He means the world to me.

My brother, Chase, lies hopeless on the ground. My heart begins to ache and I look at my mom with tears in my eyes.

"What happened?" I ask her and she bites her lip.

"I don't know . . . he was just running around and-" she begins to sob and I sit her down on the couch. Ambulance sirens sound outside and I hope, with everything I have, that he is okay.

I've never been a religious person. Those things just don't spark any interest in me. But I have had times where I prayed to something, anything that someone -- or something -- would be okay. This, would be one of those times.

The paramedics and EMT's come in and I hold back all of my tears. I comfort my mom on the couch as they lift my brother's little body onto the stretcher. They pull him always my mother hugs me for the first time. A real hug.

"Go," I say to her and she gets dressed to leave. My dad wakes up and is given the sudden news. They rush out of the house together and I step outside to watch them depart. I look over the complex, watching all of the neighbors head into their individual home. I watch a single person walk up the sidewalk to mine.

I run. I run to him so fast while crying a little bit. He brings me into his arms and I sob.

"Hey . . . hey . . . it's okay . . ." Gus whispers while rubbing my back. We don't know each other, but I need a source of comfort at this point. I continue to cry as he leads me back to my doorstep. He takes me inside and sets me on the couch.

"How long will your parents be gone?" he wraps his arm around me and I let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know-"

"Can I take you somewhere?" he suddenly asks out of nowhere.

"Uh . . . sure," I say hesitantly, and he slowly stands me up.

We start our journey away from where the terrifying ambulance took Chase. Walking at a decent pace, I stare off to the other side of the road, admiring the other houses. The neighborhood I live next to doesn't have many expensive houses, however, the ones along the busy road are sort of nice.

"Where are we going?" I blurt out and feel Gus's hand slowly slip to mine.

"You'll see," he says softly and I blush.

We reach the high school and make a turn onto the property. My stomach begins to churn, because no one is allowed on the premises on weekends, unless there is some sort of event.

"Gus, we shouldn't be here."

"It's all right, Alexa. We are just going to take a look at the lake."

The word 'lake' almost makes me cringe as I remember my terrifying experience with the evil creature that lurks in the shadows. I can still feel the scaly tail brushing against my leg . . .

"This isn't a good idea," I pipe up as we near the lake.

"Hon, for me? I just want to admire the fish . . ." he pouts and walks faster, almost as if he is extremely eager to see the lake's features.

"I-I guess-"

"Good. Now, hurry up. Your parents may be back any minute now . . . ."

The realization hits me, and I begin to run as fast as I can towards the lake. My shirt blows in the subtle wind as I huff and puff my way over there. I slow to a stop as I reach the edge of it, my heart racing from both fear and excitement.

"Look closely . . . you may see a fish . . ." a voice from behind startles me and I playfully punch him in the arm. Following his orders, I look deeply into the muggy blue waters. My heart pounds as I wait for a fish to go by . . .

Splash!

My arms flail and I attempt to catch my breath underneath the water. My cheeks heat up in embarrassment from falling in.

Was I pushed? Or did I just accidentally fall in . . .

Nonetheless, I start towards the surface. I swim as fast as I can, and heave water over the grassy edge to get Gus wet.

"Haha!" I tell in triumph.

What happens scares me the most.

My ears open up to hear his reply, however, when I look around the edges of the lake, I see nothing.

"Gus?"

A/N

Hey guys!

So, where is Gus?

Guess you will find out in the next one! : D