I picked up my little sister and looked out the window. “What the fuck?”

My sister and I have just returned from our bi-annual visit to our family’s lake house in the woods near Lake Michigan. This was the first time that we had gone by ourselves, deciding to spend a week by ourselves before our parents came for the month of July. Our parents were at home in Chicago looking after the family business, and we kept in contact with them throughout our stay.<br><br>My sister’s name is Emma, but I call her Em for short. She’s only nine so she’s still small enough to be picked up, even though she’s starting to get too heavy. Her small size has its advantages though. For example, she fits into small spaces, and is light enough that I can toss her around when we are playing. Of course, even though I’m only 13, I’m 6’0” and weigh around 165 pounds so I’m not exactly small myself. Apparently we get our height from our grandparents who were all 6 feet or taller. Our parents are the exceptions; they’re both around 5’8”, go figure.<br><br>Anyway, we had arrived at the lake house in the late afternoon, but hadn’t left our rooms since we got there. It was really hot and we were both tired from the trip, so we just decided to chill. I was playing some video games, and I’m sure Em was doing something with her dolls. She loves playing pretend with them, and even though she sometimes lets me join her, I’m not really into that kind of thing. I guess it’s not cool if you’re a guy. I can hear her talking and laughing in her room, so I can tell she’s having fun.<br><br>Around 7:00 I get hungry and decide to check out the fridge. I’m sure we’ll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, since all we have is some water and a little bit of fruit. I’m not old enough to drive yet, so that will be a bitch. Maybe if I ask nicely, the neighbors will give us a ride to the nearest town. They’re really nice, but they’re also old and grumpy. I’ll have to ask Em to come with me for them to agree, and she hates everyone but me right now. That’s just how she is. I’m not complaining about it, though. Being the only person she feels comfortable around is an honor in my opinion.<br><br>I go downstairs and head to the kitchen, and to my surprise, the fridge is full of food. It’s mostly snack foods like chips and popcorn, but there are also a couple of steaks and some chicken fillets. Who put all this food here? We’re not supposed to be here until next week, and we’re the only ones with keys to the place. I shrug my shoulders and take out one of the fillets, deciding to grill it for supper. It’s been a while since I’ve used the barbecue, but after a few minutes I get it started and throw the chicken on the grill. I set the heat to high and go back inside to set up the dining room.<br><br>Once I’ve finished setting up the table, I go check on the chicken. I can already smell it from the door, and it smells good. I flip it over, and slowly turn the knob, lowering the heat. I don’t want it to burn before dinner’s ready, and I’m sure Em will be mad at me if I messed up the food. She’s very particular about her food, and she likes her chicken done a certain way. I go back inside and yell up the stairs. “Food’s almost done Em! Come down and we can eat!”<br><br>There’s no answer from upstairs, so after a minute or so, I decide to go check her room. She’s probably still playing with her dolls, and she might not have heard me. I find her sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at one of the posters that we had attached to her wall a long time ago. She was staring so hard at one picture that she didn’t even look up at me. “Hey Em. Supper’s almost ready. Come downstairs to eat.”<br><br>Again, she didn’t answer, so I sighed angrily and walked over to her. “Do you not hear me? I said supper’s ready! It’s not like I make you food all the time you know.” I roughly pick her up, toss her over my shoulder, and head down the stairs. She started to struggle a little, but after a few seconds, she became still. I shrug and figure she’s just being dramatic again. I go outside and set her down at the table. “Come on Em. Eat your dinner before I do.”<br><br>She still hadn’t said anything, so I started eating, and after a few more minutes, she finally snapped out of whatever daze she was in. “What?” was all she said, kind of startled.<br><br>“Nothing. You just haven’t said anything almost the whole time we’ve been here. It’s like you’re in another world or something.” I say sarcastically while chewing on a piece of chicken. It tastes pretty damn good if I do say so myself.<br><br>“Am I supposed to talk? I didn’t know that.” She says frantically, her voice trembling. What was wrong with her? Of course she was supposed to talk. She was my sister.<br><br>“Of course you are Em. You talk all the time.” I reply slowly, starting to worry. She had never acted like this before, so maybe I should take her to the hospital. I’ll have to convince the neighbors to let us borrow their car for a ride.<br><br>“I don’t talk at all,” she said. She then started to laugh maniacally, and I felt a chill run down my back.<br><br>“Em. What’s going on?” I say sternly. This was getting too weird.<br><br>“I’ll show you.” She said. She suddenly gets up from her chair, and I pick her up, cradling her in my arms as I followed her inside the house. We went to the downstairs bedroom and looked out the window. I could see the lake, but as I looked closer, I noticed something I had never seen before. There was a person standing on the beach right in front of the water. I couldn’t see the person’s face, but their posture seemed very weird. It looked as if their body was twisted in an impossible position. I cover Em’s ears. “What the fuck?” I whisper to myself.<br><br>&#x200B;