Family Or Rivals

• Olivia Thyrd, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2022

“Dude, we are NOT asking the dragon for help.”
“For the last time, she is not a dragon, she is your mother.”
“Same thing.”
I stared into Alessandro’s emerald-green eyes. They pierced into my soul, and he had that cheeky grin spreading across his face. He always gets like that when he’s about to do something crazy.
We strode up to the arched doorway, the cracked paint on the door showing the years that it had watched go by. Three sharp knocks echoed in the hallway on the other side. As the door slowly opened, those same green eyes searched for who had disturbed her privacy through the crack. Sometimes it was scary how alike Ale was to his mother.
“My darling son!,” Lilith said as she swung open the door. “I haven’t seen you for so lon- “
“How do you get rid of a body?”
Great way to start of a conversation with your mother Ale. Lilith led us through the house with a proud look on her face. You would think that would be odd, being proud of your son for trying to cover up a murder. But you begin to understand why that is as you walk past all her trophies from her previous victims. The mind of a serial killer is an interesting thing.
“Don’t breathe on that, it’s expensive”, Lilith told us as we walked past a spoon collection. Like I said, interesting.
The living room was dimly lit by only a few candles and a fireplace. It was both comforting and creepy at the same time. I don’t really know how that’s possible, but it was. An old wooden clock hung on the wall above a bookshelf full of human hair and teeth. Nobody needs to ask where she got those from.

It seemed like we had been walking for hours through the forest. Tree after tree. Of course, there was no sign of a body. Or even any sign that something out of normal had happened. That’s because that’s exactly what had happened. Nothing. Not yet anyways. We didn’t tell Lilith that. We told her we had killed someone deep in the forest and that, since she the expert in getting away with these sorts of things, we could really use her help. Now we had her right where we wanted her. Eventually, Lilith stopped shortly in front of us, looking around for something that wasn’t there.
“I don’t see any signs of a body. I would rather be dead than keep walking!” Lilith said, concern starting to creep into her voice.
“Then do we have some good news for you.” I slowly pulled a knife I had stolen from her kitchen out of my bag. I stared straight into her fear filled eyes as Ale grabbed her from behind.
This is where the fun begins.