up on the way home from school." My mom piped up. "Oh, no. We don't need anything. Thank you for the offer though." The fake happiness in her voice made me sick to my stomach. "Okay, well I'm off to school now. See ya this afternoon." The tenderness in my voice was almost as bad as my mother's. Gag. I didn't walk away just yet. I was waiting for some sort of response. I figured I wouldn't get one though. So, for about a minute we all stood there. Grinning at each other, waiting for somebody to do something. Of course nobody did so I tilted my head, nodded,turned on my heel and headed back up the stairs to get my backpack. I closed the door behind me when I got to my room. I walked over to my backpack and picked it up. I took one last look at the book and threw my backpack on my back. I turned my back for a few seconds to get a hair tie.

So, just as I'm thinking to myself how dangerous this book probably is, there's a rapping on my window. I knew at that point it couldn't be anything good. I ran. I didn't even look out the window, just ran. I only stopped to grab a pocketknife on the way out. I bolted down the stairs and sprinted out the door. My parents didn't even seem to notice as I passed them. They were encased in some kind of trance. The way my neighborhood is set up, everyone shares a backyard, it's just a