Gingerbread

Author Note: Thank you all so much for the love, support, and reviews on '12-14-12: And the World Ended'. It means a lot to me, and all of your prayers to God will soon be answered, I am positive. He is looking after the families and the children now, and I have been inspired to write two prequels following my other story in honor of who were lost. Please keep them all in your prayers.

She was looking forward to building a gingerbread house when she returned from school that Friday.

"Katie Kat, you look soooooooo pretty!" she gasped now, rushing to put her hands on her twin's shoulders as she admired the beautiful dress now on her indentical, "I love it!"

"Thanks, Cay," Katie replied, smiling broadly at the compliment from her sister, "you look soooooooo pretty, too!"

The other blushed a little as she looked down at her own dress. It was a light brown, like the gingerbread her mother was baking now for after school, with swirls of red and white all over it, reaching just below her knees. Her twin's dress was green with red lacing around the neck and the base, which reminding them both of Christmas, which they both loved very much.

"I hope Kenny will wear the bow I made him..." Katie spoke whistfully and hopefully, and she smiled, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and giggling lightly.

"If you give him your puppy eyes, I'm positive he will," she giggled in response, making both girls laugh as they rushed into their older brothers' room, bouncing on his bed at the same time as he finished combing out his hair.

As her sister used her signature please/puppy eyes, Caelyn Knight giggled madly. The smell of the gingerbread was delcious and made her mouth water, the anticipation of getting to make a house out of it and a bunch of goodies she would be able to eat with her family made her feel warm and fuzzy, and the new dress made her full of more energy than ever. With all of these good feelings in the normally bubbly, happy little girl, for a while, life was perfect.

It made Katie happy that her sister was happy, even if she was alway happy.

There was no doubt in her mind that Caelyn was always going to be a somewhat abnormally happy spirit- it was obvious enough in the six years the two had known each other. While she was more of the clever, stealthy, but loveable one, her twin was sweet, shy, and senstive. Both of them fit quite well together, and they did pretty much everything together, including going to school- they were in the same class and everything.

"I can't wait 'till we get to make the gingerbread house!" Caelyn bubbled now as they rode to school on the bus, and the other had to roll her eyes a little as her own face broke into the same toothy grin.

"Me either!" she agreed, giggling as she thought back to their brother, "I'm glad Kenny wore that bow. I think it's really pretty with the candycanes and the ribbons, don't you?"

"Yeah! Especially with the buttons!" her sister giggled madly as she nodded, and the other suddenly got a troubling bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She couldn't quite explain why- so far the day had been really fun and good. Trying to ignore the feeling, she continued to talk with her best friend and sister, glancing out of the window once. A man who looked about twenty was standing outside their school, his face shaded over with a duffel bag his feet as he stuffed his hands deep in the pockets of his rippd jeans.

He didn't look up as they all started going inside the building, and she didn't have a good feeling about him at all...

Caelyn was coloring a picture of a gingerbread man when a loud crack echoed out loudly across the entire school.

POP!

Something whizzed by her ear suddenly, and her head bolted up instantly, eyes going wide. A man she'd noticed outside their school earlier that morning was now standing in the doorway, gripping a gun in his hands as he stared at Ms. Wilker. Everyone's faces were terrified, and she gripped her brown crayon for a couple of moments that seemed completely endlessly before the pops defeaned a dead silent school building.

POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!

The man was shooting his gun madly, and the young girl emitted a scream with a few other children as the class rushed for the back of the room. Some of them were crying, and she saw Katie coming toward her, looking petrified and detirmined to get to her. The two gripped hands as the wild, blind firing continued for what seemed like longer than what actually less the a minute. Suddenly, the man's gaze met hers as he swung his barrel, and the young girl barely had time to gasp as she flung herself in front of Katie.

CRACK!

A searing pair erupted on her forehead, and less than a second later another matching pain met her chest, making her fall to the ground. The scream behind her made her realize with horror that her sibling had been shot, and there was other screams as things got really blurry.

Katie Kat...are you okay?

The thought was lost in the blurriness that overcame the young child.

Cae...why did you do that?

It was the first thing Katie wondered as she opened her eyes, squinting because of the ultra bright lights in her eyes. She was suddenly aware that she wasn't in her classroom with the scary man with the gun, which made her relax as the thought she was safe now came into her mind. That's when the numbness kicked in, and she looked up worridley to her brother and mother, who'd obviously been crying.

"Where...where's Caelyn?"

"Yay! I can't wait!"

What she'd said when she found out they were making the gingerbread house.

"No! I can't breathe!"

That's what she was thinking now as she struggled. Pictures of her father flashed in her mind as her small body compulsed violently, the rest of her thoughts panicked and confused. There was some doctors and nurses looking down on her, looking sad and in pain as their visions blurred in her eyes, tears streaming down her face. The pains on her chest and forehead were unbearable, and she found herself understanding true agony.

She was so, so confused.

Why did that man do that to me and Katie Kat? Is she okay? Where is she? I can't see her...Why do I see my daddy's face? Yay, Daddy!...but wait, I can't feel the pain anymore. Why can't I feel anything? What's Daddy whispering?

Wait...why I am dead?

...Why did that man kill me?

She couldn't believe it had been just a week ago she'd lost her best friend.

Her young being felt hollow and depressed, and she felt constantly wieghed down. She just wanted to cry all the time, or curl up in a ball and just die/disappear. She couldn't see herself ever being happy without her indentical bouncing beside her. Things were so dark, and she felt very alone- her mother was crying a lot and her brother didn't ever say anything.

It was just like when they lost their father, only twice as worse for the living twin.

Her big, sad brown eyes drifted over the counter now, and tears filled her eyes as she looked at the gingerbread house materials. Nobody had bothered to put them up, and now she padded over, shaking as she touched her sister's favorite holiday food. With trembling fingers, she brought it to her lips and let her deceased sibling's voice echo in her head and memories.

"I love gingerbread houses! They're like, the bestest food ever!"

"But Cae...what makes it so special?"

"Well, Katie Kat...if you eat it,you feel warm and special. And I love it so much that I'll be with you as long you eat it!"

Now the child ate the piece, tears splashing heavily. Somehow though, it was if she was being hugged by her beloved, and preassure began relieving on her soul. Sighing shakily, she wiped her face best she could and took another piece, gripping Caelyn's favorite stuffed animal tighter to her chest as she continued eating.

And standing there in her kitchen, the ghost of her twin somehow with her as she nibbled on gingerbread, Katie Knight had a feeling that eventually, even this worst wound would heal.