8 Hours Past a Week

A beautiful woman smiled, as she set the table with the final touches. A beautiful feast laid before her eyes. It had been a long time since she enjoyed cooking. It had been a long time since she had cooked in her mother's kitchen. A cozy farm-house style kitchen, with a large island in the middle and an even bigger fireplace on the far side that warmed a small dining table not far away from it. The turkey she just placed in the middle of table, was golden with steam rising from the turkey's breast. The salads was tossed lightly with fresh vegetables. There was homemade dressings in bowls next to it. Farther down, parsley potatoes, and cooked Asparagus. The aromas mixing and blending, creating anyone who smelt the air, a feeling in their stomach. An unsatisfiable feeling, the feeling many get when they walk into a Chinese buffet. She heard her family in the living room, many calling out to her to be asked when it'll be finally time to eat. She finally said the words. Scrambling of tiny feet, and chairs scrapping against the floor filled the room. She passed a craving knife to her father. He smiled lovingly down at his daughter. She was one of his four prides and joys in this world. Her beautiful golden hair, curled into this beautiful angel like curls. Her blue eyes, shown when she took in the feast she just made for her family. She was talented, a hard worker, and creative, an artist in the kitchen. A trait neither him, or his beloved wife gave her. She watched her family begin serving food to themselves. Her dad was beaming at her, and she felt a surge of confidence rush through her. She felt secure and safe, looking at him. She felt loved with her two sisters lovingly poking fun of her. Her mother grumbling about how she could have helped her daughter prepare the meal. After a quick round of jokes through out the table, the idea of having their mother in the kitchen was quickly squashed. She looked at her father, one more time as he was carving the turkey. She placed a hand on her abdomen and sent a small prayer that one day the little one slowly growing there, would also be running to eat the meals she prepared. That she would also be bringing him or her here for many more gatherings, and holidays. That the child would know nothing but love. She watched as her sister, was quietly whispering to her fiancé. He had his had softly around her shoulders and was conversing with her in low tones, even giggling at the little things she was saying. Her sister was her identical. Her match to everything in the looks and DNA department. However they couldn't be more different in terms of personality. Claire Harris was fiery, outgoing, and had a wild streak. Her settling for one man startled her sister, Rachel. Claire, was the popular one. The one with many friends, she was constantly sneaking out to parties. There was many times Rachel had to cover for Claire. Sneaking into her room to be the sleeping in her bed so Claire could party the night away, and on many times so she could she one of her boyfriends. Rachel, was also shocked to find out her twin was dating, a year prior and even more so to receive the call at 1:05 am in the morning January 1st of that year that she agreed to marry her fiancé, Luke. For every personality Claire had, the exact opposite could be said of Rachel. She was quiet, laid back, and reserved. She was homey. She loved doing things such as cooking. Her entire life goal growing up was to own a restaurant in one of the nearby towns or even her hometown. She wanted her children coming there after school with their friends to do homework in the booths, and then on weekends she would make big breakfasts and dinners. She would pack picnic baskets for hikes, and trips to the lake. The twin sisters, even though very much different shared an unbreakable bond. One look between the two and an almost immediate feeling of whatever the other was going through was known. Even after a brief separation between the two, the other always had a gut instinct of when the other was in trouble or in a good mood. The youngest of the Harris sisters was Leah. She was 15 years younger then her elder sisters. She was at a tender age of 6. She'd be turning 7 that following day. Every time this year they would joke about how thankful they were for the youngest. Eventually, whenever Leah wasn't fully listening or was engrossed in something else, her elder sisters would tease their parents about their middle age crisis. The jokes eventually turned into a warning look from their mother, and chuckle from their father. Leah, was thought to be menopause for Janet Harris. Her and her husband, Greg had terrible time conceiving their twin daughters. It wasn't to after many years of trying were they able to. Fertility Clinics weren't what they are now, and when they were trying, they were almost nonexistent. They hadn't conceived the twins till they were 28, and 32 respectively. Then 15 years later along came Leah. The age gap between the oldest sisters and the youngest seemed to be the thing that causes them to be the closest. It caused Rachel to become more of a mother hen, and Claire to be like the fun aunt to their youngest sister. The Harris family continued eating their meal, and the jokes continued. Janet couldn't help but watch her one daughter more closely. She knew something had happened, but knew better than to ask. Rachel, was quiet. She wasn't as open with her feelings. She knew she needed to respect her daughter's boundaries. She made the mistake of pushing once to hard for information, and it resulted in 10 months of silence. Calls were rejected and letters were returned to sender. Knocks on the doors were met with silence. The silence spread through the entire family. Rachel didn't respond to anyone. She retreated, she didn't leave her house she shared with her husband, and almost no-one ever saw her. So when Rachel showed up on their doorstep a week ago, it was a shock. Janet didn't question why now, she simply welcomed her daughter back home. She ignored the green hue to Rachel's cheek and the way she flinched whenever someone came to close. She knew in due time her daughter would eventually open up to her. The only request Rachel asked of them was never to mention to her husband she was here. She explained they were having marital issues and he had thought she went on a 3 week long therapy trip but decided last minute to come here instead. Everyone respected those wishes and ignored her awkwardness. However, Janet, had a sick feeling in her stomach. She knew something was wrong, her 'mom-guy' churned each time she witnessed her daughter flinch, or get a far off look in her eye. Janet felt eyes on her, and she looked around for the source. She met the gaze of her husband, however is normally loving gaze wasn't anymore. There was confusion in his eyes. An unexplainable fear as he looked at her. They both turned look at their daughters, and Luke. Everyone was slowly standing up and staring at the doorway. Leah whimpered and slowly slid around the table and between her parents. Janet watched as Luke slowly pushed Claire behind him. She wrapped both of her daughters in her arms and looked at her third. Rachel had a hand supporting her body on the chair. Her knuckles were white from clenching it. Her other hand was on her abdomen. Janet's heart froze even more as she realized why her hand was placed there. She wanted desperately to pull her other daughter from the other side of the table in the safety of her arms. Luke was trying to reason with what caused everyone to stand in fear. Greg was walking from around the table towards it as well. He was also trying safely put the unprotected daughter behind him but Rachel was frozen in her spot. Rachel looked around at everyone else in the room. The last person she met eyes with was her sister. In that instant, Claire knew. She knew everything. Her heart froze, her stomach wanted to empty its contents. Then the adrenaline kicked in. She reached out across the table to grab her sister's hand. Just has their fingers touched, a flash of red sprayed the table. Luke collapsed. Then followed Greg. In 45 horrifying minutes, there was only one survivor in a sea of red.