Horror Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Bright Pessimism ❯ Chapter 1

No one in the world could possibly understand the pain that fifteen-year old Kristopher Amherst had been through.

Before the following series of events, he was home-schooled by his widowed mother, a devout Christian. Kristopher looked like any other young man going through puberty: his height could not even reach five-and-a-half feet, though he was as skinny as a rail. His dyed, black hair had grown a little past his shoulders, though his growing bangs were not long enough to be pulled back yet. He had pale-blue, cat-like eyes that seemed to be sunken into his head. He was also dressed nearly the same every day–a black shirt and jeans with steel-toe boots and a stud belt with a large belt buckle in the shape of a skull.

Kristopher was the man of the house. He had two younger siblings: Selena was eight, and Matthew, who went by Mattie, was four. His mother was old enough to be his and his siblings' grandmother, and his father had passed away due to a heart attack when Kristopher was only ten and almost immediately before Mattie was born.

He was haunted by a sickness, post-traumatic stress disorder, spawned by experiencing his father's death. After living with it for about five years, he thought he had gotten through the worst. However, his PTSD was only about to get worse–and it was firstly aggravated by his mother's death.

It was summer in , when Kristopher found himself driving his father Jim's former car. His mother Sandra was driving her car, and he was following her so she could show him exactly where the new daycare center that Mattie would go to was located. Before this, the mother and son had stopped at a Chik-fil-A restaurant to grab a quick lunch, and Kristopher had gotten two milkshakes to take home to his siblings.

Kristopher was nervous driving alone, though he had had his driver's permit for a few months. He and his mother were on a ramp to enter the highway, which made him feel anxious for some reason. His cell phone, tucked between his legs, rang, and he fumbled to answer it.

"Hello?" he answered in a quiet, mellow voice.

"We might get separated on the highway," Sandra told him in a quick voice, "so remember that we get off at the next exit."

"Mother, you should be paying attention to traffic instead of talking." Kristopher glanced out at the oncoming traffic. He bit his lip. "Be careful because there're some big trucks…" He looked ahead of him and saw his mother pull out in front of a large semi-truck. "Mother!"

Kristopher watched in horror as the semi-truck plowed into his mother's car. He stopped the car and stared on–he prayed desperately to God that he was having another hallucination, a pesky symptom of PTSD. His cell phone dropped from his hand and into his lap as he reached for a milkshake in the carton on the passenger's seat.

The event just seemed so real; the brakes of the semi-truck split his ears, and he felt the pain the noise caused. However, he knew that if he did not respond to the situation, his mother's car, crushed beyond repair, would mend itself before his eyes, and he would hear his mother's voice on his cell phone instead of the hideous static that emitted from it.

Kristopher tried to shake himself out of his trance as emergency vehicles of all sorts appeared at the scene just a few moments later. The flashing lights of the vehicles reclaimed his awareness after a minute. He slipped out of the car and began walking toward the scene, placing his shaking hand on the nearest police car. The milkshake he held fell out of his other hand as he realized he had seen something real.

"Don't touch the car!" a police officer, who seemed to materialize from nothing, barked, snatching Kristopher's wrist and pulling him away.

"She's my mother," he whispered and turned to the officer. "She's my mother."

The officer stared back at him, horrified. "Where's your father?"

"He's dead, too." A stray tear fell down his cheek.

"How old are you, boy?"

"Fifteen." Kristopher wiped his eyes. "Is this real?"

"Come with me, boy. Do you have any siblings?"

"I want my mother," Kristopher cried.

"You can't stay here–"

"I want my mother!"

Kristopher wrenched his arm away from the officer and tried to run, but the officer chased him and eventually caught him. He wept as he was taken away by the first officer and others that joined him. The last thing he wanted was to be placed in foster care with his brother and sister, which he knew was inevitable.

Kristopher soon found himself being escorted from the accident and to the beach house where he lived, no matter how much he screamed and fought. His crying could not be stopped, and he was so weak he could not walk, so a few officers carried him into the house. His siblings were, as always, watching Spongebob Squarepants on the living room television when the officers walked in and lay Kristopher on the couch. The two young children silently looked up at the police officers, afraid. Mattie was so terrified that he began crying just as hard as Kristopher already was.

"I'm sorry to say," an officer finally told them, "that your mother did not survive a fatal crash."

"My mom's… dead?" Selena inquired tearfully.

When the officer nodded solemnly, the little girl tried to stifle her sobs as tears poured forth. She hugged her little brother close as Mattie screamed and sobbed. The officer slowly turned away toward the other officers.

"What are we going to do with these kids?" he asked the others. "They have to have relatives of some sort that will be willing to take them in."

The following days were a blur to Kristopher. He remembered crying that day until he fell asleep, and when he woke up the next morning, Selena and Mattie were sleeping atop of him. It was then that Kristopher began to realize that not only did he have to raise himself, he had to raise two children.

Luckily, their aunt Debra in was willing to take the three orphans into her home. Kristopher recalled boxing up his and his siblings' belongings alone and was upset to learn that his parents' stuff would be left behind along with the beach house that was to be sold in an auction once they left . He did, however, sneak in a heavy scrapbook his mother had been working on since his birth.

The night before they were to leave for TennesseeKristopher remembered sitting on the pier extending from the back of the house after tucking his brother and sister into bed. He cried as he watched the moon and the stars dance upon the ocean for the last time–he could not recall it ever being to beautiful.

But these were all memories and just remembering them never meant that they were real.





The airport was bustling with people that were on their way to the beach for a week of indulging in the sun. However, no matter how excited the people around them were, Kristopher and his siblings were in a sort of daze. Since they were going as unaccompanied minors, workers at the airport were showing them the way to their gate and making sure they got to where they needed to be.

As the three siblings waited at their gate, Kristopher rested his head in his hands, trying not to break down. They had left their home, never to return, and he had slept under the stars on the house's pier the last time in his life. He told himself to be strong; until they got to Debra's house, he was the only one that could be there for his brother and sister.

Mattie tugged on Kristopher's jacket, breaking his trance.

"Krissy," Mattie said quietly, mispronouncing every other word, "apple juice."

Kristopher looked down at his little brother. Mattie had the same blue eyes as him, and his ruffled brown hair reminded him too much of himself. Kristopher tried to smile as he picked up the heavy backpack at his feet and searched through it. He finally took out a plastic cup, opened it, and then gave it to Mattie.

As Mattie indulged himself in apple juice, Kristopher looked over at Selena. She stared soullessly ahead, her smoky-gray eyes set on nothing. He pulled his lips tight as he stroked her dark-blonde hair.

"Are you okay, Selena?" he asked.

Selena looked up at him blankly as if she was clueless. However, after a moment, she shook her head. Kristopher's blue eyes watered up as he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered in her ear. "I'm going to be here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

Kristopher heard Selena sniffle before hearing the announcement that the plane was boarding. He took the cup back from Mattie and put it in his backpack before zipping it up. After putting the backpack on and throwing a bag that held his laptop over his shoulder, Kristopher pulled out their boarding passes, picked up Mattie in his arms, grabbed Selena's hand, and got in line. After they got on the plane, Kristopher took a seat between Mattie, who sat next to the window, and Selena, who sat next to the aisle.

"I no been on a airplane 'fore!" Mattie squealed, clapping his hands.

"Shhh," Kristopher told him. "You gotta be quiet. Other people are on the airplane."

"Oooh." Mattie glanced out the window. "When fly?"

"When you let me put your seatbelt on."

"Oooh."

Kristopher buckled Mattie's seatbelt before turning to Selena. "Did you put your seatbelt on?"

"No."

"Let me show you how–"

"I got it." Selena put the seatbelt on, though Kristopher tightened it for her. She looked up at him. "Thanks, Kris."

"Do either of you need to go to the bathroom?" Kristopher inquired.

Selena shook her head, while Mattie said, "No pee-pee."

Kristopher ruffled Mattie's hair. He wanted to convey his love for his little brother in words, but he had no clue as to how. Kristopher kissed his cheek, which was the only way he knew to tell him. Mattie squealed in delight before kissing his older brother back.

"We go see Mommy?" Mattie questioned, looking up at Kristopher.

"No," Kristopher sighed. "We go see Auntie."

"Auntie!"

Mattie giggled happily, melting Kristopher's heart. Kristopher knew that he could not understand that their mother would never come back, no matter how long they waited for her. He again glanced back at Selena, who had resumed staring into space. Kristopher took out the safety information packet from the back of the seat in front of her and handed it to her.

"Read this," he said to her. "Because you never know–something could happen."

Selena curled her lip, taking the packet from her brother. Kristopher then took the packet from the seat in front of him and turned to Mattie.

"Look, a picture book!" he falsely exclaimed. "Let me read it to you."

"Picture!" Mattie smiled, clapping his small hands.

Kristopher was delighted himself when an irritable sigh coming from the aisle beside him ruined his mood. He shoved the packet into Mattie's hands before spinning around toward the next aisle. No one looked back at him, so he took a deep breath to relax himself.

"So, Mattie, let's read the picture book before we watch the movie based on it," Kristopher cooed.

"There a movie?"

"Yes, there's a movie!"

Mattie again clapped excitedly.

"I'm done reading it," Selena muttered as she put it back in the seat. "I can only imagine the movie being as boring as the script."

"No good?" Mattie's eyes welled up with tears.

"Selena didn't like it because she's a girl," Kristopher lied. "It's a boy thing."

When Mattie smiled up at him, clapping his hands, Kristopher tried to smile back.

Suddenly the plane began to move and the "movie" began playing. Kristopher pointed up at the screen above their heads in the aisle.

"The movie is playing!" he told Mattie.

"Movie!"

"Shhh so you can hear it, okay?"

"Yes, Krissy."





The airplane ride went smoother than Kristopher thought it would. Selena and Mattie both went to sleep, letting Kristopher take out his laptop and watch his own movies. They awoke right before the plane landed, and though Kristopher thought the landing would upset Mattie, his little brother was fine.

After waiting for what seemed forever, the three were able to get off the plane finally. Though Kristopher expected to enter another busy airport, it surprised him when the airport they landed at was not crowded. Kristopher set Mattie, whom he carried, down, grabbing his hand instead.

"Now we have to find Aunt Debra," he told his brother and sister.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kristopher saw a woman waving them down. He immediately recognized the short, graying woman as Debra. He pulled his siblings in the direction of their aunt.

"Kris!" Debra embraced him. She backed away and looked at him. "You've grown up so much since I last saw you," she whispered with a twang.

Kristopher grinned nervously. "Do you remember Selena?"

Debra bent down to look at Selena, who stared back at her. She lovingly stroked the little girl's hair.

"You were a little baby when I saw you last," she remarked before turning to Mattie and kneeling down. "And this is Mattie, isn't it?"

"Auntie!" Mattie cheerfully exclaimed.

"Well, I know you three are tired," Debra said, standing back up. "We have about a ten-minute drive from her."

"Auntie!" Mattie reached up at her with sparkling eyes.

Debra smiled kindly as she picked him up in her arms. She then looked back at Kristopher and Selena.

"Well, let's go."

The walk was not hellish, like Kristopher expected. The airport was below average in size, and the parking lot was even smaller. Once in Debra's small car, Kristopher looked over at his aunt, who sat down in the driver's seat.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"she replied. "Ironically, we're actually outside Debra turned on the ignition. "Kristopher, I'm going to let you know that we're going to be merging onto a highway…"

"Please no!" Kristopher begged, his eyes suddenly tearing up.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but that's the only way I know to get back to our house. Close your eyes if that makes you feel better."

"What wrong?" Mattie interrogated.

"Nothing," Kristopher muttered, placing his hands over his eyes. However, when he closed his eyes, the crash that took his mother's life replayed in his mind. He shot open his eyes and saw that the car was in motion, driving toward the exit. Kristopher begged himself to not have a panic attack as Debra merged onto the highway. He held his breath, and after a moment, he realized that a semi-truck was not going to kill the rest of his family.

Kristopher anxiously watched the scenery speed past the window. It was as hot as a regular day in if not hotter. He shed his jacket, though the air-conditioner was working overtime. He was surprised that the small town they traveled through was packed with traffic. The town however extended along the highway for a few miles before disappearing gradually. When they turned off the highway, trees were the only landscape other than small homes.

"Where beach?" Mattie asked Debra eagerly.

"No beach," she responded.

"Why no beach?"

"There're no beaches around here."

Mattie whined, "I want beach."

"Mattie, behave," Kristopher grumbled.

"I want beach!" the little boy cried. "Beach!"

"If you whine any more," Kristopher threatened, turning toward his little brother, "I'm going to have to spank you. Now behave."

"Yes, Krissy." Mattie sniffled quietly.

"We can go to the pool," Debra offered.

"Pool!" Mattie clapped his hands. "Pool!"

"Okay," Debra said under her breath as she turned into the driveway of a small house. "Here we are!"

After parking in the garage, Debra herded the three into the house. The door they entered led them into the kitchen. Kristopher saw that though the house was small and in the middle of nowhere, it had a sense of style to it–what struck him, however, was that it had a beach-like style to it.

"Kris, go put your backpack up," Debra told him. "Your room is through the living room and to the left."

"Yes, Debra."

Kristopher trudged through the tropical living room and the small hallway. He walked through the doorway on the left, and he was surprised when he saw a girl his age unpacking the boxes he had sent off the day before. She had hair like Selena's, though hers was chin-length and was thicker. Her skin was bright and healthy, like her green eyes, and she wore a white tank and a denim skirt. She looked back at Kristopher and smiled.

"So you're the boy wearing the size twenty-eight jeans," she said, also with a twang, holding up a pair of black-denim jeans.

"Uh, yeah." Kristopher stared down at the plushy carpet.

The girl stood up and walked over to him. "You're Kristopher," she informed him. "I'm Kay–your cousin. I don't believe we've met before."

"No, we haven't, Kay," he replied.

"I've been unpacking your stuff since we got it this morning," Kay told him. "I stopped to prepare dinner, and since everything was cookin', I thought I'd unpack some more."

"That's kind of you." Kristopher blushed as he looked around the room. A dresser with a large mirror spanned the wall to his right, and a bed had been pushed against the wall next to it. Along the wall ahead of him, another tall dresser had been placed. The room had a beachy-feel to it, like the rest of the house, which already made Kristopher feel homesick. He set his backpack and laptop bag down next to the dresser.

"I want to meet Selena and Matthew," Kay said when Kristopher looked back up at her.

"Oh…yeah."

Kristopher and Kay walked into the living room together, where the others were. Mattie was having fun pulling at the fishnet entangled with pink flamingos that hung on the wall behind the couch while Debra attempted to make Selena speak. Debra looked up at the two that entered.

"So I see you met Kay, Kristopher."

Mattie turned toward them. "Girl!" He jumped off the couch and ran to Kay, tugging at the hem of her skirt. "Me Mattie."

"Hi, Mattie! I'm Kay." Kay ruffled his hair before looking up at Selena. "And you must be Selena."

"Hi," Selena whispered, looking downward.

"Well, I believe dinner is almost ready," Kay announced. "Kristopher, would you help me get out the plates?"

Kristopher nodded against his will, and he followed Kay into the kitchen. She tended to the oven while he searched for the dinner plates. After he found them, he took out five plates and set them on the table.

"Sit down, Kris," Kay called at him. "What do you want to drink?"

Kristopher sat down. "Water is fine."

A moment later, Kay set a glass of water down in front of him. She called for the others, who, when they walked into the kitchen, sat down at the table with Kristopher. She gave everyone drinks before placing chicken nuggets and French fries on everyone's plate.

"I hope y'all like it," Kay told them cheerfully.

After a few minutes into dinner, Debra looked up at Kristopher. He was idly stacking the French fries atop of each other, seeming to have no intention at all of eating.

"Kris, why aren't you eating?" Debra inquired.

"Krissy no eat fo' tree days," Mattie explained, shoving a handful of fries into his gaping mouth.

"Kristopher, eat!" Debra demanded. "You'll pass out from the heat."

Kristopher frowned, plucking up a chicken nugget and biting it fiercely. He then flung it back down on his plate.

"I'm not hungry," he grumbled.

"Kristopher," Debra declared, "you will not leave the table until you eat. You're not setting a good example for your brother and sister."

He curled his lip in disgust as he mindlessly shoveled handfuls of fries and chicken in. He wished the dinner was not as good as it was, though he did not want his siblings to not eat because he did not. After he finished, Kristopher stood up from the table and wordlessly walked out of the kitchen.

"Kristopher, are you okay?" Kay called after him.

He walked into the room he had met Kay in again and slammed the door shut. Kristopher flipped on the light switch angrily as he ripped open a box in the floor. Though Kay had unpacked many of them, there were still many boxes left to empty. He growled as he shuffled through the contents of the box, which included many of Mattie's toys.

"Kris, are you okay?"

Kristopher looked up in the direction of the door and saw Kay. She smiled kindly as she walked into the room, walking around a maze of boxes.

"What?" Kristopher muttered, looking through the box he had picked up.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Kay sat down next to him and peeked inside the box.

"These are Mattie's toys. Where should I put them?"

"I guess we should find a trunk or something to turn into a toy box for him and Selena. Also, speaking of her, Mom thought it best that she and I share my room instead of having all three of you in here."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Are they doing anything right now?"

"Mom decided to take them outside. It doesn't get dark until nine. Will you join them?"

"I've got a lot to unpack."

"Yeah, I'm going to unpack Selena's stuff since all of her boxes are in my room. I got most of them out of the way." Kay looked up at him. "Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone?"

Kristopher tried to smile back at her. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

The time that it took him to unpack seemed interminable. Every time a box was unpacked, there was a full one in its place. By the time he had finished unpacking, Kristopher was tired in every way. He walked out of the room to find his brother and sister watching television with Kay. Mattie was half-asleep on the couch, so Kristopher snatched him up in his arms. Mattie's eyes instantly shot open as he squealed happily.

"I think someone is ready for bedtime," Kristopher cooed in his ear.

"Bedtime!" Mattie clapped his hands.

"Selena, did anyone tell you that you would share a room with Kay?" her older brother asked.

"Yeah," Selena replied, glancing up at him.

"After this show goes off, you should go to bed. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, Kris."

Kristopher sat down next to her on the couch as Mattie squealed. He kissed Selena on the cheek, and she kissed him back.

"Good night," he whispered in her ear before standing up and, with Mattie in his arms, walking out of the room and into his and Mattie's room. Kristopher closed the door gently before setting his little brother down on the bed.

"Let me find your pajamas," he muttered as he searched through the dressers.

"Tired," Mattie yawned.

"Hold on." Kristopher pulled out a pair of pajamas decorated with teddy bears. He turned back toward Mattie. "C'mon, stand up; you have to change into your pj's."

Mattie groaned as he stood up, tugging at his shirt. Kristopher kneeled down next to him and helped him out of his clothes and into his pajamas. He then pulled the covers down on the bed and tucked Mattie in, kissing him on the forehead.

"You sleep?" Mattie asked.

"In a few minutes," Kristopher told him.

Kristopher turned on the lamp next to the bed and turned off the main light. He walked out of the room and into the living room to find the two girls still in front of the television. He sat down next to them.

"Is this almost over?"

"Almost," Kay responded. "Did Mom tell you that we were going to the pool tomorrow?"

"No."

"Well, we are. I'm packing a sack lunch for everyone. What kind of sandwich do you like?"

"I don't want to go."

"Shut up, Kristopher."

Kristopher stood up from the couch. "I want Selena in bed after this show is over." He glanced over at his sister, who had seemed to have fallen asleep already. "Remind her to not sleep in her clothes."

"Okay. Good night, Kris."

"Good night."

Kristopher again walked back into the bedroom. Mattie still lay awake however. Kristopher, after closing the door, sat down on the bed next to him while kicking off his steel-toe boots.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" he questioned.

"Teddy."

Kristopher stood up and searched through his backpack next to the door. He took out a plush teddy bear and handed it to his younger brother.

"Anything else?"

"Story," Mattie whined.

Unfortunately for Kristopher, Mattie was not tired enough to forget his nightly bedtime story. Kristopher grumbled as he again went to his backpack and fished out a large picture book. He set it down next to Mattie.

"Look for a story you want me to read while I get undressed."

"Kitty," Mattie said back.

Kristopher turned away and tugged off his tank top, throwing it at a hamper in the corner of the room. "You want to read the story about The Cat and the Fiddle again?"

"Kitty."

Kristopher emptied his pockets of his wallet and other things before he stripped to his boxer shorts and threw his jeans into the hamper. He picked up the book before sitting down next to Mattie, sliding his bare legs underneath the sheets. He read the story requested to Mattie and then threw the book down on the nightstand. Mattie rolled onto his side to face Kristopher as he lay down.

"When I wear no pajamas to bed?"

"When you're older and pajamas aren't cool anymore," Kristopher laughed. "Mattie, have you gone to the bathroom? I don't want you to wet the bed."

"Yes, Krissy."

"Good." Kristopher reached over and turned off the lamp, leaving him and his brother in darkness.

"Krissy?"

"Yes, Mattie?"

"When we go home?"

Kristopher hugged Mattie close. "This place is home now."

"Where Mommy?"

"Mommy's with Daddy." Kristopher stroked Mattie's hair. "They're in Heaven."

"When they come back?"

"They're not coming back." He felt a stray tear find its way down his cheek. "They'll never come back." Kristopher rolled onto his back and hugged himself.

Mattie blankly stared up at him. "Krissy, you okay?"

Kristopher feebly touched his cheek, realizing that a hundred tears had followed the first one. He felt Mattie touch his arm, but he was scared to look over at him.

"Why you cry, Krissy?"

Kristopher turned away from him. "Don't look at me," he sobbed. "Go to sleep."

Mattie ran his small fingers through his older brother's long hair. Kristopher tried to stifle his cries, but instead he turned back toward Mattie and hugged him close, crying loudly into his chest. Mattie continued to stroke his hair softly.

"It okay," Mattie whispered. "We okay."

"I'm not okay," Kristopher wept. "I want my mommy and daddy–you can't understand anything!"

"Sleep. It okay. Me here."

Kristopher, in the back of his mind, knew that even if Mattie could not understand the death of their mother, he would still be there to comfort him while he grieved.