Henry stepped outside for the first time in hours, as he was helping his father with moving their supplies into their new house. He let the breeze, hit him, his dirty blonde hair whooshing across his face.
"Man, this feels good."
Henry sighed, whipping the sweat off his forehead, feeling the stickiness of it evaporating.
At last, the autumn cold.
The new neighborhood looked normal, kids playing soccer in a frontyard, the works.
Henry, however, always found it odd the neighborhood was right next to a dead end. He walked around his shoes stomping on the concrete as he explored the place.
As Henry walked, he trips over someone's foot. He was about to fall face-first into the hard pavement, when that someone caught him.
"I'm so sorry!"
The voice sounded soft and childish, nothing like their strength when they caught him.
Henry looked up to see a girl that looked like she was maybe a 6th grader. She had dark green hair and green eyes, as well as a childish, innocent looking pouty face, as well as being pretty short, maybe about 160 centimeters tall.
"I'm so sorry! Are you hurt? Are you hurt?"
The girl came down to Henry's level and started feeling his forehead.
"No, no! I'm fine!"
Henry blurts it out without thinking and stands up. He dosen't really want to stay around very long with a stranger, let alone one this weird.
The girl stops Henry from leaving, her grip surprisingly tight.
"No, come over to my house. I can give you cookies!"
Henry sighs. She's really not going to give up, is she? He turns around with his guard up.
"Alright, fine. But, don't expect me to stay long."
The girl smiles.
"What's your name? I'm Abigail, but you can call me Abby."
Henry sighs, then jokingly goes into a salute.
"I'm Henry Great! Nice to meet you!"
Abigail laughs.
"You don't need to be so formal! Come on! Let's go."
As they walked, Henry looked at plants, trees, apples, and shrubs to avoid looking at Abigail. To him, she was still a strange girl.
Abigail opens, her door easily, turning it with a key Henry didn't even know she was allowed to have.
"Come on! Don't be shy!"
Henry stepped inside, and there were already two other girls sitting on the couch. One girl looked older than every other kid in the neighborhood, maybe 18, with brunette hair and brown eyes, being somewhat tall.
The other girl looked Henry's age, with red hair and red eyes, along with having freckles on her cheeks.
"Hello, sisters! I brought someone! His name is Henry! He's just staying here for a little while!"
The tall girl with brunette hair spoke first.
"Hello! Nice to meet you! I'm Erin. Make yourself at home here!"
The other girl stirred her drink before saying,
"I'm Mia. Nice to meet you."
Mia smiled, but it looked suspicious and practiced. Abigail lead Henry to the kitchen, where there were cookies inside.
They looked crisp and fresh, dispite being on the counter in a bag. The chocolate looked amazing, as well, melting just a little bit.
"Well? Take a bite!"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
The cookies tasted good, but wrong, like someone put something in there. But, maybe it was just Henry being paranoid. What could possibly go wrong here?
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Thanks for the cookies!"
"How about you stay a little longer?"
Abigail squeezed Henry's shoulder harder than expected.
"Oh, okay, fine."
Henry didn't want to be impolite, but the sisters kept on making excuses for him to stay until it was evening.
"You're having fun, right?"
"Stay comfortable. We have tons of food and drinks here!"
"Were happy to have you here! Maybe you can stay a bit longer?"
Henry was surprised his dad hadn't come looking for him yet, but he stayed.
He almost didn't know why, but it felt respectful to do so.
When Henry was sitting on the couch, he looked out the window. His eyes went wide He was pretty sure he saw someone or something flash by. It was barely noticable to the eye, almost like a spiriting cheetah.
Oh well, maybe it was a speeding car.
He turned around to see Mia right next to him, a neutral look on her fa
ce, all.ost like she was being controlled.
"Hello, Henry," she said, "Do you want to play a game?"