After saying something so shocking, Lincoln saw the mixed expressions his three 'sisters' were making. Lisa and Lori were shocked that he had discovered the secret so quickly. Leni, on the other hand, who apparently didn't know about this secret, ended up being a little happy about it, even if she couldn't say why.

"Like you...."

That was the only thing Lori managed to say before Lincoln, with a serene expression on his face, interrupted her.

"Being quite honest? It would be weird if one day I didn't find out. Don't you think? Look at us. I have none of your traits, and you have none of mine. Literally, we're so different from each other. You can't help but notice."

While pausing briefly, Lincoln noticed a stunned expression on the sisters' faces and, without giving them time to say anything, he continued.

"You don't have to be a genius to realize that. Just look at our differences."

"But how did you figure that out?"

Lori asked, with a curious look on her face, wanting to know at all costs how her brother had discovered this secret that the family had been keeping from him for a long time. She wanted to know if he had discovered it on his own or if it had been them who, at some point, had revealed it, somewhat unintentionally.

Lincoln let out a small sigh before answering his sister's question.

"That's not the point right now. So just forget I said it, and move on."

After Lincoln said those words and realized that his sister was going to ask him something else, he decided to put an end to the subject right there, before it went on any longer than necessary.

"I kind of wanted to continue this pointless conversation. But as you can see, we still have a lot to do."

Said Lincoln, as he showed the sisters the mess the house was in at the moment, because of the break they had taken. But before Lori could say anything else, she was surprised when she turned in the direction where her brother should have been, but he was no longer there.

Lincoln had taken what he'd said to heart and simply carried on tidying the house as if nothing had happened. When Lori, Leni and Lisa saw this, they decided that it was best not to bring up the subject again.

SOME TIME LATER...

After almost thirty minutes that seemed like hours, Lincoln had finally finished all the tasks he had been given to do. However, as he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day, he decided to go with Clyde and his friends to a nearby convenience store to buy the rest of the things that were missing for the Christmas party. And since they were there, they also decided to buy a few more things for the beginning of the shit that was about to happen.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

At the store, not only did they buy a few more groceries that would last them a few days, but they also bought more canned food.

"Lincoln, do you think all this will last a few days?"

Clyde asked, as he pushed a market trolley full of canned food.

"That will depend a lot on how we organize ourselves and whether we know the right time to use it."

Lincoln answered indifferently, not letting any obvious emotion show, as he tried to pass on all the experience of a war veteran who has had to kill and survive on scraps and spoiled food.

***

After returning from the convenience store with all the things he had bought, Lincoln did the same ritual he had been doing for a few days. Everything he bought; he hid in the attic of the garage so that no one would find out. Although he was beginning to suspect that Lucy was the only one who knew about the things that were there. But he didn't want to ask her, so that if she didn't know, he wouldn't end up revealing it too soon.

As soon as he got home, Lincoln decided that he wouldn't do anything else for the rest of the day. And, all said and done, he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing nothing, just resting in his room while he prepared himself, both physically and mentally, for what was to come the next day.

December 25th

6:00 AM

24 hours before the chaos...

As today was Christmas and my mother didn't want to leave the preparations for the party until later, the whole family woke up super early, at six in the morning to be precise. Tidying up the house didn't even take that long, since my sisters, as well as being very anxious, were also being very helpful and helping with both the cleaning of the house and the preparations for Christmas dinner.

3:00 PM

15 hours before the chaos...

From six in the morning until three in the afternoon, nothing much had happened, except for the almost ten hours we spent tidying up the house and preparing supper for the party that was to take place that night.

"Man, when my mom wants to overdo it, she gets out from under."

Lincoln thought, as he looked at all the food on the table.

I already knew that we wouldn't need that much food, since all the other guests would also be bringing their own supper. But, as my family and the Casagrandes are usually very competitive when they're together, it ended up like this.

5:00 PM

13 hours before chaos...

And as I'd expected... the Casagrande family was the first to arrive, and soon after them, with a difference of almost twenty minutes, the other families gradually arrived one after the other until nightfall.

While everyone was in the living room, chatting away, Lincoln cautiously sneaked into the kitchen and, without anyone noticing him, named the drink for the two families with the whisky he had stolen from the convenience store. The reason for this was so that all the adults would get drunk and be unable to return home. After all, that was how they had died in the future, including the Casagrandes, who had been brutally killed that night.

> WARNING: From chapter 26 onwards... this story will be written in the first person.