[ WP ] Write a short horror story with a twisted end

When her parents first came home with Sissy, 6-year-old Zoe could not have been happier. She had always wanted a little sister and Sissy was everything she hoped she would be. The first few years, Zoe and Sissy were inseparable. She wanted Sissy by her side no matter what she was doing. Having to leave Sissy to go to school was enough to make her sad for half the day. Now ten, with her dad, mom, Sissy and their dog Duke, they were the perfect family – just like in the TV shows Zoe liked to watch. 
 
 Life took a dark turn for Zoe when Sissy turned against her. Sissy would call her names, hit her, bite her, say terrible things to her and scare her. She tried to tell her mom, but her mom just shrugged it off. She even got angry telling Zoe that there was no way Sissy was capable of that kind of stuff and that she should stop making things up. Nobody liked a tattle tale. 
 
 Zoe tried a different strategy. She would tell her parents she was afraid of monsters under the bed and ask to sleep with them, but instead they would have Sissy sleep with her. The imaginary monsters were not the worry; the real monster now sleeping in her bed was. She tried to fight back. She hit Sissy and would call her names. She would try to make up ways to punish her, but none of it worked. In fact, it had the opposite effect. It just made Sissy meaner and more aggressive. 
 
 Zoe was under siege and Sissy, with her pretty blue eyes, blonde hair and cute smile was the adorable, unstoppable force that was destroying her life. Even Duke liked Sissy and would ignore Zoe ’ s cries for help. 
 
 One afternoon Zoe came up with a plan. It was desperate, but it was likely her only hope of finally bringing this abuse to an end. She had no real choice. Sissy was getting brutal. Last night while Zoe slept, Sissy pulled back her covers, lifted up her shirt and smacked her across the back with a belt. It left a welt and sent Zoe into her parent ’ s room crying, but they told her she must have slept on something or maybe hit her back on something while getting out of bed. Of course they did. Their precious Sissy could never do such a thing to her sister. 
 
 Zoe pulled on her rubber boots and went into the grove of trees that surrounded their back yard. Normally, she would be far too scared to venture into these woods alone, but Sissy was scarier than anything that could be waiting for her in the shadows of the trees. She gathered up a handful of sticks, some dried leaves and even some newspaper she ’ d found in the garage and put it all in a pile. She then went inside and talked Sissy into going outside with her. Sissy didn ’ t put up any kind of resistance. She suspected nothing. 
 
 In the woods, Zoe wrestled Sissy to the ground. She tied her up with some rope, laid her on top of the pile of wood and leaves then doused her with gas and lit the entire thing on fire. As she ran back towards the house Sissy screamed and cried out in agony as she burned. 
 
 Inside, Zoe played innocent. She sat in the living room watching a few of her favorite shows acting as if it were any other day. An hour or so after she had burned Sissy alive, her mom came into the room, “ Hey Zoe-pop, wan na go get some ice cream? ” she asked, using her pet name for Zoe that always made Zoe feel good. 
 
 “ Yes! ” Zoe replied. 
 
 “ Cool, you get Sissy and I ’ ll grab my purse. ” 
 
 Zoe froze in place, reaching for words then said, “ Not just you and me? ” 
 
 “ We can take Sissy. It ’ ll be just us girls. It ’ ll be fun. ” 
 
 After another awkward pause Zoe said, “ I don ’ t know where Sissy is. ” 
 
 “ What do you mean? ” 
 
 “ I haven ’ t seen her in a while; I don ’ t know where she is. ” Zoe was suddenly desperate. 
 
 Her mom looked at her, smiled and said, “ You silly goose, she ’ s right there. ” She pointed through a doorway into the dining room. There, sitting at the table, was Sissy with smoke damaged clothes and a burn mark on her face. Zoe could feel hear heart stop with fear. Her mom walked over and picked Sissy up, tucking the doll under her arm as she reached for her purse. “ Sissy is filthy and smells terrible. I ’ ll wash her when we get home. ” 
 
 As her mom opened the front door and headed for the car, Zoe followed with locked knees as if she were being led to the gas chamber. Her eyes met Sissy ’ s and the doll let slip a sly smile and a wink. 

