an endless road

by LavendrrRat

Summary:

three siblings
a house
night is dangerous
they might make it out
they might not

Notes:

this sorta follows the main storyline of the Break-In Story game, but I put my own characters into it and changed some parts of the story I worked pretty hard on this, enjoy!

Chapter 1: it's quiet here

Notes:

sorry for the short chapter!! xP writer's block was fierce today

“Winter, wake up. We’re here.”

Winter felt someone lightly punch her shoulder. She jolted forward, a messy curtain of unevenly cut black hair falling across her face. She swept it aside, slowly becoming more alert.

“We are?” she asked, sitting up. Zeph nodded, their glasses perched atop their head at a crooked angle. They were in the back of the moving truck due to Ellis having taken over the front, cutting off the passenger seat with a brief smirk, before sending them to the back where they'd been sitting for hours.

Shifting around the boxes, Winter got up. Stepping over a small package, she tentatively pushed on the truck doors. They creaked slightly, and with more resolve she firmly shoved the metal-plated door. The doors swung open, revealing a soft pink-and-orange evening sky, not a cloud to be seen.

The road stretched on behind the truck, seemingly endless.

Stretching her cramped legs, Winter jumped out of the truck, finding herself outside of a cheerful red house. There was a quaint white fence; she could partially see into the yard and saw a small path winding throughout it. She couldn’t help but smile; she was really going to live here.

“C’est très magnifique, non?” Ellis appeared, a giant grin plastered on her face. “This is our new home,” she added more gently, looking encouragingly at her siblings. “I want to explore. Shall we?”

Grasping her older sister’s hand and her sibling’s, Winter felt hope flutter in her chest. Maybe this was a real fresh start — something new and magical and fragile that she could cherish.

The novelty of this will wear off, warned a nagging voice in her head. Something’s wrong, listen.

Winter frowned slightly. It’s fine. She brushed it off without so much as a second thought. Although — something seemed a little off. What was it…?

 

Winter started. Something loud. Jarring. Knocking at the door - who could it be?

Her heart sped up; taking her thoughts with it.

Who is that who is that who is that who is that 

“Coming!” Ellis called out, long dark hair done up in a ponytail. Winter faintly thought about what she’d heard about kidnappers looking for people with their hair up, something about it making them easy targets, but decided against it. What good would that do? Why did that even come to her mind…?

She was just so tired. Something was scratching at her brain, she felt like it was nearly in her grasp but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Exhaustion crept over her, and she leaned against the wall for a moment of solace on the smooth cream wall.

“Pizza’s here!” Ellis interrupted Winter’s thoughts, charging into the dining room with a pack of cola and a box of pizza. “I heard there was this great pizza place nearby, and I wanted to try it on our first night here.”

She practically exuded happiness and energy. I should try to be the same, Winter resolved, and stood up from the floor, where she had been observing the resident cat. It seemed to come and go as it pleased, a certain air of I’m-so-much-better-than-you flowing off of it. She admired it for that.

“Can you go get Zeph?” Ellis started looking for plates.

Winter nodded, and headed upstairs. She found them standing under a panel in the ceiling.

“I swear this thing opens,” she heard them say uncertainly, a lilt to their voice that appeared when they were trying to figure something out. “If I had a ladder…”

“Zeph?”

They spun around, almost tripping over their own feet, glasses catching on the tip of their nose. “Oh. Yeah?”

“Dinner’s here.”

Running a hand through their messy dark hair and pushing their glasses further up the bridge of their nose, Zeph started towards the stairs. Winter followed suit, silently taking notice of a small ledge placed above the steps. It was almost unnoticeable if you were going up the stairs, and Winter absently thought that it was a nice place to go to hide…though of course there wouldn’t be a reason to hide, would there? Just a thought.

Though she still felt like there were eyes on her as she walked through the main room into the dining room. There were a few boxes scattered here and there, and a precarious stack of cardboard perched on the table. Ellis looked up, smiling.

They each took a seat around the table, slices of pizza distributed on thin paper plates.

“Here’s to starting a new life,” El cheered, raising her can of cola.

Zeph did the same, and after a pause, so did Winter. Things will be different this time, she promised herself. It’s quiet here. Life can be normal again.

She pushed away thoughts of a champagne gown splattered with wine red. She tried to erase the memory of red and blue flashing lights and a scratchy wool blanket.

Surely, it wouldn’t happen again.

Things would be different.

It was quiet here.

Notes:

thank you for reading!! I really appreciate it <3

Chapter 2: haunting eyes, staring back

Summary:

winter is ✨shooketh✨ and the siblings are too

Notes:

hihi! the writer's block lifted at the magical hour of 11 pm ^^ so here's a new chapter for yalls :)
(note - there's some swearing, probably will consistently be going forward dunno)

The lights flickered out.

Zeph flinched, pushing their chair back on instinct and standing up. El grimaced and did the same.

“It’s probably fine. Maybe the electrical panel was faulty or something.” Ellis shot her siblings a half-hearted smile, though her eyes looked uneasy. “I’ll go check it out. Stay here, use your phone flashlights.”

She left before Winter had the chance to tell her she’d left her phone upstairs. Zeph gave her a knowing glance, pulling a phone in a matte black case from their hoodie pocket.

“Where’s El going?” Winter turned to her sibling, concern and questions creeping into her mind.

“Dunno. I think this is the kind of house that has the panel outside so she might be going there; I’m sure she’ll be fine. Although, this seems a little weird. Considering, you know, we just bought this house…”

They looked thoughtful for a moment, suspicion flashing in their eyes. Winter caught it easily, even if it was just for a moment. “Zeph, what is it?”

“Nothing.” A blatant lie. Winter’s eyes narrowed, but she stayed quiet. There wasn’t much use in prying, Zeph wouldn’t budge as she’d found out over the years. Deciding changing the subject would be for the best, she gave her sibling a gentle shove.

“Well, it’s dark, and we have to unpack tomorrow. Maybe we should get ready for bed.”

Zeph’s eyes slightly creased at the corners, and they nodded. “Yeah.”

A quick glance at the clock resting on the counter, yet to be put on the wall, told them it was 11:08 pm. After fishing toiletries out of an old backpack resting on the steps, they headed to the bathroom.

As they brushed their teeth, Winter couldn’t help but look out of the window behind them. It was dark, abnormally so…maybe it was a new moon tonight? Zeph lingered for a second, noting the apprehension on their sister’s face, but Winter nodded at them, and they left.

She crept closer to the window, the cold porcelain of the bathtub sending an unpleasant chill through her thin socks. Fingers resting on the sill, one hand brushing the maroon curtain, she peered out the window.

Trees, the quiet stillness of the pristine fenced yard…the long road stretching out seemingly forever. It seemed fine. Perfect. The fresh feeling of a new house, with hollow skeleton rooms and potential practically leaking out of the walls, the slight anxiety of a new school starting in the fall — it was all normal, was it not?

Something still seemed off, though.

The sound of the front door shutting made Winter freeze.

what the hell was that

She considered calling out, and then instantly told herself that was stupid. Who do I think I am, thinking I’m the main character? She scoffed in her head.

Quiet socks, adorned with mushroom frogs, stalked down the hall. Winter stopped at the steps, gripping the wall.

The mystery person started towards the steps. Winter almost choked, pupils dilating in fear. She didn’t dare breathe.

“Winter?” a smooth, typically-cheery voice came from the bottom of the stairs.

Ellis.

It was only Ellis.

Winter almost laughed, she felt so stupid. She was imagining things. Of course, it’s dark, she’s tired, her brain’s obviously messing with her.

“El!” Winter practically flew down the steps in relief, stopping at the bottom to look her sister over. She seemed fine. What had she been worried about? And — wait. “Why - what happened - the lights are still out?” she stuttered, looking at the still-dark light fixture on the ceiling.

“I checked the electrical panel. The switches- they’re stuck. Somehow. All of the house lights are off, and I can’t get them to switch back.” She took a breath, looking anxious. Winter hadn’t noticed that before. What had happened out there? “And um,” Ellis continued, looking uneasy. “I tried to switch them back. But it didn’t work. So when I turned around to go back in the house -” her voice squeaked a little - “I saw someone in the bushes. They had a mask on. It looked like a doll’s face, one of the old creepy ones. But that wasn’t quite the worst part — it was the eyes. They were haunting, I could see them behind the mask…and suddenly, their eyes locked with mine and…I was scared, and I ran, but there was someone there, Winter. There was someone. In. Our. yard.”

this just got a whole hell of a lot worse.

Winter couldn’t move. Fear was lodged in her throat, frightened tears blurring the edges of her vision.

“You saw a face.”

“A person.”

“Yeah. In our yard.”

“Yep.”

“What the hell?” Zeph looked down at them from the top of the stairs, clad in indigo plaid pajama pants and a baggy black t-shirt.

“Zeph -” Winter started, but they cut her off.

“There’s a possible serial killer in our yard, on our property.” Fuming, they bounded down the stairs, glasses left sitting hapazard on their head. “On our first night here. This - this is just awesome.”

They whirled around, facing Ellis. “It’s not safe here. It’s not damn safe here, oh my god…”

“Okay,” Ellis cut in. “It’s pretty clear that it’s not safe, Zeph, but we need to think rationally. I think our best course of action would be -”

A blaring advert startled all of them, Winter shrieking and accidentally kicking Zeph in the back of the shin. Scowling, Zeph shot Winter a quick glare, to which she conventiently looked away from.

“Breaking news,” a nasally news anchor began, the commercial over. “There has been a group of criminals recently sighted in Blox County, breaking into houses seemingly arbitrarily with random survivors, without any known intent.”

“The TV,” Ellis murmured. “The switches,” she added, realization dawning on her. “They - I - the back of the house…”

The electrical panel controlled where the lights were on in the house. Where energy was directed. There wasn’t a back door, but windows…they served as easy access to the house, the front too.

They could have — no, most likely were being watched. Right. Then.

“Keep your loved ones close, and stay on watch,” the anchor continued, unaware of the three terrified siblings huddled in a dark entry room. “That’ll be all.”

The screen switched to a trailer for a movie adaptation of a famous Broadway show, but none of them could pay attention. “I…” Winter couldn’t find words for how she was feeling.

Before anyone could say anything, the TV snapped off, and a strange glow came from outside the window. Winter was tempted to look outside, catch sight of the masked figures, but Zeph stopped her

“They’re trying to lure us out,” Zeph told her. “Don’t let them. We should stick together.”

They selected a room with the walls painted a pale candy pink to sleep in — rather, to stay up in. The door shut and locked, the window blinds open in little slits, they waited apprehensively.

Winter didn’t really know what to expect. Were they going to break into the house, like the news said

or were they going to wait until they came out of their own volition

and what were they going to do to them if they caught them,

what was going to happen?

She had no control,

she couldn’t force anything into her control,

she felt so tired

but she couldn’t sleep because

what if they came for her then?

Ellis took notice of her weary sister, and shot her a concerned look. “Winter, it’s going to be okay. You get sleep; you probably need it more.”

No, I don’t, Winter thought. Why does everyone tell me it’s going to be okay…?

She tried to protest, but Ellis made her get under the covers, a tenderness in her eyes that shouldn’t have been there considering their situation.

I won’t sleep, Winter resolved. And she didn’t. For maybe five minutes.

Despite her determination, her eyes blurred, and consciousness blinked away as she was lulled into sleep.

 

She woke three hours later.

Loud footsteps could be heard in the next room, as well as shattering glass. Winter held her breath. El smoothed her messy hair, whispering, “It’s the green room. We’re safe. For now.”

For now.

For now wasn’t settling.

But it offered comfort. For now.

She fell asleep, curled up with fear slowly gnawing on her mind.

Notes:

note - I just finished the first draft. what the hell okay I don't know where this plot is going but hey usually it goes okay
uh it do be a bit dark ig might get darker it doesn't help that im sitting here at night thinking about serial killers now ahahahah anyways ty for reading pookies, I really appreciate it! I hope you liked today's chapter, and go check out my friend Snekwrite's work! I swear the writing is so good and the lore is gonna go deeeeeep :DDDDD
bye now, imma magically conjure a new chapter for you guys as always Lavendrr out!

Chapter 3: crystalline dust

Summary:

✨flashback✨

Notes:

well I finally updated lol
writing block and procrastination go insane rn, so apologies to the about three readers and a dust mite that read my work for the TWO MONTH DELAY WHAT?? (give or take)

Content Warnings for this chapter are:
blood
is that it? I think so

also, sorry for the length of this TwT it's shorter than I meant for it to be...but between writing/editing this at the most random times, there wasn't a whole lot of stamina or energy for more plot development...I'll try to add more next time!!!

They were behind her, she knew it.

The loud rumble of the van’s engine, the floodlights blinding.

She couldn’t run any farther, she was just too tired. You have to keep going, her brain insisted as her legs gave out beneath her.

You’re going to die you’re going to die you’re going to die, it screamed as the van finally caught up to her, She felt it slam into her as the shock reverberated through her spine and -

Light. It wasn’t as bright as the van’s lights and actually, it was rather pleasant. Was it…sunlight…?

Winter sat up in her bed, heart fluttering. It was a nightmare. Only a nightmare. She’d had many before, so why was she so shaken by this particular one? And…she thought, as she tried to remember, it seemed significant somehow…except she couldn’t recall how.

It finally occured to Winter to properly look around to see where she was. Across the room was a Zeph-shaped lump under the blanket on the bed, glasses upside down on the nightstand beside them. They snored softly, hair matted from anxious fingers pulling and smoothing.

Ellis was nowhere to be seen, and Winter had a sudden fleeting thought.

what if they took her?

It was only a moment until sense returned to her, reassuring her it’ll be okay, she’s probably been awake for a while already. But paranoia dug its claws into her as logic desperately tried to rip them out. She’s awake, and downstairs…why, if I call for her she’ll come up the stairs, say something reassuring and I’ll know for sure that last night was a dream.

Because it had to be, didn’t it? It seemed so unreal.

A figure in the bushes, watching her sister…it was straight from a horror movie, except if that were true Ellis would have gone and never come back. And she was definitely alive right now, right? Maybe. Maybe this was an illusion. Maybe Ellis was really gone, really dead and Winter was just messing with herself, convincing herself of false relief.

If she opened the door, she’d find out. Did she want to? She thought about it. It seems stupid how much I have to think about going downstairs right now, she silently admonished.

After five minutes of absolute anxious silence, nothing happened, so Winter tentatively stood up and made it to the other side of the room, turning the knob of the sturdy walnut door. It opened with nothing but a small creak, and she stepped out into the hallway.

The green room’s door was opened slightly. Curiosity taking control, Winter cautiously pushed the door open the rest of the way, and was met with shattered windows and fine powdery glass sprinkled on the floor and beds.

She walked into the room. The dresser was crooked, forced a little out of the corner, and the sheets were messy; as though the intruders had searched for them in the very fibers and grains of the fabric and bed frames. Winter took a step, then regretted it. Sharp pain pressed into her foot, a shard cutting through the sole of it. She sat down on a bed, inspecting the wound.

Crystalline dust coated the bottom of her foot, mixing with the blood slowly leaking out of her foot around the shard of glass.

“Winter?” She whipped around to face Ellis. Her sister had a hand on the doorframe, a shaken look on her face when she saw the red stained glass. “Your foot-” she started, but Winter cut her off with a weak smile. “I’m fine.” A lie. An obvious, blatant lie, one that Ellis was having none of.

“Petty liar. I’m pretty sure I saw a first aid kit in one of the boxes.” Winter waited as El practically flew down the steps, black hair rippling out behind her.

The pain persisted, an angry pulsing jagged thing. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment’s peace. However, a moment is just a moment.

Before long, she was escorted downstairs by El, and despite her incessant protesting, was left alone on the floor with a stiff bag of frozen peas. Why she dragged her downstairs rather than let her stay upstairs, she could not fathom. Winter could hear footsteps upstairs as Ellis cleaned the shards left from the break-in; left to get something else from another room.

Another, slightly lighter pair joined them, and even from below Winter could feel tension slowly ripple through the air. “Boards. Really.” Zeph’s voice floated down the stairs, dripping with annoyance.

“Yes, really.” Winter sat on the floor, watching her siblings argue. “Listen to me, Zeph, come on -”

“Like I give a damn. They won’t work.”

“Please, just listen to me I’m trying to make this work!”

“It’s not enough! You don't see it, but you're going to hurt us by making us stay!”

“Excuse me? I’m not, please just listen to me…”

“Why don’t you ever listen to us? To me?”

“Can’t you see I’m trying, come on!”

“This is stupid, you think boards will stop them? Are you five?! Kids break into adbandoned buildings that were boarded up, this obviously won’t work!”

“I’m trying, Zeph, really.”

“Well guess what. You’re not trying hard enough!”

The pain was sort of gone at that point. Or maybe it wasn’t compared to the feeling of hopelessness that had begun to set in as she listened to her siblings argue. She could hear Ellis's heavy breathing, undoubtedly trying not to cry. Oh, Ellis always sadly told Winter that it was one of her weaknesses. Arguments ending in tears... Aside from the current situation, Winter was also uncomfortable; her foot wrapped in what seemed to be an unnecessary amount of gauze, after El’s insistence, resting beneath her bag of frozen peas, propped up on a box.

“Ellis, let’s just leave. It’s not safe, why are you doing this to us?” Zeph’s angry voice pierced Winter’s ears uncomfortably. She hadn’t heard them fight this bad in a while. Maybe never.

Actually, had been one time. Right after her aunt and uncle died.

Ceramic shattered on the hardwood floor. Screams resounded over the broken mottled green shards of aunt Zel’s vase on the floor.

“I HATE YOU!” Zeph had screeched, voice raw and bleeding.

“You don’t! You don’t know anything,” Ellis had retorted, a swirling turmoil of emotions. Her world had come crashing down after her aunt and uncle died, and so soon after her parents did too. An unfair burden placed upon someone of her age, as her then eight and eleven year old siblings responded to their trauma.

“You’re just a kid.”

“You are too!” Zeph’s eyes were ringed with red, unreleased tears threatening to spill.

“Well - I have to take care of you.”

“You can’t take care of us if you can’t even take care of yourself.” Their voice cracked, the preteen folding in on themself. “Can’t you see even that?”

“Can’t you see that I’m trying?!”

“I can see that! But you’re not doing it right!”

“How do I do it right, then? Tell me, Zeph!” El screamed, tears in full force. Winter sat on the floor, tracing circles into the hardwood floorboards. Consistent, never-ending... most importantly, distracting enough to keep her from thinking about - well, all of this, she supposed; so much death and fighting and suffocating dark nights where she couldn’t sleep.

Were normal kids like this? she wondered. Since, she thought, this surely isn’t normal. Screaming siblings and broken vases, dead guardians and delicate circles. She didn’t know. It was scary.

“You don’t understand! You just - you can’t ever know how I’m feeling right now! Do you know how much it hurts? I have to take care of you and Winter, and that’s difficult enough! So many people, telling me they’re sorry when they didn’t know aunt Zel and uncle Kai like we did.

"They don’t know how much I loved them and how much I’m hurting right now. And - and what do they see? What do they see?” shrieked Ellis. “I’ll tell you what they see. They see a broken sixteen year old with two unfortunate siblings, no parents and now not even a responsible aunt or uncle to take care of them. Just our dad’s cousins who we barely know.” Ellis’ voice wavered at the end, and she sank to the floor, burying her face in her arms.

“It’s too much,” she whispered. Zeph, at a loss for words, ran over and embraced their sister.

“I’m sorry,” they murmured, swallowing their stubborn pride. Winter lingered on the floor, staring at her siblings. She didn’t really know if she wanted to join them. So she stayed there, wondering why they were so broken.

Ellis won the argument. Several boards of plywood went up on the windows, the door, even the toilet somehow.

Zeph was still a little cold towards El, but at least they weren’t screaming at each other now. Winter hid in the blue room, staring out through the window at the perfect, straight never-ending road outside her window.

“Winter!” The call broke her out of her reverie, and she hastily dashed downstairs to the best of her ability, as her foot was still sore.

“El?” Winter asked to, well, no one. The entryway was void of anyone at all, save for the cat, which in all of its orange roundness had managed to get stuck behind the drawers. After getting hissed and air bitten at an embarrassing about of times by the indignifed cat, she decided to let it be, instead traipsing into the kitchen where El had most likely called her from.

“El?” she repeated again, this time to El who was standing in front of the fridge.

“Oh, I’ve been calling you. I found leftovers from last night so I was thinking we could have that for dinner, seeing as I’ve already made toast for breakfast.”

"‘Kay.” Winter decided against telling her sister that at this point it was more like lunch. Sitting down at the table, Winter munched on her half-burnt toast, something nagging at her. Something was off…

“Where’s Zeph?” she finally dared to ask.

“You know…sulking,” Ellis replied curtly, not meeting her eyes. She didn’t elaborate. Winter took it that they were, quite understandably, in a rough spot at the moment.

As she went stood up and walked back into the main room, she noticed something. A painting, one of the numerous lining the walls; except this one was just a tad bit off. A little crooked. Winter moved to fix it, except she noticed a thin strip of metal behind the painting. Against her better judgement, she completely pulled the painting off the wall, discarding the purple beach view on the floor as she faced a small, shiny steel safe in the wall. Huh.

She would have looked into it more had there not been a loud scream from upstairs.

Notes:

thank you for reading!!!!!! hopefully next time I won't take ten billion years to post again
I rlly appreciate the fact that you took your time to read this. it means a lot.

bye!! 🌸🌸🌸😆😆😆