"Hello…?" I called out, and I immediately regretted it. Dammit, Persephone, don't you pay attention to the horror movies? That was exactly what not to say! I thought irritatedly, lowering my bag to the floor. Everything seemed in place, and my parent's cars were in the driveway. But they never left the door open, even if they were miraculously home for some reason. "Persephone?"- I whipped around, screaming at the sudden voices behind me. My mother arched an eyebrow, while my dad had a surprised expression on his face. I blinked, and shook my head, my pulse starting to calm. "I'm sorry… I didn't know where you were." I mumbled, looking at the ground. My dad wiped his dark brown hair from his eyes, and chuckled at me. "It's alright! Your mother and I were just in the basement, fixing the heater." he sighed, rolling his shoulder, and a crack sounded. "You helped with that?" I asked my mom incredulously. "I just held the flashlight." she shrugged, walking to the kitchen. "I'll get dinner started!" she called, and I soon heard the fridge open. I furrowed my eyebrows in surprise. Mom never cooked. In fact, if she had anything to do with dinner, she ordered it. Dad was the cook in the house. Walking over to the living room, I saw my father lounging on the couch, watching football. My dad absolutely detested sports… he never had free time to watch them anyways. "Katze…?" I said, noticing her collar on the floor. Sure, sometimes she got out of it… but it seemed out of place, like it was haphazardly tossed away. "Did you say something, Persephone?" dad said from the couch. "Uh… where's Katze?" "…Katze? Who's Katze?" he asked, turning to face me. I arched an eyebrow, looking at him curiously. "You know, the… never mind." I said, quickly exiting the room. What the hell was going on? We've had Katze for a few years, he couldn't have just forgotten about her. I shuffled into the kitchen, surprised to see Mom putting a huge roast in the oven. Despite it not being cooked, it already filled the room with a delicious scent. Spying the basement door, I made my way over to it, grasping the handle. "Persephone, where are you going?" Mom asked, turning to smile at me. "Ah… to get some laundry." I said quietly. "I already did the laundry, hun. In fact, there's none down there." she laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners like they used to. But… mom put her foot down years ago. She refused to do anyone else's laundry, and we all did our own. "You forgot something." I said quickly, opening the door and bursting inside, shutting it behind me. I descended the stairs, frowning. Had my parents gone through a major personality change? It was impossible. "…" I looked in the shadows, to see a pair of eyes staring at me. "Katze!" I whispered, and she walked out to greet me, shaking a little. I picked her up worriedly, looking around for the light switch. Why was Katze in the basement? She only came here when… new people were in the house… I froze, looking up at the stairs, hearing the doorknob turn ever so slightly. I bolted into the garage, and tripped, falling onto the concrete floor. I clenched my teeth as Katze scurried away, and the lights turned on. Mom and Dad stood in the doorway, with happy expressions plastered on their faces. "You… you two aren't my parents!" I snapped, scrambling to my feet. My mother laughed darkly, along with my father. Their facade shattering instantly. "You just now figured that out? Look at what you tripped over." My eyes travelled to the floor, and I gasped. My parents- my real parents lay on the ground, their eyes blank and staring nowhere. They were perfectly still, and I turned to face the imposters. "What did you do to them?! What the hell are you?!" I shouted, and the woman's eyes grew dark, the man's eyes doing the same. He smirked, crossing his arms. "We killed them and took their place." he said simply. My heart stopped, and I shook my head in disbelief. "N-no… they can't be…" "Dead?" the woman finished, laughing. "Oh, so now you miss them? Pathetic. You took your family for granted, and now they're gone." "Isn't that what you wanted?" Tears threatened to escape my eyes, and I glared at them both. "No!" They laughed, starting to approach. I backed away, and their appearance changed further, the both of them soon turning into a black mist of some sort. I hit the garage door opener, and it slowly began to roll up. Growing scared and impatient, I rolled under the gap, Katze following behind me. I scooped her up in my arms, rushing away from my house, pushing my legs more than I ever had before. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and it kept me from tiring out. I skidded onto another street, and ran up the stairs to the house I was unwillingly becoming familiar with. I hurriedly knocked on the door, and it opened, revealing Ian and Susan. He breathed out in relief, before seeing my stricken expression. "Persephone…?" I rushed forward, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Please… help me…" --------------------------------------------------- OHMYGOODNESS- Her parents are dead! Weird shadow things are chasing her! What'll happen next?!