4 A click on the screen, a twist of the key, and a thirty-mile trip

"Sebastian, what happened to your neck?" Molly, who was sitting on the passenger seat asked after she saw with the rear-view mirror the red stains around his son's Adan's apple.

"Oh, this? Eva di-"

"He called me dumb and stupid!" The wicked sued first.

After an hour of the trip, Eva was already resurrected with full HP, with no sadness and suicidal intention of when she just got into the car carrying a lonely backpack and a cap.

She came from 'I'll die so you regret your actions, mom' to 'Look! Look! Sebas! A fox! What does the fox say? Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!'.

The mother immediately understood the situation from the few words and proceeded to mediate. "Sebas, you know you can't win your sister in a fight, why do you keep provoking her? You're a guy, you should act more generous, she-"

But before his mother finished talking, he solemnly interrupted, "Mom, I just wanted to warn Eva. She's good-looking, obviously inherited from you, people look at her and say, 'Wow, she definitely has her mother's genes. Remember that last time when people thought you two were sisters? See, I'm not bragging, and people got good eyes. But her personality is terrible. Never learned even a little to be as kind, gentle, and disarming as you." Sebastian praised, with no shame.

Hearing this, Molly's face showed an appreciative smile. And also, a touch of agreeance.

"Look at her, all day naughtier than me, she is supposed to be the big sibling, not the other way around. She has no self-consciousness, no self-care, and let's not expect her to find a couple, because, sooner or later, some lustful adolescent boy will take advantage of her. And just in our school, there're already docents of teenagers chasing behind her ass greedy for her appearance, can you imagine how dangerous for her it would be when she enters university?"

"Whoever that wants to approach me I'll kick their ass." Eva finally found room to replicate, in her specialized area.

"Well, let's be realistic, even if you can beat ten people at the same time, you think those college seniors will play in good faith? Alcohol, drugs, or even just a store aspirin, they invite you a drink, a beer, a coffee, a boba, call it as you want, and boom, you wake up in their nasty apartment not remembering anything!"

"Imagine, you wake up with no kidney in a hotel in another state, and the responsible just disappears."

And not giving Eva a break, he threw his 'Joker' card. "Oh, worse even, you don't even wake up!"

The look of the mother finally changed, everything said by Sebastian nailed her worries about her ready to graduate daughter.

Molly instantly changed of faction and became team Sebastian. Eva had lost all her back up, so she looked at Joseph pleading for his support as her mother started to preach to her.

But the man was being an exemplary driver, looking straight at the road with no distraction, prioritizing the safety of his family.

Although in reality, from the driver seat, Joseph, sweating, contemplated the whole no-weapon battlefield, and the master play of his son; How the matter gave 180 grades turn after few words.

Looking outside of the box, no matter how smart those college boys are, will they be smarter than Sebastian? Joseph doubted, and following that logic, Eva who fights day and night against him shouldn't be that inadequate. Everything is a matter of contrast, and what thing you compare between.

But even so, he won't say that all loud, since her wife wants to take the chance to 'educate' their daughter... which she might need, after all.

...

'This is karma,' looking at a certain violent chimpanzee with a downcast head, the corner of Sebastian's mouth evoked a triumphant curve, "By the way, my mother, I heard you complaining about dry skin recently, and I just happened to see an imported face cream that suits you well on the Internet. So, I made the purchase for you, it is estimated to be delivered home the day after we come back from camping."

Eva looked with rage at Sebastian, the fire in her eyes yelled 'that's unfair! You're bribing our mother!'

But Molly didn't think in that way, just after hearing the word 'cream', she showed a perceptively joyful expression, "After all, it's my son who knows and loves me, you two should learn from him!"

The old father who somehow got involved nodded and said yes, showing a flattering smile.

Molly nodded in satisfaction, the ranking of hierarchy in the family was clear at a glance.

....

Of jokes and laughs, the family finally arrived at the destination of the trip. Evan and Molly got out of the car amazed looking at the verdant hills shrouded in mist, like a fairyland.

More specially, that extensive lagoon added a more glamorous touch, no doubt that at night, its surface will become a gigantic mirror that reflects every diamond-like star.

Sebastian and Joseph looked at each other, smiling with proudness. They already saw the pictures of other tourists before, but they agreed together to keep the location as a secrete and surprice just for this moment.

The father also had to agree that it was impressive how his son could find such a magnificent hidden place.

There was no human signal around here at all except the cars of other visitors. The last man-made building seen on the road was already ten kilometers away.

"Okay, the car can't go further, we need to leave it here. Everybody take the stuff, we'll go walking." The father called his wife and children, as he opened the back door of the minivan and began to distribute the luggage.

Eva was of course allocated almost half of all the luggage. She was the strongest and the family knew it, no one would say things like 'oh, she is a girl'. Furthermore, with so few things, she could carry them and run for two kilometers without even panting.

The family trekked between the trees and crossed the forests. After walking for more than half an hour, they came to a low-lying place in the mountains and forests.

The lake was already visible from here. It's vapor result of the sunset, no one considered it suffocating, on the contrary, it made people feel refreshed and renewed.

It's necessary to back what was said before, because, there was no need to wait until the night to appreciate the lake's true beauty, because the orange, pink, blue, and purple colors reflected off the sun and clouds already made this place a piece of art.

While there was still some light left, the family worked together to organize everything before dark, set up a campfire, spread soft moisture-proof mats on the ground, and put three tents together.

The father hummed and lighted up separately a portable grill, he also took out an already seasoned raw chicken from one of the cooler boxes and then from the bag side dishes like salad, baked potatoes, and caramelized corn. Laying them one by one on the mats.

Joseph's dad, or in other words Sebastian's grandfather was and still is the owner of a family BBQ restaurant, the original plan was for Joseph to inherit his business, but the rebellion of Joseph back then made him go toward the complete opposite path—an ice cream shop—. Cold instead of burning firewood, sweet rather than salty spice mixes.

But even so, Joseph learned and mastered his father's techniques with ovens, pans, and grills.

Resulting in every family dinner becoming a feast, and Sebastian's father was duly the king... except for the times when grandfather come to visit. All the food tastes like pig food compared to his dishes.

But back to the campfire.

The family warmly ate the delicious roast chicken accompanied by soda, smiling as they watched Eva taking credit, showing off how much firewood she had collected and how much luggage she had carried.

Sebastian shook his head with a smile, and was about to taunt her when he suddenly felt a strong palpitation!

He stood up violently, his eyes wide open scanning the dark sky barely visible mountains and forests, a strong sense of crisis made his heartbeat wildly, almost convulsively, he did not know what was going on, but his body just instinctively felt that danger was close at hand and he had to escape immediately!

He right away yelled to his family, "We have to run! I don't know why, but there's definitely something coming! It's too dangerous!"

Eva suddenly looked solemn too, also seeming to sense something bizarre, and immediately rushed to the luggage, took out two axes, and threw one to Sebastian, while Sebastian, who was acting right behind, had long since rushed to the other luggage, took out the two flashlights placed inside, threw one out, and made a beautiful exchange with Eva.

Meanwhile, the father, despite not knowing what was going on with his son and daughter, for the trust the years had accumulated, hurried to find his gun.

"Leave everything behind, now!" Sebastian shouted as he grabbed the wrist of his mother and ran toward the direction they left the car.

That was the best thing he could do as the weak, protecting the weaker.

The daughter and the father, on the other hand, followed alertly at the end, guarding the head of the group.

These parents didn't ask many questions, their son had always been calm and clever, the astute him would never make such jokes. While their daughter, although mischievous, was not hostess of ambiguousness in matters of great importance.

Although the couple was sensing nothing, their son and daughter were acting so abnormally at the same time, something terrible was definitely about to happen!