《Bloody Family》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°Attention. Attention. This is an emergency broadcast system. Take shelter immediately. This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill. An unknown threat has attacked the people of the United Kingdom. Take shelter and stay tuned into this frequency for further instructions.¡±


    The father sat and scoffed at the broadcast, ¡°this is a joke if you think I¡¯m following these instructions, I¡¯ve got a construction site to go to.¡± The father shouted with passion.


    The mother replied with concern, ¡°we have to follow this broadcast, if we don¡¯t, something could happen to my son!¡±


    ¡°Our son! Why can¡¯t I just go out for work, we¡¯ve been locked in this house for the last two weeks, I cannot handle it any longer!¡±


    The mother sat with her head looking down to the floor, she thought he had right to complain, but he should be composed, if not for him, then for their son. Though, she knew it would be hard to keep her husband happy. She was sad, but with sadness came beauty, the mother was so appealing with long blonde hair that flowed down the thin, pale, but elegant body. A jawline that was carved perfectly.


    ¡°Should we put the news on? Hello guys, are you there?¡± She got frustrated and shouted as they ignored her, ¡°Danny and Kiran Ambrose, listen to me right this second!¡±


    Kiran and his big head looked up at her and said, ¡°listen babe, we are just looking at our phones, its useful, we can find out more information about what¡¯s going on. We can¡¯t just watch the news all day.


    ¡°This is hypocrisy! You say we shouldn¡¯t watch the news all day, but you can go on your phones all day,¡± she exclaimed. As the parents agued, Danny felt despair. Danny was a young boy with short and spiky hair and broken glasses that made him stick out in class. Danny was a born and bred nerd, it was just as natural as nature for him. He enjoyed his life; although, he always felt like he was in the dark abyss due to his parents having such a poor relationship.


    ¡°You want the news on? Well, there you fucking go!¡± The father shouted.


    As the news turned on. The family was shocked to see that cell towers were being destroyed by unknown threats. Then suddenly a news reporter began to speak urgently, yet the tone of his voice remained calm. ¡°This is very distressing, and we advise that young audiences should not hear this!¡± The news played a recording that sounded a lot like screaming animal¡¯s, the family thought. The recording also had people speaking about garlic, the family was confused by it and so was the news. ¡°As you can hear, this is a very confusing, but the people in the recording are not normal, I can promise you that. The scream in the recording was performed by the same people who was talking about garlic. The government are most worried about the chances of any survivors because ten minutes after the recording was sent, a bomb blown the structure of the cell tower. This message comes from the government: barricade your windows and doors. If possible, board windows with plywood. This is a worldwide threat that is unknown. Beware and always stay inside.¡±


    As the tv goes to no signal, the family feel trepidation, but the father remained sceptical.


    Danny screamed, ¡°what are we going to do? Our lives are over! If I can¡¯t go outside, what¡¯s the point in living... isn¡¯t life meant for the outside, isn¡¯t that what we¡¯ve evolved to do, go further outside. In fact, I remember an elegant quote by an author, it went like this, ¡°just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.¡± Mum, Dad, are you even listening?!¡±


    As the mother approached Danny, she spoke sympathetically, ¡°it¡¯s okay Danny. Look¡­I don¡¯t know when we can go outside again, but I know that you¡¯re have a life again, I promise.¡± Danny¡¯s face was brightening up. His mother had a gift when it came to giving him solace. As she walked towards Kiran, she felt a mild pain from the top of her back, it felt like someone cutting her with a sharp object but from the inside, she thought.


    ¡°You okay babe? You look tired.¡±


    ¡°Yes! And I am tired, Kiran. Shouldn¡¯t we start to board the windows and doors,¡± she said.


    Kiran knew he had to, even if he was sceptical, he just witnessed his son have a panic attack. So, Kiran went to check the attic for supplies and as he did, he remembered that the plywood, tools, and everything he needs to board the windows are in the garden shed. He goes into panic mode and runs down the stairs and heads straight to the kitchen, then grabs a knife and heads for the back door without his family¡¯s permission. He opens the door with his humongous hand, then steps outside, with his feet being small in contrast to his hands. He makes a joke, ¡°I¡¯ve got to be cool running¡¯s right now.¡± As he investigates his own garden as if he has never seen it before, and it¡¯s then, he realizes that he himself fears the unknown that awaits.


    He moves towards the shed, but as he does, a branch falls from a tree. The branch sends him over the top, and he runs to the shed, but nothing happens to him, nothing at all. He thinks to himself and knows that he is overreacting. The shed door is locked, so he takes the knife and hits the lock. He celebrates as the lock broke.


    But a breath of ice exhales on the back of Kiran¡¯s neck, Kiran looks up but wanted to prolong the identity of the mysterious breather. However, Kiran went to stab the mysterious breather behind him. As he swung his right arm, the knife punctured the cold thin air. Kiran was shocked, did he imagine it, or was something there? He thought, the paranoia had kicked in and thought how stupid he was.


    Kiran walked in the house, banging and crashing with all the necessary things for boarding the windows and doors. Elizbeth seen that her husband went to the shed, and he thought he was in trouble, but she gave him a look to say that he¡¯s on the right track. So, he took that momentum and grabbed his tools which consisted of a circular saw, measuring tape, and a drill. Kiran also grabbed materials for this process, which were massive planks of plywood, nails, and screws. As the father grabbed the measuring tape to go measure the windows, he notices that he will have to board the outside windows as well as the inside windows. Dread fills in his body.


    ¡°Babe, we have a problem. If we board the inner windows, then I will have to go outside to board the outer window¡­ because if I don¡¯t it will be extremely easy for someone to break in.¡± The father explained.


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    ¡°You sure about this? We don¡¯t even know what¡¯s out there¡­ could be anything.¡±


    The father pleaded, ¡°this must be done!¡± Kiran also noticed that they hadn¡¯t seen anything dangerous outside the windows.


    ¡°How are we doing this then?¡± Elizbeth asked.


    Kiran Ambrose knew that he could pull the majority of the job on his own, so he needed to measure the windows, then cut the plywood with a circular saw into the right measurements. As he was planning, he heard Danny playing with the radio. His dad gave him that radio when he was Danny¡¯s age, but Kiran had passed it down to Danny. Kiran smiles at him and thinks to a time when him and his son was listening to hip hop, and not dealing with this horror show.


    As time passes, Danny is studying chemistry, and it¡¯s threptic for him. Danny always enjoyed chemistry and was very competent at it, thus, he was being taught by some of the best chemists in the world. He¡¯s never been into people, only his mum and dad. Though, he has always loved animals, especially dogs, Danny has always said that dogs are his sanity and freedom. However, he also had a big passion for engineering and was planning to study that next. Being stuck inside had some silver linings, he thought.


    ¡°Danny, I¡¯ve got a brilliant idea,¡± the mother said with such enthusiasm. ¡°Why don¡¯t you help with cutting up the vegetables?¡±


    He sighed, ¡°do I have to, I¡¯m incompetent when it comes to cooking.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call cutting vegetables cooking.¡± The mother laughed, ¡°It¡¯s about time you start chipping in, you haven¡¯t helped once while we¡¯ve been incarcerated in this house, for the last two weeks¡­no, in fact your whole life has been easy!¡± His mother was suddenly inflamed, ¡°do you hear me? You¡¯re always causing mayhem, whether its stripping batteries, creating gunpowder, or even blowing my kitchen up, if you are a chemist, you¡¯re an incompetent one! And you still do that.¡±


    Kiran heard everything that his wife had just said to their son as Kiran rushes over to her, ¡°what is your game?¡± He says concerningly, ¡°why are you scolding our son like this, you never speak to him like this, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Elizbeth¡¯s looks at her husband, ¡°I am queen of¡­¡± the mother faints and goes down like a sack of potatoes. The father tries to catch her but it¡¯s too late, and she hits her head on the hardened floor. While being hysterical, Kiran picks her up and tells Danny to open the door to the playroom. Danny goes to the sliding door and opens it with aggression. They both put Elizbeth gently down, as they do, her eyelids open but don¡¯t stay open for long. Danny is in shock and is very worried for his mum, but he thought the weirdest aspect of the situation was what his mum said to him, he¡¯d never felt such dejection from his mother.


    ¡°Right, that was a nightmare, but it looks like your mother will be okay for now.¡± Although, he felt like something was awfully wrong, he knew that they needed to prepare the house for what was ever going on. ¡°You ready son? We need to continue with boarding the windows up.¡±


    The son wanted to be brave for his father, so he grabbed himself up and followed his dad.


    ¡°Boy, pass me that screw!¡± Kiran said commanding, ¡°I do not believe that we have only one more inner window to do, good job kid.¡± His son looked like he waited years to hear that.


    ¡°I¡¯m extremely happy we¡¯ve nearly done here, I was expecting this to be a long, gruesome, and tiring process.¡± Whilst the boy was relieved about the inner windows being boarded up, he was terrified on whether his mum was going to be alright. But he was also terrified about asking his father on the matter. Danny was also missing chemistry and all the hobbies that he could do when life was normal. He realised that he¡¯d missed his whole routine due to this mess, he missed the hard days that contained studying, the days where him and his mum would go out to parks, beaches, and his great grandmas.


    ¡°What are you doing? Stop daydreaming! We haven¡¯t got time for anything like that, we need to concentrate on the task at hand.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡±


    They finished boarding the inner windows and the father now needed to board the outer windows, but he didn¡¯t want to take his son outside to complete the job. He also knew that he only had to board three windows up, which were at the front of the house. As the father grabbed his equipment and begin to head outside, Danny tugged on his father¡¯s white t-shirt which was covered in dust from the plywood that Kiran chopped up using his circular saw.


    Danny shouted at his dad, ¡°please¡­don¡¯t go, surly you don¡¯t have to board the outside windows.¡±


    ¡°I do! It wouldn¡¯t be secure enough if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What if something happens to you dad, I¡¯ll be alone, and what about mum? If you go mum has no one to look after her! And shouldn¡¯t we take mum to the hospital?¡±


    ¡°Nothing will happen to me, I promise. I got a soul like a trooper, remember? And like the government said, we cannot go out and the phones are not even working.¡± Though, Kiran¡¯s son still looked worried. ¡°God forbid, but if something did happen to me, you would look after your mother, you¡¯ve matured so much there¡¯s past couple of weeks. I¡¯m so proud of you, my son.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡°if something happens to you. I don¡¯t want you to go outside now!¡±


    Kiran was getting fed up with his son, ¡°Danny, I must do this, with or without you but if you help me, and you are composed then I will have a greater chance at getting through this. So please shut up.¡± Danny face dropped but was used to his father getting mad at him with just a flip of the coin. The father began to leave the house.


    As Kiran touched the knob of the door, he begins to think how spooked he was in the garden but continues. He twists the doorknob and prays to God but no answer, maybe he should ask nicer, he thought. Kiran opens the door, looks at Danny, ¡°wish me good luck.¡± As the door opens and to his expected outcome, no one is there.


    Kiran begins to walk outside with his equipment and prepares to board the first window, while Danny is watching cautiously. Kiran grabs a plywood board and places it on the outer window, he grabs his screws and starts drilling the screws in one by one. As he gets to last screw, Kiran hears something fly over his head, but he thinks it¡¯s a bunch of insects.


    As he boarded the window, he began to wonder why no lights were on in his neighbour¡¯s houses. He thought he hadn¡¯t seen anyone in a while, which freaked him out. He wished the street liked his family so he could just knock on a door.


    ¡°That¡¯s the first window done then.¡± Danny says with relief.


    ¡°You know it son, I told you no sweat, we¡¯ve got this kid.¡± The father had confidence, he felt no strain whatsoever, and it made him work efficiently.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get carried away, we don¡¯t even know what¡¯s out there, even the news hasn¡¯t told us anything, well it¡¯s not like the news is competent at telling the news.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like I said, it¡¯s all¡­¡± the father feels something bite him, he turns around to have a look, but to his surprise nothing is there. ¡°Did I just imagine that?¡±


    Danny looks confused, ¡°who are you speaking to?¡± His father gives him no reply, but he sees that his father is continuing with boarding the second window, so Danny lets it go.


    As Kiran begins to board the third window, he feels a pain on where that creature bit him. Blood is racing down his neck, but he tries to hide the blood from Danny. The father tries to multitask by boarding the window and hiding the blood from Danny; however, it doesn¡¯t go to plan. Danny sees his dads¡¯ blood. But in the sky, Danny sees multiple flying creatures that is coming towards his dad. Danny panics, forcing his dad to notice and eventually he looks at the flying creatures.


    As the father sees his life flash before his eyes, ¡°close the door! Close it, Danny! Now!¡±

 Chapter 2

    Danny closed the door with hesitation. He had no idea what the flying creatures were, and it made shutting the door feel like a crime. They were flying towards his dad as if they were going to kill him. Danny screams, ¡°get inside, dad! Just come inside, it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t finish boarding the last window.¡±


    Kiran gazed at the flying creature¡¯s and ignored his son¡¯s advice, grabbed the last couple of screws, then began to board the last window. The flying creatures lit up in the crescent moonlight and Danny noticed the flying creatures were huge bats. Danny tried to warn his dad, but the bats started to swarm Kiran.


    Kiran sees that they are bats which makes him happy, but he notices the bats are bigger than his hand. The bats colour is the void of space with hellish red eyes that would give the devil a run for his money. The bats circle around Kiran and he begins to panic because the bats are causing a mini tornado. Thousands of bats that bite, scratch, and tug at him. He is foreboding whether to run inside and leave the window, but he sucks it up and continues to board the last window with the wind trying to tug him away.


    Danny is scared for his father¡¯s life. He has never seen or heard bats do this in his entire life, especially on the streets of a city. He shouts through the letterbox of the door, ¡°father, what should I do?¡± His father is concealed by the bats, Danny¡¯s fear of his dad dying is growing stronger by the minute. He can no longer see his dad so he thinks on whether he should go outside to rescue him, but he instantly knows that is nonsensical.


    He screams, ¡°I thought you said you wouldn¡¯t die, why didn¡¯t you just come in when I said! What am I supposed to do on my own, mother is ill and asleep, who knows what¡¯s wrong with her?¡±


    Before he continues venting at his dad, he realises that there is an overwhelming number of bats, and his father might die here. So, he ponders on how to take care of the bats and give his dad a window of opportunity to escape. Danny suddenly became aware of the bats weakness which was ultrasound, and the family had a device that played ultrasound.


    Kiran had just finished boarding the last window even though the bats were circling around him, biting him with what felt like sharp little needles, Kiran was brave though. He knew he had to get inside the house before he¡¯d be teared apart. Kiran walked towards the front door but with no progress, every time he¡¯d move, the bats would push Kiran back, using their momentum to cause wind and they flown in groups, crashing straight into him. The bats intensified their movement and was like a hivemind doing their job perfectly, every time he moved the bats would push back harder. Eventually he couldn¡¯t even move. He fell to his knees after being overwhelmed.


    Danny grabs the device from the storage cupboard, and the device will play an ultrasound that should affect the bats. Danny runs to the front door but doesn¡¯t open it because he doesn¡¯t want to let any of the bats inside. So, he goes to look out the window, but it¡¯s boarded up. He debates with himself whether to open the door or break through the boarded window, but he gathers up the courage to open the front door. Danny goes to open the door but with caution, then he pulls the door open. He jumps out the door while shutting the door on his way out. Danny is shocked when most of the bats aren¡¯t attacking him, so he grabs the device and sets it above 20KHz, but to Danny¡¯s surprise the device won¡¯t repel the bats. In a desperate attempt to save his dads life, Danny lifts the device in the air. The bats rush Danny, but he quickly runs back inside the house, as Danny enters safely, he notices a flashlight on the living room table. Danny remembers that bats hate reflective surfaces so he grabs as much tin foil as he can find. He hopes the tin foil, mirror, flashlight, and the ultrasound device will be enough to repel the bats and save his dad.


    Danny gears up with all the bravery he has left, he wraps himself in tin foil from head to toe, then straps tape around the flashlight so he can place it on his waist, and he can hold the huge mirror in his hands and flash it at the bats.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t die.¡± Danny says to himself.


    (here)Danny walks towards the door, but as he does, he sees his mother in the playroom. Danny thinks to when he considers not liking tea was a big deal, but he knew if he kept daydreaming in a time like this, then it¡¯ll get him killed. He opens the front door for the second time and runs carelessly out the door. As he runs, he trips and breaks the mirror, ¡°seven years of bad luck for me then,¡± he jokes. However, he was now nervous that his plan would not now work, but he continued.


    He threw the mirror to the side of him while being bitten on the hand by a bat, it was like a sharp pain that trawled up his arm but stopped near the top. Danny wondered, if that one bite hurt so much, how is his dad doing. He snatched the flashlight and tore a big piece of tin foil from himself. He waved the tin foil in the air, flashed his flashlight through the tin foil and hoped it would catch the bats attention.


    The bats from hell started switching direction and swarming around Danny. He panicked which made the bats more aggressive, they would take turns in biting him, one by one, in and out. Danny didn¡¯t know what to do, he was terrified and could not see his dad which made him think life was over for him and his dad. He thought about how life has been so good to him, he knew his family was poor but was given funding by people. Danny knew if he wasn¡¯t a prospect at chemistry then his family would never live in a three-bedroom house, his prospects of getting a job would be low, Danny wouldn¡¯t even be able to go to a private school. He tries to look at his dad for one more time but no hope, Danny is getting overwhelmed and realises that every problem he had before this situation was not a big deal. He wished for his normal life.


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    As the bats try to rip into Danny¡¯s weak points on his body, Danny hears a scream coming from his father. He turns toward the scream and sees his dad rushing towards him.


    ¡°Get up, son.¡± His father shouts while grabbing him just for safe measure.


    Kiran chucks Danny at the door and shouts, ¡°open it, quick! I¡¯ll distract them.¡± Danny opens the door; he hopes for the last time. Kiran sees that Danny has opened the door, so he runs for the finish line.


    Kiran uses his thick legs to gain as much momentum as possible and jumps for the door entrance. As Kiran flies through the front door entrance, Danny closes the door, however, as Danny closes the door a few bats fly into the house.


    They both panic, ¡°what¡­what are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know son, get in the storage cupboard for now, I¡¯m getting the broom.¡±


    Danny ran for the cupboard, while his dad ran for the broom, with one being successful. The two bats were biting at Kiran¡¯s ankles, he tripped and fell while hitting his head, Kiran was knocked out. The two bats joined the other bat that was after Danny, but he made it to the storage cupboard without the bats following him in.


    Danny thought the bats were banging on the door like a man on steroids. He was frightened as if he was preparing for a test. Bang! Bang! Bang! Danny screamed, ¡°go way, just go way!¡± He continually screamed until he heard a different kind of bang. Danny knew that was a completely different bang compared to the bats.


    ¡°Son, it¡¯s okay now. You can come out now.¡±


    Danny was so glad to hear his voice, as he ran through the door like it wasn¡¯t even there. Danny jumped to his dad and gave him the biggest hug, ¡°thank you, dad. Thank you, dad! You saved us.¡±


    He replied smoothly, ¡°it¡¯s just protocol son. It¡¯s my job. Your mum was right, I need to take this seriously and get my priorities in order. If I don¡¯t, something bad will happen to this family.¡±


    ¡°No dad, you saved us, that¡¯s what matters.¡±


    ¡°No son! I am the catalyst for the danger that we were just in.¡±


    The son looked confused. Danny didn¡¯t expect his father to act like this, he wondered if his dad had maybe finally listened to his mum and grown up, or maybe it was the fact that he had nearly died.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check on your mum.¡± The father said, ¡°we need to start preparing for bed, it¡¯s getting late.¡± The father walked past the dining table and entered the playroom. He seen that Elizbeth was still unconscious, he was seriously worried about her and didn¡¯t know what to do, going outside seemed pointless. Kiran even heard the hospitals wasn¡¯t open, that freaked him out dramatically more after hearing that. Kiran kissed Elizbeth on the forehead, ¡°goodnight, babe.¡± He stood up, ¡°say goodnight to your mum.¡±


    Danny didn¡¯t want to say goodnight, he wanted to sit and watch over her all night. A tear trickled down his check, he was devastated, and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t want to go to bed! if this is my last moment with her then I want to spend the rest of the night with her.¡± Danny was adamant about staying with his mum, ¡°Please, dad. I can¡¯t leave her! She¡¯s my saviour, I can¡¯t live without her!¡±


    ¡°Stop boy!¡± Kiran screeched, ¡°you need to grow a pair. Your mother will be okay, she looks less pale compared to an hour ago.¡± The father knew that he needed to be composed if he was to calm his son.


    Danny eyes was beginning to look like they¡¯ve just been punched. he cried and squealed towards his mum, ¡°please, wake up mum, I can¡¯t do this without you!¡± Danny turned to his dad, ¡°she fainted dad with no good reason. She hasn¡¯t fell ill once in the two weeks we¡¯ve been locked in the house. This is so bizarre.¡±


    Kiran commanded that his son go to his room, but Danny was refusing. Kiran was shocked by this because Danny would always follow his dads¡¯ orders. Kiran didn¡¯t know what to do, he understood why his son was doing this but that didn¡¯t stop Kiran from getting mad. Danny was cradling his mum like it was the last time, he didn¡¯t want to let go. He thought if he fell asleep that the inevitability of his mother dying would increase.


    Kiran grabbed his son by his thin arms and proceeded to take Danny to his room. ¡°You need to stop being problematic and go to bed. You need your sleep, especially in a time like this. I thought you was smart; didn¡¯t you hear the government saying everyone needs to stay in their houses. You think the government is joking?¡± Kiran was dragging Danny up the stairs with aggression that matched an angry wrestler.


    Danny with passion shouted, ¡°I love you mum!¡± He was in pieces and couldn¡¯t believe his dad was reacting like this.


    Kiran got to the top of the stairs and reached the upstairs landing, he walked towards the bathroom and turned left towards Danny¡¯s room and the spare room.


    As they came across Danny¡¯s room, ¡°Stop!¡± Danny was putting up a fight and was squirming out of his dads¡¯ hands.


    ¡°Cut it out!¡± Kiran¡¯s patience was running thin. ¡°You need to stop, my cuts from the bats are stinging me, and if you continue, I¡¯ll make you feel the same pain. So, pack it in!¡± They arrived at Danny¡¯s bedroom. Kiran kicked his door open, chucked him in with all the might he had, then slammed the door as hard as he could. ¡°You stay in this room all night, if you step one foot outside this door, you¡¯re getting the biggest slap of your life.¡±


    Danny got up as fast as he could and screamed, ¡°you son of a bitch, I¡¯ve always hated you. You will never be my dad.¡± He fell to his knees, cried with his hands to his face. Danny felt like this was the end of his world. He would do anything to go back to how things used to be. He just wanted to look, speak and hug his mum. He sat on his bed, completing all the past events that lead him here. He thought it was weird that his mother was scolding him before she fainted because she never spoke to him like that. However, his dad speaking to him like that and just getting mad for no reason was completely normal. Danny was relieved that his dad was acting normal but distraught that he considers his dad normal when he acted like a buffoon. He threw his phone against the wall, ¡°I don¡¯t have a signal anyway.¡± Danny was fuming and couldn¡¯t sleep even if he tried. He slowly stood up due to his injuries from the bats, walked towards his window and looked out at the moon. He was stunned, his window was blue from the reflection of the moon. He¡¯d never seen the moon radiate this much colour. Danny continues to ponder on how badly the day had been.


    Kiran, who is dripping with sweat, checks on Elizbeth. He notices that she is looking less pale, he is relieved but still is sceptical that she might be in danger. Kiran puts his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, then realises she is sweltering. He takes the blanket off her and begins pondering on how he treated Danny. Kiran thought he was a terrible dad, but he couldn¡¯t worry about it now, he needed sleep.


    As he was drifting off to sleep, he could swear a dog was barking and it sounded like it came from the garden. Though he wanted to go and investigate, he couldn¡¯t. Kiran fell asleep instantly.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°AAAWW! Help me, is anyone there?¡± Danny screamed for his life, but he didn¡¯t know why, it was like he¡¯d been teleported to a place that he didn¡¯t know. Danny panicked, ¡°hello, is anyone there, why am I here?¡± As Danny was shouting, he notices that two shadows are walking towards him, ¡°hey, could you two help me?¡± The two figures come closer and as they do, the sunlight from the window is shining upon them. Danny looks at their faces but to his surprise, their faces are like shadows even with the light shining on them. The shadow figures come closer towards Danny. ¡°Wait¡­stay away from me! No! Please stay away from me!!¡±


    The skinniest shadow was the first to greet Danny. It grabbed Danny¡¯s face and whispered, ¡°I love you.¡± And it proceeded to slap Danny in the face, Danny was in terror, he looked at the thing¡¯s face but nothing. Just a black face with a skinny figure. He wanted to move so desperately but he couldn¡¯t. He looked down at his wrist to see if they were strapped to the chair, though they were completely free, however, he couldn¡¯t move, he couldn¡¯t even open his mouth; Danny couldn¡¯t even scream anymore.


    As the first shadow was cuddling Danny, the other massive shadow rushes towards Danny and pushes the skinny shadow away. The big and fat shadow is intense compared to the skinny shadow, and the fat shadow causes much pain for Danny. It grabs a pencil out of thin air and grabs Danny¡¯s hand, then he sticks the pencil in between his fingernail.


    ¡°AAAWW!¡± Danny¡¯s feels nothing but agony, he¡¯s in disbelief that he¡¯s going through such pain, he could have sworn he was just sleeping last night.


    The shadow begins to conjurer a knife, ¡°good night, boy.¡± The shadow strikes towards his neck and Danny sees the room spinning around him before landing on the floor.


    ¡°AIIIEEEE!¡± Danny wakes up screaming with pure shock that ran through his veins, ¡°thank God that was a dream. Felt so real though.¡± He was in distress, sweat was dripping from his forehead to his lap, the sweat made a little swimming pool on his bed. Danny never had such a dream like this one, so real, so tense, and so graphic. ¡°Did the dream mean something, surly not. Just a weird nightmare and that¡¯s all.¡± Danny was trying to recover from such a hellish nightmare. He didn¡¯t know who the shadow creatures were in his nightmare, but he didn¡¯t want to meet them again. Yet they remained in his brain.


    As Danny is trying to forget about his nightmare, he thinks about how his dad treated him last night, Danny couldn¡¯t believe his dad chucked him in his room when all Danny wanted to do was to spend the night and look after his mum. Contemplating about this made Danny wonder how his mother was doing, after all, his mother did faint without much reason. But whatever the reason, it had to be ghastly, he thought. He wanted to check on his mum but didn¡¯t want to see his dad or speak to him. So, Danny decided to look at his chemistry sets. He grabs his rug and throws it to the other side of the room. Danny begins to lift two floorboards up. The floorboards are no competition for Danny as he¡¯s lifted them up plenty of times. ¡°There you are babies.¡± Danny goes to lift a chemistry box set out of the hiding place, he had plenty of chemistry shenanigans, ranging from: ingredients for a smoke bomb, potassium nitrate which Danny would mix with sulphur and charcoal and in return that would make gunpowder, which made him feel powerful; although his confidence to use them were wasn¡¯t strong enough. He also had lead acetate which was a dyeing agent in a chemistry set he got but it can poison people, and Danny knew this which made him very paranoid that his mum would find it. Danny carried his chemistry box to his desk, put it down and opened it up, the chemistry set was called the barking dog.


    Most of Danny¡¯s chemistry experiments were very dangerous, his dad hated him for it, but Kiran would put up with it due to Danny¡¯s chemist teachers getting the family generous funding. The funding would allow the family to live in a three-bedroom house, put Danny into private school, Elizbeth to look after her son full time. The family was extremely happy for this funding, especially Danny, who hated public school, and could never get along with any of the kids who would always bully him for being smart. After one month of being at private school, Danny would get taught at home as well as going to school. He was taught by a few chemists who would spend a few hours each day throughout the week but there was one crazy ass chemist that Danny¡¯s mum and dad didn¡¯t like. His name was Doctor Cooper. A lot of fellow chemists told Danny to stay away from Doctor Cooper because of his past. He sure was crazy, Danny¡¯s dad always said, ¡°it¡¯s in his eyes, I¡¯m telling you, this Cooper guy is trouble for our son.¡± Kiran was right, Doctor Cooper was supplying Danny with murderous chemistry gear, but Danny wasn¡¯t bothered by it, he knew what he was doing, and Danny was very self-aware about how one mistake could end his life or others.


    The barking dog was one of Danny¡¯s favourite chemistry experiments. He loved the sound that the tube would make when the two compounds reacted to each other, the experiment is the exothermic reaction between nitrogen monoxide and carbon disulfide, and then the reaction goes down a tube. Danny grabs a tube, then begins to mix both compounds together, the compounds proceed through the tube, emitting blue light that excites Danny whenever he sees it reaches a certain point, the reaction causes a ¡°woof!¡± Danny¡¯s favourite part; he loved that the reaction sounded like a dog. ¡°Woof, woof, woof!¡± Danny heard barking but it sounded like it came from the porch.


    ¡°What? Barking? And it¡¯s not coming from this experiment. Wow!¡± Danny spoke with such excitement. ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of the neighbours had a dog, this is great!¡± Danny proceeded to look out the window, all he could see was mist, the houses emitted no light whatsoever. Danny was puzzled, it was if there were no souls in the area, completely dead and silent. He could still hear the barking though, Danny opened his window to get a better look, the barking grows louder to which Danny is more concerned about the dog. As he sees the big black dog across the street, Danny notices the dog is barking at a gigantic sack that is perched on the wall, ¡°what¡¯s in that sack? Who owns that sack?¡± Danny was intrigued by the sack and desired to see what was within. He could see red liquid dripping from the sack, Danny was freaked out by that fact. The dog sniffs the ground near the sack and picks up a scent, as the dog follows the trail toward an alley, Danny sees a strange looking guy running towards the dog. The barks are much louder now, ¡°should I do something?¡± Danny questions himself. ¡°No, this might just be the owner.¡± The strange looking guy gets closer to the dog and immediately kicks it to the face. Danny is in shock, he couldn¡¯t believe someone just kicked a dog, especially such a big one. He continued to watch, fearing what could happen to the dog. The strange guy was so fast, the dog couldn¡¯t keep up. As the dog attempted to take one last bite, the strange guy took the full might of the dog¡¯s bite on the arm, then he pulled the dog closer towards him and the strange guy pierced through the dog¡¯s neck with his teeth.


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    ¡°Woof!¡± The dogs last bark was awful, it sent a shiver down Danny¡¯s spine, he couldn¡¯t comprehend what he had just seen, he was in shock and couldn¡¯t move. The only thing that moved was his heart.


    ¡°Aww!¡± the strange guy was yelling but almost as if he was celebrating, it pulled Danny out of his trance. He quickly ducked under his window to make sure the man did not see him, then reached for his light and turned it off.


    Danny¡¯s room is not as dark as he wants it to be, the experiment that he had done was still emitting blue light, Danny just hoped it didn¡¯t reflect outside so the man would see it. He was confused, he¡¯d never seen anything like that, it was like the situation with the hellish bats, he thought. Then he realised the bats wasn¡¯t even outside anymore, ¡°why has everything been so unusual this past two weeks?¡± He whispered to himself. ¡°I need to speak to my dad about what just happened, this thing is serious.¡±


    Danny prepared to stand up but couldn¡¯t, he was on edge and didn¡¯t want to end up like the dog. He¡¯d wish he was as strong as the man with who was known as the trawler; all Danny wanted was to be strong, brave, and stand up to the ones that bully him. Eventually, Danny grows the courage and shuts his window and runs towards his door, as he got to the top of the stairs, he began to walk down them, but a knock at the front door interrupts him. Danny freaks out, ¡°it has to be that strange guy.¡± Danny crept down the stairs to try and get a look at the strange guy. He reached the bottom step and realised the windows were boarded up; Danny couldn¡¯t see anything through the window. The knocking became less friendly, Danny was beginning to suspect that the strange guy would break the front door down.


    ¡°Woof,¡± Danny heard another bark, he quickly ran back up the stairs, and proceeded back to his room so he could investigate out his window. As he looked out his window, he seen the strange guy carrying the sack over his shoulders. The strange guy was walking as if he was important to someone. He had a long black trench coat on, with a posh hat, and smart shoes. As the strange guy started walking away from Danny¡¯s house, he noticed that the sack was full of darky red liquid.


    ¡°A sack of blood, surly not.¡± Danny didn¡¯t want to believe it, ¡°that has to be blood, what else could it be?¡± Danny thought about telling his dad right away, ¡°he¡¯d never believe me, not in a million years, especially after last night.¡± Danny¡¯s eyes followed the strange guy towards an alleyway, as the strange guy was beginning to leave Danny¡¯s eyesight, he turned and looked Danny right in his eye. Danny trembled in fear, but the strange guy dashed through the alleyway. ¡°What? He¡¯s supernatural, he was the speed of light.¡±  He felt like he was just learning chemistry again, ¡°that thing was so fast, scary, and unthinkable to the human mind. It looked straight into my eyes; it felt like he was reading my soul. Did he bite that dog to death, I don¡¯t understand, surly that shouldn¡¯t be possible? No! All of this shouldn¡¯t be possible! This is stark mad.¡± Danny was beginning to lose it, ¡°I need get out of this nightmare now!!¡± His voice was raising, ¡°someone help me? Please? Please?! Please?!¡± Danny fell to his knees, banging his head on the floor. Danny¡¯s mind was beginning to crumble. ¡°I have no one that loves me, cares for me, or will even save me. I have no one!¡± As he was suffering, he had a realisation, ¡°wait, I have a hero.¡± Danny stood up, ¡°I need to stop talking to myself, someone¡¯s going to think I¡¯m crazy! Who would of thunk.¡± He wiped his tears and proceeded to his hero.


    The stairs creaked as Danny stepped on the first step, he began to run, after all, he was missing his mum. Danny hadn¡¯t been away from his mum for long, but he was worried for her, he¡¯d never seen his mum faint the way she did. As he walked down the stairs, he began to think about whether his mum is going to survive.


    He thought about how she was as pale as the moon.


    He thought about how hard she hit the ground.


    He thought about the fact she was scolding him before fainting.


    He thought the worst of them was when she said, ¡°I am a queen.¡±


    Danny reached the bottom step. He took a left and went towards the living room, expecting to see his mum in the playroom but as he looks in the playroom, he doesn¡¯t see her to his surprise. He is shocked, ¡°is mum awake?¡± as he steps into the playroom entrance, he sees his dad asleep in a chair, ¡°so much for looking after mum.¡± Danny scoffs to himself. Danny walks out the playroom.


    As he walks out the playroom, he is met with his large dining table; the dining table was used for family dinners, where their grandma would come round and cook her special cottage pie. The grandma would say, ¡°the cottage pie is good for the blood, and we need the humans to have good blood.¡± Danny always thought his great grandma was weird when she talked about humans. He thought she didn¡¯t consider herself as human. As Danny was standing in between the playroom¡¯s door entrance and dining table with about 80cm of space between him.


    He walked to his living room but as he did, he seen something in the corner. He is instantly uncomfortable and doesn¡¯t want to turn around. Danny is sure it¡¯s the strange guy who killed the dog. He sees his fate on a crystal ball.


    A noise comes from the corner, Danny grows the courage to turn around and face his fate. As Danny turns around, he shouts, ¡°mummy!!¡± Danny jumped for joy, but his mother was silent, not even a peep. His mother is standing in the corner of the room with her stomach against the wall, he is confused on why she¡¯s not responding, ¡°mum, are you awake?¡± he started to approach her but as he took a step, she growled like an animal is in her stomach. Danny stopped. He wonders why she was acting so weird; he¡¯d never heard her growl before. He continued to walk towards her, but he was a little anxious of her, ¡°mum, what are you doing?¡± As Danny spoke louder, her head tilts to the left. He gets within about 60cm next to her, he considers that she might be sleep walking, but he¡¯d never seen or heard of her sleep walking before.


    Bang! The mother slams her head on the wall, Danny quickly runs to her aid and puts his hand on her shoulder.

 Chapter 4

    As Danny goes to put his hand on his mums¡¯ shoulders, he notices that she is on edge. This makes Danny reluctant to touch her but as his hand touches her shoulder, she pulls him towards her.


    ¡°Hey, son.¡±


    ¡°Mother! You¡¯re alright? thank God!!¡± Danny¡¯s grin was glowing so bright that there was no need for a light.


    ¡°Of course, son. I¡¯ll be fine¡­ what happened anyway?¡±


    ¡°You fainted, mum.¡±


    Elizbeth was shocked, she remembered that her back was hurting, and she felt weak but fainting, surly not, she thought. Elizbeth looked Danny up and down, ¡°why¡¯re your clothes so dirty, what have you been up to?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe me. But I can¡¯t keep it from you.¡± Danny was reluctant to tell his mum, ¡°it was when you fainted, dad said to board the outside windows and we did but as dad stepped outside, a swarm of bats flew towards him. It was so crazy!¡±


    ¡°You were right. I¡¯ll go ask your dad.¡± She started walking towards her husband.


    Danny stood in front of his mum, ¡°I¡¯m telling you the truth, dad will say the same thing but that isn¡¯t the concern no more.¡±


    ¡°Well, what is the concern then?¡± Elizbeth was getting frustrated, ¡°come on Danny, spit it out.¡±


    ¡°I saw a man kill a dog!¡±


    Elizbeth face dropped, ¡°what is it with you? You¡¯re coming up with all these manic stories. I¡¯m going to wake your dad up.¡± She pushes Danny to the side and walks to the playroom. As she enters the playroom, Kiran is sleeping in the chair, Elizbeth shakes Kiran, ¡°wake up! Your son needs you.¡±


    Kiran opens his eyes to see his wife, ¡°oh, thank fuck. Didn¡¯t expect you to be awake. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just my back that hurts.¡± Elizbeth said, ¡°why is Danny speaking about bats and dog murderers, what¡¯s going on with this house?¡±


    Kiran felt anxiety, he himself didn¡¯t want to believe what happened last night, especially how he treated his son, ¡°Danny¡¯s not going crazy, I can tell you that. We were chased by bats, if you can believe that.¡±


    ¡°On the streets?¡± Elizbeth was confused.


    ¡°Yes! I promise you, something weird is going on, you are right, we need to take things seriously.¡± Kiran was speaking sense, ¡°But the dog murderer, I have no clue.¡±


    Danny rushed in the playroom, ¡°well, you weren¡¯t there, dad.¡± Danny was extremely annoyed with his dad, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth, some strange guy killed a dog. You must believe me because we need to leave right now.¡±


    Elizbeth said hysterically, ¡°ha-ha, you guys nearly had me there. No need to carry it on now, I know it¡¯s a prank.¡±


    Both Danny and Kiran stood up as fast as the time goes when you get older and shouted. ¡°Hey, we aren¡¯t lying.¡±


    Elizbeth laughed and started to walk outside the playroom.


    ¡°Hey! I can prove the bats exist!¡± Kiran shouted, ¡°look in the kitchen, you¡¯re see them.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t pick them up?¡±


    ¡°No son.¡± Kiran laughed, ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t, it¡¯ll be helpful if your mums on the same page as us.¡±


    Elizbeth headed for the kitchen. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± As she turned her head towards the storage cupboard, ¡°what the hell, a fucking bat, no! Three bats. You guys wasn¡¯t lying¡± she turned back to run to them both, ¡°why didn¡¯t you wake me up, I could have helped you.¡± She was befuddled. She looked at them both, ¡°Was it that bad?¡±


    Kiran explained that they almost died to the bats, but she wasn¡¯t having none of it. ¡°This is no excuse to not wake me up though.¡±


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t, babe. You were unconscious and out for the count. What was we to do?¡±


    Elizbeth was shaken, ¡°well, I feel completely fine now, my back is the only thing that hurts.¡± She just wanted to forget what had happened to her and her family. ¡°Right then, who¡¯s hungry?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Kiran was shocked she had the energy. ¡°If you¡¯re sure about it because I am quite hungry, what you are saying son?¡±


    Danny did not answer his dad. Elizbeth noticed and said, ¡°Danny why are you ignoring your dad?¡± With no answer, Elizbeth was concerned, ¡°answer me, son. What happened?¡±


    ¡°As you¡¯re not saying anything, Danny. I will tell her.¡± Kiran prepared for a scolding and told her what happened with him and Danny. ¡°Right, after me and Danny had killed the bats and said goodnight to you. Danny didn¡¯t want to go to bed which was fair enough, but I needed the time alone and he needed his sleep.¡±


    ¡°Right, carry on.¡± She said concerningly.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I reacted awfully.¡±


    Danny scoffed, ¡°awfully is putting it mildly.¡±


    Kiran knew he was right, ¡°you¡¯re spot on, I treated him like shit, babe. All he wanted to do was sit up and watch over you while you were unconscious, and I said no.¡± Kiran put his head down and expected Elizbeth to shout at him, but she didn¡¯t, she didn¡¯t even speak to him.


    Elizbeth grabbed Danny and walked to the kitchen, ignoring Kiran on the way.


    ¡°Why¡¯re you not angry with me?¡± Kiran questioned. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t treat me like a beggar.¡±


    Elizbeth turned and faced him, ¡°I¡¯m angry at you but as you said, something serious is playing out, we need to stop fighting, and start taking things seriously, we can start by making some food. We likely have an unpredictable day on our hands.¡± She began to make food.


    Elizbeth and Danny were cooking a full English breakfast with crispy bacon, pitch perfect eggs, golden hashbrowns, pitch- dark black pudding, runny beans that made Danny and Kiran wince. Danny cracked a few eggs which reminded him of the bats that attacked him, ¡°are you okay, son?¡± Danny looked at the ground with no response. His mother kneeled next to him and grabbed his hand. ¡°Look at me. Whatever happened yesterday doesn¡¯t matter, you hear me.¡± Elizbeth spoke unctuously, ¡°you and your dad survived and that¡¯s what matters, I love you so much son. Listen, you need to be strong because this nightmare is not ending.¡±


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    Danny understood but was still shaken by the strange guy who killed the dog. ¡°What happens if dog murderer comes back here?¡±


    Elizbeth wasn¡¯t even sure if she believed that he seen a dog get murdered, but she didn¡¯t want to take any chances, ¡°if he comes back, we will be prepared, son.¡± Elizbeth was serious so she went to the storage cupboard.


    ¡°Where are you going, mum?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back!¡±


    The mother strolled to the cupboard and grabbed a knife and baseball bat. ¡°we¡¯ll be ready if anyone comes, son.¡± The mother was half joking but wanted to make Danny feel safe. ¡°Now that¡¯s been delt with, can we get on with cooking this fry-up please?¡±


    Meanwhile, Kiran is trying to fix the tv. ¡°Damn! The tv was fine yesterday.¡± Kiran thought it could have been something to do with the people that was blowing cell towers up, ¡°Maybe they found a television broadcast station.¡± As he was smacking the tv, he remembered the radio in the attic. Kiran walked out the living room and headed towards the stairs, and as he got to the attic, he opened the hatch, grabbed the CB radio (citizens band radio.) which operates in the 27 MHz range. He couldn¡¯t even wait. Kiran sat in the dusty attic and turned the radio on. The CB radio can transmit to warehouses, yachts, motor transport, so Kiran¡¯s thought was that if they get into contact with someone, they might send help. The desperate came out of Kiran as he was trying to speak to anyone. He didn¡¯t know if it was the fact of speaking to someone different or trying to get rescued. Either way, he wasn¡¯t ignoring his impulse to converse with someone, however, the radio was not conversing with him. Kiran thought about yesterday, he thought what a prick he was for treating Danny that way, ¡°my own son, treating him like a dog, what a human being am I?¡± As he was about to give up on the radio, someone spoke through it.


    ¡°Hello, is anyone there?¡±


    Kiran replied rashly, ¡°Yes! I am.¡±


    ¡°You must be close to my location; do you need any assistance?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we need your help, but do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    The radio man said eerily, ¡°This is the end to finish all ends, my friend.¡±


    Kiran was confused, ¡°what does that even mean?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve got to go, good luck my friend.¡±


    ¡°No! please¡­ just wait!¡± The radio went silent, Kiran wished he¡¯d given him answers but nothing. ¡°Just a weird ass conspiracy theorist who was spouting shit.¡±


    Back downstairs, they both are nearly done with food, ¡°Kiran, breakfast is nearly done, hurry up!¡± Elizbeth shouted. ¡°What is he doing?¡± Elizbeth was growing impatient with Kiran; she was struggling to cope with him these last two weeks due to her feeling trapped inside with him, the only silver lining was that she got to spend a lot of time with Danny. She¡¯d always thought that Kiran was an awful dad, and she should of chose a better father for her child but if she did, Danny would not exist. Elizbeth loved Danny from the first time she looked in his eyes, she thought of it as a gift from God. Every time she looked in her son¡¯s eyes, it would bring back memories of her being an alcoholic. Elizbeth was such a young alcoholic. She never knew when to backdown, she was explosive, one day from losing everything, no¡­one hour away. But one day she would fall pregnant, and everything changed, her perspective, her health, and her eagerness to become a better person. Just by having a baby boy, she was on journey to becoming a great mum. Danny would agree, he knew she sacrificed everything for him, her social life, a career and a life of her own, where she could point to something and say she did that, but she didn¡¯t see it like that. When she was younger, she¡¯d always wanted to be a mother. She was born for it. Elizbeth was just happy to even have a son.


    ¡°I think the toast is done.¡±


    Elizbeth came out of her daydream, ¡°yes¡­yes¡­ you¡¯re right, they look done.¡±


    ¡°Dad should be down soon.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, don¡¯t want his food to get cold.¡± She said with confusion, ¡°what¡¯s he doing, do you know?¡±


    Danny laughed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s up to. He¡¯s crazy when in his crazy construction mood, I hate it.¡±


    Back in the attic, Kiran was still trying to contact the man on the radio. ¡°Why do I have to stay in this piece of shit, that¡¯s why I work so I can get out of this house; this sure is a hell of a nightmare.¡±


    The radio began to speak again, ¡°hello, do you read me?¡±


    ¡°Hello, thank God you are alright.¡±


    ¡°of course, nothing fazes me.¡±


    Kiran admired his bravery, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    He spoke in a calm voice, ¡°sit down if you¡¯re standing because you might not believe me. Right, it¡¯s some kind of riot in places I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Kiran spoke in shock, ¡°you mean to say that you¡¯ve been outside?¡±


    ¡°Roger. Why? haven¡¯t you?¡±  ¡°Well anyway, the worst things I¡¯ve seen is definitely another person drinking another person¡¯s blood, it¡¯s crazy out there; it¡¯s for the best that you don¡¯t go out there.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Then you mean that my son has seen someone kill a dog with his teeth?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t doubt he¡¯s seen that, much preternatural things that¡¯re out there, trust me on that.¡±


    Kiran reality was crumbling away, he thought he¡¯d just left the matrix, or he was in the matrix. His last hope was that everyone was turning crazy and not the world.


    ¡°What is your twenty?¡±


    Kiran was confused, ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Location?¡±


    Kiran gave the man his location, ¡°you hear all that? When you¡¯re on the street, there¡¯s a bright blue door, it¡¯s the only one that¡¯s blue. And we¡¯ve boarder our windows.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡±


    Elizbeth buttered the toast, put two slices of toast on each plate. ¡°Done.¡±


    ¡°Smells beautiful, I love when you cook a fry-up.¡± Danny loved his mums cooking, she said she was taught from her grandma, Danny could see the similarities with their food, but he was glad that was where the resemblance stopped.


    Elizbeth put the plates of lovely food on the dining table. After this, she went to call Kiran down for breakfast.


    Danny continued to think about his mother and great grandma. He always loved his grandma, although, he¡¯d never understood her abnormal behaviour. The weirdest thing he seen his grandma do, was dipping bread into what she claimed was blood, and he would be stupid to not believe her, is what he thought.


    ¡°Kiran! Kiran!!¡± The noiseless upstairs landing continued. Elizbeth was beginning to get annoyed. ¡°Kiran, hurry up, your breakfast will get cold.¡± Still no answer, ¡°what is he doing?¡± She said to herself. She started to walk up the stairs and as she did, Kiran came down the attic stairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, babe.¡± Kiran¡¯s face looked like he¡¯d been in the mine shafts.


    ¡°Why are you in the attic? I thought you had a family to protect?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not like I was hiding in the attic, I was trying to contact some help over the radio.¡±


    Elizbeth had an imbecilically look about her, ¡°if we need help, we can just ask a neighbour, didn¡¯t you think of that.¡±


    ¡°The neighbours? Danny fucked that up, everyone in the neighbourhood hates us, have you forgotten already?


    Elizbeth conceded that one, ¡°do you really think we need help?¡±


    Kiran didn¡¯t know whether to tell her what the man on the radio said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, like you said, our breakfast will get cold.¡±


    The Ambrose family sat down for breakfast. As they did Kiran noticed his bacon was perfect, crispy as a burnt body, so much fat you¡¯d think his life goal was to be a type two diabetic, but he also noticed that Danny wouldn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°How¡¯s your breakfast, son?¡±


    Danny didn¡¯t reply, he was surprised his dad even tried considering he¡¯d treated Danny so awfully. However, Danny wasn¡¯t surprised that his dad did treat him like that, Kiran was always temperamental when it came to Danny. Danny felt like his dad always regretted having him.


    ¡°Boy! I¡¯m talking to you.¡± Kiran couldn¡¯t be bothered with stress, ¡°look, son. I won¡¯t bother you, but I will say this one thing.¡± Kiran sat up like a Spanish question mark and said, ¡°you were brave last night, if I was your age and I¡¯d seen them bats¡­ well let¡¯s just say I wouldn¡¯t have saved my dad in that situation. I would have cried and accepted his death. You didn¡¯t though. You saved me. And I¡¯m so proud of you for that and thankful, I truly am.¡± Kiran could see that his son was not reacting to how he would have thought but continued speaking, ¡°the way I treated you after what I did was terrible, and I¡¯ll never forgive myself son.


    Danny continued looking at the floor, thinking about a time where he and his mum was alone and away from his dad.


    ¡°Okay boys, shall we eat.¡±


    As the family was tucking into their food, a bang at the front door, ¡°who¡¯s that?¡± Elizbeth asked.


    The banging continued, though this time it was followed up by a voice, ¡°help me please!¡± The stranger sounded in panic, ¡°open up, something is chasing me!¡±


    The family was concerned to who it was, especially considering the streets had been silent for the past two weeks.


    Danny asks, ¡°shall we let him in?¡±


    Elizbeth asks, ¡°what do you think, babe?¡±


    Kiran looks gone out, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t know!¡±

 Chapter 5

    ¡°Please just help me, I¡¯m begging you?! Just open the door?¡± The stranger at the door seemed desperate, which made Elizbeth and Kiran feel uneased. However, Danny was certain that they needed to help the stranger out, Danny¡¯s logic was if he¡¯s desperate then he needs our help even more.


    Kiran was undecided, ¡°the safest option is to not let him in because he could anyone.¡±


    Danny laughed, ¡°you can¡¯t be serious?¡±


    ¡°Both of you stop!¡± Elizbeth had had enough of them both and shouted, ¡°right, we¡¯re going to help him, we¡¯d be teaching Danny a bad parenting lesson. And he seems like he needs help, so why not¡­?¡±


    A bang at the door which stops Elizbeth from talking, ¡°open the door now, it¡¯s coming to me now, please, open the¡­¡±


    Danny runs towards the front door.


    ¡°No son! Don¡¯t open that door!¡±


    Danny opens the door to let the stranger in and Danny feels solace as he lets the stranger in but as the stranger runs inside the house, the thing that was chasing him jumps on his back. The family see what it is before the stranger does, it looks pale, skinny as a vein, and with bright red eyes but humanoid looking.


    Kiran screams, ¡°get here now Danny, it¡¯s not safe.¡± Danny doesn¡¯t listen, he is in shock and can¡¯t move. The pale attacker is sat on the strangers back as if it¡¯s his resting place. As the stranger fights back, they both fall into Danny. Kiran runs to help his son.


    Danny is in the bottom of an all pile on, the pale guy is on top of the stranger and the stranger is on top of Danny. The young boy freaks out and as he looks at his surroundings, he notices that the pale guy is trying to bite the stranger.


    Elizbeth commanded, ¡°Hurry, grab our son now, Kiran!¡±


    Kiran wasn¡¯t wasting no time as he ran towards the living room where the commotion was going on. He runs at full pace and fast for a big guy. As he reaches the pale guy, Kiran kicks them both, the speed that Kiran was going made them go flying, which freed Danny. Danny could move which was a relief for him and his dad. Kiran picked him up and ran for the other side of the room. ¡°Take him Elizbeth, he might be hurt.¡±


    Elizbeth grabbed Danny and held him in her arms like an angel. She noticed that Kiran was hovering back towards the living room, ¡°don¡¯t go anywhere near them, babe! Just let them kill each other.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that, babe. Look, one of them is normal but that other one is freaky looking.¡± Kiran proceeded to help the stranger, ¡°what the hell?¡±


    The pale guy sunk his teeth into the stranger¡¯s cranium, and it made a crunch sound which made Elizbeth throw up. The rotten, pale, and deranged face of the pale guy continued to bite the cranium; Kiran didn¡¯t know what to do, he was in shock. As the pale guy stopped biting, the stranger shouted, ¡°please, someone kill me?¡± As the stranger continued moaning, the pale guy grabbed the back of his head and smashed his face into the hardened floor. He continued smashing his head into the floor, while teeth were flying out of his mouth, piles of blood spilling out of his mouth, ears and eyes. The family was ice-bound, except for Kiran who grabs a broom and starts walking towards the pale man. As he was getting closer, the pale man sees Kiran coming towards him. The pale man takes one last bite out of the stranger and throws him to the side. He looks Kiran in the eye and screams so loud that he breaks a glass. Kiran is taken back but stands his ground. The pale man runs directly for Kiran. As the pale guy reaches Kiran, he attacks him with his long, sharp, and rotten fingernails. Kiran dodges the first slash but the second one comes quick and slices Kiran¡¯s left leg. The pale man tries to stab Kiran in the eye, but he finally uses his broom to block the attack. He continues giving Kiran slashes on the arm, chest and the last one breaks the broom. Kiran freaks out but has no time to think because the pale man grabs him and throws him to the floor. Kiran tries to get back up but no luck, the pale man is in a mounted position on top of Kiran, He cannot move at all, so the pale man goes to bite Kiran.


    The bite is heading towards Kiran¡¯s neck, and as the pale man was getting closer, Elizbeth steps in and pushes the pale man just in time to save Kiran.


    ¡°Thanks, but find Danny and get out of here!¡± Elizbeth didn¡¯t want to listen but knew he was right.


    Kiran fought the pale man so Elizbeth and Danny could escape, he kicks it in the back to grab its attention and as he does, Kiran runs to the kitchen by jumping over the dining table, then jumps over the kitchen counter so he can grab a hammer from under the sink. He goes to grab the hammer from under the sink but as he does, the pale man grabs him and chucks him away from it, ¡°you think a hammer is gonna beat me, ha-ha.¡±


    Kiran¡¯s face was in shock, ¡°so you can talk then, what are you?¡±


    The pale man didn¡¯t even reply, he attacked Kiran immediately. he was pounding on Kiran¡¯s face and with every hit came with more blood. The pale man chucked Kiran to the wall and spoke softly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to pass out yet, I¡¯m about to entertain your wife, you certainly wouldn¡¯t want to miss that, you cuck.¡± Kiran was too dazed to even reply to him but was conscious to what was going on. He started walking towards Elizbeth.


    Elizbeth was looking for Danny in the playroom, but he wasn¡¯t there. As she turned around and faced the door, the pale man was standing right behind her. He grabs her by the arms and chucks her out of the playroom and into the dining table. Elizbeth is shocked and it covers the pain of her bones crashing into the hard wooden table. She quickly gets up but as she does, the pale man is once again too swift for her. He places her on top of the dining table like a piece to a puzzle. Her back slams on it and she winces. Her neck vibrates within his palm. She looks for anything to help her but sees the stranger is dead as rat. She screams. Then she sees Kiran who is beaten to a pulp. The pale man readies himself to take a chunk out of her neck.


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    ¡°What the hell is going on, I need to get upstairs.¡± Danny is in terror. He cannot believe that a stranger is being attacked. As the pale man bites a chunk out of the stranger¡¯s cranium, Danny runs upstairs. When he gets to his room, he figures that if their family is to survive this, they¡¯ll need a weapon or something to fight off that thing. He opens his floorboard stash of chemistry goods, then grabs a few ping-pong balls. He grabs a screwdriver and puts a hole in the top of one of the ping-pong balls, once he has a hole, he cuts the remainder ping-pong balls into little pieces so he can put them into the hole of the ping-pong ball. The ping-pong ball was full of little pieces of the other ping-pong balls. So, Danny grabbed a pencil and some aluminium foil. He put the pencil into the hole of the ping-pong ball and wrapped aluminium foil around them both but he left a hole at the end so he could take the pencil out after. He gently removed the pencil out of the aluminium foil so there was a shape left of the pencil, Danny joked that the ping-pong smoke bomb looked like a penis. Danny heard a big bang downstairs but needed to find his lighter so he could light his ping-pong smoke bomb. As he seen the lighter was in his floorboard stash, he went to adventure downstairs.


    As Danny was walking down the stairs, he seen his mum was on the dining table and the pale man was about to bite his mum. Danny didn¡¯t even have time to get in decent range, so he grabbed his ping-pong smoke bomb and lighter. He had to light the bottom of the ping-pong ball for it to work properly. Danny lit the smoke bomb and threw it at the pale man.


    As the smoke dispersed, Kiran grabbed the circular saw from outside the front door and began to walk towards the pale man and Elizbeth, but as he got in range, he couldn¡¯t see anything through the heavy smoke. Kiran entered through the smoke. He could hear Elizbeth screaming which he hoped was a sign that the pale man hadn¡¯t bitten her yet. As he got closer, Kiran saw a shadow and attacked it, ¡°die! You fucking gremlin!!¡±


    He used the circular saw to make an incision on the shadow figure, Kiran was reckless when swinging his circular saw around, it made him feel like he was finally helping. He swung the circular saw like a fist, but suddenly it broke, Kiran just hoped that last attack was effective.


    As the smoke was fading, Kiran couldn¡¯t hear see the shadow figure no longer, but he could no longer hear Elizbeth¡¯s voice, Kiran¡¯s mind was racing, he thought, ¡°what if that shadow figure was Elizbeth?¡±


    The smoke was completely gone, Danny could see that his mum was alright but as he looked at his dad, he seen the pale man was now behind his dad, ¡°dad watch out!¡±


    The pale man grabbed Kiran from behind and began choking him. Elizbeth was still on top of the dining table with her back still hurting from being slammed on table. She looks to see the pale man choking her husband but notices the wound on the pale man¡¯s chest, it was gaping, a massive gash. Elizbeth seen the broken broom on the floor, broken but effective due to the end being spiky, she thought. She rose off the table like a fish out of water, as she made room to grab the doomy broom and ran towards the pale man so she could save her husband. As she was running towards the pale man, Kiran managed to escape the choke, the pale man was injured so it gives Elizbeth time to use the broom.


    She was within a few centimetres of the pale man and as she got closer, she pulled the broom as back as she could and used her momentum to drive the sharpened broom into the pale man¡¯s gash. The broom goes straight through his heart. Elizbeth is shocked it would have worked; she didn¡¯t believe she had the strength. But as she looked up at the pale man, she heard his last grasp of air. She turned her head to her celebrating family.


    ¡°Are you okay mum?¡± Danny couldn¡¯t believe she had it in her to kill someone.


    Kiran walked towards Elizbeth and hugged her, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, you did the right thing, it was him or us.¡± Kiran could see the shame she had for herself, but he didn¡¯t want her to feel that way, she¡¯d saved the family after all.


    Elizbeth didn¡¯t know how to feel but just wanted to embrace her family¡¯s love. They all walked into the living room and sat as a family on the couch. Elizbeth felt relief when Kiran put his arm around her and pulled her closer towards him. Elizbeth looked at Kiran and spoke gently, ¡°thank you for being considerate about the situation, I know I killed him but¡­¡±


    Before she could even finish her sentence, ¡°you don¡¯t need to worry, like I said, it was him or us. He murdered that poor feller, so you have an enough of a reason.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right I guess.¡± Elizbeth knew Kiran was right, but she felt bad for taking someone else¡¯s life. But she wondered, wondered if that was a life.


    Kiran looked at both corpses, they were laying as if nothing even happened, one innocent corpse and the other a devilish corpse. ¡°What do we do with the bodies?¡± Kiran said like they¡¯d just done a crime, ¡°we can¡¯t just leave them there, it will stink.¡±


    Elizbeth couldn¡¯t bury them; she just didn¡¯t have the energy. ¡°What about the shed?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking more of a burial.¡±


    Danny quickly piped up with, ¡°if you don¡¯t want to help mum, I¡¯ll help dad instead.¡±


    Elizbeth demanded, ¡°no you will not!¡±


    Kiran interjected, ¡°why not, he helped us take that thing down.¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s our son and I don¡¯t want my son to bury someone, yet alone someone I murdered.


    Kiran and Danny piped down, ¡°the shed sounds like a brilliant idea.¡±


    As Kiran and Elizbeth went outside to take the bodies to the shed, Danny went upstairs to tidy and hide his chemistry stash. He arrived at his room and began to put his chemistry equipment away. He opens the floorboard up and puts his chemistry equipment back into his stash. Danny was just glad he¡¯d survived the ordeal.


    He walked towards his window, thinking that him and his dad could have died to the bats, never mind the crazy pale man who was biting people. As he stared out his window, he remembered the strange man who murdered the dog, Danny thought, all of it was weird and didn¡¯t make sense. Until Danny remembered how the strange man killed the dog, ¡°he used his teeth to kill that dog, shoot, I need to tell my mum.¡±


    Elizbeth and Kiran were carrying the innocent body first, as they carried the body, Kiran said, ¡°I do wish he knocked on another door, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes! If it wasn¡¯t for him, I wouldn¡¯t have killed anyone.¡±


    Kiran understood her, ¡°I get it but I¡¯m glad you stepped up to the plate, like you always do, to be fair.¡± Kiran smiled at her but then he looked at the dead body and it remined him of this nightmare they are in.


    Elizbeth looked at Kiran and spoke with serenity, ¡°I¡¯m just glad we¡¯ve all made it, if anything happened to you or Danny¡­ I just don¡¯t know what I would do.¡±


    ¡°Babe, nothing will happen to me or Danny, I promise you.¡±


    Elizbeth regained eye contact with Kiran, ¡°I hope so, but I will say this; so much for breakfast.¡± They both laughed.

 Chapter 6

    Kiran walked over to the pale man¡¯s corpse and was shocked that they were attacked by such a creepy guy. As Elizbeth walked over towards him, he said, ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you killed him and saved us while doing it.¡± Kiran joked, ¡°if there was a reason for someone to kill someone, then saving your family would be the ideal reason.¡±


    Elizbeth looked at him dead in the eyes.


    ¡°Too soon then, my bad, I¡¯m sorry, this situation is just too surreal.¡±


    Elizbeth grabbed Kiran and squeezed him so tight, ¡°it¡¯s okay, I get what you¡¯re saying. It¡¯s unreal, to think I wasn¡¯t a murderer 10 minutes ago.¡± Elizbeth realised she couldn¡¯t just move on from this, she would remember it forever.


    Kiran could see that Elizbeth was contemplating the situation way to hard. ¡°Stop over thinking it. I can see your being too hard on yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m just finding it hard, you know? It¡¯s the only thing I find myself thinking about¡± Elizbeth stopped holding Kiran and said, ¡°am I a piece of shit?¡±


    Kiran looked at her, ¡°I¡¯m not going to answer that.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because you know it¡¯s true!¡±


    Kiran quickly answered, ¡°no because it¡¯s a stupid question!¡±


    Elizbeth screamed, ¡°well, is there another mother you know that¡¯s killed somebody? Huh? My own son, my flesh and blood has seen me kill another person!¡± She believed her words, ¡°you know I¡¯m right, Kiran. I can tell because you¡¯ve gone silent.¡±


    Kiran looked straight into her eyes and said sincerely, ¡°you didn¡¯t hear your son after killing him, did you?¡± Elizbeth didn¡¯t answer, ¡°well I did, and he was so proud of you. You¡¯ve seen the monster that we fought, you try telling me that¡¯s human, go on, tell me.¡± She was beginning to brighten up, ¡°you¡¯ve got to look at it like this, that fucker walked in this house, killed the random person we were trying to save and attacked us. You have every right to kill that thing!¡±


    Elizbeth smiled at him, knowing he¡¯d always have her back when shit hits the fan. She replied with a sorrow voice, ¡°I get it, babe but still¡­ a part of me hates myself for it and I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d forget it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, babe. It just means you¡¯ve got a big heart. Should we move this freak?¡±


    They both grabbed the corpse and moved it to the shed but as they did, Danny ran downstairs.


    ¡°Danny, I would rather you not be down here when we are moving the body.¡± Elizbeth shouted.


    ¡°Please wait, mum? I have made a connection between the guy you¡¯re carrying and the person that killed the dog.¡±


    Kiran and Elizbeth seemed interested in what he had to say, ¡°go on then, son, spit it out!¡±


    Danny prepared himself and said, ¡°the person who killed the dog used his teeth, just like¡­¡±


    Kiran interjected, ¡°just like this monster in our hands. Really, you saw him use his teeth?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he used his teeth to kill the dog and they are different people, I can promise you that. The guy who killed the dog was wearing a black trench coat, a hat and smart shoes.¡± Danny pointed to the pale man and continued with his point, ¡°and the person who you are carrying isn¡¯t wearing any of that.¡±


    Kiran looked at Elizbeth with dread, but she didn¡¯t look at him; she was in a trance, Danny could still see the fear on her face though.


    Danny knew he was on to something, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on here, but we know something, avoid their teeth?¡±


    Elizbeth woke up and said, ¡°that¡¯s really interesting but we need to move this body, it¡¯s the last one, then we can eat something, hopefully.¡±


    As they were taking the evil corpse out to the shed, Elizbeth couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what Danny had said, she¡¯d remember when her grandma would tell her stories about villagers being attacked by winged people, who would attack people with their teeth. She always hated the stories due to them scaring Elizbeth. She stopped moving, ¡°do you remember what stories my grandma would tell?¡±


    Kiran looked back at her, ¡°yes, I remember. Why are you asking that?¡±


    ¡°The people in the story are very similar to that pale guy. Can you remember what she used to call them? I have it on the tip of my tongue, but it won¡¯t come out. Was it rampires?¡±


    ¡°No, I have it¡­ vampires, they were called vampires.¡±


    Loads of memories came flooding back for Elizbeth, she remembered what kind of people they were. She remembered what happened to them. She remembered that they would be coming back.


    Kiran could see she was in distress, ¡°what up with you, you look like you¡¯ve discovered Kendrick Lamar for the first time.¡±


    Elizbeth looked at him, ¡°what is it with you and Kendrick Lamar. And it¡¯s my grandma, she used to tell me stories of people who would kill people with their teeth.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Now you get it. It seems too weird, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Kiran never really listened to her grandma, so he had no idea if she wasn¡¯t going crazy as well as everyone else. ¡°Are you sure she used to tell you that, I mean, it sounds bonkers.¡±


    ¡°I know it does, but I promise, she used to tell me about people like that.¡±


    Kiran didn¡¯t know what to think, ¡°let¡¯s be done with this.¡± They both walked towards the derelict shed, threw the body in, and both sighed. ¡°Thank god that¡¯s done.¡± Kiran said while celebrating mildly.


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    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t thank god.¡±


    ¡°why¡¯s that then?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s certainly not real if he¡¯s making my family go through this.¡± Elizbeth stormed inside while leaving Kiran outside in the garden.


    Elizbeth was walking angrily until she seen Danny. Danny would brighten up her mood every time she seen him, she always thought that Danny could brighten a dark room. She sat next to him on the comfy couch. She was lost for words, with every thought being, ¡°you are a murderer.¡±


    ¡°You okay, mum?¡± Danny could see that something was bothering his mum. ¡°Hello, are you awake?¡±


    Elizbeth quickly rose from her trance, ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Elizbeth didn¡¯t even answer the question, ¡°look son, do you think of me as a bad person? Now that I¡¯ve killed someone.¡± Her heart stopped as she waited for his answer.


    Danny stood up and said, ¡°no way! You¡¯re my mum and I will love you no matter what you do. You could want to kill me; I¡¯d still love you! And you were protecting us and that is what¡¯s important.¡± Danny increased his volume, ¡°you need to let it go mum, you saved us! You need to understand; I love you.¡± A tear came to her eye as she hugged her son.


    Kiran walked in the kitchen from the garden and seen that Elizbeth and Danny was chatting, so he went upstairs and walked to the attic. He wanted to tell his friend on the radio that him and his family were attacked by someone or something.


    Kiran turned on his CB radio, put in the same frequency as last time. As he was waiting, he thought about the man who was murdered by the pale faced man. Kiran just couldn¡¯t believe that he used his teeth, he¡¯d never seen no one die yet alone a person killing someone with their teeth. He wondered how Elizbeth was doing, considering she slayed the pale man.


    The sky was covered by mist, the opposite windows were not lit by light and the days were turning into nightmares.


    Kiran couldn¡¯t believe what was going on, he thought everything was so surreal. He looked at ceiling in the attic and could see a spider. A big spider but as he turned his flashlight on and pointed at it, he noticed the big spider was just loads of little spiders on top of each other, they looked like an ant colony.


    Danny had been wanting to say that ever since she killed that thing. They both stopped hugging and Danny asked, ¡°where¡¯s dad?¡±


    Elizbeth hadn¡¯t heard him come in, so she replied, ¡°I think he¡¯s still in the garden.¡±


    Danny spoke while laughing, ¡°I thought he quit smoking, he never sticks to anything, does he? Well, unless it¡¯s smoking.¡± Danny couldn¡¯t remember a time where his dad stuck to something, except for his job in construction. The only thing his dad had truly loved, Danny thought.


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely quit smoking, but he has been out there for a while, I¡¯ll give you that.¡± Elizbeth sighed, ¡°I wish things went back to normal for you, for me, well; for all of us.¡±


    ¡°I know, it would be nice.¡±


    Elizbeth stared at Danny, not saying a word, though he could tell what she meant. She grabbed his hand and spoke graciously, ¡°it¡¯s not fair on you though, you didn¡¯t ask to be on this planet. I don¡¯t want to freak you out, son but the days are becoming darker, and someone has raised the stakes.


    Danny¡¯s face was a confused one at best, ¡°mum, you gave me this life, I know that things haven¡¯t gone so well for us now but the time we had before this nightmare was the best time anyone could have asked for. I mean it, mum. You¡¯ve dedicated your entire life to me, and I will forever notice, you are one hell of a mum.¡± Elizbeth was about to talk but Danny stopped her by saying, ¡°ah, I haven¡¯t finished! I honestly don¡¯t know if you know how good of a mum you are, seriously. Like you never have any ambitions due to me. If we get through this, you should consider a dream.¡±


    Elizbeth smiled at him, ¡°you¡¯re one hell of a son, too. My ambition was you, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you know what I mean. You could have an aspiration, which is more than me.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying but it¡¯s just not true, you¡¯re the biggest aspiration anyone could have. You could be right about having more than one aspiration, I guess.¡±


    Danny appreciated what she had to say, ¡°what was you going on about? Someone raised the stakes?¡±


    Elizbeth was about to answer until they heard a bang from upstairs.


    Kiran had never liked insects, especially spiders, they¡¯d scare him ever since he was a young kid. He always thought they had it out for him. So, when Kiran sees the load of spiders on the attic ceiling, he runs for the hatch to escape. However, when he reaches it, the hatch is compromised by another load of spiders; a whole hive of spiders covering the hatch. Kiran contemplates moving the hatch but bottles it. He runs to the far corner of the room, as he runs, he feels something fall on his neck. He debates with himself whether to stop but carries on running to the corner. He reaches the corner but leaving a trail of spiders that is coming his way.


    He¡¯s trapped in the corner with spiders coming his way. He looks around the attic to see if any weapons are next to him, ¡°damn, fuck all.¡± The spiders are as black as a murderer¡¯s soul. Small bodies with long thin legs, the spiders were walking as a unit, like an army but more chaotic and less methodical. Kiran started screaming, hopeful of his family saving him. Though, he doubted they could hear him, so he had to come up with a plan.


    The surrounding army of spiders gave him no chance of running through them. As they move closer, Kiran thinks he could jump over the spiders and if he didn¡¯t make it all the way, at least he would fall and crush the spiders. The one fear he had was not being able to get up in time and that resulting in the spiders jumping on him. As he thought about the cons, his head began to spin with negative thoughts. He didn¡¯t know whether his jump would be big enough. He didn¡¯t know if his run up would be large enough. He didn¡¯t like the fact of dying by spiders, the thought of spiders running out of his skeleton eyehole. He hated the idea. Kiran took a big breath and began his short run and jumped over the spiders. He landed on only but a few spiders and got up in time for the spiders to miss climbing onboard. He was about to open the hatch again until he sees the same spiders covering it. He¡¯s out of ideas and not much room to work with so he falls to his knees and begs for his life but remembers the box of novels that is in the attic. Kiran runs to the first box he sees but when he opens it, ¡°nada!¡± His mind is racing with the horrors that he¡¯s seeing. The trauma gets to him, and he screams for his life.


    As Danny and Elizbeth are walking upstairs, they hear a scream from the attic. They both look at each other with worry. Elizbeth commands, ¡°Danny, go grab me a candle!¡± As Danny runs, Elizbeth shouts up to Kiran.


    Kiran is sulking in despair as he thinks his life is over, but he hears Elizbeth shouting, ¡°hello, is that you Elizbeth, quickly open the hatch!¡±


    Elizbeth steps on the ladder and prepares to open the hatch, ¡°I¡¯m about to open it¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! When you do, don¡¯t come up, just open it and shut it when I come through!¡±


    Elizbeth is sceptical but begins to open it. She lifts it up fast and as she does a few spiders come flying down, she thinks to shut the hatch but before she goes through with it, Kiran comes flying down like he¡¯s in a diving contest. Then Elizbeth shuts the hatch with force, ¡°why the hell did you not tell me about the fucking spiders?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but no doubt you¡¯d not open that hatch if you knew.¡±


    Elizbeth glared at him, ¡°why are you even in the attic and what is that in your hand?¡±


    He said, ¡°you know, the radio.¡± He began to chuckle and then said, ¡°I know it¡¯s only a radio but how the hell should I know spiders would attack me.¡±


    Elizbeth laughed, ¡°why were you so scared?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the attic is a spider¡¯s nest and I¡¯m not joking. Its full of them¡±


    Elizbeth replied, ¡°normally I wouldn¡¯t believe you, but the way things are going, I suppose having a spider¡¯s nest in our attic.¡±


    Kiran quickly butted in, ¡°no, the attic is the spider¡¯s nest, I¡¯m being literal.¡±


    Elizbeth smiled dropped, ¡°really? Well shit, let¡¯s find Danny, he¡¯s been too long.¡±


    As they both walked downstairs, Kiran felt a bite on his neck, he quickly brushed the thing that bit him on the floor. He looked at the ground and seen a dead spider.

 Chapter 7

    Danny rushed to the kitchen; his mum sent him to find a candle. Danny never heard his dad scream like that, he was beginning to think someone was up there with his dad; the thought was killing Danny. The kitchen had no such things but as Danny continued searching, he heard a bark coming from the garden. Danny¡¯s face lit up as soon as he heard the bark, though it intrigued him, he¡¯d never seen or heard dogs around his area, not ever. But now he has seen two dogs in one day. He went to the garden door and began to look out the window of the door. It was smallish with black fur and floppy ears. He immediately opened the door and grabbed it. He pulled it towards him, and Danny¡¯s cheek is rubbing on the dog¡¯s neck. Danny felt like all his problems had vanished without a trace.


    Elizbeth and Kiran got to the kitchen expecting to find Danny, ¡°where is he?¡± Elizbeth said confused, ¡°I told him to grab a candle so I could help you with the attic problem.¡±


    Kiran replied, ¡°that makes sense but where is he?¡± As Kiran looked towards the living room, he seen the garden door open, ¡°hey, babe. Look, the garden door is open! You don¡¯t think someone took Danny, do you?!¡±


    Elizbeth had no words, but her legs were willing to do the talking. She ran to the garden and seen that Danny was in the garden, ¡°hey, what are you doing?!¡± Elizbeth tone was getting angrier, ¡°you know something awful is going on around this area, we literally got attacked like two hours ago.¡±


    Danny turned around, not to go inside but to show her the dog.


    Elizbeth face began to change from a tomato into a star, ¡°oh my god it¡¯s a dog!¡± Elizbeth loved dogs; she knew how it made Danny feel. She asked, ¡°where did it come from?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Danny had no idea why he felt the way he did, but he had to get it off his chest, ¡°it¡¯s like the dog came to save us mum.¡± Elizbeth was confused but Danny continued to explain, ¡°in this nightmare we have a silver lining; the dog.¡±


    Before she could even speak, Kiran saw the dog and freaked, ¡°what the fuck is that mut doing here, who¡¯s dog is that?¡± Danny had no time to answer, ¡°get the dog out of here right this second! I mean it, right now!¡±


    Danny wanted to scream for the way his dad was acting. The dog took the initiative and growled at Kiran. Kiran was taken back by it and looked straight at Elizbeth, ¡°we are not keeping this dog, I don¡¯t give a fuck, we are not keeping this dog!¡± Kiran wanted to get the message across so he spoke with a strict tone, ¡°something will happen to this dog before he stays with us, I can guarantee you that.¡±


    Elizbeth¡¯s face dropped, ¡°Kiran! You can¡¯t say stuff like that in front of our child, just for the simple fact of him wanting to keep the dog, you shouldn¡¯t say shit like this.¡± Elizbeth was a second from walking away, ¡°I¡¯m getting sick of you! Why have you always got to treat Danny like this, don¡¯t you get it, he¡¯s a kid and wants to keep a dog, that¡¯s normal you fool!¡± Kiran¡¯s reaction was no reaction so Elizbeth carried on speaking, ¡°can you not see, we are in hell, Kiran! And if a dog is going to help my son get through this hellish nightmare, then that¡¯s fine with me.¡±


    ¡°Why do I have to put up with a dog, surly you can understand that.¡± Kiran could see it wasn¡¯t working, ¡°what¡¯s going on with you, you never usually contest me. If anyone was to understand it¡¯s you, I¡¯ve never liked dogs, not now, not ever!¡±


    ¡°I cannot stand you anymore, you¡¯re a stain on this family!¡± She turned her head towards Danny and commanded, ¡°Danny, go inside and take the dog!¡± Kiran didn¡¯t want to argue with her now. Once Danny went inside, she continued grilling Kiran, ¡°remember what you said when you first heard I was pregnant?¡± Kiran could see the fire in her eyes, ¡°huh? I didn¡¯t hear you Kiran, what did you say?!¡±


    ¡°All right, I know I fucked up at the start, but I have stuck around.¡±


    Elizbeth¡¯s voice rose like a flag, ¡°do you want a medal or something?!¡± she composed herself and spoke with sense, ¡°look, I love you, always have but you¡¯ve never truly been here with this family.¡±


    Kiran felt confused, ¡°I¡¯ve always been here, what are you on about?¡±


    ¡°You should know. Surprises me that you don¡¯t already know.¡± She looked him dead in the eyes, ¡°yes, you¡¯ve been here physically but not mentally. You come in from work and pay us no attention whatsoever, do you know how much that hurts Danny¡­ well do you?¡±


    Kiran chimed in, ¡°I haven¡¯t even been at work for like two weeks.¡±


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t get it.¡± Elizbeth was fed up, every time she would lift her head up to see Kiran, it would leave her fed up, ¡°let¡¯s just leave it, we aren¡¯t getting anywhere, except for Danny keeping the dog.¡±


    Kiran wanted to say something desperately but kept his mouth shut. Elizbeth knew Kiran would be embarrassed if Danny ever found out that his dad had always regretted having him, though she hadn¡¯t seen what Kiran had seen, she heard his father was awful.


    They both walked inside and seen Danny playing with the dog. Elizbeth was happy to see Danny¡¯s smiling face, it was like heaven for her.


    The family sat in the living room pondering on the nightmare they were taking part in. Kiran was glaring at the dog with fury, though he couldn¡¯t help but think that he might be selfish for not letting Danny keep the dog. He looked around the room, his eyes landing on Elizbeth first. He could see she was tired and when Kiran looked at Danny, he was tired too; the whole family was tired. However, his mind wasn¡¯t tired, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking that luck had saved them. All Kiran wanted was him and his family to make it to the finish line.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Danny was so happy with his dog, he¡¯d never thought he would have one, especially in a time like this. The dog licked his checks, it made him feel warmth, a warmth only his mum could serve him. All he could think about was the dog and how it came at the very best time because Danny was in need off a friend.


    Elizbeth couldn¡¯t stop looking at Danny and his brightened face, it was like an angel had come along. As she watched him, her face became brighter too. Although her main concern was if Danny would survive through this horror show and her mind wouldn¡¯t let it up. The more she thought about it, the more it became reality, the reality of living in a nightmare. She just wanted to focus on Danny and if he smiled, she smiled. She seen the time and didn¡¯t realise how late it was, ¡°you guys seen the time?¡± She looked at Kiran, ¡°wow! You¡¯re tired as me, guess we¡¯re all knackered then.¡±


    Kiran smiled, ¡°you¡¯re reading my mind right now¡± Kiran began to get up, ¡°you ready for bed, son?¡± Danny didn¡¯t reply but he got up and walked up the stairs with the dog. Kiran was shocked but was glad he didn¡¯t resist.


    Danny got into bed and the dog jumped up and laid next to him. Danny snuggled up to the dog, with the dog¡¯s hair rubbing against his nose. As he tried to sleep, he heard a continuous banging, not too loud but loud enough to hear. Danny heard it was coming from his parents¡¯ bedroom, he said to himself, ¡°they must be having a fight, weird though, it¡¯s like there¡¯s rhythm.¡± He didn¡¯t care though, he felt like he could fall asleep in an instance.


    The night sky was beginning to turn red like a blood stain on a white shirt. The bats were flying and wolfs were howling and wraiths were moaning. As the groans went louder, the sky became a serial killer¡¯s canvas painting, with the sky looking like it withheld a thousand dead bodies. Thunder and lightning hitting every ear lug, though the many enjoyed it. The screaming, howling, and growling was a quire that supported the ever-changing sky. The sun began to change but not in size or direction but colour. A shade of black hit the sun and began to expand. The sun was pure black as if its soul had been drained. The sky was now a glorious red and withheld a blackened sun that looked like it was destined to explode causing blood to gush.


    The morning struck and the Ambrose family was beginning to wake. Kiran eyes opened but as they did, he felt such pain on his face, stomach and his back were significantly in much more pain. He turned and faced Elizbeth, ¡°good morning.¡± But she wasn¡¯t in bed, he thought she was with Danny until he seen her in the corner of the room, standing and her back facing him. Kiran spoke with concern, ¡°babe, are you alright?¡± He questioned if what he was seeing was real, he couldn¡¯t believe she was standing in the corner, ¡°what are you doing? Why are you in the corner? You¡¯re not in trouble, are you?¡± Kiran was troubled to find out she wasn¡¯t answering. The bed creaked as he moved to get out of bed. He began to walk towards her. As he got close enough to touch her on her shoulder. Kiran turned Elizbeth around so that she was facing him and asked her, ¡°what¡¯s the meaning of¡­¡± before he could even finish, she grabbed him by the neck and picked him up, leaving his feet hanging in the air, she threw him towards the other side of the room. The side of his body went flying into the wall, he tries to stand but his ribcage is in agony. He sees her pale face coming towards him, so he shouts, ¡°you fucking freak, why are you acting crazy?¡±


    Elizbeth walks slow and screams like a dying bird. As she gets closer, she screams with confidence, ¡°I am the queen of vampires!! And I shall request the respect I deserve!¡± When she reaches Kiran, she falls to her knees. Kiran is shocked, he did not expect her to give it up, so he quickly runs out the room.


    Kiran runs towards Danny¡¯s room but as he gets there, smoke is coming from his room, he smashes the door open, ¡°Danny where are you?¡± As he enters, the smoke is so thick, but Kiran sees Danny is doing chemistry experiments, ¡°what the hell? Why is the smoke so thick?!¡± he walks over to Danny and grabs him by the collar of his shirt and drags him out of his room, ¡°bet you can hear me now!¡±


    Danny takes his goggles off and proceeds to answer the question, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but we needed the right tools to take care of what comes next, surly you understand that.¡±


    Kiran was taken back, ¡°you really making weapons?¡± Kiran didn¡¯t know what to make of it, ¡°I would like to teach you some discipline, but something happened to your mum¡­.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean something happened to my mum?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not too serious but I¡¯ll tell you in a minute. Where¡¯s your dog?¡±


    Danny quickly said, ¡°it¡¯s been while, but it went outside I think.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a concern at the minute but we do need to check on your mum!¡± Kiran quickly ran to his room with Danny lacking behind him, ¡°hurry Danny!¡±


    Danny questioned his dad, ¡°why didn¡¯t you help her on your own, why did you come and grab me?¡± As Kiran turned back, Danny could see the worry on his face, ¡°what happened? Answer me, dad! You¡¯re worrying me, please tell me?!¡±


    Kiran proceeded to tell Danny, ¡°Well, your mum had a few prob¡­¡± before Kiran could finish, Elizbeth walked out of the door, he turned and said, ¡°are you okay?! Why did you act like that?¡±


    Elizbeth was pale with sweat dripping down her face, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, it¡¯s like I blacked out but knew exactly what I was doing¡­ and I was kind of happy doing it.¡± Elizbeth took a breath and continued talking, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for acting the way I did but I felt alive, babe. It was if I was meant to be that person, it¡¯s weird to explain.¡±


    Danny quickly interjected, ¡°what even happened?¡±


    Kiran stared at Danny and commanded, ¡°go downstairs, Danny! We need to talk.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­.¡±


    As Danny walked, Kiran began to question Elizbeth, ¡°are you telling me that you feel alive when you¡¯re trying to hurt me¡­ if so that¡¯s awful.¡± Kiran was waiting for an answer, but she stayed silent with her head down on the floor. Kiran spoke louder, ¡°you attacked me, babe, we can¡¯t just let this slide. You¡¯re looking awful too, how¡¯re you feeling?¡±


    Elizbeth began to open her mouth, ¡°I do feel awful about what I did but I don¡¯t feel sick or anything, like I said, I feel alive, well you could say I¡¯m hot, is the heating on?¡±


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re sweating your skin off, are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Kiran was beginning to think something was up with her, something that made his brain ich.


    ¡°My back is in pain but it¡¯s because of that man throwing me on the table.¡± She turned around to show him her injury, she pulled the back of her t-shirt towards her head and showed him, ¡°what do you think babe?¡± She was expecting him to say it was alright, but he didn¡¯t make a sound. He went silent so her anxiety went to the roof, ¡°babe, why haven¡¯t you said anything, what does it look like?¡±


    Kiran finally broke the silence, ¡°it¡¯s okay.¡± Kiran didn¡¯t want to tell her the truth, the fact that it looked horrific. It was like her shoulder plexus was turning into small wings, Kiran couldn¡¯t fathom the way it looked, the greyish mould made him think the injury was so serious.


    Elizbeth didn¡¯t like the fact that he said a couple of words, he¡¯s always had something to say. It worried her to her core, like someone flying straight into her stomach. The only thing that was in her mind was the thought of it meaning tragedy.

 Chapter 8

    As Kiran tried to console Elizbeth, Danny shouted upstairs, ¡°guys, you¡¯ve got to see this, you won¡¯t believe it.¡± Danny spoke with such excitement, ¡°it¡¯s a red sky with a black sun, it¡¯s the sky¡¯s period.¡± Danny laughed as he said it. He couldn¡¯t contain his excitement, with his belly feeling as if he had someone living in there with him.


    Kiran and Elizbeth walked downstairs and seen the sky; the theme shocks them to their core. They both don¡¯t know what to think of it, as Kiran quickly interjects, ¡°what¡¯s going on here then? A red sky, this is getting worse.¡±


    Danny replies, ¡°It¡¯s a rare thing. And it¡¯s so fricking cool!¡±


    Kiran laughed, ¡°ah, it sure is. I¡¯ve never seen a red sky, it¡¯s so surreal.¡±


    Elizbeth was eye struck, ¡°this is art.¡± She just couldn¡¯t believe the sky was this creepy but beautiful, ¡°you think I¡¯m fitting in here, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re on about the fact that you¡¯re as pale as a bone. Well, you¡¯re not wrong about that. But what a setting, never seen the sun set like this before.¡± Kiran was taken back by the moment as he looked at his family. He thought it was a good moment in a troubled time.


    Danny was ecstatic, it felt like something new to him, Danny had thought that they were getting unlucky and needed to catch a break. Danny went on a tangent, ¡°you see this, this could mean the suns rising for us. A red ambient sky like a broch. A sun that can¡¯t even blind you! It¡¯s a miracle!¡± Danny was full of joy with nothing else on his mind. He could only be thankful for spending the moment with his parents, ¡°you are right mum! It sure is art, especially with the trees that blend with the sky.¡±


    Kiran pipes up, ¡°though them powerlines are not doing any good but otherwise it¡¯s a living masterpiece!¡± he had never been into art, but he could tell this was special. Even the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.


    Danny had never pinned his dad for recognising good art.


    Elizbeth spoke passionately, ¡°maybe this is for us, you know, a sign of luck.¡± She could see that Kiran looked hyperbolic, she wanted to say something but went against her gut and just let the moment play out. As they were enjoying the view, Kiran began to run inside. Elizbeth objected, ¡°where you going? Come on. We¡¯re enjoying this time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to tell someone about this.¡±


    Elizbeth guessed, ¡°you speaking to the weird radioman?¡±


    Kiran laughed, ¡°I know what I told you about him but he¡¯s alright, I promise you.¡± He pleaded his case, ¡°look, this guy may give us answers we need.¡±


    Elizbeth quickly responded, ¡°or scare the living shits out of you.¡±


    Kiran chuckled.


    As Kiran went inside, Danny and his mother was staring at the sky that had one thousand cuts while embracing each other. They both couldn¡¯t grasp at what they were seeing, Elizbeth thought that no earth should look like this, even if it was so beautiful. Elizbeth held Danny tighter like he was going to fly away. She rubbed her hands through his hair, thinking about how rough the last two weeks had been for him, Kiran and her. She wanted what was best for her son and that¡¯s all she¡¯s wanted since he was born. They continued looking at the majestical sky until Elizbeth seen flying creatures, she quickly told Danny, ¡°Hey, look at them?¡± As Danny turned to look. Elizbeth spoke, ¡°are they birds?¡±


    Danny got PTSD from earlier and shouted, ¡°they are bats, thank God they are far away from us! This is making the sky less advertising, what is going on with this place?¡±


    Elizbeth replied, ¡°like we keep saying, this is a nightmare and no one¡¯s waking us up!¡± Elizbeth seen Danny¡¯s reaction and knew she had been careless with her words. She tried to remedy it by saying, ¡°you never know, we might make it¡­¡±


    Danny interrupted her, ¡°you really think that?¡± She lifted her head from the floor and looked in his eyes while he asked, ¡°you really think there¡¯s no hope for us to get out of whatever this is?¡± Elizbeth ignored him but he persisted, ¡°tell me mum, without an answer - I¡¯ll be thinking, panicking and won¡¯t be in the right frame of mind for what we have to go through.¡± He began to grow frustrated with tears, ¡°God dammit mum! I need an answer, am I going to die?  are you going to die?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down son. We are going to get through this, there is no need for tears my son.¡± She hated to see her son this upset, she thought, never mind him thinking that he¡¯s going to die. She continued to speak, ¡°if we¡¯re going to get through this son, we all need to be strong as a brick wall.¡±


    Danny spoke with confusion, ¡°so no emotions whatsoever?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not, I said, ¡°be strong as a brick wall, not emotionless like a brick wall. Understand that.¡± She grabbed both of his hands and spoke with pure passion, ¡°I know you¡¯re strong and the reason why is that you¡¯re my son and you come from my family. My grandma said humanity would be screwed if our DNA wasn¡¯t in the world. I know it sounds silly but it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry mum but I am confused. But I will try to be strong, just for you.¡± As they both continued speaking, the dog came running towards Danny, his smile grew to the size of a football pitch when he seen the dog. Danny and the dog ran towards each other like they were in a romantic comedy. As he arrived near the dog, Danny picked the dog up with both hands, lifted him in the air while saying, ¡°damn! You¡¯re getting big, boy, can¡¯t be picking you up all the time.¡±


    Kiran could see Elizbeth and Danny out the window as he was trying to get hold of the man on the radio. He was getting no luck and as he looked out the window, he seen the dog run to Danny. Kiran anger grew, and he thought what a prick the dog was and how smug it was being. Kiran couldn¡¯t stand dogs; he thought Elizbeth would understand but clearly not. The radio was silent, Kiran even wanted to speak to a stranger. His mind was swirling with thoughts of if the man on the radio would be dead or if something happened to him. He gave it one last effort, ¡°come in, hello? Does anybody come in?¡± His tone grew angrier, ¡°please! Somebody answer?!¡± he waited to get a reply. The two minutes were up so in his frustration he grabbed the radio with his hulking hands and threw it like a soft ball, it smashed into pieces. He shouted, ¡°God dammit, I am fucking sick of his place; get me out of here!¡± His rage continued as he walked to the window, it was if the dog had changed his mood. He looked out the window to see Danny¡¯s face, the smile almost gave Kiran a happiness that didn¡¯t last long, he snarled like a beast. As he walked away from the window, he felt a pain in his back that was comparable to Elizbeth¡¯s pain. He wanted to tell Elizbeth, so he began walking to the garden. As he made to the living room, there was a knock on the door. Kiran panicked and shouted, ¡°go away! We aren¡¯t taking room at the inn!!¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Kiran heard a reply at the door, ¡°hey, it¡¯s me.¡±


    He shouted, ¡°who¡¯s you?¡±


    ¡°You remember, don¡¯t you? Can you not recognise my voice? What a shame, I always thought I had a distinctive voice.¡±


    Kiran was getting agitated, ¡°could you stop making jokes and tell me who you are!¡±


    He heeded his words, ¡°right, my name is Arthur and I¡¯m the one who spoke to you on the radio, do you remember that?¡±


    ¡°Wow! Seriously?¡± Kiran¡¯s face went from getting coal for Christmas to seeing Jesus on Christmas. The excitement made him open the door and as he opened the door, he shouted, ¡°man, am I glad to see you ¨C like - seriously!¡±


    As Kiran took a pause for a second when speaking, Arthur interposed, ¡°mate, have you seen it out there, it¡¯s like god¡¯s got the painters in, the sky¡¯s that red. Have you seen it?¡±


    Kiran laughed as he spoke, ¡°of course, my son was the first to spot it.¡± Kiran seen the worry on his face, so he asked, ¡°what¡¯s up with you? you seem petrified?¡±


    The man prepared to speak, ¡°okay, here goes nothing. When I was outside, the things I seen, oh my god, it was if someone was creating a whole new world with nothing but howling, crying, moaning, living souls, dying souls, and blood. It was insane, no rhyme or reason. The reason must be chaos, nothing but chaos, everything I seen, heard and touched was rejoiced by chaos. They now have monopolization on this world, I believe they succeeded last night.¡±  He stood tall hoping that Kiran wouldn¡¯t find him crazy. He continued describing the sky while trying to get a peak of Kiran¡¯s house. He could see a family living room, though he thought it was messy which was understandable considering the things that are going on. Arthur stepped closer to the door and turned to an angle so he could get a better look inside the house. His face dropped instantly. His mouth collapsed. The blood on the floor made him think that they are murderers, the next thought was the fact of them being bloodsuckers, that very thought made him squirm. He could see a white wall covered in blood, like the family was making a canvas but just didn¡¯t have enough time to get proper started.


    Kiran was getting suspect, he wondered why the man went silent suddenly. It was weird and he hated silent patches between anyone. The instinct to say something grew bigger. He began to think of something to say, anything to stop this silence. Until his eyes met Arthurs, he could see Arthur was looking in the house. Kiran turned around and realized that blood was all over the house. He couldn¡¯t believe he had forgotten about the blood; he questioned his sanity. He prepared to tell the man what happened, ¡°I can explain that.¡± Arthurs eyes regained focus on Kiran, ¡°we were attacked by someone, a thing that used teeth, eyes that had no soul behind them - a face as pale as snow ¨C and anger that weighed a ton of snow.¡± Kiran took a break for one second, but he hoped he was explaining it as best he could.


    ¡°You mean to tell me that you fought one of them biters?¡± as Arthur spoke, he could see Kiran¡¯s face was confused, ¡°you know, the bloodsuckers.¡±


    Kiran replied rashly, ¡°you mean a vampire!¡±


    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re calling it, well, that¡¯s not such a bad name. I¡¯m taking it off you.¡±


    Kiran laughed, ¡°yup, my wife thought of it. Anyway, we shouldn¡¯t stand out here; it¡¯s way too dangerous. You want to come in?¡±


    Arthur smiled as he spoke, ¡°you¡¯re a clever bloke, I¡¯m going to take you up on that offer, mate.¡± They both walked in, Arthur was checking the house out and as he did, he noticed a CD collection with music, there were a lot of rap CDs, so Arthur scoffed out loud. Kiran noticed his massive bag but didn¡¯t want to ask what was inside.


    Kiran didn¡¯t enjoy the scoff and rashly asked, ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your CD collection, way too much rap. Way too much.¡± His laugh grew as he thought about it, ¡°you do realize that you¡¯re white, right?¡±


    Kiran was confused, ¡°what¡¯re you on about, it¡¯s great music!¡±


    ¡°Come on, you really listen to this?¡±


    Kiran grow agitated, ¡°I love it, what¡¯s wrong with that?!¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stop now, I can see its bothering you.¡± Arthur looked around the house, ¡°where¡¯s your wife then?¡±


    ¡°My wife is in the garden with our son, we were all just looking at the sky, still can¡¯t believe the sky¡¯s looking like that. it¡¯s all too magical for me.¡±


    They both walked towards the garden and as they opened the door Elizbeth seen a man with Kiran. She felt nervous but didn¡¯t worry too much considering Kiran was calm as a gentle breeze on a summer¡¯s day. As they got closer, she noticed Danny hid behind her like she was a shield. She told him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry son, it¡¯ll be okay. Your dad doesn¡¯t seem to be worried. Nothing should be worrying you.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t listening to her. He just couldn¡¯t take it anymore; the feeling haunted him. The feeling of trusting another stranger again. He couldn¡¯t even trust the outside, especially stressing about getting attacked, bitten to death or being traumatized by some craziness. He hid behind his mum like she was the last line of defence.


    Kiran could see Danny wasn¡¯t ripe for the way the world was changing. He looked at Elizbeth and spoke, ¡°this is Arthur, the person I was talking to on the radio.¡± He could see Danny¡¯s face peek out a bit more, ¡°he witnessed the sky changing.¡±


    Before he could finish, Elizbeth chimed in, ¡°what? Really?¡± he nodded. She was in shock, ¡°that must have been madness, how did you even comprehend it?¡± He was just about to speak but she questioned him like an unprofessional reporter who¡¯s in love with the interviewee. ¡°What living things were there?¡±


    Arthur spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if I could get a cup of tea, no problem I hope.¡±


    Kiran quickly answered, ¡°of course! We are running low but I¡¯m sure we have tea bags left, you know, it¡¯s been a long two weeks.


    As they all began to walk inside, Arthur laughed as he spoke, ¡°oh, yes, I can attest to that.¡±


    But Danny didn¡¯t follow them, he was suspect of the man. He thought they couldn¡¯t trust anyone. Danny kneeled next to his dog and said, ¡°what can you smell boy, is he good? Or is he bad?¡± Danny realised he was speaking to a dog, he thought, the last two weeks were driving him mad.


    He crawled to the door so he could spy on the man. Danny could see the man from the window, he just hoped no one could see him. He thought that the man was normal if anything, he seemed nice even. Danny wanted to believe the man was good, he just didn¡¯t want to be delusional. Danny turned around to face the devils sky, though when he did, the door knocked. Danny shat it, ¡°what¡¯s that? Who¡¯s that?!¡± He seen his parents were freaked out so Danny pounding heart increased.


    Kiran shouted, ¡°who is that?¡±


    Nothing. Until a raspy voice spoke, ¡°hello. I need your help; it would be kind if you opened the door.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Kiran was sceptical, he thought, the last guy they helped turned out to be there worst day they could have ever asked for.


    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, young sir. I¡¯ve had a fight with some kind of monster, and it cut me up.¡±


    Elizbeth rashly spoke, ¡°let him in babe, he seems hurt.


    (Maybe add a bit of a debate before Kiran willingly opens the door.)


    With concern, Kiran opened the door. As the man walked in, Kiran could see the man was normal, he couldn¡¯t see any cuts, but the guy did have long sleeves on. He thought the man was on the pale side but then again being pale isn¡¯t illegal.


    Danny seen the man step inside, he thought the man looked familiar, though, the face did not strike any familiarities. Until he looked at his trench coat, he remembered that the man who killed the dog was wearing that exact same coat. And as he realised, he said, ¡°that¡¯s the man who killed the dog, this is bad! I need to warn my mum.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Danny rushed in through the door, hitting his shoulder as he did. He didn¡¯t even feel the pain due to how determined he was to warn his parents. As he was running like a man on stilts, he thought back to the time where the stranger across the room from him killed the dog. He remembered it being too fast to process what the man¡¯s face looked like, but he had seen the clothes that the man, who killed the dog, was wearing, and Danny was sure of it.


    Kiran and Elizbeth noticed Danny running towards them, they both thought that he was being brave. They both assumed that Danny would stay out of the way. Elizbeth opened first, ¡°you okay there, son?¡±


    He didn¡¯t even hear his mother, the one and only thing that was on his mind was the stranger in the black trench coat, and what he was going to do with his parents. He didn¡¯t care about himself. He¡¯d offer himself if that¡¯s what it took, he thought. The room was small and a little length to get to, although, it felt like an eternity to reach his parents.


    Kiran could see the panic on his face. Kiran began to grow impatient; he could almost predict what Danny was going to say.


    Danny reached the party and shouted at his parents, ¡°guys¡­ he is¡­ he¡¯s a¡­ he¡¯s one of them things!¡± As he spoke, he could see that they no longer had interest in what he had to say. The one, who was accused, started laughing. Danny could see the maniacal laugh that no one else could see. He wanted to slap the man but stayed calm and composed. He knew he had to be diligent if he was to prove his case.


    Before Danny could even gain his next thought, the stranger stood up while towering over Danny. Danny took a step back, the stranger could see that the boy feared him, ¡°you don¡¯t need to be afraid, little boy.¡± As the stranger said, ¡°little boy¡± his tone changed from nice to passive aggressive and gave a stare at the boy that made him feel uncomfortable, ¡°I¡¯m just like you, fighting to protect myself.¡± The stranger took his eyes away from Danny and began to speak to the rest of the room, ¡°I¡¯ve got kids too. You¡¯ve just got to be firm, otherwise they run wild.¡±


    Kiran quickly responded while looking at Danny, ¡°ain¡¯t that the truth!¡±


    The stranger laughed as he spoke, ¡°so I see you¡¯re the brains of this family.¡±


    Elizbeth was angry from his joke; she just hoped it was a joke. She seen Kiran enjoying the presence of the two men. She thought it would be a promising idea to take her and Danny out of the situation. But as she went to grab Danny by the arm, he moved it. She was shocked, Danny would hardly ever do stuff like that she thought, and when she tried again, he did the same. ¡°What are you doing, Danny?¡± She said in a tone of anger, ¡°answer me, what¡¯s up?¡±


    He kept his face steady and thought about his next action. Everything in his mind was blank and he wasn¡¯t prepared to see the dog killer again. As Elizbeth tried for Danny¡¯s hand again, he slipped his arm underneath hers and dodged it. The next thing that came was words, ¡°why¡¯re you in my house, dog-killer? I¡¯ve seen you before and you know I have; stop these games you¡¯re playing.¡±


    As Danny blurted out words to the stranger, Arthur thought that the boy must be right, how does he know that the vampires like dogs. It cannot be a coincidence, he thought. The only thing that kept bugging Arthur was the fact that he was just a boy and could be overthinking it. Though he¡¯d seen so many of them, chewing on dogs, it was like they were attracted to them. Arthur spoke to Danny sincerely, ¡°so are you sure about this, kid? Because I¡¯d really like to know. Are you certain that you¡¯re not making any mistakes?¡±


    Kiran could not believe it, ¡°why believe this fool? And believe me he is a fool!¡±


    Arthur replied to Kiran, ¡°don¡¯t you worry, mate, I¡¯m going to challenge him.¡± He faced Danny again and began to interrogate him, ¡°well, you said you know for sure that it¡¯s him who killed the dog. Well, how do you know?¡±


    Kiran looked smug.


    Before Danny could reply, the stranger laughed and said, ¡°that¡¯s the answer I need to hear.¡±


    Danny was taken back by the laugh. He felt his confidence. With no words to say, he looked to his mother.


    She looked back at him and felt sorry for her son. So, she spoke to the rest of the room, ¡°guys can we leave this please, he clearly doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s saying.¡±


    Danny didn¡¯t enjoy the pity but welcomed it, nonetheless but as he did, his father spoke up. ¡°What do you mean, babe? He was the one who accused him, the little shit.¡± The only feeling that Danny felt was hate for his father. Elizbeth and Kiran were now bickering, and he felt shame for the fact. He could see the man on the radio looking at them with humiliation on his face.


    Suddenly, Danny grew the courage and spoke concisely, ¡°please, could you stop this?! we have a serious matter to deal with.¡± Kiran was about to interrupt him, but Danny butted in, ¡°look, that guy is one of those things!¡± He pointed at the stranger with the moonlight skin, ¡°he¡¯s just as pale as the last monster we fought.¡±


    Before Danny could continue, Arthur said, ¡°is that what you¡¯re basing this on, surly you have more evidence than that?¡± Arthur looked at Elizbeth and said, ¡°look at your mother, she¡¯s even pale and infinitely paler might I add.¡± As he spoke, he could tell Elizbeth¡¯s eyes were stuck on him and as Arthur turned to face her, she glared at him.


    Danny straightened his back and said, ¡°yeah, I suppose she is but he¡¯s wearing the exact same trench coat that I saw when he killed the dog.¡±


    Kiran was getting frustrated with his son; he could feel the sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes. Kiran thought, Danny is the monster right now, all I want to do is speak to new people. As Kiran was struggling to keep his rage in check, Arthur spoke once more, ¡°hey, surly that¡¯s not just it. If that¡¯s all the evidence you are working on then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not got much there, boy.¡± It made Kiran laugh inside but embarrassed at the same time, it was his son after all, he thought.


    The stranger sat down again like it was a mic-drop, ¡°I told you guys; I¡¯m just like you, I don¡¯t know what your son is going on about.¡± Danny couldn¡¯t stand the guy. His actions just didn¡¯t seem human; he had no veins to see, his voice was soft but terrifying at the same time, his fingernails was long like rulers, and he feared what they could do to him.


    Danny opened his mouth, ¡°guys, I know it sounds crazy, but it must be him. it¡¯s too much of a coincidence. Look, he even has blood all over him.¡± As Arthur was going to speak, Danny cut him off, ¡°and speaking of coincidences, it¡¯s like he was following you, Arthur. He turned up straight after you. Maybe¡­just maybe, he¡¯s hunting you.¡±


    Arthurs suspicions crept over him, he thought about the vampire that he had seen and all of them wearing black trench coats and blood all over and with no cuts. Arthur thought that Danny may be right.


    Danny looked back at the stranger and said, ¡°you said that you were attacked by something, and you were hurt, well, you don¡¯t look hurt!¡± Danny could see that the stranger was beginning to grow uncomfortable. ¡°Can we see these cuts that you so badly needed to get inside this house for.¡±


    The stranger looked at the concerned faces of the parents, ¡°I am hurt, I can promise that. But if you mind, I do wish someone take him away from me.¡±


    Elizbeth stared at him and said, ¡°hey! That¡¯s my son and he won¡¯t go anywhere!!¡±


    Arthur could see the tensions rising and he seen Kiran speak with a fury, ¡°right, I¡¯ve had had enough of you! Always sticking up for that brat, can you not take his side for once, he¡¯s being rude to our guests.¡± As they began arguing, Arthur could see the strangers face turn into a smile and that freaked him out. No one laughs at a family who¡¯s arguing in such a tragic time, he thought. He knew what he had to do.


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


    Danny went up to the stranger who had killed a dog with his teeth and shouted at him, ¡°why did you kill that dog?! Why¡­. You¡¯re a criminal, you know that, right?¡± he could see the stranger¡¯s eyes, it was the same feeling he got when the dog-killer stared at him last time, like someone draining his soul, he thought.


    Danny began to speak but the dog-killer chimed in, ¡°thou shall strike thy down, thee ugly baby.¡± Danny couldn¡¯t believe it, someone speaking Shakespearean, not very well, he thought. The dog-killer stood up and eyed Danny¡¯s eyes that made him feel terror.


    ¡°If that¡¯s not your blood, show me your cuts, pagan.¡± The words came out of his mouth without him knowing it; it was like someone took over for second. Danny could hear his parents arguing in the background, but he was ready for his argument with the dog-killer. Though he could not see Arthur which worried him. he thought that the man might had known that he was one of those things.


    Danny face returned to the dog-killer and the moonlight man spoke with anger, ¡°we didn¡¯t start the fire. You did, boy.¡± Danny thought the man was strange, one minute he spoke from the olden times and now he¡¯s speaking normal, weird he thought. ¡°You think you¡¯re trying to prove something, boy! You are not proving a single thing.¡± As he was speaking, he got closer to Danny¡¯s face. Danny could smell death on his breath. The dog-killer picked Danny by the collar of his shirt and shouted, ¡°and you want to know why! Huh, I can¡¯t hear you!¡±


    Danny spoke softly, ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m going to kill you and your family!!¡± the dog-killer threw Danny across the room and screamed.


    The howling popped Elizbeth¡¯s and Kiran¡¯s ears. And then they saw their boy get chucked from the living room into the kitchen. His landing wasn¡¯t graceful but at least he didn¡¯t land on his head, she thought. ¡°Don¡¯t you touch my boy, you scumbag!¡± She regretted being so confident as he grabbed her by the hair with a never-ending grip. His hand was a hair band. He pulled her hair downwards and her head smashed against the vigorous floor. Her forehead impacted against the floor first, nose after which made her eyes wince.


    She became unconscious in seconds, Kiran had no time to react, just helpless in helping. As he took in his surroundings, he seen Danny and Elizbeth on the floor. He thought what a buffoon he was, why didn¡¯t he listen to his son, if he did, he¡¯d have no problems right now. Kiran become aware of Danny crawling on the floor, he thought, no son - don¡¯t move.


    The vampire ran to Kiran and picked him up by the throat, the vampire could see the fear in his eyes. He loved the sight of it.


    Kiran could see the vampire drooling over him, he had no clue to why. Kiran took one more look at Danny and he noticed that he was gone, Kiran hoped he had made a run for it. The pale freak griped harder at his throat, making his jugular feel the pressure and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill your whole family and I can¡¯t wait for you to watch it.¡± He showed him his fangs, it¡¯d make a lion jealous. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve got something even better.¡± He laughed as he spoke and licked his fangs up and down and around, they were as white as Danny¡¯s lab coat when its first washed. ¡°I¡¯m going to turn you into what I am and let you suck on your family¡¯s blood until they die.¡±


    His maniacal laughing haunted him, and his words were nothing but fear, ¡°you can really turn me into one of you?¡±


    ¡°You know nothing, mortal.¡± The vampire opens his mouth and sinks his fangs into Kiran¡¯s shoulder, the pain made him wince. One fang felt like it extended and hit his bone, a vibration inside his body made him feel ill. The horrid, pale and soulless eyed man pulled his teeth out, blood drenched his fangs which made Kiran¡¯s body jolt with fear. The vampire extended his arm that Kiran was in and thrown him to the side like he was a piece of meat that was getting cooked. Kiran dropped on the floor. He couldn¡¯t feel his shoulder no longer, the pain no longer hurt him on shoulder, it was like the pain had travelled to the arm and neck. He lifted his head and seen his wife led on the floor as if she was lifeless, it distressed him, but he couldn¡¯t look away. He felt the blame on his shoulders instead of his pain. He thought if he just listened to Danny then everything would have been alright. But he could no longer see Danny. The eyes he was looking through felt different as if he was changing: the vision better, colours were brightened, everything was on display in his eyes and the blood dripping down his eyes was satisfying; he embraced it all.


    Danny couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d just been thrown, he felt like a paperclip. He quickly lifted his head and seen the vampire running for his mum, he couldn¡¯t look. Danny rashly pushed himself up and ran for the bathroom that was near the kitchen, he was thankful for it being so close, he thought, although he had two options: the storage cupboard or the bathroom.


    Danny could hear his dad moaning; he was worried for him. His mother also never made a sound and it worried him to the core. Danny wondered where the strange man, who his dad was speaking to, had wondered off to. the thought off him being dead crossed his mind. He didn¡¯t see the man after the vampire had attacked, it was like he vanished.


    Danny heard more screaming from his dad and then the hectic words of the vampire was speaking to his dad. Danny went around the corner of the bathroom and searched for the commotion. The vampire had Kiran in his hands with a grip of a weightlifter. Something caught Danny¡¯s eye, it was a person in the playhouse and Danny noticed it was Arthur. He had something in his hands.


    Arthur was looking at Kiran with a means to save him from certain death. He was rushing through his bag, trying to not make a sound like a mouse looking for food while a cat is nearby. His bag was brown and green and dirty with bullet holes, as his hands was rummaging through the bag, the dust would fly out the bag. He pulled out a shiny, bloody, and curved machete and he said to himself with a stone-cold voice, ¡°I¡¯m fucking ready now, ready to kill this imbecilic vampire.¡± Arthur stepped out to have a look and noticed Kiran getting bit by the vampire, he hid himself again, worried that could be him. Arthur poked his head out and he seen the little boy near the kitchen.


    Danny was looking into the man¡¯s eyes and began to crawl towards him. As Danny was moving, he noticed the man waving his hand and telling him to stop. This left Danny confused; he didn¡¯t know what to do.


    However, Arthur took the initiative and stepped out of the playroom with a machete in his right hand and a metal helmet in the left hand, his neck was covered in a sliver plating like he ripped it off a silver bucket and shaped it around his neck. He ripped his green jumper off and it shown a bulletproof vest and it matched his camo trousers and black, hardened boots. Arthur stood tall and shouted, ¡°hey, you are looking for someone! You might have a problem with me, I¡¯ve been killing all your friends out there, they¡¯ve been calling me the vampire-slayer!¡± He was expecting the paled face man to insult or speak back to him but neither happened; he screamed like a cougar in the wild, Arthur¡¯s face dropped to the floor and the vampire galloped towards him. He stood his ground and waited as calm as a dog on a summer¡¯s day.


    Danny watched as the vampire ran, his trench coat almost became a cape on his back, his smile extended like a crocodile¡¯s mouth, his claws grew longer, and his arm swung for Arthur¡¯s chest. Arthur let it hit him and as he did, he pulled his machete all the way down and the machete slid into his arm like a piece to a puzzle. Arthur used all his force and before the arm could be separated, the vampire moved his arm, making the machete slid out of his arm, making the gash infinitely bigger. Danny quickly moved towards the stairs. The vampire looked at his arm and turned his stance. Danny wondered why he changed his stance, maybe it was to protect his arm, Danny thought. The vampire stepped in and slashed him with his left talon this time and Arthur smashed the hand with his helmet, the arm rebounded back to the vampire. Danny was left stunned, he can handle this, Danny thought. Danny ran up the stairs and could no longer see the standoff.


    Arthur felt in control, but he knew that this was the strongest he had faced yet. With his growing confidence, he took a step closer and swung with his machete and he aimed for the bad arm. The vampire caught the machete with his gashed-up arm and then shoulder barged Arthur into the dining table. Arthur fell back on the table and his hand came of his machete. The vampire took it out of his arm once again but this time he threw it at Arthur. Arthur seen his life flash in front of his eyes, until he lifted his helmet up and blocked the machete and it fell to the floor away from him. the vampire jumped on top of him and snarled in his face and scratched his stomach, Arthur was thankful for the bulletproof vest, though he was tearing it up. Arthur smashed his helmet in the paled face. Smash ¨C smash ¨C smash - Arthur said in his head while hitting the vampire. But the vampire struck the helmet out of his hands, sending it flying across the room. Arthur knew he was going to die in this moment. The vampire strikes at his throat, but the claws scrape across the silver padding. The vampire howls like it¡¯s in pain but then the vampire takes the other claws and sinks them into his cheek, it felt like big needles going into his cheek. The vampire takes them out and goes to place them in his eyes, but Arthur hears something hit the vampire on the back and sees fire spreading over the vampire¡¯s body.


    The vampire jumps off Arthur and faces Danny. Danny looks brave but is realizing that he should have stayed out of this fight. The flames grow stronger and travels to his face; the vampire screams with pain in his eyes. The fire¡¯s melting his face, the grey skin is turning to liquid, Danny didn¡¯t think skin burned like that, but he was relived for it, he thought. The clothes were the only thing that burned normally. Danny seen Arthur lift himself off the table, he ran for the machete and picked it up with two hands.


    Arthur stumbled to the burning vampire and lifted his one-handed machete with two hands and swung downwards as hard as he could, and the swing curved at the last minute and hacked at the vampire¡¯s neck.


    The head came flying off and flew in the air and landed on the floor. It sat next to Danny¡¯s feet with its eyes looking at him. Danny was in a trance when looking back at the eyes.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°Hey! Kid, are you alright?¡± Arthur spoke as he consoled Danny by touching him on his shoulder, ¡°you probably shouldn¡¯t look¡­.¡±


    Kiran interrupted Arthur and said, ¡°can I get some help over here?¡± Arthur walked towards him, looked at his wound. He noticed the bite marks were deep, making him worry for Kiran¡¯s health. ¡°Well, you going to move me to the sofa or am I moving myself?!¡± Arthur gave a sigh and lifted him up underneath the armpits and dragged him to the sofa.


    ¡°Right - with that done - I¡¯m going to check on your family.¡± Kiran didn¡¯t even hear his condescending tone; he was asleep as soon as he hit the sofa.


    Arthur seen that Danny was on the floor with his head in his hands, Arthur felt for the kid; he¡¯d been through enough, never mind being attacked by a bloodsucker. He thought, he¡¯d check on the mother first, she looked lifeless. As he got close, he seen her pale face with blue eyes that was shining with passion. Her lips were curved to a point where it looked inhuman. Arthur noticed her back was trickling blood, with moving his head closer, he seen that her shoulder blades were showing, it nearly made him throw up, but he remembered his time in the army and focused on the mission at hand. He checked for a pulse and was thankful but when he placed his hand on her heart, it was insanely fast, too fast even. The body smelled awful as he went to carry her. He cradled her in his arms, she was light as if she had no blood in her body. The wound on her shoulders worried him to the core, how was she to survive such a wound, it seemed impossible. Then his mind flickered like a lightbulb, he thought that if he went to the hospital then he could grab supplies, medicine and even weapons. He walked to the living room and placed her on the opposite sofa. Then his head turned to Danny. He wondered what he might say to the poor boy, if there was anything to say to the poor boy. Life was crumbling around everyone, nothing but despair and tremendous fear with no care from anything but the blood-fuckers. Arthur looked around his surroundings, dread was everywhere. A burning corpse that smelt like a steak until a scent hit his nose like no other, Arthur guessed the smell was coming from the hair. The horror burned his eyes and took him to a place he would not want to go, not ever again.


    He took a deep breathe. After every breathe he would say, ¡°and again.¡± Until it was a rhythm. He went to his knees and pleaded until he felt okay but the time wouldn¡¯t come. He thought himself a coward for the way he responded to the situation. He thought of the young boy and hoped it would bring himself courage. Then he thought about getting up off the floor. Until he did. His legs were heavy when walking over to Danny, it felt like demons grabbing on to his ankles and making sure he didn¡¯t  walk, or at least make him slower.


    As he gets to Danny, Arthur notices that he¡¯s daydreaming. Arthur spoke to Danny in a tone that he hoped would give him solace. But he doubted it, ¡°hey, Danny. I¡¯m Arthur if you remember.¡± Arthur paused for a moment with no words on his mind. ¡°Look, I know this isn¡¯t the best time for me to leave but I need to¡­ to go to the hospital and collect some medicine and I need you to be as brave as you can, can you promise that?¡± Arthur waited for an answer, but he got nothing. ¡°Okay, I really should go, okay?¡± He stood up and took a glance at Elizbeth and Kiran and back at Danny and with words of sorrow, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, boy. Good luck.¡± He walked towards the kitchen where the backdoor was, he thought it was better if he went through the back, less chance of being seen, he hoped. He opened the door and ran for it.


    The stench of garlic around the house, the steam of smoke coming from the burnt corpse, causing Danny¡¯s stomach to twist into knots. He felt he had hit rock bottom, but it had been like that the other day, had it become bottomless? He couldn¡¯t move, see or hear. Everything was a blur, like a brightened room that was unseeable. Nothing but sporadic days, nights which seemed that they would last forever, until the end of his days.


    Danny was just starting to make out the face he was looking at. No skin, it had all burned away, sept from the sticky leftovers on his cheek bone. He awoke properly and he wished he hadn¡¯t, the smell of the burning vampire left Danny nearly fainting, but he stayed strong until he seen the bony eye holes. He stood up and ran to the playroom. Though, as he got to the entrance, he threw his guts up.


    Danny walked through the opened sliding door and stumbled but caught himself on the wall. Everything was spinning, his heart was like a sports car engine, panicking from wall to wall, until he collapsed on the floor.


    A noise freaked him out. He hid behind a large, vile, and smelly bin. He turned around the corner and seen a pack of dogs tucking into a meal which was a person. He hoped it was a vampire they were eating but he doubted it. As he turned away from them, he leaned all his weight onto the bin, and it moved slightly. The sudden silence of the dogs freaked him out and if they did stop eating then that would mean trouble. He heard footsteps, growling and snaps of the canines bouncing on one another. He took in the surroundings and planed his escape. The dogs were getting closer and closer and closer. Until he bolted up the bin, used his legs to boost himself up the bin and jumped for the ladders of an exterior exit stairs and pulled himself up with all the strength he had. The dogs were left there barking. He worried about the noise and what it would bring. He broke the window leading to an apartment and climbed through it. As he entered darkness, he pulled out a flashlight. The panic wasn¡¯t as bad when he had light, the walls were bloody, though no human was in sight, not even dead ones. He exited the empty apartment and walked down the hallway of the apartment complex. He went down to the last floor and could hear pattering. He didn¡¯t dare go down the last couple of steps before he seen who it was. It sounded like a few dogs but hoped it wasn¡¯t the same ones. He didn¡¯t take any chances, so he moved back upstairs and tried to find a window to climb out off. He carried on walking through the hallway and found a window, but bars were on the outside. Barking came from behind him, so he moved to the door and tried to bash it down. The door was strong, and he struggled to break it, until he glanced back round to the dogs and seen the opposite door was open slightly. He ran for it, opened it by kicking it with his foot and slammed the door on his way inside. As the door closed, he fell to his arse and lent back against the door. Arthur was knackered with his deranged day.


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    He sat there, pondering on whether he would get out of this situation and what it would take to get out of it. He used his brain, experience and hours of studying to find the perfect escape.


    The dogs were barking and banging on the door, he thought the door would come off any second. He stood up and looked around for a weapon, anything, anything he could use. His eyes matched with a big metal statue, it was black, made of steel and it was a massive owl.


    But as he went to run towards it, the door broke open. Just as he thought he was in the clear, he runs towards his hope and picks it up, side stepping out of the way from the dog¡¯s bite. He continued running for the window.


    He got close to the window and in the corner of his eye, he seen a dog, which had foam at his mouth, it was about to bite him. So, he takes the steel statue and whacks the dog in its stomach as hard as he can. The red eyed dog dropped hard to the floor. He remained running. Until he found himself at the window, throwing the statue at it, it smashed sounding like a clash of swords. He jumped through it taking the rest of glass with him.


    Danny woke with nothing but pain, his eyes was hardly opening due to tiredness, legs that felt weak and hammered. He felt better as he gave his body time and wiped his eyes with his hands.


    he walked out of the playroom and walked over to his parents who were sleeping in peace, though his mum was bleeding from her back. Danny worried for her. He tried to her wake her up. But she didn¡¯t respond. She was pale as the grey moon, and her and the moon did the same job; brighten the darkness.


    He moved her eyelids, which were huge, the dopamine was running through her, Danny thought. He shouted, ¡°Mummy! Mummy, can you hear me? It¡¯s time to wake up! Please mum, I¡­ I need you, please?!¡± His tears became a river. The sight of his mother¡¯s eyes, blood on her and around her made Danny feel distraught. He could feel his heart palpitations which freaked him out and he knew he had to calm down if he was to survive.


    He turned to his dad, blaming him for what happened with the dog-killer. Danny thought about how they didn¡¯t believe him, especially how cruel his dad was, at least his mum had his back; not for the first time but so did that man. Danny realised that the man named Arthur believed him, he did, Danny thought. Danny felt despair in every thought that crossed his mind. He knew death was waiting around the corner, but he wanted someone to disagree with him, especially his mother. He felt like a dog against a pack of wolfs.


    His train of thought was interrupted by mummering. He turned his head and saw it was his mother, he couldn¡¯t quite hear her, so he moved closer. And as he did, her voice grown and said, ¡°yes! Yes! I am the future of us. I will bring us further in this new age of blood. I will become the bloody god!¡±


    Danny heard nothing but weird words that didn¡¯t make sense to him. He figured, she was in a bad way and he continued to wonder what to do. He wondered where Arthur had gone. He wondered how he¡¯d help his mum and put a stop to this nightmare that faced them. He got up from his knees and moved away from his mum to go to the window and ponder. As he moved the curtain, he had forgotten about the windows being boarded up, so he proceeded to go out to the garden. The red ambient sky doomed his thoughts, nothing made sense, even the physics of the sky, he wondered if chemistry was the same. Then it came to him, if he was to prepare for what was to come, then he¡¯d have to fight with his brain, chemistry tools and all the might he had.


    Then he doubted himself as he spoke to himself, ¡°am I really cut out to beat them, someone who cannot even beat his bullies.¡± His thoughts grew longer to prolong the planning of the traps. And as he did, he thought about his dog and wondered where he had gone to. Although Danny knew they had no food for him, so he guessed it was that. He thought about the dog leaving him and how devastated he would be, he only had him for a day, and he¡¯d leave already Danny thought.


    Danny just wanted the awful thoughts to leave him forever and ever and never come back. He dreamed to be back in the past where it was safe, warm, and comfortable. A place where he could live peacefully and not with never ending stress. But it was a pipedream that was never coming true. He thought about times where he and his mother would play at the park, he loved the swing that would go so exceedingly high, especially if his dad would come but that was a rarity, ¡°dad never went to the park.¡± Danny said to himself as sadness struck. The tears came down his cheek like no one was watching. He felt like he was in a trap, and he can¡¯t walk out. He wanted his mum to be awake and by his side, but she wouldn¡¯t be.


    The red, devilish sky was looking upon Danny, he felt like it had eyes and a soul but a dark soul. The howling was loud and intimidating. Danny couldn¡¯t recognise any of the noises. He thought they sounded a lot like wolfs but it was more defined and like they were speaking. He seen dingy bats that were flying high and sprightly, which freaked him out due to his encounter with them earlier. He ran inside the house.


    His parents were lying there as he looked over them, shaking from the fear of losing them, it was too much for him. The situation with the freaks, his mum looking like death itself; he just couldn¡¯t handle it any further. He wanted life to stop, the new world but most of all he wanted the suffering to stop. Danny thought if he lost his mum than life would not be worth living, nothing could be good again if he felt that suffering for the rest of his life, he could never live through that. He looked back at his past to see any brightness which could carry him through this. He sees himself doing an experiment and as blue smoke covers his face, his mum walks in and freaks out. Danny laughs at the memory. He remembers another one that brings the best one smile. He sees green grass, clouds that are covering most of the sky, leaving gaps of blue in the sky. The mountains in the backdrop were big, curved and gave Danny a great expression on his face that day. His mum is walking beside him giving him the best company he could have asked for. He sat out of his daydream, wishing that his mother stood beside him now.


    Danny grits his teeth, stands up, walks to the stairs and heads to his room. He grows the courage and decides to prepare for what¡¯s to come.

 Chapter 11

    Danny was exhausted, setting traps around the house was very tiresome, he thought. Though he knew he had done a brilliant job, no shortcuts, just pure arduous work and knowledge. He never knew that his chemistry skills would help him through this, he felt honour when he thought about helping his parents defeating them vampires.


    Danny was standing in the middle of his bedroom, looking at his window and the devilish backdrop. He was about to turn around and walk out his room but in the corner of his eye, he seen a massive flying creature that he couldn¡¯t ignore. He stepped closer to his window, the closer he looked made it more terrifying, Danny swore he could see a flying dog in the sky. He couldn¡¯t believe it, the boy was sure he was tripping from fear, tiredness or anything, considering what he had been through. he moved his head closer to the window and opened his eyes wider. He seen the thing fly high but as the thing went higher, it dived downwards quickly. The winged dog was in a downward spiral and going at the speed of light. It vanished as it reached big buildings, Danny looked harder, but there was no hope.


    The stress of everything was getting to him. He thought, I need my mum, I need her more than anything. There¡¯s no way I survive this without her, I need her!


    He ran out of his room without a second thought. The stairs were vibrating as he ran down them. His mum and dad were still sleeping; he felt gutted. Yet, when he turned his head, he seen his dog. He dropped his sadness and shouted, ¡°hey! You are here. You¡¯ve been gone long boy.¡± Danny hugged him so tight. Their heads were together, and Danny gave the dog a backrub and the dog¡¯s back left leg was scratching the floor and Danny laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a good boy. Oh god, how I¡¯ve needed you here. But I get it, it has been a rough time without you. Hey, maybe you¡¯re a good omen.¡±


    Danny stood up and walked towards the kitchen which led to the garden. As he walked into the fresh air, with his dog, it made him feel serenity. And if anyone were to attack him then he would be ready for them. The dog came beside him and sat. He kneeled, stroking him on the head and wonder where he went to, what he was up to? It was way too dangerous for someone to explore. Danny had already seen a dog that was killed by a bloodsucker.


    As he was thinking someone interrupted him and as he turned around his expression on his face was brightened by a star, ¡°mummy, you¡¯re awake! Wow! It¡¯s so nice to see you, honestly, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without you. I was really losing it, like never before.¡± He was expecting her to say something. But nothing came, she had her head down, looking at the floor like she was sniffling or twitching her nose. ¡°Mum?! Why¡¯re you not answering me? Please answer me!¡± Tears streamed down his cheek.


    ¡°I am not your mother!¡± His jaw dropped like an anchor as she spoke. ¡°I am Elizbeth, the queen of vampires! And you are not my son. Not yet anyway.¡± She stretched her neck like she was fitting into her new skin.


    Danny¡¯s felt his stomach pain, he didn¡¯t want to believe what was coming. ¡°You¡­ you¡­ you are one of those things!¡± He tried to be as delusional as he could. But the fact was clearer as day. Her appearance was all too hard to ignore.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that.¡± She lifted her top lip, shown her fangs and shouted, ¡°because you¡¯ve got a hell of a night coming to you, so get ready for it.¡±


    He stepped back, ¡°you are a monster!¡±


    ¡°Now, now. That¡¯s not fair. Considering you will be one of us.¡±


    He freaked and stepped back but he tripped on a rock which sent him to the ground. His eyes came off her for a second and it terrified him, though when he regained his focus on her, she began walking towards him. As she did, the dog began growling. She roared back, sounding like a fox. Her steps were quicker. He knew he had to get out of her sight and used his arms to lift him up. As he stood up, she ran. Her stride was fast and as she got closer, the dog attacked her, biting her arm which caused her to wince, and Danny ran, feeling terrible that he left the dog, but the fear was too much for him. He was thankful for the dog giving him time and would be ever grateful, he thought.


    As Danny turned the corner, he stopped running to catch his breath. He was breathing in and out, scared of what might happen to his dog, whether the dog would die in pain which was an almost guarantee. He was shocked by the outcome; this was the worst thing to happen. He was shivering from the idea of not speaking to his mum civilly. Though a thought came to his head and the excitement took over his mouth, ¡°that bloodsucker who pretended to be human, that must of took brains. Surly my mums mind will regain itself, well I hope.¡± He began to doubt himself.


    He knew he had to move soon but his body just wouldn¡¯t listen. He leaned on a fence and as he did, a sound came looming over, it scared him to his core. He heard a cry from a dog. Danny panicked because he knew who it was. He bolted through the alleyway, away from the nightmarish roar that proceeded after the dog¡¯s cry. He thought nothing more than to escape. Nothing more.


    He looked back after a couple minutes of running but to his surprise nothing was behind him. He quickly thought that if he ran towards the left turning then she wouldn¡¯t see him. So, he acted - turning left - jumped over a smallish fence and landing on both feet. He continued running, seen a garden gate; he just wished it wasn¡¯t locked. To his surprise it wasn¡¯t. He shut the gate, thinking that his time may be over. He remembered what she had said, ¡°you have a hell of a night coming.¡± And ¡°you¡¯ll be one of us soon.¡± He wished he had never heard what she had said. He thought, is that true? Am I really going to become a bloodsucker or a vampire. Whatever they¡¯re called. He did not want that.


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    He lifted his head, realized he had not found a hiding spot and was out in the open. He investigated the garden, seen green grass that looked smooth, clean, and wet. Garden gnomes were everywhere, who would have thunk it, he thought, no man should have all of them gnomes. Then his eyes matched a shed, he was surprised he had missed it. He jogged towards the derelict shed, nothing scared him more than spiders, and he knew what was waiting for him. Though he thought being eaten by his mum was far worse or whatever she had planned for him.


    He tried opening the shed, with no hope of it opening, he decided to try the house. He tried to cloak his thoughts like trying to conceal a gun. He knew the dangers that presented him when entering the house, but he continued walking towards the posh house. As he got closer to the door, he put his hand on the door and opened the door.


    As he stared at the apartment complex, dazed, seeing double, and with the fear of the wild dogs chasing him, he tried to lift himself up. However, he failed as he led on top of a dented car. He felt himself recoup and pain in his back appeared. He could tell that the fall was a bad one.


    Arthur sat up and took in his surroundings, seeing the magnificent sky glaring back at him. The devil owned the sky with its red coating, though he thought it was a darkened red that looked like blood, the devil collecting that blood and letting this nightmare spawn. The clouds causing shadows that made the gaps of red so beautiful, he felt blessed to see what was taking place, even if it meant death.


    Arthur thought about his life and reached for his past which made him feel better. He had lived a life worth living, done things worth doing, seen things worth seeing, been places worth seeing. Every experience had made him who he was, and he¡¯d die happy knowing it. But one thing left him unsatisfied. He had one last purpose.


    A bark stopped his thoughts, and he remembered that his life needs saving. His legs were shaking as he tried to get up. He rolled of the car as he was kneeling. He landed on his feet but fell on his hands as his strength gives up. His hands is facing the floor and with the last bit of energy he stood up, wobbling while walking. He walked out of the apartment complex by exiting a massive gate that led him onto a street. He thought about going back and looking for another way which didn¡¯t involve going down a street where anybody could see him.


    He took a deep breath and said, ¡°here goes nothing,¡± and struggled as he walked. He felt a hundred eyes on him, but he hoped it was paranoia, or anything that didn¡¯t have bloodsuckers, rabid dogs, and flying bats spying on him. The few steps were pure pain and he doubted he¡¯d ever reach the hospital in time to help the family.


    He liked the family, he thought. They had been nice to him; he remembered their names with success but couldn¡¯t place the young boy¡¯s name. The boy had been smart, Arthur thought, no one had expected that man to be a bloodsucker, except for that young boy, ¡°damn! What was his name?!¡± His feet became heavy with every step, the pain increasing with every step, thoughts getting crazier with every step. He bit down on his lip and moved with the intent of a horse, though he didn¡¯t move as swiftly, nor as fast.


    As he struggled to walk, every couple of minutes he looked at the burning sky, bats would be in the background like they were all over the place and were the new birds of today. His head turned as he heard barking behind him, and he forgot about his pain instantly and ran until his heart was content.


    He walked through the door, the smell hit him like the plague. He covered his mouth and nose with his jumper which was plain black. The only sound he could hear was the flies that buzzed around his ear. He dared opening his eyes. Though the smell was unbearable, he had to look, as he opened his eyes the shock was too much for his eyes. His eyes were sore from the tragedy that he was seeing. A woman on the floor like she had been thrown into it. Danny braved the situation and moved to get a closer look. She was lying, breathless, eyes sunken in, and the smell that strook him as a dagger in the throat. Bite marks all over her neck that didn¡¯t look right, Danny thought. The veins were gone, dispersed. Danny gulped and prayed he would not end up like her and as he turned his head, a man was standing up against the wall. Danny thought about running but then seen a puddle of blood that was on the floor where the man was standing. He called out to him, but no answer was proceeded.


    He thought about leaving the house, though seeing his mum would crush him, mentally and physically. He had no hopes. Nor did the world, he thought. Somehow the idea of leaving this massacre seemed like a bad idea, going outside to the nightmare was too much to bear.


    He walked towards the man and whispered, ¡°hey, are you okay? Hello¡­ did you hear me?¡± He seen the man¡¯s cut that went from his forehead to his chin, it was deep and wide like the claws had been slashed there several times. Danny nearly gagged. He couldn¡¯t tell how the man was standing until he seen the rusty, long nails that pierced both shoulders. The other nails were in his shins. The others were in the throat and Danny imagined how awful the pain would have been like. He struggled to strand the horror that was presented to him, ruin, macabre, and transcendental happenings. The world had been given over to the devil, Danny thought.


    Danny had to get away from the smell, so began to run upstairs. He reached the top and seen an open door. He enters it with the intent to escape from the hell.


    He puts his hands on his hips, catching his breath like he had just ran a mile. He took his eyes of the grey bloody carpet, seeing a blue wall with childish art on the wall. Though when Danny turned his eyes across the room, his gut twisted into pieces, his eyes were on fire with the horror. He dropped to the floor and could feel his sick coming from his stomach. It sprayed out. He stood back and fell over a toy car. Danny cursed the world, threw his arms in the air, and ran out the room. As he left, he put his arm on the wall to help him. All he could think about was getting back home. He thought about his mum but remembered instantly. His dad came into his mind and Danny realised that his dad could help them through this.

 Chapter 12

    Danny was moving while throwing up, his need to get out of the murderous house was unbelievable; he¡¯d run on needles to get out of this horror. As he got to the last step, he fell over, put his hands out to stop him from landing of his face. He looked back towards the top of the stairs to the door where he had just come from. The nightmare was real, right in front of his eyes, right under his nose, everything was just too much for him and he screamed.


    His voice croaked as he had been using it too much. He felt like a girl as he screamed, thinking whether his heroes would cry, his idols, or his dad. Danny expected his dad would tell him off for acting like a coward. His dad always had preached about not being a coward. But Danny knew he was a coward, nerd, and worse of all he was unsociable which plagued his life at school; although, he knew he no longer needed that skill.


    He walked towards the front door and opened it like it was a desperate opportunity. As he got outside, the red, boiling, and devilish sky had infinite meanings and he seen the beauty in it. The world had turned into hell ¨C literally ¨C Danny thought. The thing that he once loved had disappeared into the abyss and Danny had followed it.


    He continued to stare at the red devilish sky, pondered on the fact that everything was surreal, unrealistic but it was all real. Danny couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how his safety would fit into this world, would he see the world for much longer? Did he enjoy life to the fullest? Did he worry about his bullies too much that he became consumed by it? He freaked at the thoughts and possibilities. Until he saw another winged creature.


    The acceleration of his flight caught Danny off guard, he thought a creature so humongous would never fly so fast. He thought about going inside, and the dread in his stomach rocked around the world. He stood his ground, thought about his heroes, and imitated them. But by pure chance the winged creature took off and left Danny¡¯s eyeline and disappeared like a magic trick. His anxiety left him for a second.


    Danny thought about his family, especially his mum. The chance that his mum would not return to him. He will never hear her sweet voice again, just a croak with vile intent, raging at him like he was now a disappointment and only a disappointment with no silver lining, even being her son felt like nothing now.


    His dad begins to come into his thoughts. Danny thought he could depend on his dad in that murderous house, but he doubted himself, doubted his dad. ¡°But should I?¡± He questioned himself, ¡°he has always been there for me.¡± Though he thought about how awful his dad would treat him ¨C how quick he would turn to anger ¨C anything would set him off.


    But he had to depend on his dad; he had no one else. He moved towards the gate, put his hand on the lock, but a scream could be heard from the next garden.


    Arthur walks on a broken road like tanks had been driving on it. He begins to think how much fighting would have caused this. how strong the opponents are? His feet hurt inside his tight boots as he walks on rubble. He sees grass so decides to walk on it. The smooth, yet damaged, grass is a pleasure to walk on due to his hurting back, legs and feet. He thought the fall that he took was awful and wonder how long he can go for; he just didn¡¯t want to let the kid down. The one thing he was prepped on was saving people, though he was prepped on taking lives too, that was the fact he hated horribly.


    He walked over a hill while struggling. As he reached the top he seen the start of a highway, it was demented, deranged, and disturbed. It had been ruined like a war had been fought there. The cracks in the floor were the size of an elephant¡¯s leg. There were scatters of rubble across the floor which made it hard to walk on. Cars were smashed and broken down, with dust covering the colour. Dust was all around him, like it was snowing dust, it choked him and made him gag. He takes his jacket off and puts it around his head to cover his mouth, though his eyes were feeling the brunt of it. He wished for goggles like it was all he needed to be happy.


    As he began to move again, he seen an underpass, and he celebrated while running towards it. As he reaches it, the lightness becomes darkness, and the dread seeps into him. He doubts going into the darkness, he had seen so much that anything could be in there. The highway seemed empty with no creatures that could harm him, but he thought about using the underpass so he could avoid the dust. He had enough of all the trivial things that would anger him.


    He ducked down into the gap, where a panel had been smashed in the corner, creating an opening for someone, Arthur worried who that someone was. He easily moved through the opening and had a look at his surroundings seeing nothing but the dark abyss. Arthur felt terror that gave him a great desire to quit and hide in his bunker. As he sat staring into the space of pure tenebrosity, he tried to think of anything that would make him brave, just as brave as he was in the past.


    Nothing would help him. Not his mum, his dad, or his daughter. They had all been dead, so it just gave him despair as he thought of the memories of his family that was no longer with him. The sadness was overwhelming, and it hadn¡¯t been too long, so the pain was still surreal. A thought came to his head that brought him back to reality, the thought of saving another family.


    He lifted his head off the ground and knew what he had to do, whether it would kill him because he believed he had no one left to love him. He thought, saving the family was the last important thing he could do before leaving this forsaken planet.


    Arthur lifted himself up and moved forward. The pain, tiredness, and responsibility of saving them weighed him down like a rock on his back. He pressed on into the dark. His eyes seen nothing, only the blackened area standing around him. He turned his head back at the opening and regretted ever taking on the challenge. His hairs stood up his neck, lips dry like the desert, eyes swelled from how tired he was. He couldn¡¯t handle what was in front of him, he doubted himself with every step.


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    The darkness would not let up, he had only been walking a short while, though it felt like an eternity. He walked and his body slammed into something, it was hard, spacious and crumbles were dropping from it. He froze waiting for his death, he waited, waited, but nothing happened. Just a silence, a never-ending silence that was looming over him. He broke his minds silence, what the fuck am I doing?! I need to get a grip of myself. I will not be saving anyone acting like this.


    He quickly pushed himself off the hardened object and immediately it felt a lot like a wall. He was angered by his coward act, so he followed the undetermined object and walked brazenly, not even thinking that he could walk into something else.


    The gravel on the floor was the only noise, with every step it grew louder. The fear no longer gripped him like before, he felt an inner peace that drove him on. The next step was a clumsy one, a pothole where his foot dropped in. His body hit the floor while his hands rescued his face from hitting the sturdy floor.


    He started to have hope that he was going the right way, he had been going straight the whole time. He focused on the floor because he knew that another fall would mean a rest on the floor, he thought. His large steps were desperate to avoid the rocks. He had been blind for long enough; he had to reach sunlight soon.


    As he moved further, his body impacted on a tough object and for a second, he felt scared, but it felt similar to the other object he hit; sturdy, large but no rumble this time ¨C it had not been ruined ¨C Arthur guessed. He put his hand on what he thought was a wall and walked along it, followed it till he came across a small passageway. He felt as though he had an idea on where to go.


    He felt like the walls were closing on him, compared to how much space he had a minute ago, though he carried on through what seemed like a corridor, and as he went further a small object hit him like no other. The only thought that crossed his mind was dead bodies but he noticed that the smell was slightly different. He had smelled enough mangled corpses to know it was different, he hated that he knew that fact. With every step the smell got worse, almost like he was heading right for the area with the stench. The only thing that made the smell bearable was his experience back in the days.


    The days where it he seemed free and flying with his friends with no worries, just the profound feeling of joy that had no end until it had an end. The feeling of meeting people that had no mask was the most concrete feel he had. No one could have taken it from him until he took it, leaving him with the emptiest feel he had ever felt in his entire life. The feeling of dancing with friends and everyone was in synergy, and that¡¯s what his old days felt like, heaven on earth. He felt Invincible until he didn¡¯t. He was left as a weak coward screaming in and out of nightmares and sweat riddled his body. He had no fear, only might. He just wished he had that same drive he once had.


    He grew a massive trepidation about opening the door, though his curiosity went wild. He walked closer to the stench of a lifetime, pushed his hands out to reach the tough object. His hands touched a door which had rust covering the entire door. His hand clipped a handle and he grabbed and pulled it down with force which was required.


    The door opened and his eyes were bleeding from the smell. He gagged thoroughly with snot running down from his nose to his mouth; the taste of snot did not help him. He was glad he was still wearing his makeshift mask as he held it with his hand, putting pressure on it. The only silverling was the lights beaming from the control room. Though the sight was not worth it, he thought.


    Everything was bloody, bloody control panels, bloody walls, bloody floors, everything was bloody with a darkened red that spread around the room like it had been used as a killer¡¯s basement. There were no organs, no body parts, just blood. Arthur hated what might of caused it, he knew they had been dangerous but didn¡¯t think they were this gratuitous. He stepped inside, seeing a wall with nothing but blood on it, he wanted to run away from it. His feet were consumed by a puddle of blood, he could not ignore the horror that took place in the room.


    He turned his head and seen another door on the other side of the room. It had deep scratches which covered the entire door like a lion had been locked in the room. He didn¡¯t dare open it; he couldn¡¯t bear the thought of what might be behind the door. Would he become a puddle of blood on the floor and that¡¯s all his existence would contain. Arthur¡¯s mind raced.


    He regained his composure, thinking whether he could survive the horrors and save the family in need. The composure made him look at the control panel that had buttons with labels but was drenched in blood.


    His eyes were matched with words that said, ¡°light,¡± he didn¡¯t contemplate anything whatsoever, just pressed a button. As he pressed it, fear came into his body. He thought how irresponsible it was and but at the same time, he realized that he needed to overcome his fear of decision making, or it wouldn¡¯t be unruffled for him.


    He wondered what his actions did. He began to figure it out. Until a smashing bang proceeded on the door, opposite to the door that he entered. His inner voice screamed, his heart beating with loud palpitations, sweat drowning his face. He couldn¡¯t face what was behind the knock.


    Danny fell to the ground as the violent scream rocked his ears. The frightful, squealing bass of a scream came every few seconds. Danny braced himself every time the thing stopped screaming, it almost felt like it knew Danny was there when it stopped. He wanted to move so badly but couldn¡¯t. He sat on the smooth grass with the feeling of despair, his ears began to hear crunches that sounded like someone munching on something hard and the dread of knowing what that something could be put the fear of God in him.


    He knew he had to move and as he did, his head turned to face the fence. A decent sized hole was in the fence, causing Danny to see the excessive, savage and brutal horror. A man with pale skin that matched rotten milk and long teeth that were bouncing on top of someone skull. Danny freaked out and tried to ignore the pale thing biting into soft skin, which caused blood to squirt into his mouth, covering his whole face. The pale man only had trouser on with blood all over his chest and he was swimming in blood.


    Danny put his hand on the gate¡¯s lock and prayed it was silent as he moved it. He opened the gate and tip toad out the garden. A scream happened as he left, Danny prayed it wasn¡¯t because of him, though he could still hear the crunches. He thought of his dad and began to hope that his dad was alright and would help him. He lightly jogged trying to be quiet. Danny hoped he would reach home.

 Chapter 13

    Danny was desperately trying to keep his feet from making noise, he thought if he made a sound, he would be dead and forgotten. So, he kept it in mind as he jogged noiselessly past the fence that contained the vampire mutilating a bloody corpse. The hairs on his neck were raised high, his heart pumped recklessly, and sweat covered his entire body. He proceeded to move faster; the stress become too much, it had to end for him, sooner rather than later.


    He made it past the garden. He wasn¡¯t expecting to make it, he was sure his time was up.  He hadn¡¯t prepared for the outside, he had not a clue on whether he was happy to be alive or depressed to be alive. He felt like he had no hopes, no dreams and no one to love.


    He thought about his mum. He was beginning to grow more confident that his mum would never be the same. She would remain a living reminder on how fucked up life had become. She would never hug him again ¨C never see his smile again ¨C she would never be his mum again. He felt more despair as his thoughts passed him by.


    The thought of his dad was on his mind, it gave him something that he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted. The day where people did not want hope sure was a tragic day for mankind, he thought. Hope was his joy in life: the hope of success, the hope of achieving his dream job, the hope of living a long life, his hopes were what he had lived for, it was everything to him. Had all that gone?


    He didn¡¯t have a clue if his dreams were now dead or alive, but he knew he was alive, so he marched on to see if his dad was alive too.


    He jogged through the same alleyway, hoping not to see his mum. Not in a million years did he think he would want that, he thought. Seeing his mum was the honour that kept him strong throughout his days.


    As he was thinking, a roar came from the sky, Danny ducked down with trepidation and the feeling that something was about to get him was consuming his actions. He dared to look, to hear, or to live. Nothing gave him drive, nothing! Nothing except seeing his dad.


    He looked in the sky to see another flying creature in the distance, Danny was shocked, he could of swore it sounded closer. Danny knew that he was close to home, so he gathered his bearings and headed home.


    The long alleyway had mess all over ¨C graffiti all over the walls ¨C rubbish on the floor ¨C and it made Danny feel considerably worse about the situation. The walk down the alleyway was almost too long to walk. He usually feared the alleyway anyway, but now that fear was ramped up to eleven, he thought. He was always getting chased by bullies down this alleyway, so he knew a quicker way out of it, dangerous but quicker.


    The bramble bushes that led to his next-door neighbour¡¯s garden. The long, massive, bramble bushes that extended along the alleyway and the gardens. The bramble bush that allowed him to feel one win against his bullies, though it was usually gone the next day, he thought.


    He began to stop jogging and looked for the opening that allowed him to enter the bramble bush. He knew the opening like it was the back of his hand, so it wouldn¡¯t be hard to find. And as he guessed, it appeared in front of him. He was thankful for the shortcut; he could not handle the fear that he had for the things that could be on the lane of the alleyway. The things that could see him walking through. He felt exposed. He wished he could just fly away.


    He prepared for the thorns that would inevitably pierce his skin like tiny needles. He entered through the hole, expecting to be cut up straight away, but the thorns were not there. He crawled his way through and followed the trail that he made for years. He extended his arm and dug his nails into the ground to push himself forward. The dirt was inside his nail which he usually hated but didn¡¯t pay much attention to it this time. Though what did catch his attention was the thorns up ahead.


    He reached the thorns, braced himself, thinking about his role models which made him brave, and he proceeded to crawl through. The bramble bush felt like a barb wire tunnel, needles piercing his dry skin, scraping his skin as he moved across the muddy floor. The sticks and small branches were sticking into his side and grazing him. But he felt safe. Feeling like no one could get him. No one was watching him.


    He thought it was hard to feel safe in this nightmare, but he felt secure. The one thing that bugged him was the fact of that security would not last for long. As soon as he makes it home, the fear will come back.


    His Thoughts made him forget the pain, plus his clothes were taking a lot of the thorns. He figured he was about halfway through, he could tell by seeing a statue in a garden, it was his landmark to know where he was. In his excitement he kept his eyes of what was in front of him and crawled carelessly and a thorn went into his finger. The pain made him scream. He screamed for a second and instinctively put his other hand on his mouth. He just hoped he didn¡¯t attract any attention from any unwanted guest. That security didn¡¯t last long, he thought. Tears came to his eyes, running down his cheek. The wound was stinging, he barely had the courage to remove it. Blood was trickling down his finger. He just realized how big the thorn was, and how deep it went in. He prepared to take it out, by fiddling with the top of the thorn and trying to make it loose. He finally gripped on to it and dragged it out as fast as he could. Blood trickled faster, Danny began to feel ill, with his stomach in knots and he was wondering if he can carry on. The stabbing pain was irritating him while on the dirty floor, head planted in a bunch of leaves, surrounded by a tunnel of thorns.


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    Danny knew he didn¡¯t have long to go, he lifted his head from the dirt, and ignored the pain best he could. He continued to crawl, however, he wished he was more graceful. He was biting his lip to help him with the stinging pain as he focused on finishing the tunnel of thorns.


    As he reached his next-door neighbour¡¯s, he celebrated, the opening that led to the exit was right in front of him. Danny rashly squirmed out the bramble bush full of thorns. He was surprisingly shocked at how hard the tunnel had turned out to be, it had normally been so much easier in the past, he thought.


    The green, smooth, and clean grass was a pleasure as Danny put his hands on it. He no longer felt like a head in a tight helmet. The fresh air was welcomed to the up most, it almost made him forget about the pain.


    He removed the thorns one by one. He sucked on his finger, hoping to get rid of the pain, but as he did a smell caught his nose.


    ¡°That smell¡­ that smell is familiar.¡± Danny knew where he had smelt that before. he would forever remember that house with the hideous murders. The murders that made him question his safety without exaggeration. he thought his life would be over if he had a look around. He felt useless. He couldn¡¯t even look up.


    He moved his eyes an inch and regretted it instantly. A trail of blood was presented in front of him like a display case of art. He couldn¡¯t resist looking now. He lifted his head, his eyes following the trail of blood. It ended at the most despicable thing. A man displayed in the most horrific position. His head twisted all the way around, with two bones piecing out the skin. Danny was in distress but couldn¡¯t quite comprehend how mutilated the man was. The man¡¯s arms were skinless, the red, roar muscles made Danny wince. The veins in his arms were showing in great detail, the muscle had chunks missing from it, and his bones were disconnected with one on the floor next to him.  Danny stared at the bone, it had scratches and chunks like it had been a dog¡¯s play-bone. His eyes moved away from the man¡¯s bone and back to the neck, it was supported by a pole that penetrated straight through his neck, ending at the grass where it had been pinned in like a flag. Blood dripped down the pole, thick, shiny blood that came from his eyes, neck and mouth, even his ears had blood coming out of it. Danny could not imagine the gaping hole that would be left if the pole was to be removed, it horrified him just thinking about it.


    Danny hated to comprehend what pain the man would have gone through and he dreaded that it could happen to him. He would never go outside again, he thought. He had no idea on how to process what he was seeing; he had never prepared for his eyes to see so much horror. The horrifying house and now his next-door neighbours, it was all too much for him. He had no idea on how to move on from this, par from just giving up and quitting life but he could not be killed in such horrifying circumstances. He needed his dad, more than ever.


    He slowly turned his back on the grotesque murder, headed for the hole at the bottom of the fence that was just big enough for Danny to fit through.


    He felt nothing, nothing but silence. His inner voice had gone mute. Nothing but the wind that raced past his ears, and the leaves blowing across the grass. The red sky shined upon him while he walked home.


    He crawled through the hole in the fence and as he reached his garden, he stood, stared at empty space, not thinking about anything. His blood sucking mother didn¡¯t even phase him, he had disappeared, physically he was there but mentally he was gone. His mind couldn¡¯t process anything. He stood waiting for a guardian angel.


    Nothing came, not an angel or help. He was alone, except the thought of his father. Maybe his father could help him, he thought.


    Danny ran towards the back door while jumping over a section of plant pots. He reached the door, opened it, and seen his dad stood in the corner with his arms against the wall holding himself up. Danny¡¯s hairs on his neck went up, his heart rate went to a 100, he remembered how his mother was against the wall before she changed. He moved closer with the last remaining bravery he had.


    As Danny moved, his dad turned around to face Danny, with his face looking a pale grey. Kiran walked towards him while saying, ¡°hey, where have you been?¡±


    Arthur walked backwards, hoping that no one heard him. The loud, aggressive, continuously banging on the door made Arthur feel dread. He had not an idea on what to do. The door felt like it could break at any minute.


    He took no shame and ran the same way he came from. As he ran his hairs on the back of his neck went up and he feared that as soon as he turned his back, them things would break through and pounce on him. He exited out the door and slammed it behind him.


    He ran, making no effort to look back. Until the door burst, his head turned to see a group of bloodsuckers stacked up on top of each other, with their bones looking flexible, and like they had no feeling of pain or soreness from the position they were in. They had one thought. They had one objective. They had one mission. To kill him. And they were doing it without question, doing it subconsciously. His knees went to jelly as he realized his enemy were competent, and especially the fact if he failed, he¡¯d be killed in one of the most horrifying ways possible. The stuff he had seen¡­


    He ran the way he had come in but the only difference being that it was lit up like a Christmas tree. He never thanked the lord so much. The light was a gift that may rescue him, he thought.


    The rocks flew off his heel as he ran. The rubble flying from the ground, making everything sound so much worse. The loud, fast, and rumbling footsteps behind him, making his heart rate as fast as a jet engine, sweat running from his forehead and getting in his eyes.


    He had one objective.


    The long hallway came to an end, seeing a large area in front of him, he did not stop whatsoever. He couldn¡¯t stop, the drive to save the family was strong and the only thing that was keeping him alive. He knew he¡¯d be dead if he didn¡¯t meet that family. It was a purpose he could believe in.


    As he ran through the large area, he turned his head and seen that one of the bloodsuckers was in front of everyone else. It must have been the leader, he thought. It had defined muscles, was faster than everyone else, and not just a little faster, he thought. Arthur began to worry that the muscley vampire was going to catch him, he was seriously close now.


    He grabbed his crowbar wishing he still had his machete, but he thought that he was lucky to have his metal helmet.


    The muscley vampire reached out to Arthur¡¯s shoulders, stuck his claws into him and brought him down to the ground. As Arthur went down, he used the momentum to strike the vampire in his head, hitting him in the eye, and they both fell.


    The vampire screeched while Arthur tried to stand up, failing in the process. His ankle had taken an injury. However, multiple roars made him forget about it instantly. He brought his eyes off the ground and seen the horde of vampires coming his way.

 Chapter 14

    All he seen was despair and his death. He was in shock; he didn¡¯t move an inch. He was about to die by a thousand cuts.


    An unexpected claw slashed at his head. His head crashed against the makeshift metal helmet, he staggered, his head feeling befuddled. But as he fell on his arse, the muscular vampire began a jumping motion that went straight towards him. Arthur kicked his legs and stopped the vampire from jumping on him, and Arthur jumped up to his feet, seeing a horde heading his way.


    Arthur threw his crowbar straight towards the vampire, hitting him on his forehead, the thing collapsed to the floor. Arthur sprinted away from the remaining horde, that was hot on his heels. He couldn¡¯t feel any of his injuries, just that drive to live. Self-prevision. But that self-prevision is to serve someone else.


    He had seen fast vampires, slow vampires and average vampires but he had not seen such raw power in a vampire. Too fast for him, too strong, but somehow, he had survived and needed the vigour to continue surviving this nightmare.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to realize that they were catching up with him, and he was moving a lot slower. He had to try to slow them down.


    He had the idea of throwing his helmet at them, maybe they¡¯d fall over each other, but he did not want to sacrifice his protection, he thought.


    He continued running past the large area that came to end with a opened large door, and as he entered it, he seen many exits and other doors. He thought, he was lucky to find that control room. He exited out the large room to a similar room where he could see a light source, it had to be that opening where he had entered.


    He ran towards it like it was a light sent from the angels above.


    The sound of a thousand footsteps chasing him made him feel powerless. He had doubts that he would reach the light. Clomping footsteps, his heavy breathing, and the sweat drowning his eyes were making everything harder. He felt like he would be grabbed at any moment and his life would be over. Every second he was running; he could tell someone was too close to clutching onto his shoulder.


    Until another hope came his way. A massive pole that had fallen off a huge scaffolding that was against the wall. He arrived near the pole and picked it up, struggling to lift it at first. However, he felt impressed at how quick he grabbed and picked the pole up in one motion. Arthur turned and faced the vampire horde, feeling an overwhelming amount of bravery as he stared them in the eyes. He lifted the pole and threw it at them with force. He didn¡¯t even look at the outcome, he just ran to the light.


    The light was in front of him, footsteps behind him that were further but still worried him. He had to be quick at getting on the floor to crawl through the opening that would lead him to safety. He had one chance to escape, the hairs on his neck stood up as realized it.


    He jumped into the prone position, almost sliding through the gap, though he had to crawl his way through. His arms went through the opening, and he grabbed the ground on the opposite side and desperately pulled himself through. Arthur could hear screams and roars as he successfully crawled through.


    All he could see was the mist and dust floating in the air, the sky coloured with an evil red, a blackened sun that made him feel the hopelessness of his situation. He questioned whether he¡¯d rescue the family.


    He continued to run from the opening and ran to the entry of the highway. He hoped the dust wouldn¡¯t affect him too much. He hoped his getaway would be easy with little work, but his legs were beginning to feel the fear and the tiredness. He wondered if his eyes would close, close by death or by prostration.


    Arthur ran up the landslide, hearing, ¡°stop! Stop now you fool, there is no escape for a mere mortal like you.¡± Arthur heard the manly voice and seen the muscular vampire. He had been the only one that had exited the underpass. He ignored him, ran faster, and wondered where he would run to.


    Arthur thought he had no chance of escaping. He knew that the vampire was faster, stronger, and could see within the dust and mist. Arthur began to run on the highway, the dust became thicker, he could no longer see. As he wondered through the hefty dust, he could hear whispers that felt like they were calling him. The sweat drowned him, his legs like jelly, and the feeling that there was no hope within sight. With the dust surrounding him, the sweat drowning him, and whispers haunting him, he knew his time was up.


    He continued running until he couldn¡¯t. He stopped with his heart rate roaring. Though, he continued moving by lightly jogging. He just couldn¡¯t give up, that was not him, he passionately thought.


    As he firmly continued, his eyes matched a different object to a car. It was a motor bike, and as he moved closer towards it, he seen it hadn¡¯t been damaged like everything else had been. The motor bike was pure black, with red symbols on it, he had not seen symbols like it, though he wasn¡¯t too clued up on stuff like that, he cluelessly thought.


    The hope had not disappeared because the keys were in the ignition. He turned them instantly. And without a second thought he began to jump on the bike. But a great loud clang vibrated inside his helmet, and he dropped to the floor. His head turned to face¡­ the muscular bloodsucker. Arthur could see the anger in the vampire¡¯s eyes, it wanted to rip him into pieces, but he couldn¡¯t allow that. He began to get up and run at the vampire.


    The vampire allowed him to run at him, however, the vampire grabbed him by his throat and held him up in the air like he was proving a point. Arthur¡¯s feet were off the ground, trying to catch a breath, and strategizing on how he would escape the vampire¡¯s grasp. But nothing seemed like a good idea, every idea felt like it would lead to death. The broad vampire threw him forwards against a car, Arthur fell on top of the window screen, his back felt it instantly, a throbbing pain going from the bottom of his spine to the top of it.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    He seen it coming straight for him, walking like he had nothing better to do and he looked like he enjoyed hurting him, he thought. The vampire was closer, Arthur was sure this was it. But it grabbed him again and threw him to the next car. Arthur didn¡¯t land on it this time; he landed right next to the car door with the back of his head hitting it.


    Arthur thought that the vampire was taking his time with it, he wasn¡¯t a strong opponent, so he didn¡¯t blame it. He thought himself a coward who has put up a pathetic fight, all he did was run away.


    In his self-pity, he seen that the car was a broken-down cop car. He wondered and wondered if this was his final hope. He seen it walking towards him, so got off his arse. He moved to the trunk of the car, while limping and stumbling. As he reached the trunk, he looked through the broken window and prayed that something was there that could be used as a weapon. He seen nothing but a blanket. He wondered and grabbed it like it was life or death. He dropped the dusty blanket on the dusty floor, and to his surprise a shotgun was sitting there. He froze on how lucky he was getting, but without a second thought he grabbed it, cocked it back, looked for his target and shot at him. The vigorous vampire immediately ducked the shot, Arthur was stumped to how he did it, he thought he was so quick to dodge that shot, so inhumanely.


    Arthur looked around the car but couldn¡¯t see it. He started to panic; he could not see or hear it. He thought it was best to jump on top of the car and guard himself. He checked every angle, behind himself, in front of himself, turning his head side to side.


    He heard nothing except his heavy breathing, his extreme heart rate and his erratic footsteps. Until he heard a scratching sound on the car. He turned to face his front. ¡°Kablam!!¡± He takes a step forward. ¡°Kablam!!¡± The broad vampire was sprawled out on the bonnet. ¡°Kablam!!¡±


    He jumped off the car and headed to the motor bike, without expressing his injuries. He can hear the bike¡¯s engine as he jumps on it, thanking the lord on escaping the endangerment. Arthur had not been so thankful in his life; he knew luck carried him through.


    Arthur revved and took off driving through the middle of the highway, avoiding the cars in the process.


    ¡°I thought something had happened to you, something terrible.¡±


    His heart began slowing down as his dad talked to him like a human. Danny expected him to have turned, considering his luck. He had no words, just sadness, and a feeling of despair, a feeling that he could not go on any longer. He waited, standing like a melon, waiting for his father to embrace him.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing out anyway?! It looks like a shit-fest out there, no wonder you¡¯re always causing trouble, you¡¯ve got no downtime.¡± His voice instantly became softer and less angered, ¡°why are you out?¡±


    Danny had no answers, only shock. He thought his dad had a clue about what happened to his mum, but clearly not. Danny shuddered, as he thought about whether she had come back or wasn¡¯t coming back, he did not know which was the better option.


    ¡°And where is your mother? I¡¯ve been looking around for her but absolutely nothing.¡± Kiran got no answer from Danny, and that is when Kiran noticed his son was frozen, had dread in his eyes and was wounded. He moved closer to his son and began counselling him. ¡°What happened, son? it is okay, boy, you can tell me anything.¡±


    He wanted to tell him about his mother but hadn¡¯t the courage to tell. Danny stared into his father¡¯s eyes, hoping to tell him through his sadness, but he just brought Danny closer towards him and hugged him tightly. For a second Danny forgot about everything. He had forgot about the horror he had seen, forgot the tragedies he had experienced, forgot all from one hug. On his journey he had forgot to remember how much family matters, they can brighten your abyss, he thought.


    He hadn¡¯t a clue for how long they had been hugging for, but Kiran knew his son needed it. It made him wonder what Danny had gone through and most of all, what happened to his wife. Kiran¡¯s mind started racing whether his wife was okay, he thought if anything had happened to her, he would lose it. As the thoughts went through his head like they were on a line of sting passing through, he hated it, pondering on the fact that she could actually be dead. He truthly believed it, he thought, if she was alive Danny would say something, anything. He had no idea on how he would look after Danny, not on his own he thought. Kiran knew nothing when it came to looking after Danny, and he liked it like that, nothing was sweeter than coming home from a long hard day and not having to pay attention to him, and that¡¯s why he always hated the weekends.


    ¡°Oh son, I can¡¯t imagine¡­¡± Before he could even finish, the door slammed open. He seen someone walk in, but a shadow covered their face as they entered. Kiran recognized the figure of the person, the slim, long and majestical body. The person was laughing manically, and as it laughed, he knew it was a woman. He just couldn¡¯t quite place the laugh, he figured that she was vampire too. No way humans are acting like this in a time like this.


    She entered the light and spoke while laughing, ¡°welcome to hell, boys!¡±


    ¡°No, it cannot be!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but it can be, and you should be thankful it is me. Anyone else would rip you apart.¡±


    Kiran¡¯s face collapsed as the dread crept in. The words were nice, but her tone was horrifically sarcastic, he thought. He had never seen her act in such a way that made him feel uncomfortable. The dread continued as she spoke.


    ¡°Babe, life is felling really great right now. Don¡¯t look at me like that; you¡¯ll feel what I¡¯m feeling soon, I promise.¡± Her laughing continued while not taking her eyes off him.


    Kiran finally broke his silence and spoke with confusion, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She ignored him, with her eyes now on Danny, but Danny hid behind Kiran. Kiran just couldn¡¯t comprehend the situation, he felt like the roles had been reversed. He moved his arm behind him and rubbed Danny¡¯s shoulder, trying to bring some sort of serenity.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be like that. I am still here to make sure you live, without your humanity of course.¡± She moved closer towards, walking mysteriously slow, ¡°Danny, you will hate your humanity¡­ eventually, and you will be thankful to lose it.¡± They both stood there with nothing to say, though their face said everything she needed to know. She knew how scared they were, and she was excited by it, she loved it, loved it more than being a mother.


    She had never felt such freedom as she looked upon her family. She knew she could do anything to them, if they didn¡¯t have such high purposes. She could want whatever she wanted. And the drive to achieve her dream was a clear, wanted and ideal one. She knew what to do and was prepared to do anything for that.


    But she had one problem, and she needed to deal with that problem.


    The room, all of a sudden, went cold like it had turned winter in their living room, and they both seen her walking slowly towards them. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kiran shouted desperately.


    Elizbeth was on mute. She started to speed walk towards them, smiling, while giving them daggers. Her blonde, silver hair turned to a cape as she began to run. Screaming, ¡°hope you are ready for me, boys!¡±

 Chapter 15

    Elizbeth ran majestically. Her eyes focused on one thing and one thing only. Her eyes blue, shining like diamonds, Kiran could see his cowardly face reflecting upon her eyes. Her jawline was perfect before her transformation, but somehow it improved, Kiran thought. He seen the wrinkles had disappeared from her face, making her look 10 years younger, he felt jealous for a second. If it wasn¡¯t for her grey skin, she¡¯d look normal in the face, he thought. Her skin looked like it had been tightened to perfection. Her blonde hair now had silver highlights on them, he thought it suited her. Her lips remained the same: small, but shaped wonderfully, like they had been designed to be perfect. Though one thing that panicked him was her large claws, extended outwards like nothing he had seen. Kiran just could not handle seeing her teeth. One of many things that confused him was the fact of her wearing her wedding dress; it flowed downwards sumptuously as she ran towards him.


    Elizbeth seen the fear in her husband¡¯s eyes as she reached him. He put his hands up to defend his head. She thought, what a cowardly fool, as she sliced him with her claws. They struck him across the stomach, the cut was elongated and deep.


    Kiran thought she was going for his death, but he couldn¡¯t handle that thought. He felt helpless as she gripped onto his arm.


    She pulled him to the ground, forcing him onto his knees, and digging her claws deeper into his arms. He screeched like a little bitch, she thought. Elizbeth shouted directly into his face, ¡°kneel. I said kneel!! You will have a different perspective soon, I¡¯ll try then.¡±


    The pain in his arm was inhumane for him to feel; it was the only thing he thought about as he kneeled and stared at the ground. He hadn¡¯t an idea on how long he would survive for, but he knew he had to, just for Danny¡¯s sake. He looked into her eyes to see if she had any resemblance of her old self. Before he could, she threw him to the side like he was a piece of trash.


    She moved her way towards him, Danny screamed out as she grabbed him by the throat and lifted him towards the ceiling. All he could hear was his dad shout, ¡°leave my boy alone now!¡±


    She pointed her finger at him, while calmly saying, ¡°just stop. You have no right to speak to me like that. You¡¯re only human after all.¡± She went back to staring at Danny, laughing at his fear.


    Kiran sat there, feeling nothing but despair. He wasn¡¯t ready to give everything to save Danny, but he knew he had to; he has one job. He took that passion, ran at Elizbeth, knowing what he had to do.


    She seen him in the corner of her eye, turned her head, and screeched at him. he stopped instantly.


    ¡°If you come any closer, I will end your boy¡¯s life.¡±


    His face dropped, ¡°you wouldn¡¯t?¡±


    She laughed manically, while grasping harder on his throat. Danny choked, while trying to speak, ¡°mum¡­ please mum¡­.¡± His eyes looked into her eyes, and they matched. His hope was still there for her to turn to normal. But he seen that her eyes were now the devil¡¯s eyes.


    Elizbeth remained her eyes on Danny and said, ¡°boy, if I was you, I would shut up; you need to keep your energy.¡±


    Kiran seen the dread in his eyes, he could not take it any longer. He ran at her.  She instantly dropped Danny to the ground, he was thankful she was bluffing. He was in great form as he ran quick for his weight. She turned to face him, desperately attacking him with her claws. He dodged her claws by sliding on his knees, and the wooden floor helped him a lot. He stopped, waiting for her next move, he thought it was a good idea if he went on the defensive; he knew the vampires were stronger, quicker and had more vigour.


    ¡°Oh, I see you have no weapon.¡± She immediately laughed. ¡°And I feared you for a second, what a fool you are. I should end your life right this second, you¡¯ll be useless. No doubt.¡±


    He gritted his teeth in anger and lost his head. He went back on the offensive, swinging recklessly, hitting nothing but air. All he heard was her laughing hysterically at him, it made his face red as a tomato; although, he just feared that she could easily carve his face like a tomato.


    She stopped his arms, grabbing both with one hand and her claws delved into his arms. Kiran screamed, instantly regretting going on the offensive, he had no idea on how he¡¯d get out of this. She pulled him forward, using the momentum to throw him on his back, he fell hard on the wooden floor, he thought about staying down. Elizbeth grabbed him before contemplating it any further. She chucked him across the floor, and it burned his skin as he slid across the floor. He landed against the counter of the kitchen, he started to see two of everything.


    He wouldn¡¯t get up again, she thought, he never had much vigour. She laughed at him but stopped almost straight away. She realised that Danny had disappeared.


    Danny could see her standing as he hid around the door of the playroom. He feared that she would find him. He feared she would kill him. Though, he noticed she didn¡¯t hurt him when releasing him on the floor, he thought, she had time to kill him before his dad attacked her. He moved his head back behind the door and hid against the wall.


    He thought about escaping out the window and running away for good. His courage kicked in, he walked towards the window, ready for his freedom.


    Before he could even reach it, a hand touched his shoulder. The hand forced him to turn around. All he could see was her face smiling at him. He hated the long and pointy smile. Her eyes not moving an inch from his, he felt her strangeness; she was like a stranger to him.


    Elizbeth shoved him out of the playroom, falling into the humungous dining table, the impact took a toll on his body. ¡°If you hide from me again! I swear you will regret it. This is your second strike.¡± She seen the fear in her boy¡¯s eyes, feeling thrilled by it, she laughed while staring into his eyes. ¡°You will listen to me, boy! Wait, what are¡­?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Danny lifted himself up, ran to the stairs, and noticed his dad had gotten up from the kitchen counter. Danny wondered if he had run away. He made it to the bottom step without Elizbeth making any ground. He made a desperate attempt to run to his purpose. He made it halfway up the stairs, when he heard a wicked scream, ¡°you better get down here now, and if you do, I won¡¯t snap all your fingers!!¡± Danny felt the threat in his stomach and ran for the hills.


    He hoped his plan would work. He spent way too much time setting everything up that would help him survive the vampires, he thought. Danny just didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be using it on his mother. He hated the thought.


    ¡°You¡¯re at the top of the stairs already, well, must be all of them bullies that chase you.¡± Danny looked back, ¡°yes, you coward, you¡¯re always running away.¡± She stopped speaking and instantly started running after him.


    He turned forward and grabbed a wire that was on the floor. He strapped the wire around a pin that was stuck into a wall, the wire trawled to his room, under the door and was connected to a weird contraption. Danny followed the wire that was running to his door.


    Elizbeth¡¯s feet moved fast, skipping most steps, as she moved majestically up the stairs. ¡°Get back here you little shit!¡± She heard Danny¡¯s door close and thought he was stupid. ¡°What an idiot you are, now you¡¯re trapped in there.¡± Elizbeth reached the door, opening it with frustration. As the door swung open, a grey thick smoke swarmed around her, making her senses weak. She screamed while trying to recover, ¡°I¡¯m going to slay you for that. That thick brain of yours! This is pointless; you¡¯re trapped in the room with me.¡± She began coughing due to the smoke entering her lungs. Elizbeth howled in anger, but she heard footsteps behind her, that was out of the room. She turned her head, not seeing nothing but smoke.


    Danny ran past the room while shouting, ¡°you idiot, I¡¯m not in there, I am here. What¡¯s up? Can¡¯t you see me?¡± Danny felt adrenaline like no other. He felt proud of himself. Though all he could hear was a drastic scream that roared through the house.


    The roar followed him as he ran down the stairs. His eyes were only looking for his dad. He seen the garden door open.


    As he got outside, his eyes seen Kiran leaving the garden. Danny spoke with pride, ¡°what are you doing?¡±


    Kiran heard his son¡¯s voice. His face sunk as he realised how wrong he was. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m trying¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re running away from this family, what kind of coward are you?¡± Tears ran down Danny¡¯s face, it hindered his speech, though he pushed through. ¡°You were just trying to save me, what is up with you?¡±


    Kiran put his head down, he could not take his son¡¯s tears.


    ¡°I thought you are meant to be there for me, well clearly¡­¡±


    Danny was interrupted by an excited voice, ¡°oh, Danny, I can be there for you. and how great it is for you both to be here. I don¡¯t want to be searching all day.¡±


    Danny instantly thought about his favourite chemistry teacher. He taught Danny the most out of all his teachers, though he knew how awful some of the things he learned was. His crazy teacher always told him, ¡°You¡¯re a prodigy of chemistry, and that the army would employ me for a lot of money when you¡¯re older.¡±


    Suddenly, Danny grew the bravery to try one of his traps, but as he moved towards it, his mother grabbed him.


    ¡°Let him go, he is our son!¡±


    Elizbeth chuckled to herself, ¡°oh, but you can leave your son for death to get him. Now that¡¯s hypocrisy!¡±


    ¡°You are really going to kill our son?¡±


    Elizbeth stared into Kiran¡¯s eyes, while holding Danny up by the back of his collar and screamed at him. The anger piled on her eyes. He seen her vicious fang show like it was meant to intimidate him, and he felt petrified. The drool dripped from her fangs and fell onto the ground. He could see blood stains on them, he thought she must have been busy. She waved Danny in the sky; he had no idea on how they¡¯d survive.


    Elizbeth erratically slammed Danny to the ground, his legs taking most of the impact, Danny winced as Kiran watched. She rushed Kiran, sucker punching him in the stomach, the force dropped him to the floor. But she instantly held him up, by his hair, gripping it like he was a ragdoll. He desperately thought about his escape.


    Elizbeth licked the blood from his check, saying, ¡°well, you haven¡¯t got long!¡± she continued preaching at him, screaming with fury.


    He went at her neck like a tie. He made no attempt to make his attack competent. She laughed and his eyes went down to the floor. He thought whether his live was well lived. He looked at Danny but could not see him. Kiran was happy to see that he had escaped.


    Danny was confused to why she dropped him on the floor, though he thought it was more of a slam. He knew he needed to help his dad, he would need his dad, if he was to survive this nightmare. Danny knew he had to use his plan.


    He lifted himself from the ground, making it to his contraption. It had a big button on the floor, that was connected to a wire. The wire travelled against the brick wall, going up to his room¡¯s window. Above the window was a javelin with the wire connected to the bottom of the javelin. The javelin was stuck into the wall. He pressed the button with his foot, the button allowed pressure to build up against the javelin, that would make it fly.


    Danny silently ran inside the house and into his room. As he looked out his window, he was glad to see they hadn¡¯t moved. Danny hoped the poison would work; he placed a lot at the top of the javelin and preceded to aim the javelin at his mother¡¯s body.


    He closed one eye, leaving one open and hoped for the perfect shot. He thought about what he was about to do and didn¡¯t think he had the courage to go through with it. Every seasoned memory came flooding into his head, the great times when he went to play-parks, beaches and most of all, the cinemas which he loved. But the second he seen his dad¡¯s worried face, that brought Danny back into the world. He lifted the pole back in position, checked his aim, and he prepared to pull the lever.


    A tear dropped onto his cheek. ¡°Sorry mum!¡± The javelin took off like a rocket ship, swirling in the sky, and making the most of the wind. Danny watched the javelin as it headed straight for his mother¡¯s chest.


    The flying javelin punctured through her back as she turned around and it came out the other side. She fell straight to her knees, coughing a load of blood, that came with no stop. Kiran could see the pain in her eyes, he felt sorry for her, her pain didn¡¯t bring no comfort, just sorrow. A greenie liquid coated the wound, and it burned through the wound. Elizbeth was trying to wipe it off.


    Kiran couldn¡¯t believe Danny had done this; he knew that Danny was talented but wasn¡¯t aware of how capable he was. But Kiran thought about the consequences Danny would feel, if she died. He ran to her side, but as he did, she pushed him to her side and screamed at him. He ignored her.


    She collapsed on the floor, landing gracefully on the floor but the javelin stopped her from laying on her back. He moved closer and spoke gently, ¡°stop struggling, you¡¯ll make it worse for yourself.¡± She pushed his hand back with force. ¡°Please, babe. You¡¯re strong, but surly you won¡¯t make it if you fight.¡± She pushed his hand back again; however, this time was weaker. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to get this javelin out, babe. That greenie coat cannot stay there.¡±


    She stared at him, fading in and out of consciousness. He began by sitting her up. He moved his hand towards the javelin, she wished to have the force to stop him. Kiran grabbed it, ¡°prepare, babe.¡± He yanked it out without care, he couldn¡¯t handle pulling it out slow. The javelin slid out like plug in a bath, but longer. The blood came thick and fast, spraying onto his face, it covered him from head to toe.


    She instantly became dazed, seeing two of Kiran, she thought that was a nightmare on its own. Her head leaned back, and the sky began spinning. She fell unconscious.

 Chapter 16

    The door slammed against the cabinet as it opened. Kiran screamed at Danny, ¡°what was that about?¡± His dad¡¯s anger came at him like a knife in the heart. Danny felt horrid about what he did, he never expected his dad to treat him this way, especially after saving him.


    Kiran held Elizbeth in his arms, carrying her to the couch, and he started wondering whether she would survive this. The panic raised his anger, and he aimed it at Danny like a stray bullet. ¡°How could you do what you did, it was deplorable! Do you have a soul?¡±


    The question hit Danny in the stomach, he wondered if the nightmare had desensitised him to the violence, carnage and death. He couldn¡¯t process how he felt about killing his own mother, the thought of not caring sent him to his room.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, boy? Get back here right now!¡± Kiran had the urge to chase Danny, until he heard her grown. He seen the poison festering on the wound. He quickly acted and began to remove the poison. He used his hand, gently removing the coats of poison.


    Danny rushed upstairs. He couldn¡¯t feel anything but nothing. The thought of killing his mum didn¡¯t feel like it should of. He would have killed himself in another time, he thought. Danny wanted to feel something for his mum, he needed to feel it, it would make him feel normal in this unnormal time. He felt like a monster, a monster that killed, killed without feeling. He felt like he was turning into what his mother is, a ghastly killing machine, that killed subconsciously.


    Instantly his thoughts were stopped by a bang, followed up by his dad screaming, ¡°Danny, get down here now!¡± Danny heard the concern in his voice and realised he wasn¡¯t bluffing. ¡°Please, son. Get down here!¡±


    Kiran prayed to the lord, unironically, and pleaded the family¡¯s case. He prayed that his wife wouldn¡¯t die. The sweat dripped down his forehead. As he removed the poison from her wound, the sweat started to drip into her gash. He moved his head away from the wound, panicking that it would infect it more, if that was possible.


    Suddenly, a shock struck his brain, causing the room to spin. He felt unsteady as he tried to regain his composure. But his head continued to spin, while seeing two of everything. He fell to his knees, his hands on the floor, and struggling to breathe. He felt death coming. He felt his family¡¯s death. He felt the world¡¯s death. Then visons came to him as he screamed for his son.


    Danny rushed into the living room, seeing his dad sprawled out on the floor. Kiran violently shook his body. Danny could tell what was going on.


    Danny couldn¡¯t believe he hadn¡¯t seen what was about to happen. The grey skin that had been there for ages. His eyes had changed ages ago. ¡°How did I not notice?¡± He thought that he might have been delusional to that fact.


    His dad wriggled like a worm, life was over for him, he thought. Danny would never survive without his parents. The family¡¯s lives were coming to a closure and Danny knew it, with all his heart, he knew it. He looked in his father¡¯s eyes, his soul was gone, he thought. Nothing left.


    All of a sudden, his dad stopped moving, and laid there still as a lake on a summer¡¯s day. Danny moved in closer, held his dad¡¯s hand, and wished for his safety. He wouldn¡¯t move from them both, he couldn¡¯t. The weight off his problems increased as he sat there, thinking in despair. Everything felt different, he thought differently, he worked his problems out differently, his cowardliness felt different; nothing was the same. As he thought about everything, his eyes became lethargic, and his body felt the consequences of being in this nightmare.


    He opened his eyes, feeling like he had been asleep for hours, he felt no comfort as he lifted his head off his dad¡¯s chest. His eyes felt heavy, as he struggled to keep them open, he wiped the sleep from his eyes and hoped it would freashen them.


    He pushed himself up, while struggling to balance himself. He felt an overwhelming sadness as his eyes laid on his parents. He had to take his sight somewhere else.


    He walked towards the kitchen, opened the back door and walked out into the garden. The suffering he felt was like no other he had felt before. He thought, before the loss of his mum, he felt like the situation was surreal, like it wasn¡¯t real. But he could feel the gravity of his loss now, he felt an entirely different person, like it had changed him. He felt like it changed him for a reason, almost like everything he had gone through had changed him, so he could deal with the nightmare.


    He stared at the floor while he pondered. A black shadow, suddenly, came over him. Danny panicked and tried to turn his head, but a massive fist hit the top of his skull.


    Arthur rode, knowing his life depended on it. He hoped the noise wouldn¡¯t bring attention, though he doubted it wouldn¡¯t. The wind blew in his face, he thanked for having protection. The mist complimented the red sky like pen with paper. Although, Arthur hoped he¡¯d be out of the mist soon.


    Then, Arthur realised just how long he had been driving for, he thought it would be hell getting back to the family, Arthur started to doubt his survival. The wind smacked against his head, which made him more nervous, he couldn¡¯t face failure, even if it meant riding into his death. The long journey was not helping his mindset, the more he thought, the more the doubt crept in.


    He made for an exit, knowing the hospital wouldn¡¯t be far away. The mist was dying down as he went down a long road, that was surrounded by houses. He thought it would be safer if he went on foot, so without a second thought he hid the motorbike, and prepared to go to the hospital.


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    Arthur walked through the back alley that led to the hospital. He regretted not using the motorbike, just so he could make the journey faster, the consequence did not bother him. The wind pushed itself inside his metal helmet, as he began to jog, with his tiredness running throughout his body. Even his equipment started to weigh him down, which brought him memories, great and bad memories.


    The complaining in his head shortened the time, he could now see the hospital and he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He climbed over the fence, which was the only thing in his way, and did it without thought. The streets felt safe as he crossed the road without concern.


    He opened the door, with a feeling of being free and completed. He entered, seeing blood stains on the floor, leading multiple ways. The ceiling had an infinite amount of blood that covered it, the red roar blood dripped onto the bloody floor, Arthur struggled to walk on it, not wanting to touch the walls. He thought about the hellish control room and how it had prepared him for this nightmare of a hospital. He walked across the sea of blood, thinking about how many victims it would of took to make so much blood. The hate came out of him. He wanted revenge. And wanted it no matter what. But he remembered the Ambrose family.


    He looked back, looking at the massive window, thinking how creepy the mist looked. It covered everything. He could no longer see the fence from which he came, his option to leave felt impossible, the mist was too thick to ride in, he thought¡­.


    He headed to the pharmacy which was in the hospital. He pulled his shotgun out, with aggression and cocked it, making a satisfying sound which calmed his nerves. The shotgun guided him to the pharmacy. He aimed it in front and behind and up and down. He hoped to see no one, even someone normal, the shock would make him shoot anyone at this point, he thought.


    His nerves continued as he walked down the long bloody corridor. He stood behind his protector, with his eyes on every object. The alarm rang out, puncturing inside his ears, making everything that much harder as his stress turned to sweat.


    Everything was red in the corridor. The red blood spread across the walls, the puddles of blood on the floor and the aggressive red flashing lights caused by the alarm, his eyes was surrounded by the colour red. He felt like he was in a realm that only consisted of the colour red.


    He was coming up on a corner, the dread crept into his eyes, he couldn¡¯t bear to find out what was there. His shotgun was the first to go around the corner, with his head following it up, his eyes were shut wide, expecting his life to end there and then. To his surprise, nothing happened, no weird noise to overreact to, no mysterious figure to worry about. He expected company at the entrance, he thought, where did they go?


    He continued walking down the never-ending corridor, until hearing a crying above the ceiling and his feet stopped moving, with the hair on his neck standing straight like a soldier. He could hear the crawling above his head, it turned his spine cold as ice, freezing him completely. He didn¡¯t want to trust his gut-feeling, but he knew he had to keep moving.


    But as he bravely walked past the racket above him, someone slammed something against the ceiling. He screamed at it, ¡°what is your problem? Get down and face me.¡±


    Silence was the only thing he heard. He began to walk again but as he did, chunk of ceiling came flying towards his head. He used his back foot to jump out of the way and the chunk of ceiling just missed him. Dust and blood flew down, making it hard to breathe and his chest went tight, with his throat becoming really dry.


    He checked the hole. Nothing was to be seen or heard, except for the void, and a creaking sound. He straightened his back to get a better look, all that stared back was the darkness. Until a scream came over his head. Arthur instantly jumped away from it, while watching if anything came through the hole. He seen a tiny figure crawling through the gap. It fell through the hole, landing on its back. It made him take a few steps forward, as he got a proper look, the tiny shadowy figure started to take shape. Arthur couldn¡¯t comprehend what he was looking at. It crawled like a baby, using its front arms to push itself forward, while screaming back at the hole. The scream vibrated the ceiling. A minute went by, and more tiny figures came crashing through the ceiling. He cocked back his shotgun and prepared to fire at the deplorable creatures. As he aimed at them, they all screamed at the same time. The fear ran through his heart, his stomach sank like an anchor as he watched them scream like a choir.


    His nerves sent the trigger to go off. He was shooting at an infinite number of things, some crawling on the floor, some hanging from the ceiling and some climbing on the walls. They moved so slow, with their head leaning on their back when it was in an all-fours position. It creeped him out, thinking nothing should be able to do something so hideous. The creatures reminded him of crawling, creepy babies, although he knew they wasn¡¯t as cute. He moved in closer, pumping a few shots at them, while hoping it would scare the rotten buggers. As he moved in closer, one of the baby-looking creatures grabbed his foot, he screamed just looking at it. Its head was elongated, with it leaning on its back and the creature¡¯s head faced him. Arthur seen the creature had no eyes, they only had white gunk where the eyes were. The forehead had lumps all on it, making it look sicker than other creatures he had seen. Blood and snot dripped down the nose, going all way down the neck because of how extended the neck was. The snot, blood and white gunk had all reached its chest where it seemed to have a compartment to store all of the mess. The small creature seemed to rely on it, especially the way it mixed together and went back inside his chest, just to come out of its nose again. Arthur knew what happened to the poor things and regretted his next action.


    Arthur shot the tiny devilish face and proceeded to go after the rest. However, his confidence is missed placed, because he realises how many are left. They were climbing on top each other just to make room for each other. Arthur¡¯s confidence began to cripple, and his priorities was now clear. He turned away from the baby-abominations and ran for the pharmacy.


    The corridor ended with double doors. He opened them and came across a big room. The room had a desk, loads of seats and a big tv saying, ¡°make sure you attend your appointments to keep your health in check.¡± Arthur ignored it, jumping behind the desk and hoped the computer still worked. He didn¡¯t know why he had hope, most tec wasn¡¯t working, he thought.


    Everything had gone to shit, he thought. The world, the people, even the most innocent things in the world had turned evil. His hope was in the abyss, with his thoughts. The only thing that was shining bright was his luck, he thought, but he wondered how long that would last.


    In the corner of his eyes, he seen a sign that said, ¡°pharmacy!¡± his excitement went up and he ran towards it. The doors came off the hinges from how hard he busted through them. He ran to the painkillers¡¯ section and began pocketing the ones he needed. He didn¡¯t know too much about medicine, but he knew how well painkillers and antibiotics worked. He reached for one, and suddenly a creaking sound appeared behind him, his heart stopped for a second.

 Chapter 17

    Arthur¡¯s eyes tensed up, his knees buckled, the sweat dripped like he was filling a pond. He could no longer handle the stress, couldn¡¯t handle the fury that may have been behind, the fight had been drained from him. Arthur feared for his life for the thousandth time.


    He put the medicine inside his inside pocket, it gave him comfort knowing it would be impossible for the medicine to fall out; it hadn¡¯t happened before, he thought. Arthur turned around, knowing his resolve was at a push, but he would continue, whatever it took. But as he turned, he seen nothing, just cabinets full of pills. Arthur had no idea what to think, he could have sworn something was making noise. He turned back around and left through the pharmacy doors.


    The hospital alarm was still ringing, flashing lights still blinding his eyes and stench of blood made his nose twitch. He checked behind him every so often, hating the idea of someone or something being behind him. But he kept seeing the void.


    Until a shadowy figure appeared when it flashed red. He had to do a double take, seeing nothing the second time. Arthur was officially questioning his sanity.


    He didn¡¯t get far, until something brushed his shoulder. Something fast. He thought the thing had to have been flying to go that fast. He stared in the direction that thing hit him from, hoping to get a glance of it, but the humongous room was too dark, and the flashing lights was not enough to be able to see. He investigated like a detective in the dark. The whole room felt like it was silent as he looked for it.


    One moment he was standing still and the other he was crashing into a window. It came at him so fast, the shock froze him up, making his body roll on his landing.


    As laid still on bloody floor, he looked at his entrance, expecting a fight to the death, however, his eyes seen nothing but a smashed window. He hated that he was being toyed with, nothing felt worse.


    The glass surrounded him on the floor, with some sticking in his skin. He removed it by brushing his hands down his arm, although, most of it stayed in his arm but didn¡¯t stick out. As he got off the ground, he moved towards the window, and hoped to have no more surprises.


    The window had a clear view of the thing that attacked him. The thing was flying at him like a missile. It moved straight, without moving a slight, and it had a lot of focus, he thought. The dog-like creature had wings that was bigger than his body, they were elongated compared to other wings. He could only see it when the red lights flashed, he hated when it looked like a shadow, it seemed more dangerous, he thought. The dog-like creature was getting extremely close, so Arthur had a plan in mind, that he hoped would work.


    He felt his heartbeat; it vibrated his whole body. He paid close attention to the flying thing, making a sudden dodge as it came at him. The creature flew into a cabinet, causing multiple objects to fall on it and Arthur seen that it didn¡¯t even harm it. His mindset quickly changed from hopeful to sorrowful.


    The dog-like creature stood tall like a human, showing off its chest. His chest looked like it had been pumped up by air. Its arms were humongous. The biggest muscles he had ever seen, nothing compared he thought. Just looking at it gave him dread that he had never experienced before. The creature¡¯s eyes were huge, with the pupils shining yellow, which freaked Arthur out; he thought most of the other vampires had normal colour eyes but mostly blue. The dog-like creature flexed like a gorilla, straining his muscles like a true beast would, it caused the veins in his arm to look like they were in an art show. It screamed in a deep voice, sounding like a dog on magical steroids.


    The wings came out, spanning a lot of the room. The beast pounced for him, causing Arthur to dive out the way. He ran for a desk in front of him, sliding over it and making a ran for the window. He jumped for the window, hoping to break through it. But as he did, the beast jumped into him, stopping him from getting through. They both landed on some shelves. Arthur was on the bottom while the dog-like creature sat on his stomach, it made an advancement and grabbed Arthur¡¯s throat. He could feel his large grey claws tightening around his neck. He felt like it was over¡­


    His life was flashing before his eyes. All he could see was bombs going off with body parts flying all over the place. He could see forest fires spreading like evil on the world, killing animals without mercy. He seen all the innocents that were beneath him, they cried out his name, and the sad thing was that they weren¡¯t crying for help. All he felt was shame. But he needed redemption.


    The beast had one last war cry and slammed his fist into his metal helmet, his head vibrated. Arthur returned to the land of the living, trying to grab his shotgun that stood beside him, but he couldn¡¯t reach it. He pushed his arms on the beast¡¯s chest, feeling how tense it was, he knew he had no chance in moving it of him. He squirmed while hitting the beast in the face, but he didn¡¯t last too long because his bloody fists felt the damage. With the knowledge that he was going to die, he took the mucus, blood and saliva in his throat and spat it in the beast face. Suddenly everything stopped and beast did nothing but stare into his eyes. After a couple of seconds, the beast stood up and took all his strength and prepared both his fists, ready to slam Arthur against the ground.


    Arthur seen his opportunity and quickly acted on it. He turned his body and successfully grabbed the shotgun. He barely aimed while he took a shot at the wild beast, confusing it and making the beast step back. Arthur felt his resolve rejuvenate after knowing that the shotgun harmed the beast.


    The beast howled at the ceiling, pounding both fists on his chest, causing the room to vibrate. Arthur didn¡¯t wait for any introduction and immediately pumped the shells into the beast. Arthur noticed it was stumbling backwards, while hoping this might be over soon. He stepped closer towards the beast and yelled, ¡°you will fall to your knees if it¡¯s the last thing I do! Do you hear me, beast?¡±


    Suddenly, the beast ran towards him. It brushed passed him, Arthur thought it was escaping, which seemed likely to him. The beast crashed through the window; the glass shattered to the floor. Arthur celebrated as the beast started to fly away. It made its way to the ceiling, Arthur seen that it was licking the wounds, but he wasn¡¯t sure. He could clearly see the beast when the room flashed red, Arthur wished the room had lights, his survival would be much likelier he thought.


    Arthur knew the beast would catch up with him if he did run away, the bike was far too loud and dangerous in a time like this, he thought. Arthur felt the drive to kill the hideous beast and looked for a solution. But nothing came to his brain. He couldn¡¯t even see the beast and knew he had to get a better look, if he was to slay the thing in his way. He figured going to the next floor was the best idea he had.


    As he moved to the stairs, a bunch of rubble was blocking his way, however, he noticed a tiny hole that he potentially could climb through. Arthur instantly regretted going after it, the thought of him escaping seemed dumb at the time, though now he wished he had taken the chance. The beast would surely catch up to him now, if he tried it, he thought.


    He braced himself like a cast, put his head into the hole of death, feeling the sweat drip from his forehead. He hated the tight space with just his head in it, never mind his whole body. He had never really been claustrophobic, but this hole was inaccessible like no other hole he had been in before. He knew the risk, thus, he continued. The dust and tiny rocks covered him as he crawled through. he struggled the more he crawled through, because of the stairs he had to ascend through the hole, causing him to move more and use more strength. He hoped it was just one set of stairs, hoped the rumble wouldn¡¯t crumble on him and bury him alive, the thought put the fear of God in him.


    The crawling became harder, the sweat dripped harder, his muscles stained harder, everything became harder. His hand began to ache, with the tip of his fingers feeling like they had disappeared, the small rocks scraped against his fingers making them feel even worse.


    He pushed both feet one last time, seeing a red flashing light and it reminded him how doomed he really was, even if he slayed the beast. He crawled out the rest of the way, thinking how many creatures he had fought, and how lucky he had been. He went into a deep thought. He thought how life ended up this way. He knew how screwed up the world was, but with the nightmare of the creatures just made things depressing, like there was no hope left. He thought how little humans he had seen on his travels. ¡°Is everyone dead?¡±


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    He made it through the stairwell, opened the door which led out to a long corridor, which held rooms for the patients. The corridor had massive windows facing the main reception, Arthur seen the beast roaming just below the ceiling, and he was glad to be able to see it clearly.


    The beast stopped again, licked his wounds with passion, which made Arthur feel sick. It was like the beast enjoyed his own blood, he thought.


    Arthur checked how many shells he had, ¡°that¡¯ll do, I guess¡­¡± His heart pounded as he prepared to shoot the beast. He knew the shotgun was no sniper, but the shotgun had great range, especially with the spread. He just hoped the spread would completely hit it. He bent down on his knees, rested them and he heard his knees crumble and click like they needed oiling. He aimed for his moment ¨C aimed for his safety ¨C and aimed for his target.


    Arthur pulled the trigger, hitting the gigantic beast with the whole spread, it reacted instantly. The beast flew straight for him. Arthur couldn¡¯t even move; he just felt terror in his spine. The beast hit the massive window headfirst, breaking the glass onto Arthur and he fell straight to the floor, hitting his backbone on the hardened floor, making him wince in pain. The pain made him nearly forget the beast, until it screamed in a kind of war chant. He thought the beast was going to attack him, while he wasn¡¯t protecting himself. But as he looked up, it started to fly away.


    Arthur shouted with spit coming out his mouth, ¡°you aren¡¯t¡­ getting away, you foul creature!!¡± He dropped his shotgun, it hit the floor like it was his flag to tell him to start racing. He raced to the window ledge, seen his opportunity and took it. He jumped off the ledge, landing on the beast¡¯s back, and grabbed the beast¡¯s wings. However, it became hard to grip due to them moving so fast. He held the wings for dear life, with his body swinging to both sides and his stomach pounding on the beast¡¯s back. Arthur could feel the breeze within his helmet, it helped his hot sweats.


    The beast had gone faster before, Arthur thought. The beast was now flying recklessly with no aim. Flying straight into a wall, Arthur¡¯s left hand came loose, and he hung on with his right. The force of the impact nearly sent him off the beast¡¯s back and sent him headfirst into the same wall. But his grip stayed strong, though he didn¡¯t think his strength would last. How could it he thought?


    The beast pounced of the wall, while looking dazed and lacking fuel to fly on. Arthur finally managed to get his left hand to grab the wing, while he did, he noticed the beast looked fatigued. He looked for the wound on the beast. He saw it was near his left shoulder blade.


    Arthur took his right hand, while still holding the wing with his other hand, and used his right hand to grip onto its gushing wound. It wasn¡¯t hard for him to put his fingers in the biggish hole, however, gripping onto the wound was another story. He had to push his fingers into the wound as hard as he could, causing the beast to moan, and with the beast¡¯s blood streaming out into Arthur¡¯s face, his grip was loosening, so he twisted his fingers and dug them deeper into the moist, gushing and bloody wound. The beast back became less tense, so he gripped harder, hoping to force his whole hand into the wound, however, the beast¡¯s skin and muscle was tough to expand to make the wound wider. The blood came out of the wound like it was trying make a river of blood and it gushed into his face and dripped down his helmet. The stench of the blood was so strong that you could smell it for miles. But the effort must have done something as the wings went limp and the beast started to dive, heading into the windows they had just left.


    They both smashed into the remaining windows; glass shattered, with the only sound being the glass falling on the floor. The beast took most of the force, which made Arthur fall over the beast like being in a fastmoving car without your seatbelt and someone braking instantly. He landed on his arms, protecting his head and body. His legs didn¡¯t have the same luxury.


    The beast landed against the wall; his back hit it first with pure force. The beast moaned with everything it had. The beast tried to pick itself up but stumbled and hit the floor. It had a broken back left paw that looked mangled and ruined. The beast lifted the leg of the broken paw and smashed it against the floor, causing the bone to go back in place.


    Arthur seen what had taken place and worried if the beast was still in the fight. He seen it trying to get back up, as he thought of a way to take it down. He had no time left, the beast was on all fours and began to stable itself. Arthur looked behind, seeing the shotgun, which gave him hope. He ran for it, picking the shotgun up and running to the hideous, gigantic beast.


    He reached the beast and shot at its back and the beast reacted by swinging its defined arm, hitting Arthur straight to the chest, sending him flying and hitting the wall. He instantly felt winded while sitting against the wall. He felt sympathy for himself.


    He braced himself, picked the shotgun back up and tried to get out of his slump. He used the shotgun as a walking stick, staring at the beast¡¯s eyes, showing no fear, only the anger he felt inside. Arthur got into a running position and shouted at the beast, ¡°you think you have me! Well, you don¡¯t; I can do this all day!¡± He thought he was wasting his energy, so he thought of a plan, a plan to take down the beast. And it instantly came to him as he saw the beast¡¯s humongous wound.


    Arthur sprinted to the tired and broken beast. He knew what he had to do. The beast whined his arm as Arthur got closer and as he did, the beast swung with pure force, causing Arthur to dodge his swing by using the blood on the floor and sliding on it with his knees. He rushed to his feet, realizing he was now fighting on the inside but was glad for it. He used all the force he had left and plunged the shotgun into the beast¡¯s gigantic infectious wound. It entered like a fitted shoe, with blood and gushy liquid spouting out into his face. Arthur began to grow sick with all the disgusting liquids that kept going onto his helmet but was glad for wearing one.


    He forced the shotgun in deeper, causing the beast to scream in agony, and massive tears came dripping down the beast¡¯s face. Arthur seen the tears and was shocked by them. He didn¡¯t let him distract him from the mission. He pushed it in deeper, until it slammed against a solid surface. He stared into the beast¡¯s corrupted eyes and unloaded the shotgun into the wound, causing the beast to stop moving completely without any sound whatsoever.


    Arthur looked at the beast, feeling hopeful that he might actually be able to save the family. The beast struck the floor like a sack of potatoes, letting out one last gasp of air, with his belly going flat. Arthur was struck by the how dog-like the beast really was; he couldn¡¯t believe it. He couldn¡¯t believe that he felt empathy for the beast.


    Arthur left the lifeless beast on the floor, strolled to the exit and resumed his nightmare of a journey.


    He saw two similar sized figures, as his eyes slightly opened but as he blinked more, it became clear that it was one figure. His head felt fuzzy, eyes felt droopy, and his body felt nothing but tiredness. He attempted to move out of his chair, but he couldn¡¯t move at all. His arms and legs had been tightly strapped to the chair. He panicked and squirmed and strived to get out of the chair but had no chance. He finally looked at the figure, with his vision normal, he saw it was his mother.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake, are you?¡± She said in a horrifying tone, ¡°don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to die because you have a hell of a life coming to you, Danny.¡± She flicked her beautiful long blonde hair back, began strolling towards him, and passive-aggressively smiled at him.


    Danny stomach turned as she got closer. He prepared for what was to come: breathing in and out, biting down on his teeth and pushing his feet against the floor. It didn¡¯t work, and his fear was hitting the heights of a big building, when she reached him.


    ¡°Oh Danny, what are we to do with you?¡±


    Danny¡¯s face¡¯s bluff was no longer, with all his emotions coming out, ¡°please mum, please, I need you more than ever!¡± He began screaming for other help.


    Elizbeth grabbed him by the throat, while stumbling, ¡°shut up, brat, no one can hear you and if they can, it will be a vampire.¡± She began to lift her hand gently off his mouth, ¡°you, see? The world is mostly vampires now.¡±


    Danny felt nothing but horror. He wanted everything to end and it all to be a nightmare. Nothing felt better than his reality being a nightmare that he could wake up from.


    Danny had always felt good about how brave, creative and mature his experiments were; he always felt like an adult, but he now began to think that he was just a cowardly kid.


    ¡°Anyway! Your father will be here soon, to punish you for what you have done to me.¡± Her rage took control of her, ¡°what son tries to kill their mum? Tell me! What son?!¡± She saw his face full of fear and felt satisfied with her words but did not want to stop, even as tears began to run down his cheeks. ¡°Are you even my son? well, are you?¡± His voice wouldn¡¯t come out, ¡°I don¡¯t reckon you are. You¡¯re an ugly bastard with no believes that suckles the life out of me, every chance you get. You hear me? My heart feels cold with you around and nothing will ever change that, unless I change you.¡±


    Danny¡¯s heart felt like it had been struck by an arrow, but not just one, many arrows. He just wished it had ended him there and then. Before his next thought could come, Elizbeth slapped him like a hammer and his cheek became red like blood.


    ¡°You think that slap is the worst thing you¡¯re going to get, then think again!¡±


    As Danny sobbed, he seen a figure in a long coat, hood up that covered his face and bloody clothes. Danny noticed the figure had a body over his shoulder. He hated to think what they were going to do with the person.


    The figure took his hood down and chuckled while he spoke to Danny, ¡°hi son, I hope you¡¯ve been good.¡±

 Chapter 18

    He saw two similar sized figures, as his eyes slightly opened but as he blinked more, it became clear that it was one figure. His head felt fuzzy, eyes felt droopy, and his body felt nothing but tiredness. He attempted to move out of his chair, but he couldn¡¯t move at all. His arms and legs had been tightly strapped to the chair. He panicked and squirmed and strived to get out of the chair but had no chance. He finally looked at the figure, with his vision normal, he saw it was his mother.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake, are you?¡± She said in a horrifying tone, ¡°don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to die because you have a hell of a life coming to you, Danny.¡± She flicked her beautiful long blonde hair back, began strolling towards him, and passive-aggressively smiled at him.


    Danny stomach turned as she got closer. He prepared for what was to come: breathing in and out, biting down on his teeth and pushing his feet against the floor. It didn¡¯t work, and his fear was hitting the heights of a big building, when she reached him.


    ¡°Oh Danny, what are we to do with you?¡±


    Danny¡¯s face¡¯s bluff was no longer, with all his emotions coming out, ¡°please mum, please, I need you more than ever!¡± He began screaming for other help.


    Elizbeth grabbed him by the throat, while stumbling, ¡°shut up, brat, no one can hear you and if they can, it will be a vampire.¡± She began to lift her hand gently off his mouth, ¡°you, see? The world is mostly vampires now.¡±


    Danny felt nothing but horror. He wanted everything to end and it all to be a nightmare. Nothing felt better than his reality being a nightmare that he could wake up from.


    Danny had always felt good about how brave, creative and mature his experiments were; he always felt like an adult, but he now began to think that he was just a cowardly kid.


    ¡°Anyway! Your father will be here soon, to punish you for what you have done to me.¡± Her rage took control of her, ¡°what son tries to kill their mum? Tell me! What son?!¡± She saw his face full of fear and felt satisfied with her words but did not want to stop, even as tears began to run down his cheeks. ¡°Are you even my son? well, are you?¡± His voice wouldn¡¯t come out, ¡°I don¡¯t reckon you are. You¡¯re an ugly bastard with no believes that suckles the life out of me, every chance you get. You hear me? My heart feels cold with you around and nothing will ever change that, unless I change you.¡±


    Danny¡¯s heart felt like it had been struck by an arrow, but not just one, many arrows. He just wished it had ended him there and then. Before his next thought could come, Elizbeth slapped him like a hammer and his cheek became red like blood.


    ¡°You think that slap is the worst thing you¡¯re going to get, then think again!¡±


    As Danny sobbed, he seen a figure in a long coat, hood up that covered his face and bloody clothes. Danny noticed the figure had a body over his shoulder. He hated to think what they were going to do with the person.


    The figure took his hood down and chuckled while he spoke to Danny, ¡°hi son, I hope you¡¯ve been good.¡±


    Danny tears nearly got in the way of his words, ¡°Dad¡­ please dad¡­ please¡­ help me!!¡±  His dad stared into his eyes with no soul, which caused Danny¡¯s heart to turn inside itself and a massive pain surrounded his chest. Danny no longer had words, just a sense of hopelessness that would not go away until he slept for good.


    Kiran took his eyes off Danny, walking towards the injured Elizbeth, he dropped the body on the floor next to her and spoke with confidence, ¡°Hope you¡¯re ready to eat, baby.¡±


    ¡°You know I¡¯m always ready to eat.¡± She dropped to the floor, without another word, opened the bag and dragged the body out of the bag. Once she seen the body, she didn¡¯t think for a second and stuck her fangs into the person¡¯s neck. The blood poured.


    Danny sat there in disbelief, wondering if this was his future; he felt they would have killed him by now.


    He seen the blood fly as his mother struck a vein, his hands wanted to pray that she didn¡¯t look at him because her face with blood on it would have scarred him and his humanity.


    After a couple of seconds, Kiran ran to the bloody, ruined corpse, plunged his shiny bloody fangs deep into the other side of the neck. They both ravaged the neck like a pair of dogs. He wanted to get up and run for his life, but the straps were so tight that he couldn¡¯t move a muscle. He wanted his mind to die.


    The stench of the blood, which was all over the place, was beginning to enter Danny¡¯s nose. He violently tried to prevent it, which sent his nose in a spiralling twitch; it was almost like he could see the smell flowing through the air. The rotten smell began irritating his eyes to hell and back. He could no longer handle the tragedy within his grasp.


    Kiran stopped for the moment, lifting his head up and looking into Danny¡¯s eyes like he was staring into his soul. The moment passed as Kiran went back to the neck. Danny was confused by his dad¡¯s actions, he thought, why stop and look, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll escape?


    Minutes passed that felt like hours to Danny. Eventually his thoughts began to drown out, which drove his eyes to lose concentration and go blurry. He finally felt nothing.


    Kiran slapped Danny straight to the cheek, waking him up in a shock and he tried to move but got restrained by the straps that tied him to what felt like his grave. He continued slapping him until satisfied with his results. Danny¡¯s cheeks became red roar. Danny¡¯s eyes became teary. His head rang like a bell. He sat back, stared at his dad with a murderous look, which sent Kiran into madness. ¡°Who the fuck do you think you¡¯re looking at, brat?!¡± Kiran slapped him, which sounded hard as steel. ¡°That¡¯s it, cry! Cry louder in fact, we can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    Danny¡¯s tears roared.


    Elizbeth spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t bother with that idiot; we have business!¡± Then she took a glance at Danny, speaking in a terrorising tone, ¡°And you, boy! You are next in line.¡± She began laughing while speaking, ¡°You hear me, boy? YOU are next, and we¡¯re going to enjoy it.¡±


    Danny spine felt the words; he sat stiff with no words to speak, even his tears stopped. He couldn¡¯t believe this was going to be his future. He sat knowing his world was crumbling in front of him. He questioned his love for his loved ones, thinking if he didn¡¯t love anyone, then his terror wouldn¡¯t be happening. He thought love was just pain and questioned love¡¯s worthiness.


    Elizbeth laughed while Kiran felt awkward. He looked at Danny and spoke gently, ¡°Boy, don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s only joking.¡±


    Elizbeth had the eyes of the devil. ¡°Why would you say that? Tell me? Don¡¯t just look at me, tell me?¡± She grabbed him by his throat, ¡°tell me NOW! Do you have feelings for this mortal, well, do you?¡±


    Kiran put up no fight and only respond while keeping his head down. ¡°I don¡¯t know, babe. I honestly don¡¯t. I think it was just the moment.¡± He finally looked at her, ¡°Please, trust me, babe. I just don¡¯t know.


    Elizbeth gave Kiran never-ending daggers.


    Danny took in his surroundings, wishing he never loved his dad, never loved his mum and never loved his life; Having a loving life made everything worse. The bloody smell pursued his nose like a hound on a hunt, making his stomach feel dread. He hated the seconds that felt like hours. He noticed in his surrounding that he was living in hell, which scared him to his core. He didn¡¯t know who to believe, his mum or his dad, they both seemed crazy to him.


    The blood spilled on the floor and Danny couldn¡¯t stop noticing it. The blood was coming close to his feet as he watched it spread across the floor.


    Suddenly, Danny¡¯s focus came off the blood and back on to his parents, as Elizbeth slapped Kiran around the face; he became shocked by it, especially his dad¡¯s reaction to it. His dad stood there, standing like a shill. Danny didn¡¯t have a clue; he thought his dad was in control but that quickly changed his mind.


    After the slap, they both walked to the corpse. Kiran bent down to his knees, trying to dig his fangs into the corpse¡¯s neck but Elizbeth pushed her hand on his chest, stopping him, she started to smell the corpse and looked back at Kiran, she spoke a couple of words to him; he nodded his head at her in acceptance and she began sucking the blood out of corpse¡¯s neck. The blood didn¡¯t seem to be spilling on the floor as much. After a couple of minutes, she began tearing at his neck, ragging it like she was a crocodile. Kiran remained on his knees, laughing hideously, it seemed like it encouraged her. The fangs moved side to side; making a slicing wound, however, blood did not pour out as expected. She gave her fangs a none-needed rest and laughed incredibly loud; aiming it at Danny, but he had no reaction to it.


    He couldn¡¯t even speak if he wanted to. Danny felt trapped inside his body, with no emotions, just the gravity of his living nightmare. Elizbeth sent a howling noise straight to Danny¡¯s direction and put her fangs back into the bloody, despicable and crooked neck. Danny watched as he missed his mum. He couldn¡¯t believe what she and his dad was doing, and he knew deep inside that he would not miss these people who looked like his parents. He could not stand his parents acting like monsters.


    Elizbeth suddenly stood up, holding the corpse with both hands. She grabbed the corpse¡¯s hair with one hand and grabbed an arm with the other hand. Her muscles tensed up. She laughed manically, causing Kiran to roar in celebration. Elizbeth pulled the head and arms at the same time like a Christmas cracker. The corpse¡¯s skin on the neck was being torn and stretched, causing the wounds to spilt apart, and the neck to become loose. The bones were starting to show, and the skin was looking thin and stretched. Elizbeth smiled and torn the head from the neck, throwing it to the floor like a football.


    Danny sat staring at the face, emotionless, with no words to say.


    Kiran ran to her, snogging the face of her, as blood dripped down their face, it ran like a manic river. They both embraced each other in their pool of blood. As they were French kissing, their feet started to move, and began to dance within the blood. They moved side to side, ignoring the corpse as they danced on it, Kiran kicked the knackered head for good measure, while giggling at the same time.


    They came apart, while holding hands and slowly walked towards Danny. Danny emotions came back, fearing the worst-case scenario. Elizbeth walked while showing her fangs as best she could. Kiran walked and excitedly smirked at him.


    Suddenly, Danny started screaming for his life, hoping anyone would hear him. For that second, he didn¡¯t care about anything; he just wanted help. Rage instantly moved Elizbeth¡¯s eyebrows and she grabbed him by his throat, screaming horrid words at him. Danny completely stopped.


    Kiran stood by and let Elizbeth take charge. He began to turn around, but she stopped him immediately by saying, ¡°where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±


    He instantly replied, ¡°I¡¯m just getting a few things.¡±


    Danny noticed her smirk and then she began to laugh and encourage him, which frightened Danny.


    He began to squirm out of his chair as soon as his dad walked away and left him with his mum. He moved side to side, hoping to break out of the chair but Elizbeth grabbed him with both hands this time and picked him up, while being trapped in the chair.


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    She looked into his eyes and gently spoke, ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready for this¡­¡± his heartbeat was so rampant that Elizbeth could hear it. ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear.¡± Tears came down his cheek, knowing his road was going to end. She spoke calmly, ¡°I love when you weep.¡± And put him back on the ground, making sure the chair didn¡¯t break.


    Kiran walked in like a jolly fat man, bragging to Elizbeth what he had gotten from the shed; she reacted joyfully. She ran over to him and looked inside a red toolbox. She picked items out of the box, making sure Danny did not see them; she wanted him to have the surprise. Kiran laughed in a frenzy as she pulled them out.


    Danny could see them and was very confused. He thought they would use their fangs and claws to kill him; the very idea made his stomach drop to the floor. He seen his mum pass the unknown items to his dad and she began walking towards him; he could hear his own heart rate at this point. She had a devilish smile, eyes like fire and eyebrows that was ready to kill. He was desperate to see the item that she was hiding behind her back, however, he contradicted himself because he also wouldn¡¯t mind not seeing it.


    Elizbeth laughed as she spoke, ¡°I can see the fear in your eyes, boy.¡± She took a glance at Kiran, while laughing and looked back Danny, ¡°don¡¯t worry, son. If I was you, I¡¯d be terrified too.¡±


    His heartbeat was nearly coming out of his chest, and he could not stop imaging what might happen to him. He could not stop shaking his hands. His nightmare felt never-ending ¨C but a thought stopped his shaking and calmed his heartbeat. He thought if his mum was about to end his life, then the nightmare would end; the thought gave him comfort.


    He stared into his mum¡¯s eyes, thinking he was ready to die.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so calm, boy!¡± Elizbeth said with aggression as she pulled some tweezers from behind her back. ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s your heartbeat.¡±


    Danny knew his luck was not coming back. He cried into oblivion. He felt her presence looming over him. He hated the thoughts that told him what was going to happen; thoughts that wouldn¡¯t go away.


    Elizbeth walked, tweezers in hand, speaking softly, ¡°don¡¯t worry about this, it will only take long!¡± Then she began laughing her heart out, though her facial expressions were still and it creeped Danny out.


    In her excitement, she turned her back to Danny and he was shocked to find that something was growing on her shoulder blades, they were wing like, Danny thought. The mould from earlier had gone and she was left with a rigid horizontal structure. It looked painful, especially when they twitched, but Elizbeth did not seem like she cared, or she did not feel the pain. She finally turned around, which worried him, especially when Kiran walked towards him.


    ¡°Shall we get on with this then?¡± Kiran asked abruptly.


    Elizbeth turned and glared at him. The pause would have been silent if it wasn¡¯t for Danny¡¯s loud breathing. She pushed Kiran when he took his eyes off her: ¡°How dare you?¡± She raised her voice: ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should savour this moment? Well ¨C don¡¯t you?¡± She put her head down to the floor, pondering on life. ¡°Are you with me, babe? I need to know. I need to trust you. I cannot do this without you. You¡¯re my partner.¡± She turned her eyes on his again, hoping he would say the right thing.


    ¡°Let us get this little shit.¡±


    Elizbeth gave him a loving smile and they both focused on their doomed to be son.


    Danny¡¯s breathing turned into screaming, while his heartrate was like speaker. He shut his eyes and hoped he would pass out, or for his life to end there and then. The ones that raised him was going to kill him and it shattered his soul into little pieces and his puzzle was undoable.


    Elizbeth held the tweezers, putting them close to his face and Danny dreaded what they were going to do with them. Elizbeth told Kiran to hold his head and he acted instantly, while holding his mouth open, ignoring Danny biting his hand. Kiran laughed as she got closer to his face. She felt encouraged; forcing the tweezers to one of his front teeth and she began ferociously yanking the tweezer. Danny yelped as the pain went through his body, feeling a sharp pain in his gums too. The pain was unbearable. He closed his eyes as he prayed for the pain, the abuse and the nightmare to end. His parents screamed, yanking harder on each scream.


    Elizbeth looked into Kiran¡¯s eyes, thinking how free she was. She had never experienced such freedom; the shackles were finally off. Her smile was magical. The pulling, twisting and the blood that began to flow from his gums were giving her power and an invincible feeling that drove her to pull even harder. It gave her life.


    Elizbeth took her eyes off Kiran, ¡°Danny, this is the beginning, just remember that.¡± She said in a malicious tone, ¡°your father and I will make this last ¨C because we enjoy hurting you. We are living for this moment.¡±


    The tooth became loose, which made blood run. Danny screeched. The tooth moved like a bleeding swing. But when the tooth became loose, Elizbeth did not yank as hard. She savoured seeing the blood cover his pure white teeth.


    Danny knew his tooth was on its last legs and the pain increased, which made the room spin, his chest pounding and flashing lights in his eyes. The taste of blood was becoming insufferable, which nearly made him throw up. Suddenly ¨C the tooth jetted out of his mouth. Danny seen the tooth as he screamed for death. His vision turned blurry as he became lethargic. The last thing he saw, before passing out, was seeing his mother¡¯s terror-stricken laugh and her eyes that looked like they had never been happier.


    Danny felt cold water to his face, causing him to urinate. His eyes were scared to see his parents. His teeth ached too much for him to bear, wishing for an end to his pain-stricken life. He started to scream, while mumbling his words, ¡°Please come back to me?! I need you, mum? I need your love ¨C I need everything that was in my old life¡­¡±


    Elizbeth interrupted, ¡°you don¡¯t get to ask, you get to suffer!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! We don¡¯t feel guilty so there¡¯s no point trying, boy. Isn¡¯t that right, babe?¡±


    Danny felt depressed as nothing worked out for him. He wanted to give up so bad. The thought of death eased his pain, but he needed it to hurry.


    His mother smiled at Kiran, sending him to grab something from upstairs, which freaked Danny out. While they waited, Elizbeth just stared at him, not blinking at all. Danny felt safe for the second. Until ¨C she rushed his position and grabbed his neck. He tried to dodge it but realised he could not move well enough. She strangled him and the pressure was extremely effective. He thought she was about to kill him, and as her grip grew tighter his vision became blurry and he felt himself passing out for the second time.


    Elizbeth was laughing as she spoke, ¡°you are not going to sleep! You¡¯ll feel this pain right till the end.¡± Her hands stopped choking him and in excitement, she slapped him on the cheek. He winced, thinking how cruel they could be and was there an end to it. He knew that there is no rock bottom; it¡¯s bottomless. As he thought about his painful existence, she rashly grabbed his arms, gently digging her claws to make little damage. They slowly pierced the skin, sending him screaming into the air.


    ¡°Why? Why are you doing this? please stop?¡± He began to lose his voice. However, he did not stop squirming because the slow, methodical pain was worse. She took her claws out of his skin, letting him wriggle like a worm.


    She watched him, thinking how pathetic he was, while wondering how he was her son. She grabbed his hair, while saying, ¡°don¡¯t you look stupid?¡± She stopped his head from turning, moving her finger towards his temple and digging her claw into his skin. She steadily dragged her claw down his face that made blood drip into his eye, which he desperately tried to avoid. The blood dripping made her savour the trailing. She began to grow annoyed by his screaming and instantly finished the cut, while letting out a war cry.


    The cut went from his temple to his chin. It bled fast, covering his cheek like a face painter had been working on his face. She felt proud of her work and felt Kiran should have some fun. Elizbeth knew Kiran was in her pocket but had to know for sure if his feelings were gone for Danny. She walked to the stairs, shouted Kiran and hoped that would hurry him up. Not long after she heard him walking down the stairs.


    ¡°There you are,¡± she said, ¡°don¡¯t you take your time.¡±


    Kiran came walking towards them, holding a bowl of water that had steam coming out of it. He walked in front of Danny¡¯s eyeline, making his face drop to floor. He had to get out of the chair, no matter what he had to do.


    They both stood staring at Danny, laughing, while hoping his fear would never leave him. Their proud faces were shining bright. However, Danny face showed nothing but pain, fear and defeat; the torment had been enough for Danny, although his parents did not see it that way.


    He stopped squirming, hoping the pain would let up, and stared at his parents. He hoped to see mercy in their eyes. He hoped to see anything but the evil that they were doing. Yet, in their eyes, which were blue as the old sky, he seen darkness.


    Before he could finish his thoughts, the steaming bowl of water came walking towards him. His mum grabbed his hand and put it straight out in front of him. Danny knew what was coming, though he wished he didn¡¯t. As his dad came closer with the hellish bowl of water, Danny didn¡¯t know what to expect. He couldn¡¯t fathom the idea of that much pain. The distain for his parents was heavily increasing as time passed.


    His scream came so quick. The adrenaline did not help him one bit. He floundered on the chair, strapped like a death row prisoner. Danny could hear the boiling as he didn¡¯t dare look at his arm. The horrifying pain continued as his arm went numb. He could feel the blisters forming on his arm. The sharp pains were shooting up his arm, making him dizzy and liverish. His mind became befuddled, and he knew he would pass out.


    The flaming water continued to pour onto his arm, causing Kiran and Elizbeth to cry with laughter. They were giddy, proud of their work and did not want it to end. They wanted never-ending pain. His lethargic face expressions gave them concern to whether he would stay awake. His dad stopped pouring by Elizbeth¡¯s command.


    Danny did not know the pouring had stopped, although the shooting pain had completely taken over his reason, thoughts and body. He felt his logic disappear because of the pain; he couldn¡¯t string a thought together. All he could feel was agony. He felt his soul leaving him.


    He cried and cried and cried ¨C experiencing the worst things life could bring ¨C hating every moment that time brought; he wished for his existence to be over and cried out for it. ¡°Mother! STOP this¡­ madness!¡± She did not pay attention to him, just the blood that dripped down his face. ¡°Just end this or ME,¡± Danny said with pure intent in his eyes, ¡°END ME!!¡±


    They both stopped, stared at his outburst and went straight back to what they were doing. Danny felt despair within himself and finally wished for his parent¡¯s demise. He wanted nothing more.


    Elizbeth tightly put her claws around his throat. ¡°You want death?¡± Her talons remained, growing ever tighter. He sporadically nodded his head as she spoke, ¡°are you sure?¡±


    He began to thank the lord above¡­ until she removed her talons. His face dropped as she said, ¡°you really think I¡¯m going to kill you; you are way too fun for it to end right now. We have plenty of things left. We will keep you alive, feeling your fear and pain, until you change. Do you hear me, boy? The rest of your life will be pain and only pain.¡±


    Danny¡¯s face was expressionless. He patiently waited for death.


    Kiran felt Danny¡¯s pain, but it was bittersweet. Kiran knew what he had to do. He looked at Elizbeth¡¯s eyes, thought how beautiful they stood, with her bloody hair flowing down like an angel. He admired how strong she had become and resented her past. The moment was near, he thought. The moment they had been waiting for their whole life and without even knowing. His wife¡¯s words distracted his thoughts.


    ¡°I think we could do with something else.¡± Elizbeth turned to Kiran, ¡°Kiran! Listen to me? Pick something out of that box but something different that we could have fun with.¡± He immediately ran to the box, looking like he wanted to impress her. Her focus went back to Danny, while smiling like a kid in a candy store.


    Danny paid no attention to his surroundings; all he could focus on was his pain. The pain of his tooth that surged through his bleeding gums and back to the tooth. The pain was revolting. The worst was his arm that he could no longer feel, except for pins and needles and pure agony. The simmered arm had white and green boils, patches of skin that were red roar and blood dripping out. He thought the pain could not get any worse. He couldn¡¯t even feel the cut on his face, only the blood that poured out and went to his eye and down his cheek. He thought the worst had come, even if they did torture him longer. Although he still prayed for death. Death would satisfy him; however, his parents¡¯ death would set his soul free, and he could die without anger.


    His pain kept interrupting his thoughts, which annoyed him to his core. He wanted his parents dead so bad. He struggled to remember his real mum, with his anger consuming him. The pain had finally eaten his soul; he felt nothing but torment and vengeance.


    Once again, Elizbeth put her hands around Danny¡¯s neck, knowing he would show her what she wanted but his face was empty, having no reaction to the situation whatsoever; it freaked her out, so she started to strangle him. He continued to look like a wall. Elizbeth looked at Kiran but did not consult him, instead her grip grew tighter, hoping for his reaction. She sensed his pain; however, his fear had gone. She hoped it wasn¡¯t over yet. She was living for his fear.


    Her last attempt concluded in her slapping him, but her efforts were useless. Instantaneously, she grabbed his left hand and began toying with his fingers, however, his reaction was non-existent. Elizbeth took his pinkie, showing the finger to his face; suddenly she bent the pinkie all the way back, his scream could be heard from hell. She bent the pinkie back into position, while Kiran laughed.


    The pinkie became red and bruised. Danny looked in disbelief. Elizbeth smiled like she didn¡¯t do a thing, but satisfaction did not last long. She grabbed the next finger and was about to snap it.


    Danny screamed and screamed but suddenly a bang could be heard from the kitchen. Elizbeth and Kiran both stopped, while Danny continued to shout in pain. ¡°Kiran, go see what that was!¡± The chance of another human to kill and drink the blood of them was giving her goose bumps; her smile could not be contained.


    Danny did not have a clue to what was going on; his eyes were blurry, ears clouded and mind fuzzy. The pain of his finger was getting beat by his tooth that constantly sent shivers down his back. He could not tell if he was happy that he couldn¡¯t see his mother¡¯s face, it looked different he thought. He just wondered when it would be over. His mind was fading. His world was slowly fading.


    The bloody room stank of bad odours that Danny had become nose blind to, although Elizbeth enjoyed it; she enjoyed everything. Suddenly, Elizbeth walked through the puddle of blood and spoke to Danny, ¡°well, while he deals with that, we will have some fun. What do you say, boy?¡± She walked closer to him, grabbing his hand. ¡°Should we break something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no way to treat a child!¡±

 Chapter 19

    Her focus was on the man, who she recognised, but her fear was that he had the jump on her. She remained looking at Danny, who didn¡¯t have a clue to what was going on. She ran to Danny, getting behind him and putting her claws to his neck.


    She spoke softly, ¡°you move one step and there will be trouble.¡± She remained calm, looking at him for an answer and wishing her torturous acts didn¡¯t have to stop. However, she thought this would not last long and another body to drink blood from delighted her. ¡°Well, do you speak, mortal?¡±


    His answer came quick. ¡°I do not want trouble.¡± His attention quickly went on Danny, ¡°look! Your son is dying, his energy has gone. He needs our help! Why would you do this anyway? Sorry I shouldn¡¯t have said that, but he needs help. Let me take him away; I promise he will be safe. Safe from this messed up nightmare.¡±


    Elizbeth smiled at his hopeful face that she wanted to crush. ¡°Look at you! You¡¯re a mere mortal; how can you keep him safe? This world is no longer for mortals; it is ours and nothing will ever change that. There is no saving this world and there is no saving this boy because they will be ours!¡±


    ¡°You are wrong!¡± He continued to stare at her, ¡°You will see, we are resilient. We will never give up on us. I can handle it out there and if I can, I bet many others can. You say, you vampires are tough, well I don¡¯t. They are cockroaches!¡± He started to walk towards her, ¡°I will save your son!¡±


    She embraced the fight. ¡°How will you save him when you are dead in this basement?¡±


    They both ran at each other. He slid at her legs as she tried to slash at his neck, but she didn¡¯t expect it and tumbled to the floor. Her back was exposed to him. He took his shotgun from his back, aimed and shot at the middle of her wings, which looked weak. She smashed the floor due to the impact of the shot.


    He was proud of his efforts, thinking about a time where he was this happy with himself. She didn¡¯t move a muscle so he ran to Danny, hoping he could walk to safety.


    ¡°Wake up! Wake up, kid? We need to get out of here.¡± Danny finally seen him but panicked. ¡°It¡¯s alright; I will save you.¡±


    Danny stopped squirming and spoke with defeat in his voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can be saved. I just want it to end.¡± He ignored his words and untied one of the straps. As he went to untie the other one, he realized how hideous Danny¡¯s injuries were. He tried to comfort Danny with words, however, he knew it was worthless to try. His boiled arm was harrowing to look at. Pain must have been all Danny could feel, he thought.


    He ignored Danny¡¯s injuries and went to cut the other strap. But a cold breeze went up his neck, which made the hair on his neck stick up and he shuddered, knowing the evil had survived.


    Suddenly, her claws dug deep into his helmet, and she began to pull it off his head. He felt dread as he realised the vulnerability of not having a helmet would likely mean death. He twisted his body, elbowing her straight to the jaw and ending his attack by sticking his knife into her shoulder. She screamed, sending shockwaves at his face, which caused his ears to bleed.


    Elizbeth smashed her face into his helmet, making a massive crater in it and sending him straight to the floor. She walked towards him while pulling the knife out without a struggle. His reaction made her feel satisfaction. ¡°This is meaningless. We have beaten you. You cannot stop this, mortal.¡±


    Arthur stood up and was happy with sacrificing himself if it meant saving the boy. He looked in her eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t have to beat you¡­ I just have to save that boy.¡±


    She scoffed. Then she showed him her claws that kept extending. Elizbeth didn¡¯t sense fear from him and grew angry. She rashly ran at him, throwing a bunch of slashes at his stomach that ended at his neck. He moved fast and coordinated. The more she missed, the more of her anger came out, which seemed to give him confidence. Arthur kept moving backwards, dodging her fast slashes and eventually he got backed up to the wall. Elizbeth jumped for him, pointing her talons at his neck. He seen the telegraphed jump and moved to the side. He ran to his shotgun that was posted near Danny¡¯s chair.


    Elizbeth felt humiliated and tried her hardest to reach his leg. She jumped for it, increasing her claws to reach him, which caught his calf; the pain stopped him in his tracks and mad him cry out. He looked behind, seeing her on the floor and, using his foot to stamp on her arm, she shrieked but it did not stop his offense; thus, he kicked her head like a football. She dropped to the floor, nearly unconscious. Arthur desperately picked his shotgun up, aiming at her head. He pulled the trigger, but the sound of silence loomed the air and he cursed the world. However, he took the shotgun and smashed it against her head. Blood flew in the air, his helmet and at the walls. He stopped, seeing blood pouring out her head and he walked to Danny, hoping the kid had the strength to survive.


    Arthur saw that Danny was unconscious and checked for a pulse, his hope turned into relief as he picked Danny up and put him on his shoulders. He carried him up the stairs of the basement, reaching the kitchen, however, Kiran had moved from where Arthur had knocked him out. suddenly Arthur¡¯s anxiety went rampant, not knowing what to do, he instinctively ran for the door.


    But someone quickly jumped in front of him. Arthur prayed for Danny as he realised it was Kiran. He had little energy left and gently took Danny off his shoulders and stood his ground. Danny remained asleep, although Arthur thought he looked dead. Arthur put his fist up, ready for anything that Kiran had. Arthur has beaten him before, he thought.


    However, Arthur felt the pressure of saving the kid, which made him fear Kiran and his claws. Arthur stood with his helmet on. He protected his body. As Kiran got close enough, he pounced like a jaguar in the wilds, scratched him with his thick, mighty claws that rebounded of his conquered helmet; while Arthur struggled to stand, he used his endurance to overcome it and pushed Kiran back. Kiran went towards the wall. Arthur, who had time, pulled his shotgun from his back. He wished for bullets as it pounded on his left hand. Kiran, once again, jumped sporadically towards him, hoping to confuse him. Arthur struggled to read his telegraphs but eventually Arthur moved in and swung his shotgun, hoping it would stop Kiran in his tracks. However, the swing missed, which Kiran used the momentum of Arthur to his advantage by throwing him in the direction of the swing. Arthur fell to the floor and felt vulnerable.


    Kiran seen the opportunity, grabbing Arthur¡¯s back with his claws that were digging into the upper back like a claw machine. The instant pain sent Arthur shrieking for his life. Suddenly and fast, Kiran used his claws to drag Arthur and yank him towards the wall. The impact against the wall made the cut unbelievably worse. His helmet hit the wall like a rock; however, the impact did not damage his head.


    Arthur heart rate raced as Kiran slowly walked towards him. He desperately tried to get off the floor, but it felt impossible, yet as his eyes came across Danny, who looked like he was in the abyss, it gave Arthur the second wind that he needed.


    Kiran used his two hands to smash Arthur¡¯s body like a gorilla, but Arthur rolled and dodged his gorilla-punch. Arthur used his momentum to get up, which did not cost too much energy. He seen where he dropped his shotgun and planned to get to it.


    He thought of his plan, which he thought was sound, however, he forgot that Kiran was so inconsistent at times. Kiran was erratic in his movements, which made it extremely challenging for Arthur to know where he would go next. Arthur wondered how he knocked him out so easy in their last fight. Kiran suddenly stopped like he wanted to pounce on him, which Arthur prepared for, yet he continued to bounce around, trying to confuse Arthur.


    Arthur ignored the confusion he felt and trusted his intuition. He ran towards Kiran, closing the gap as fast as he could, but when he arrived, Kiran threw the first attack, which Arthur had seen coming. He ducked under Kiran¡¯s first attack, while preparing for the next one. Kiran tried to slash Arthur¡¯s throat on the next offense that came very close, and Arthur considered fighting safe but continued to match Kiran¡¯s erratic fighting style. Arthur used a strong kick that landed on Kiran¡¯s stomach, which made him slide back; he used the space to his advantage and headed to the shotgun. Arthur felt him breathing down his neck, so he jumped for the shotgun.


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    He reached the shotgun, picking it up while on the ground and he turned to face Kiran. He had to act fast, so Arthur swiftly used the shotgun as a spear; it hit Kiran straight in the chest, which sent Kiran tumbling to the floor like a ragdoll. Arthur used the time wisely, using the shotgun to help him stand and prepare for another bout.


    The whimpering Kiran remained on the floor while Arthur slowly walked towards him. He readies his shotgun to smash it against his skull. But as he does, Kiran quickly finds himself on his feet and staggers back like a drunken man. Arthur laughed at him, ¡°it¡¯s over for you. Just give up.¡±


    Kiran took a breath while struggling to stand, yet he spoke with confidence. ¡°You doubt us?! Then that will be your downfall. We are stronger¡­ faster¡­ and we are not mortal. You see this world¡­ this world you once owned¡­ well it¡¯s gone; the time of the immortals has arrived! And a puny, tiny man is not going to stop this. You are delusional to think that; the world is ours.¡±


    Arthur grew worried that Kiran¡¯s words had given him energy. However, he grew angry that Danny¡¯s parents were trying to kill their own boy. ¡°I will save that boy!¡±


    Kiran ran for him. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need your HELP!¡± Anger struck Kiran and he used it in his swings as Arthur barely dodged them.


    Arthur spoke while trying to bob and weave Kiran¡¯s incoming attacks, ¡°what do you mean? The boy looks dead!¡± Arthur¡¯s passion made him lose focus. Kiran slashed his helmet with fury, while satisfaction was in his eyes as he struck him. The impact of the slashes eventually brought Arthur to the ground. Kiran tried to ground and pound him; however, Arthur kicked his legs like a horse, hoping it would stop him. His attempts worked but Kiran smirked, and his heart began to race.


    Kiran grabbed Arthur¡¯s leg, using his talons to dig into his calf, that were already in pain. Arthur wailed; however, his spirit didn¡¯t die. He aimed for Kiran¡¯s gut, but he caught his foot and began to clench with extreme force by his tidy, tough and whetted claws. His shoes were strong; therefore, the pain was bearable but the other leg¡¯s pain was beginning to drive him into despair ¨C until he seen the boy¡¯s lifeless body ¨C and the drowning despair faded.


    Arthur pushed himself upwards, grabbed Kiran¡¯s shirt, pushed him towards himself and Kiran landed awkwardly onto Arthur. Thinking fast, he turned his body, trying to move Kiran onto the bottom. Arthur couldn¡¯t believe his luck and continued to turn, until the moment came. However, Arthur tried to use Kiran to push himself up, but he struggled like he was in a mouse trap, which made him rashly squirm, giving Kiran the opportunity to dig his claws into Arthur¡¯s back. The pain was substituted with anger. Arthur lifted his head and pounded it onto Kiran¡¯s nose, sending the back of his head to hit the hardened floor like a bowling ball; Arthur used Kiran¡¯s confused, stunned state to get up off the floor. He successfully got up but didn¡¯t take a break from fighting.


    He used his damaged foot to stamp on Kiran¡¯s head, the only thought was to survive for Danny¡¯s survival and the thought carried on as he stomped on Kiran¡¯s bloody, damaged head. His nose began to flatten as blood flew out. His cheekbones started to collapse, teeth flew in the air and blood was covering his face.


    Arthur continued to dance on his head. Arthur¡¯s thoughts became nonexistence, they were just violent images mixed with the feeling of rage. Suddenly, Kiran¡¯s hands were no longer trying to protect his face and it seemed he had moved to the next plane of life. Arthur didn¡¯t notice at first but when he did, he ran to Danny instantly.


    As he left Kiran¡¯s broken, lifeless body, he hoped the boy was not dead. He arrived and noticed Danny did not have pale skin, his lips were no longer blue, and his life had a nascent which gave Arthur hope.


    He began shaking him. Danny woke up instantly, panicked by the stranger in front of him. The squirming made the stranger retreat and it calmed Danny to the point of asking who he was. Once he spoke to him, Danny instantly remembered the man named Arthur.


    Danny ran to him, screaming about his mum but he sees his dad, who is beaten and bloody and Danny stares at him, thinking how life was. The memories were getting harder to remember, which gave Danny a feeling of despair. He couldn¡¯t move, his place in the world felt stuck with no potential; he needed his mum and the hope she once had. But he knew she was gone, especially because of the evil he felt when she tortured him. She purged his soul. The constant pain that he felt was a reminder that his parents were gone. However, the agony he felt was weighing on his soul and he couldn¡¯t handle it. His whole body was in pain.


    Arthur saw himself in Danny as he watched him. He felt his pain, losing everyone and feeling like you could have done more. Although Arthur knew they had to ignore their pain to survive in the new world, but he didn¡¯t believe he could do that, though he somehow had to.


    He touched Danny on his shoulder, ¡°the pain will never go away. You will always feel it. No matter what and no matter where you go¡­ you will feel this pain.¡± Danny showed no reaction, his body was an abandon building.


    He slowly turned his head, looked straight into Arthur¡¯s eyes and Arthur seen the horror in Danny¡¯s broken eyes. Danny lightly spoke, ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡­ I will not live in a world where I feel sorrow like this.¡± Danny slightly raised his voice with anger. ¡°I am in the darkness, and I¡¯ll never see the light.¡±


    Arthur forcefully turned Danny around, ¡°I know you are, but I wasn¡¯t finished and nor are you. The world was harsh, cruel and cold way before it turned into hell. The only difference is that everyone is in the darkness, feeling nothing but pain. But we are alive, breathing and have each other. We cannot waste it. WE, must survive for the people that died and didn¡¯t have a choice to live.¡± Danny¡¯s face looked confused and conflicted. Arthur placed his hand on Danny¡¯s cheek while speaking with comfort, ¡°and, as for the pain; it will get easier. One day you will wake up and it will not be the first thing you think about. I promise you will feel less pain the more you move. We will do this together, but we need to move now.¡±


    Danny did not know what to think. However, Arthur¡¯s voice and words gave him confidence. He spoke with a broken voice, ¡°I not sure if I can do it. The world is crumbling¡­ my life feels over!¡±


    ¡°Please¡­ just try. You deserve to live a life. I need to save you, Danny! Please? We need to move.¡± Arthur gently tugged Danny¡¯s arm. Danny looked at him, not saying a word but Arthur didn¡¯t need words; Danny¡¯s eyes painted the full picture. Arthur had no more words.


    He thought about dragging Danny, but he knew the boy would be a hassle on the journey and would likely get them both killed. He felt defeated, just like Danny and it drained the vigour out of him. Seeing Danny¡¯s will break with despair and his need to die was dragging Arthur down.


    He considered death.


    Suddenly, Danny¡¯s voice sounded like hope as he spoke, ¡°Before we go¡­ can I say my goodbyes?¡± His face told a sad story, which turned Arthur¡¯s stomach upside down, but he knew that would be a risk.


    ¡°Look¡­ I understand why you would want to do that but it¡¯s too risky and we need to leave as soon as possible.¡± Arthur started to grab something out of his pocket. ¡°Here - take this. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s pain killers and antibiotics; they will help with the infection.¡± He put his head to ground as Danny grabs the pain killers. ¡°I still cannot believe what they did to you. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    Danny stared into the distance, not paying attention to him. The only thing that was on his mind was leaving this world for good. He felt like he needed it to be over. However, a glimmer of hope remained when his eyes caught Arthurs worried face.


    He stood up, faced his dad and felt nothing but anger. The love for his dad was disappearing, Danny¡¯s harm had been too much to bear and it enraged his soul. He felt no love from his parents and wondered how they committed such heinous acts.


    Arthur was beginning to think Danny wasn¡¯t going to leave; however, Danny moved away from his dad and walked towards a closet. Arthur didn¡¯t question it and followed suit.


    He picked up a bandage, which calmed Arthur¡¯s anxiety and Danny continued to wrap his boiled arm. Arthur approached him, taking the bandage of the struggling Danny and he smiled at the crying boy. The smile seemed to have given him a soothing feeling. He could see the boils that were turning green and moist. Additionally, the burnt skin looked dry and hideous, and Arthur could not believe how strong the boy had been. Then he noticed Danny¡¯s finger and was starting to understand his suicidal thoughts.


    After Arthur attempted to patch Danny up, he went to walk out the closet, but Danny stopped him and walked to a cabinet. He opened the draw, picked up a loaded handgun and handed it to Arthur. He thanked him and seen hope within the gun. While Arthur checked out the gun, Danny pulled out a can of gas and closed the draw. He also grabbed some smoke bombs from under the cabinet where he had stashed some earlier while setting up traps.


    Danny looked at Arthur, seeing a journey full of despair, struggles and no hope of having a happy life. Danny noticed a source of light from the window, it glowed red from the reflection of the red sky, which unsettled him, causing him to look to the devil¡¯s sky. The beautiful, surreal and terrifying red sky intermediated Danny, making him feel small and inconsequential. He felt like he was looking at the red sky for the first time. It was too unnatural and insane to believe, he thought. However, the people had turned to monsters, which was surreal on its own.


    Danny, who was beginning to find a second wind, turned his focus on Arthur. He caught him staring and Danny felt the sympathy coming out of Arthur¡¯s eyes, but he ignored it, causally walking to the storage door with a stone-cold face.


    Arthur stopped Danny as he tried to walk past him. Danny abruptly turned his head, shouting, ¡°what is it?¡± Arthur was stunned by his reaction. He thought it would be impossible for Danny to recover his spirit.


    He spoke gently, ¡°hey, it¡¯s okay, Danny.¡± He rested his hand on Danny¡¯s shoulder and hoped he had the words to comfort him. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready for this? It¡¯s going to be tough.¡±


    Danny stared at him; his face was rough like sandpaper. ¡°I am ready!¡± He rashly walked away from him, opened the door and prepared for their journey.

 Chapter 20

    Arthur looked himself in the mirror, thought how far he had come, which was an unusual thought for him. He seen Danny in the corner of the mirror looking for knife a to fight with. He could see blood coming out of his mouth and didn¡¯t want to think what happened to him; he felt so sorry for the boy. The thought of what Danny had to go through scared him to his core and it made him think how much trauma humanity has gone through, in this nightmare.


    Once Danny picked up a knife, Arthur walked towards him, ready to be the boy¡¯s guardian. He asked the pondering Danny, ¡°Danny, this is going to be tough, I¡¯m not going to lie to you. We must be quick, brave and coordinated to survive.¡± Danny looked persistent, made a brave stance and nodded his head. ¡°I know you can do this; you are a strong boy. Once we¡¯re outside, just follow me. I know a place that we will be safe, and you can rest and heal your wounds. And how are your injuries?¡± He did not reply; however, his head gave a nod. Arthur wasn¡¯t satisfied but he did not know how to get answers out of Danny. ¡°How did you survive, Danny?¡±


    Danny face changed like flipping a penny, giving Arthur a confused look, which disturbed him, however, just as Arthur was about to explain himself, Danny interrupted him. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. It was hard¡­ I feel like I have already died. But I have no clue to be honest.¡± He stared at the ceiling, pondered about his torment that had destroyed his innocent soul, gigantic hopes and the happiness in his life that he had treasured. The memories of his mother. The exciting future that had huge potential and how fun his life was, which was all fading. He doubted living in this nightmare; however, Arthur gave him confidence and was thankful for him. Danny looked at him, thinking why he would help him. Why he went through all this trouble?


    Arthur started to leave the kitchen, attempted to reach the living room, although Danny grabbed his arm and when he turned to face him, Danny questioned him. ¡°Why¡­ why are you doing this?¡±


    He confusingly answered, ¡°I¡¯m surviving, what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Why are you helping me? You were gone for ages and didn¡¯t need to come back. I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you again.¡± Danny was expecting a rash answer; however, there was none, just a look of confusion and guilt. He wondered why the question fazed him so much and felt bad for asking it. Danny thought he was ungrateful.


    Arthur stood stunned. He was reminded for why he wanted redemption so bad, making him think it wasn¡¯t possible, no matter what he done. The thought of letting the kid down was enough to send a shiver down his spine. Even so, he realised that he hadn¡¯t answered him. Arthur suddenly spouted words out, ¡°I¡­ it¡­ I was round the corner. The path was blocked so I turned back. It wasn¡¯t far; don¡¯t worry though, I was always coming back to help your mother.¡±  He knew the kid hadn¡¯t been fooled. He replied with a nod that confused him. Arthur wondered why he didn¡¯t confront him, he thought, perhaps the kid believed his incompetent lie.


    He thought about how life had brought him into hell without even dying. The nightmare consumed him, consumed every thought, every instinct, every plan and every action; he grew sick of it. A nightmare you cannot wake up from. The world had become a never-ending nightmare.


    The non-stop thinking drained his vigour and the rest that was never coming was weighing it down further; every action felt useless. Yet, Arthur always felt his courage, felt strength that never disappeared, even in crisis and most of all; he felt the responsibility to save Danny and it would carry him through the never-ending nightmare and to safety. He just hoped Danny had the drive to carry himself to a new life.


    Danny suddenly spoke, ¡°I¡­ I need to see my mum. If I don¡¯t, I cannot move on. It will damper everything.¡± He seen Arthur¡¯s face and desperately asked him, ¡°Please¡­ I need this. You have to let me do this.¡±


    Arthur had courage to say no; he knew it would save them. Danny gave him daggers, walked away from him and shouted to the ceiling. The anger changed Danny into a demon. He smashed the cabinet in the kitchen, sending his foot straight through it and as he pulled it out, he rashly walked towards Arthur with a look of resentment.


    As Danny got closer, the anger was summoned as words. ¡°Who the fuck are you to tell me that I cannot see my mum?!¡± Arthur looked to the ground realising the boy would not give up. ¡°I will see my mum and I will see her, even if it is the last thing I do. Do you hear me?! I will see my mum!¡± Danny pushed him as he walked past him. Arthur instinctively grabbed Danny¡¯s arm, which sent him to kneel on the floor in pain. Arthur then realised that was Danny¡¯s boiled arm and he rushed to aid him.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to grab that arm, please forgive me.¡±


    Danny pushed him away, screaming and insulting him. His wraith of words kicked Arthur to the curb. He pulled no punches, accusing him of hideous crimes and despicable acts. Arthur¡¯s vigour was finally withering. The guilt was consuming him, sending him into the abyss and giving up on everything.


    Danny began to stand tall and continued to dig into Arthur. He pressed the saddened Arthur with unforgiving words. However, Danny suddenly stopped shouting at him but continued to stare into his eyes. He could see Arthur was on the ropes, the sadness in his eyes and a body that seemed to have given up. But he had no sympathy for Arthur, so he began to walk away from him.


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    Arthur was ready to let the boy go but he didn¡¯t want to come this far without giving up. He stood up, feeling the vigour he once had and began to stop him. Danny resisted at first, trying to stop Arthur from pulling on his shirt and screaming in his face; however, Arthur kept his nerve and stayed strong, thinking tough love is what Danny needed.


    Arthur began to get annoyed, all he wanted was the boy to be safe, even so, he understood why the boy wanted to see his mum, but it would mean death he thought. Although the boy was willing to die on his own terms.


    Arthur started to shout, ¡°Just stop¡­ she will kill us.¡± Danny did not care whatsoever. The squirming would not stop, and it eventually knocked them both to ground. ¡°See, you need to stop this immature behaviour; I thought you were stronger and smarter than this.¡± In an instant, Danny began to strike him, his screams echoed around the room. Arthur had no clue how to deal with Danny¡¯s anger and flailing arms; it all became too much, but he didn¡¯t want to hurt Danny and force him out the house.


    ¡°I am seeing my mother! You will not STOP me!! I¡¯d rather DIE¡­ than not see her one last time.¡± His words came with passion and spit, which flew straight into Arthur¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t make me kill you!¡±


    Suddenly, Arthur¡¯s anger came out like someone was poking a bear and he expressed it by chucking Danny to ground. Danny grew silent, while Arthur pointed his finger at him and began to shout, ¡°Don¡¯t you ever, ever threaten me, especially when they are empty, little boy. I am not to be messed with. I may seem good, but I certainly am not. I have done terrible things that you would not believe any human doing. So, you will come with me now!¡± Arthur took a step back, realising the harm he had just caused. His voice instantly turned softer, ¡°Please, I just want to save you and bring you to safety. Just let me.¡±


    ¡°I need to see my mum.¡±


    Danny¡¯s voice was like a broken rock and Arthur wondered if he could even survive without seeing his mother one last time. He was so conflicted; the temptation to drag him out the house grew every second. However, he knew that would just mean death.


    He stared at Danny, debating if he should just risk it. The sadness of Danny¡¯s face was weighing on his backbone, and he knew it would collapse soon. He could see a thousand tears in his eyes. His eyes painted the horrors. His backbone was slowly withering; however, the risk was too high to let Danny see his mother he thought.


    Danny sat on the floor, feeling sadness, anger and abandonment. All he wanted to do was see his mother. He resented Arthur like he was the one who tortured him, thinking, why couldn¡¯t he just die already?


    But Danny hated that thought. He felt guilty for hating the man that is trying to save him, but Danny could not let it go and needed to see hope before he left.


    He started to get up and Arthur quickly helped him the rest of the way but Danny rejected his hand. He knew he had failed him with his impatient, incompetent attitude. He wished that his mouth was sewn shut. Danny, once again, pushed Arthur and walked past him.


    Arthur knew that time was short and grabbed Danny¡¯s shoulder, turning him around and pointed towards his boiled arm. ¡°I am trying to help you. What happens if she wakes up? You have seen your arm, right? Because I have ¨C it¡¯s fucking awful ¨C and when she wakes up; what happens to your other arm?¡± Arthur could see he was getting to Danny. He continued but raised his voice, ¡°In fact, look at your hand, a broken finger! How can¡­ why would you want to see her? She is evil. Your finger is mangled and bloody ¨C why, Danny? Why?¡±


    Danny was still, silent and in the dark. He knew Arthur was right, but he needed her and would do anything to see her. All of a sudden, Danny stood from the ground and replied in an aggressive manner, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. She is my mother; I will always love her.¡±


    Arthur interrupted, ¡°Even if she is now a monster?¡±


    ¡°Even if she¡¯s a monster.¡±


    Arthur was stunned by how determined he was and knew Danny wouldn¡¯t leave without seeing his mother. Arthur felt hopeless.


    Danny spoke to him with a softer tone, ¡°Please? I need this. The more you say no, the more chance of us dying, right?¡± Arthur¡¯s face changed in an instant and he hid it by looking at the floor. ¡°Arthur, I feel like I¡¯m not me anymore. My tormented soul needs to see her one last time¡­ if my soul is going to recover. She is the only thing that used to keep me going but that likely will change with time. Though I still must see her. The pain that she caused me has tainted our love. Broken it, yes, broken it into pieces but I need to pick up one of them pieces. Even if I do hate her.¡± Danny placed his hand on his heart. ¡°You have to let me do this.¡±


    Arthur couldn¡¯t imagine being tortured by the ones that raised him. He felt his words and wanted to let him have his way, even if it meant death for both of them.


    Danny was worrying about the long pause, seeing Arthur in deep thought and it made him think. He thought about whether he was right, should I just leave with him? He confused himself, yet he knew the regret he would feel, so feared the regret. The need to see her hopeful face was too strong to ignore, he thought, and nothing would stop him. But doubt had entered his mind and he thought that she would just remind him of his unjustified purgatory. He had felt enough of that, he thought. Although the drive to see her was all too strong and he refocused his attention on Arthur who was still pondering.


    He felt bad for his actions. Using Danny for redemption was not the right way to go about it, especially when he doesn¡¯t want it. Arthur continued to feel the weight of his situation. He knew how much he wanted Danny to live but the feel of Danny being happy satisfied him more. The confliction blurred his mind.


    Arthur stared at Danny¡¯s eyes, which had horrors inside and the confliction began to drain like water. Yet he couldn¡¯t say it. He couldn¡¯t serve Danny on a plate.


    Danny grew tired of thinking and blurted words out, ¡°I am going to see my mum.¡±


    Arthur looked at the boy, gave him a look of despair and gently spoke, ¡°I will not stop you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, son. I am here.¡±

 Chapter 21

    The hairs on Arthur¡¯s neck stood and with his vigour drained; he was worried about having the strength for the fight ahead. He looked to Danny, seeing his fearful face that sent shivers down his own spine. He felt death on his neck.


    Danny froze, thinking about the horrors he had experienced and knowing the sequel was about to be filmed. It scared him to his core, making him consider death rather than life. His mother¡¯s face sent him trembling. He feared her death stare, especially because she was looking at Arthur. He knew what was about to happen, thinking that it was his fault, yet he felt rejuvenated. Although, his nerve was crumbling, knowing they both could be slaughtered.


    His mother¡¯s extended smile creeped him out, forcing him to stumble back and it caused Arthur to move. He turned, faced Elizbeth and stared into her eyes. Danny could see Arthur¡¯s withering vigour, yet his courage remained. He admired his spirit.


    Arthur had his shotgun in hand. He was positioning the shotgun as melee weapon as Elizbeth¡¯s smile didn¡¯t change; she sensed his weakness and Danny knew it. He just hoped Arthur was ready for such an important fight.


    Elizbeth began to use her scream as a war cry and it sent Danny to the floor, shaking in fear but Arthur stood standing, expressionless. His mind felt prepared for the fight, yet he wasn¡¯t sure if victory would come, and he began to worry for the boy. Arthur shouts to him, ¡°Get out of here! You need to run!¡± Danny didn¡¯t reply, didn¡¯t even acknowledge Arthur¡¯s words. He was just sitting on the floor, staring at his mother with despair in his face.


    Arthur prayed for victory; nothing was more important.


    As the standoff ensued, Arthur anticipated her attack and relied on the counterattack. However, she stood still and continued showing off her creepy smile that struck fear into his heart. He felt his courage vanishing, hearing his heartbeat and feeling his sweat drip down his face.


    Unexpectedly, Elizbeth ran in silence and pounced onto Arthur. Her talons landed on the shotgun, using them to yank the shotgun towards her and the force snapped it in half. Arthur was in disbelieve. He had no time to think before she grabbed his shirt, threw him to the wall and laughed as his body cracked the wall. She walked towards her screaming son. His fearful face gave her great satisfaction as she walked purposefully slow. She thought about the torture while showing the excitement on her face and she wished her husband could experience it. But she knew he would wake up soon.


    Elizbeth put her hand on his shoulders, slightly digging her claws into them and he rolled on the floor. She got control of him because the more he moved, the further the claws would go in and instantly he cried out to Arthur. Elizbeth screamed in his face and began to throw daggers, ¡°You look to him for help; maybe you are mortal. Are you?¡± He had no answer, except for crying out in pain and knowing his fate. She whispered in his ear, ¡°Are you ready?¡± And Danny began to cry out louder, knowing this was his cruel existence from now to his death.


    He was looking into his mother¡¯s eyes, hoping to see her in there and seeing her beautiful blue eyes, made him feel like she was still there, but he knew they were misleading. Suddenly his thoughts went out the window when she began to strangle the life out of him.


    Her face was in a trance over his fearful eyes. However, it never felt enough; she wanted more. She needed to kill. The thirst for blood was overriding her mind and she began to dream about drinking her son¡¯s blood. While in her trance, her uncontrollable claws began to slowly scratch his cheek. The smell of his blood excited her and she woke from her trance. Realization kicked in and she stopped her claws, causing Danny to stop screaming.


    However, that wasn¡¯t the reason he stopped screaming. In an instant, the injured Arthur grabbed Elizbeth from behind and started to choke her, pulling his grip ever so tighter. Yet, she stayed strong, using her grippy feet to maintain her balance and she was desperately flailing her claws toward his face. Arthur¡¯s determination was on full display for Danny and his guilt grew stronger and it left him feeling ungrateful too.


    Arthur looked straight at Danny and shouted, ¡°Get the fuck out of here! You need to do this on your own.¡± Danny was staring at him, not knowing what to say. He wasn¡¯t sure if going on his own was possible. He knew his drive to live was too low to survive on his own. He continued looking at him and decided to ignore his advice. But he could see Arthur was struggling to hold his mother.


    She was turning and twisting without a second rest. However, his stamina was holding up, causing her to scream in anger, which gave Arthur confidence that he may be able to put a stop to Elizbeth¡¯s horror show. The heinous acts she committed on her son kept his strength up and with that strength and confidence, he used it to his advantage ¨C attempting to strangle her. His grip felt tight, sturdy and strapping. He really believed he could kill her. Yet, the consequence of him straggling her was that she could reach him with her menacing claws. Elizbeth plunged her mighty claws upwards, making Arthur¡¯s helmet fly off and he instantly began to panic. His blood poured and heart raced as she slashed his cheek. Arthur heard Danny¡¯s worrying screams and efficiently let loose of her neck and grabbed her wrists; hoping he had the power and vigour to maintain his grip. Although, his grip was looking good, until her anger got worse, and her screams began to hurt his ears. With his confidence slipping, she felt more powerful, and he knew his grip wouldn¡¯t last long.


    Elizbeth used her head like a bell, sent it towards Arthur¡¯s nose and he instantly let go of her. She turned and faced him. Elizbeth seen he was still in pain, and she rushed him. Her claws were first to arrive and landed on both arms. She pulled him to his feet while bleeding from how deep her claws were and he screeched in pain.


    He could barely stand, and Danny¡¯s shouting caused him to feel tremendous guilt. While Arthur stood from the grip of Elizbeth¡¯s talons, he wondered if he should have given Danny the hope of living and surviving in such a hideous world, where they both could die while they brush their teeth. Arthur wished he known Danny¡¯s torment and pain and he would have never given him such hope that was withering as fast as his own life.


    She screamed in his face, hoped to see his fear, yet he ignored her and was in deep thought. Her anger grew and once again, she pounded her head onto his chin, and she let his falling body drop to the hardened floor.


    He could see her shadow standing over him, waiting for her next attack, which he knew would come any second. Suddenly, Arthur seen her shadow was winding up another head butt, which he thought was a weird attack, but he was ready for it. He rolled just out the way of her attack and her head hammered to the floor and Arthur felt the vibration as he barely dodged her. He hoped it would slow her down. He knew he needed to win this fight, just for Danny, he thought. He thought, death was accepted time ago and he was just waiting for it, but his mission was still the only thing that mattered.


    Danny was staring at them both, thinking how surreal it was to want his mother¡¯s death, if only slightly; he was still saddened by it. The fear of losing his mum hadn¡¯t settled yet and he started to lose his anger for her. He was thinking, how could he cope with losing such an important piece to his puzzle? His life was built by her.


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    He seen Arthur standing over her and time seemed to stop. His biggest worry was about to happen and suddenly Arthur stomped on her head; the noise of the impact woke Danny from his trance, causing him to scream at the loud, hard stomps that sent Danny¡¯s heart to race. He didn¡¯t think he was living; no person could go through this, he thought. However, his composure returned, and he planned to stop Arthur.


    Danny desperately ran to save his hope; however, Arthur anticipated his actions, stopped his stomping, grabbed Danny and gently moved him to the kitchen. Danny words flew out, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Get the fuck of me now, you sack of shit.¡± Arthur fought his words by ignoring them, but he knew things had gotten a lot more emotional.


    Out of nowhere, a voice appeared behind him, saying, ¡°Get the fuck of my son.¡± Elizbeth grabbed him, threw him to the floor and his exposed head hit the floor, causing him to see two of everything and the room to spin. He felt scatter-brained. Thoughts were hard to form and without another second, she grabbed him by the throat and began toying with him.


    She could sense his fear as he was dazed and could not do a single thing. She looked to Danny, saying, ¡°You better watch!¡± Then she dragged a single claw from his forehead to his bloody nose and began laughing with mania. She continued to look into Danny¡¯s eyes while toying with Arthur¡¯s recent open cut. Danny¡¯s distraught face gave her everything she needed. However, she sensed his confliction and was incredibly shocked by it, knowing she was still in his good books. She laughed to herself.


    Arthur tried to speak up, yet the blood running from his nose made it extremely difficult. He could feel himself giving up, especially knowing Danny would likely not live without his mum and he gave Danny a look of sorrow before looking up at the bloody ceiling.


    Elizbeth moved her claw away from his bloody cut and tensed her claws, which made them extend. She positioned her long, gritty claws above his eye and Arthur instantly shut them and prayed for a quick death. She made a fist, left one finger pointing towards it and drove the white and bloody claw into his softened eye. It pierced straight through and as she pulled her single claw out, greenish and yellowish pus flew out of the eye, with blood coming out and the latter mixed with the former. Arthur screamed and flopped his arms in the air and back to the ground as she pulled out. He went straight to sleep, leaving Elizbeth feeling a certain satisfaction and a meal to eat.


    Danny stood still, shocked to his core. His heart hurt and his anger began to consume him. He seen his mother walk towards him and he grew the idea of running to the kitchen for his hope. His mother wasn¡¯t worried; thus, she did not run but walked and Danny had the freedom he needed. Danny opened a draw to a bunch of knifes. She laughed at him, called him, ¡°You are a monic cunt. Danny, do you actually think you¡¯ve got a chance to hurt me in hand-to-hand combat? Huh?¡± He ignored her words, picked up a long knife but didn¡¯t point it at his mother. He looked at the knife with his free time and thought about his future.


    He thought, his future was non-existent, with nothing to enjoy and nothing to love. Danny decided he had to do something about it to stop his present and future torment. He confidently put the knife to his neck, not cutting. His mother stopped in her tracks, and he began shouting, ¡°You are a witch¡­ do you hear me? I will kill myself!¡± His intention was to slit his throat open for his mother to see, yet he couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t pull the trigger. Danny felt he had no reason to live; nothing mattered to him anymore, not his family, his friends and his passions. Everything that gave him joy had disappeared without a trace, leaving his soul empty. He just couldn¡¯t figure out what was stopping him. He desperately thought, why?


    The sight of Arthur gave him courage but seeing his bleeding eye distracted him, giving Elizbeth enough time to grab his arm and take the knife out of his hand. Danny shouted in anger as the unexpected attack left him falling to the fall and landing on his boiled arm, which was beginning to get infected. Her reaction left him in despair as she grabbed him by the arm and lifted him while continuing to laugh at his torment.


    Elizbeth dragged Danny to the living room, his feet scraped across the floor, causing his shoes to rip. Right before walking past the kitchen counter, he tries to grab the resting knife like it was his liberator and desperately tried to get away from his tormentor that he once loved to the bone. It was his last wish.


    However, she handled his futile attempt, and when they reached Kiran, she chucked Danny to the corner of the living room telling him, ¡°Stay there, brat.¡± And she hovered over her lover. She thought how useless he was; how could he lose to a human? The thought of losing him would kill her and she couldn¡¯t believe he would allow that to nearly happen. All she felt was disappointment as her slap sounded like a hammer, leaving a red roar mark. Yet his eyes remained shut. She let out a sigh, thinking that she would have to continue without him; however, she was seeing the bright side that she would get to do the rest of the torturing for herself, which would give her immense amounts of pleasure. Though she knew her energy was low and considered Arthur¡¯s blood, but she just could not wait for the pleasure that she would receive.


    Elizbeth looked Kiran in the eyes, thinking how bright their future could be and the possibilities that would ensue. Living in the red sky with the black sun looking upon them, surrounded by blackish and powerful clouds. Being the all-powerful of a new beginning that they could dictate. Her dreams and nightmares were all about to come true. She felt the sacrifices on her back and knew what she needed to do. Her eyes fell off Kiran and she walked towards Danny like nothing else mattered.


    Danny watched her evil expression as his fear grew uncontrollably. He felt his body had been dying for ages now; he knew death would come if his torment was to be prolonged. He felt naked. Nothing felt worse than his mother being his tormentor, not a thing, he thought. Being burned alive and being awake for the whole experience was a better hand because he knew it would be over after. His prolonged torture had been enough that he wished the knife was in his hand.


    His boiled arm got picked on first when she got closer. She grabbed his boiled, infected forearm and began twisting the burnt skin in opposite directions, which worsened his burning sensation; his cry had potential to break windows. His howls encouraged her until a noise from behind disturbed her and as she turned around, she seen Arthur up on his feet.


    ¡°Do you ever give up? Well, I¡¯ll show what it is like to give up.¡± He didn¡¯t react to her voice, just stared at the kitchen floor, to which Elizbeth laughed at him. As she walked towards him, he suddenly became aware like he was being hyperbolic about his injuries. He reached from behind his waist, pulled out a knife, pointed it to her stomach and she practically walked into the knife, which sent her screaming to the floor.


    Arthur couldn¡¯t even celebrate; his feet were barely hanging on and his vigour had been gone for a long time. He felt death was close. He couldn¡¯t see properly out of his eyes; although, his bloody one was numb, tingly and burning hot but it effected the other eye due to the running blood. All of a sudden, his blurry eye seen a figure stand up and he knew what time it was.


    ¡°Good riddance,¡± Elizbeth says as she grabs him by the head, one hand on one side and the other hand on the other side and she twists in opposite ways, which sends his head in a ninety-degree motion. His neck was twisted the whole way round.


    Arthur¡¯s neck snaps, growing a thousand wrinkles in his neck and stretch marks that went on for miles. The noise of the broken neck, crushed Danny¡¯s ears, his soul and hope all at once. Elizbeth removes her hands and his lifeless body to the bloody floor, causing Arthur¡¯s loose, disconnected head to slam to the floor like a tough bobblehead. His face was full of shock, and he now knew hope had withered and that would inevitably leave him with a slow death.


    Danny took his eyes of Arthur¡¯s cramped up neck, looked to his mother and expected her torment to ensue. Although, she continued to look at Arthur. She seemed to be in a trance and looked obsessed with him. He thought, she gave Arthur the look that Danny was used to before the nightmare had begun; hatred had finally consumed his soul and he knew it wasn¡¯t leaving. He felt everything coming to an end and gave his mother the look of death. A bang at the window stopped him from pouncing and he instantly looked. He saw a flying bat, hovering near the ledge and it seemed to stare at him. The black, fat bat made him think about everything. He was thinking, why is it looking at me? He knew it had to mean something.


    Suddenly he heard his mother¡¯s words, ¡°About time.¡± He then heard a weird noise that sounded like chomping. He thought it sounded moist and his fear struck. He turned his head to see a horrid, despicable picture. He felt wounded as his hope was drained of blood. Danny could not witness the act again and began to run for the door that led to the garden. He wanted death but not only his own death.

 Chapter 22

    The blood swirled around her mouth as the dark-red blood sent her into a trance that she couldn¡¯t escape from. Blood was dripping from her mouth, landing on top of her breast and it continued to drip. She swallowed the blood and sunk her teeth deeper into the skin, bursting a blood vessel and blood sprayed into her open mouth. She treated the open blood vessel like a chocolate fountain. When the blood slowed down, her knife-like teeth pounced into the large and bloody cut. She created a pool of blood within the open cut and gulped. The pool of blood instantly vanished, and she was tearing at the skin, pulling it off and then began chewing on his meat, fat and skin. She got carried away with the flowing blood. Blood covered her white dress to the point of it nearly becoming a red dress. She continued to suck the blood from the draining Arthur, recovering large amounts of energy; however, the enjoyment was far more satisfying than recouping vigour. She lived for it.


    Yet, Elizbeth knew she was forgetting something. Something that was important. And instantly it came to her, ¡°Danny,¡± she said abruptly, thinking how long it had been since he ran away. She knew it had been a few minutes, and began to prepare for the hunt, yet a noise disturbed her, and she was surprised to see her lover on his feet. ¡°You are finally awake then.¡± Her voice was sharp and without empathy.


    She seen his apologetic face and she instantly got to the point, ¡°Get our son!¡± Her words were quick and precise. He nodded his head, followed her directions and she went straight back to chewing on Arthur, thinking what a fool Kiran was.


    The gentle wind brushed his boiled arm, sending a shiver down his neck and he feared his plan, not knowing if it would work. His mother would surely smell it. She was smart, quick and seemed to have power over his father since they had changed. He began to believe failure would be inevitable. Even if he killed his mother, he thought, that would certainly feel like a loss. Every corner was a dead end.


    Danny knew he wanted death more than anything. He wanted to run away and die with what peace he had left. Although his anger had consumed him. He wanted his parents¡¯ deaths, and he knew only one was to go and he was willing to die if his revenge was to fail. He swore to himself that torment was off the cards completely, using suicidal thoughts to boost his confidence. He continued to hide, waited for the time to come while he pondered to keep him sane, yet it still didn¡¯t help; he was winless. He had no hope of living; his last hope had just been crushed. He sat hiding in shrubbery waiting for his death or his mother¡¯s death, thinking both needed to happen and he wished for it, prayed for it and hoped for it.


    Yet his confidence was still under attack. Arthur¡¯s death had stunned him and everything good outcome felt impossible to overcome, he thought, then again, was there any good outcomes? Danny could not get Arthur out of his mind, especially the sounds that were unbearable to listen to; it made his ears bleed. Danny thought it was better to die and give up on this pain, anger and revenge that haunted his soul. He didn¡¯t want to be eaten, tormented and killed in a ghastly way like Arthur; however, he thought she would have killed him by now. He began to wonder why he was still alive. He thought, why haven¡¯t they killed him yet? Let alone his injuries, he thought, how was he surviving with such bad injuries anyway?


    Kiran stopped near the garden back door - suffered from a lack of energy ¨C and he thought, how pathetic he was for losing to a mere mortal. He kneeled with his face turning in the direction of Elizbeth, his face was worried, and his anxiety went through his body. He hoped she wouldn¡¯t see him. As he continued to kneel in defeat, he felt an overwhelming feeling of disappointment, disappointed in himself that it forced him to stand. His legs felt like jelly as they trembled and he quickly grabbed the wall to steady himself and his hate for himself grew larger. Yet he knew blood had to go down his throat for him to have a chance of doing anything but his drive to impress her was too much, and he slowly departed from the kitchen.


    His legs continued to feel like weights, yet he persists, thinking Danny was an easy hunt. He promised himself that no other mortal would give him a challenge. He was ashamed of losing and nothing could get him to look at himself in a mirror again; he thought, if that was possible anyway.


    Kiran hated his failure. Elizbeth was his love, the only thing he lived for and the fact that he dismayed her was killing him from the inside. He considered whether he was worthy to be her king. But he knew she would accept redemption, yet the state of his vigour crushed his spirit and stopped him in his steps. The sky looked upon him and he felt judged by the mighty cardinal sky that represented every immortal. He felt unworthy to look at its beauty and charm.


    The black sun with the red sky inspired the strength that ran through the vampire¡¯s blood. But he knew he did not have that strength that made him the one who was virtuous. Yet he could not let go of her, she is his everything and he needed to win his right to be her lover, even if he died trying. He just hoped his soon to be son didn¡¯t go far.


    Danny was waiting patiently. The bush surrounded him, and he could not wait to show himself and wake from this hideous nightmare. Yet his confidence was draining, and he began to consider getting his mother¡¯s attention and lead her to his plan instead of waiting but the risk of her catching up to him when running away from her was too high and his body felt broken. He decided to let things be, but he promised to himself that he would never get captured and tortured again, while looking at some pills.


    He pushed downwards on part of the bush, tried to see the back door and he saw it was still closed. His face was full of disappointment as he let a sigh out. The fear of his plan not working made him want to run away and die alone but his fury was too strong. He didn¡¯t care that it was his mother; she was gone in his eyes, that once loving face which soothed Danny and her sweet arms that made Danny¡¯ heart warm. All that had gone without a trace. He had to believe it; however, he did believe in his anger and that¡¯s all Danny needed, he thought.


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    But he could not forget his last happy memories that felt further away. Although the hope to overcome them was strong. He needed to forget what happened in the life where he was the happiest, he had ever been. He wanted to kill his mother and kill himself. But he knew that wasn¡¯t going to be easy; however, Arthur¡¯s face and his own torment would allow him to remember that anger and forget them beautiful memories.


    Memories that would fill a thousand kids with joy. Memories that would cure depression. Memories that took flight. Memories that would make an orphan feel love if they had them. Memories that brought power. Memories that would last thousand years. Memories that could save a life.


    Suddenly he heard the back door open, his heart began to pound like bell and his head spun. He was losing his nerve, thinking how he could even defeat his mother; she was too smart. However, his face dropped as he seen his father stumble through the door ¨C Danny could not believe that he was seeing a dead man walking ¨C his father¡¯s face was torn apart ¨C and blood was still pouring out. Danny suddenly had confidence that his plan was going to work with no trouble whatsoever; thus, he dragged himself out of the bush, walked towards the tree, which he had earlier settled on choosing to spy on his mother before confronting her and then he continued to watch Kiran.


    Kiran was struggling to walk, thinking his mission was impossible and knew he was going to be replaced. Suddenly the idea of being replaced spurred his anger and he used that anger to give him energy and to make him her one and only. His stride began to hurry and walk in the direction of the wet ground.


    However, he sensed a bad feeling which caused him to stop and look to the sky. The bad feeling grew clearer as the sky, once again, looked upon him. Kiran¡¯s stomach was upside down, making him wince and he instantly began to focus on his bad feeling. He struggled at first with all the previous thoughts he had had. The focus was steadily going, and he needed to get back on track. His thoughts slowed down as he breathed in and out. However, it wasn¡¯t enough; he could not feel their sky which shot a red light into his face as he wished for the strength to carry on. As a minute went by, Kiran felt an instinct. He sensed someone was watching him.


    His eyes were flying around, to trees, bushes and fences but he could not see anyone watching him. The bats flying above began to infuriate him, he thought they were laughing at his incompetence that even he was starting to hate. He thought, how he could hate himself? And then his pouring emotions was directed at the bats.


    Danny was in disbelief. He could not believe his father had seemed to lost the plot, screaming at his own team and it made him feel sorry for his father. He thought, could he murder his father when he is acting desperate, pathetic and in complete misery. But a thought came into his mind that seemed the logical action to proceed with and Danny gently spoke to himself, ¡°can I put him out of his misery?¡± Danny had no answer for himself, except for one, one that was too obvious. He knew his father would still be after him and the idea of torture again was too much for him, so he decided to go ahead with his plan, even if it did sadden him.


    He was about to come from behind the tree and face his father, yet as he moved his foot, his heartbeat was struck like a guitar and sent him back behind the tree. Danny just wished his body was muted. Though when he heard his father¡¯s angry screams, once again, his heated body grew cooler. He had never felt such relief. Yet a lingering feel would not leave; a feeling that he knew would eventually drive him insane, if his wounds didn¡¯t do that already.


    He had to push himself; his anger was too strong to ignore.


    Danny pulled his weight from behind the tree. His face had no sweat, no nervousness and showed no fear; however, Danny knew that was a stone cold lie. He reached his planned position to stand, then shouted his father with what courage he had left. As he shouted, his hands began to violently shake; he thanked the lord for not having to use a pen. He clenched down on his lips causing blood to slowly drip from his lip, which he hoped Kiran would not see. Finally, Kiran looked him in the eyes, his legs became jelly and Danny felt like giving up on his plan and just ending it there and then. But his anger had already consumed him.


    Kiran seen the fear in his eyes, yet a flicker of confidence came out of Danny, which left him confused. But he continued to stand in delusion. Kiran felt himself impossible to defeat, his rage was immense, and he could not be handled, he thought.


    Danny began to speak as Kiran moved towards him. ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready for this because I sure am.¡± Danny quickly brings a lighter out of his pocket - stares his father straight in his eyes with evil intent ¨C and spoke with pure hatred. ¡°Have you not noticed the floor?¡± He could see his father¡¯s befuddled face and it made him laugh on the inside, ¡°You always have been a great fool.¡± Danny spun the lighter¡¯s spark wheel ¨C seeing the flame ¨C which gave him an immense feeling of power that he had craved since being trapped in that godforsaken chair. He gave his father one last look which stopped time for him. He wondered if he should do it. Yet without a second thought, Danny threw the lighter to soaking ground where Kiran was standing.


    Sudden flames appeared like magic that surrounded Kiran, obstructed him from getting to his son and he howled to the blackened sun. As the flames closed in, Kiran pleaded with his son, hoped that he would listen; however, Danny¡¯s face remained silent. Kiran continued to howl as the magic like flames began to burn at his flesh with no remorse. His yells became rotten, stronger and harder to listen to. Danny stepped back, which made Kiran yell at him, ¡°How can¡­ you do¡­ this? You¡­ are¡­ horrid! We would¡­ never¡­ never! Do this.¡±


    Danny was in disbelief, nothing had prepared him to kill his father; yet alone burn his father, which stung his eyes just watching. The smell of the meat, flesh and hair all burning disgusted his stomach and suddenly he began to throw up, although the sick was just yellowly liquid. The desperate and cowardly bellows were crushing his head with guilt. He could hear the crackling from how good his father was as kindling, and it disturbed Danny to the core of his heart and soul. Although, he knew they had already been broken and had no recovery on the horizon.


    Kiran was now in the centre of the flames which brought him to his knees. He now knew death was at the door. The unnatural, rising flames were melting his skin black, which sent parts of the melting skin to drip to the flaming floor and the fallen off skin instantly turned to ash. Kiran was covered in boils that popped as soon as they appeared and as each one popped, his screams increased and turned into colossal howls.


    The immensely loud howls caused Danny to put his hands on his ears while kneeling on the ground and he hoped it would stop soon. It sounded like pain, pure pain that ran through Danny¡¯s eardrums, which made them feel like they were going to explode. Seeing and hearing his father¡¯s rampant, never-ending screams was tearing his heart in two but he knew he had to let go. Let go of the ones that raised him.

 Chapter 23

    A trail of black, thick smoke entered his nose that smelled like a thousand animals had been burnt to death. He watched the smoke slowly approach as he looked on at his burning father. Suddenly his screams stopped. The silence gave Danny comfort while breathing and sitting in his father¡¯s ashes. He was glad to see his father¡¯s death but only wished it had come sooner. His torment made him hate the ones that raised him; however, he could not see himself turn into a monster. He had to draw a line, but he felt his anger would overstep that line. He questioned himself, ¡°Do I want them to die slowly and painfully?¡± He thought surely not but the need to unleash his wraith was all too good to ignore.


    ¡°What have you done?!¡± Elizbeth abruptly screamed, ¡°You will die for this, do you hear me?¡± The shriek went straight through him, causing him to step back, stumbling and nearly falling to the floor. He steadied himself, watched her like a hawk and attempted to foresee her next move. But unexpectedly silence was her next words and her focus turned on Kiran, who was quickly turning into ashes, and she walked towards him. She kept her distance from him and the roaring flames. Her face was still and reserved and it made Danny uncomfortable. The wind brushed his shoulder as he pondered the idea of running away.


    Elizbeth was kneeling to her lover, hoping their purpose would continue without him and one other. She suddenly stood proud, looked at her son, ready to indulge into her desires. Her eyes gave him daggers ¨C fear moved with her every step ¨C and she embraced her new future.


    ¡°I will make sure your very last existence on his plane will be pure, hideous terror and pain. I will strip your skin ¨C hang it on a line ¨C dry it ¨C and eat it while you are alive for weeks.¡± She spoke in a gentle voice while slowly walking towards her prey, ¡°The taste is already on my tongue. Can you not feel the pain, the fear and the blood? There is about to be a show, Danny, and you are the main attraction ¨C that will satisfy my righteous needs.¡± She opened her jaws as wide as she could, splitting areas of her lips to extend her mouth further, which showed her wide, long and bloody fangs. They were as sharp as needles, as strong as steel and as long as rulers. The fangs stuck out like a house on top a mountain and Danny could not take his eyes off them.


    He had seen her bloody fangs in action, which he wished he hadn¡¯t because it made everything scarier; he knew the potential. He thought nothing was more harrowing, it was like they had their own presence, almost sentient. The fear they leashed out was like no other; making him want death more than ever. The fangs stared him in his eyes. They brought nothing but fear and eventually death. His blood would succumb to her fangs within seconds, he thought, leaving nothing but skin and bone. Danny stood still and waited for her next move.


    Danny could not wait no longer, so he ran behind the fire, making sure she could not get to him. As he moved, she pounced and almost struck his back with her thick talons. The near miss sent her tumbling to the concrete floor, leaving Danny safe behind the fire, thus he began to speak. ¡°Please don¡¯t do this? I don¡¯t deserve this. No one has merited such cruelty, especially by you, mum.¡± He paused hoping to see any empathy from his mother, yet her face remained shut off as she rose from the floor.


    She stood ¨C proud ¨C and stared at Danny with a dangerous sense of slaughter in her eyes. A thousand ways to die was within her eyes and her presence created such an illusion. The humongous, rising flames separated him from torture but he knew that wouldn¡¯t last long due to her blatant speed. He watched her every move as she tensed her claws for the world to see, yet her shadow did not move. Silence was all there was, which gave Danny some resemblance of comfort and he longed for never-ending silence. Everything seemed to be perfect for a second. However, he knew what was to come. He just hoped his fight was enough to get his revenge.


    Her presence felt stronger than ever; he could feel her anger ¨C even in silence she speaks, he thought. As the fiery flames reflected on Danny¡¯s eyes, he seen her feet move and her anger suddenly came out and she screamed, ¡°Get here now,¡± while slowly circling the circle of flames. Though, as Danny circled the opposite way round, her evil tone of voice turned gentle, ¡°We had plans for you, Danny, lots of plans. You would have had a bright future ¨C successful ambitions that would satisfy a king ¨C and a life worth living. You would have been my son, Danny.¡± She pointed to the corpse of Kiran while she continued to walk the circle of flames, ¡°Look at your father: mangled, brutalised, abused, burnt to a crisp and¡­ so¡­ so silent, he is ¨C and it¡¯s because of you¡­ you have ruined my destiny ¨C your destiny ¨C our destiny.¡± Elizbeth¡¯s voice got louder and louder, ¡°Why? Because you couldn¡¯t handle some pain, huh?¡± As they both circled outside the ring of fire, her voice, once again, became gentle which almost soothed Danny. ¡°Well¡­ I will show you real pain, never-ending pain.¡±


    The words pierced through his heart, they were surreal, and it left his soul empty. He continued to circle round the ring of fire until he was near to the door, then he grew the courage to make a run for it. The door was in his reach, but he felt her gaining on him and felt that in any second she would grab him from behind. However, he went through the entrance of the back door, shut it as hard as he could and the small window on the door smashed into pieces. Danny couldn¡¯t even tell that the glass smashed; his getaway was far too important for him to realise anything as he ran through the living room. He heard the door fly open, increasing his fear and turning his heart into an alarm clock. Her shadow felt close, so he ran to his nearest exit, turning left towards the stairs. He glided up the stairs while ignoring his excruciating pain. Although his mind would not forget, so he decided to use it to his advantage by feeling immense rage from his torment, which would push him to an insane level of delusion.


    He was halfway up the stairs when he seen his hope. The feeling of rage made his mind blank, acting only on impulsion and fear. Danny made it to the top but surprisingly, Elizbeth stopped at the bottom of the stairs and just stared at him. He was levels above her; however, confusion and doubt hit him like a bell; he was worried for his plan. He knew he was trapped if his plan failed.


    Elizbeth and Danny were mirrors, both looking at a person that had been forsaken, and eyes, hearts and souls that desired revenge was fuelled by great rage. The only difference being one was soaring.


    Suddenly Elizbeth cursed him as she bolted up the stairs and it left Danny surprised but he just hoped he had enough time. He looked to a piece of wire that led up the wall and was stuck to the ceiling. The wire was tied around a heavy object which was barely holding on. Danny grabbed the wire just as Elizbeth almost got halfway up the stairs and he yanked the wire as hard as he could. The wire instantly followed his hand, released a sledgehammer that swung towards Elizbeth and the mighty sledgehammer cannoned into her face. The heavy and humungous sledgehammer connected to her nose like a puzzle, which caused blood to soar out of her wonky nose and the force almost sent her tumbling down the stairs; thus, she quickly reacted and put her hands on the banister. Although as she was standing straight, cursing Danny¡¯s ¡°pathetic plan¡± and with her not paying attention, the hammer swings straight towards the back of her head, which left Danny feeling hopeful. As the sledgehammer pummelled into her head, the sound of the impact clashed against her skull that sounded like two cars crashing together. Her face flew to the floor with her nose hitting the ground first, which flattened her nose.


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    Elizbeth felt the impact of all three hits that crushed her ego, and nothing felt worse to her. As she was looking up to the top of the staircase, noticing Danny was gone but she could hear his footsteps go into his room ¨C giving her confidence because he was still trapped. She attempted to get up, used some of the energy she had gained through eating Arthur¡¯s blood and that made her thank his sacrifice even more, yet her hate was still strong for him.


    Yet she just could not keep one thing out of her brain, the fact that she had lost her destiny and was not able to get up. She thought about her destined life as she tried to recover. The thought that it was gone crushed her spirit, freedom that she had never experienced and the confidence of her claim to the throne; the throne she was living for, which made her question whether she was worthy to continue her dream. Her destiny was the air that kept her alive and the thought of forsaking her dream angered her to the core of her heart, which caused her heart to ache and burn with a deep pain. However, her anger started to take over the physical pain she held, her feeling of failure and the loss of ambition. She, once again, wanted everything, her throne, the blood of mortals and that sense of freedom she had longed for all her life. And most of all, she wanted revenge.


    She used her anger to push herself up. Thoughts that immensely drove her and she knew nothing could stop such a beast. The beast of this improved world that would forever be hers and no one would join her in the success she creates and only her irrelevant minions would get a glimpse of her righteous victories that would crown her the bloody world. Nothing was more important except for her vengeance. And she grabbed that feeling as tight as she could and used it to push herself up the stairs.


    She followed Danny¡¯s path, which lead her to his bedroom door. As Elizbeth got closer, she noticed the door was slightly open, seeing Danny under his bed cover, and she smiled to herself; thinking how easy it would be to kill him. She quietly opened the door and began to approach him. She thought how stupid he was. But, as she drew near, a thought popped in her head. She questioned his stupidness and incompetence. Danny had been smart, abrupt and resilient, she thought. And killing her husband made her mind up.


    She was turning away from Danny, who was under his bed cover but as she fully turned away to make sure everything was safe, she seen his surprised and disappointed face. She seen a large, rough and sharpened stake in his hands. He was holding it like warrior and had murderous eyes full of evil intent. His soul looked brutal and had strength, yet his body was crushed and deprived. His boiled arm expressed a thousand tears as she watched a boil pop and liquid drip down his arm. The boils seemed to not affect him in the slightest and she knew she would have to give him new pain ¨C a pain that he could not fathom ¨C a pain that would shock his nervous system ¨C a pain that would internally explode his veins; making his blood flow like a river for her to drink. Elizbeth abruptly laughed out.


    Danny watched her laugh with insanity in her eyes. Spit began to build on his lips, eyes became moist, and his eyebrows pointed like arrows. Enough was enough, he thought. Danny pounced like a cheetah, his dexterity helped him getting on the inside, while he slid on his knees, dodging her slashing claw and he yanked his left elbow back and rammed the makeshift stake towards her exposed hip.


    An unexpected hand grabbed his stake pushing it away from herself and the force forced the stake to fly out of his hand. He weirdly felt relief as she pushed him to the opposite side of the room. He fell to the floor, confused by his feeling and he began to wonder if revenge was what he wanted. However, the thought didn¡¯t last long due to Elizbeth quickly running towards him and he prepared to dodge her next attack. Her movements cost seconds, moving at the speed of light and it caused Danny¡¯s heart to sink like a ship. Her honed talons came towards his face, nearly slicing his left eye if it wasn¡¯t for his silky backsteps that eventually cornered him against the wall. Her next offense came just as quick, which was aiming towards his throat, leaving him to just stand there and take it like a man. She grabbed him by the neck, slightly digging her claws into his skin, while blood slowly poured out of the tiny holes and dripped onto her fingers. He was scared to move, fearing she would break his neck and he knew he wasn¡¯t being paranoid; her strength was impossible to match for a mere mortal, he thought.


    The felt his back up against the wall, giving him a feeling of anxiety due to the claustrophobic feeling and the unescapable situation that he knew would ¨C Inevitably ¨C end badly. Her sharp, huge claws that gleamed with blood was sliding into his skin further; however, her plunging claws preceded to stop and she came close to his ear and whispered, ¡°I hope you are ready to face your fallacy.¡± He smelt the passive aggressiveness from a mile away and he knew his life was about to disappear if he didn¡¯t do something.


    But nothing came to him, nothing but empty thoughts that passed by within seconds and his pain ran deep into his stomach. Feeling like the happiness had gone and he had been left with nothing but grief, falling into the abyss where he would finish life. The worst part about it, for him, was the love he felt from live, his mother and his father and the fact that their life could have been loved but he knew that had been dissolved into a cruel dream. He could see his cruel fate that presented itself so abruptly and obviously and Danny felt no control over it.


    He pondered on letting go of his pipe dream. His life was a pillar of despair that was built by blood, hate and grief. His feeling of such despair could no longer go on, he thought, and he felt powerless, making his consideration an easier choice. But his want for revenge was still there, he still needed it; it was still as strong as ever. Though, he knew it was his body that craved the end. He stared into her eyes, ready for his torment, ready for the blood and ready for his ending-life to end.


    Though as Danny takes his gaze away from Elizbeth¡¯s eyes, he sees her wound from earlier, which was near her chest and suddenly his mind comes up with a plan. He pushes his back against the wall, using that momentum to push his leg towards her and his foot was like a sword, stabbing her straight into her punctured gash. He was pleased with the connection and power he generated until it made her gripping hand clench harder down on his neck, slightly forcing her claws to go deeper. However, her grip was no more as she went down to her knees, putting pressure onto her bleeding gash and she howled to ceiling. Danny fell to the floor, using his hands to push himself straight up and running to his makeshift stake. He just hoped that when he turned back around ¨C she wasn¡¯t there with her claws in his face ¨C ready to slash his skin off his face.


    He grabs the stake, dreading the inevitability of turning around to face his demons and the potential of feeling such torment. Yet his torment had not arrived. He ran for her back, readying his rough stake and as he arrived, he pushed his makeshift stake into the top of her back where her elongated shoulder blades met. Elizbeth, down and out, was still ready for him. She moved her arms towards the fast-moving stake and interrupted it by pushing her elbow against the stake. Danny and stake fell near the door. Danny lands on his back, facing Elizbeth and he could see her continue to kneel with her hand on her gash. Her eyes were planted to the floor like they had been frozen.


    Without a second thought, Danny grabs his stake from the floor while looking at his mother to make sure her shadow is still. He makes his move, heading straight out his bedroom door and ran for his life, towards the stairs. His feet made it to the top of them but as he was about descend the stairs, Elizbeth flew at him from behind. She grabs his stomach while trying to dig her claws into his skin so she could control his fall; however, she missed the chance, and her claws scratched him from his chest to his right hip as she crashed to the floor. Danny put pressure on his long but not deep cuts, and he skidded on his back when he hit the floor. He was thankful for holding onto his stake as he prepared to stand up.


    He stood proud, holding his great slash that was dripping with blood and he straightened his arm; pointing his wooden and rough stake at Elizbeth, who was struggling to get back on her feet and he let out a scream that echoed throughout tight hallway.

 Chapter 24

    He felt like a wild animal with a serial killers impose to kill. Nothing felt clearer to him; he knew his path and was willing to fight down it, wherever it would lead him. Danny¡¯s rough stake was leading the way and he followed. Followed his instincts and nothing else, using his empty mind as delusion for his fear of losing. He continued to follow the makeshift stake.


    The stake was driving towards Elizbeth¡¯s head, aiming straight into her moist eyes and just as the stake was about to enter; she grabbed it and the momentum of the stake and her strength caused splinters to tear her skin¡­ yet she didn¡¯t even bat an eye, just stared him in the eyes, which brought huge anxiety over him. Suddenly, Elizbeth stood tall while having a tug of war over the stake, which wasn¡¯t easy for Danny as his hands began to sweat and made it increasingly harder to keep his grip.


    Elizbeth snatches it of him, cruelly using her knee to break the stake in half and chucking it to the floor away from Danny.


    He stood, shaking from the shock of her strength, sweating from his journey of hell, and with no plan in his mind; he wondered if his torment was going to be reincarnated. His eyes were on the floor, seeing her shadow standing still and it creeped him to his core, yet he decided to face her.


    She had her usual satanic smile while her nostrils were breathing intensely and she abruptly spoke in a passive aggressive tone, ¡°I can smell your blood dripping and, oh your majestic tears. I honestly am struggling to stop; the smell is exciting.¡± Danny shaking increased, hairs were standing straight like soldiers and his legs were wobbling with pure anxiety as she continued to speak insidious words with hideous intentions.


    Danny significantly felt his fear rise, yet his eyes was still on the stake, and he wondered how he would retrieve it. But he knew it was a pipe dream. His focus, yet again, was interrupted by Elizbeth grabbing him with great speed, lifting him in the air by his front collar, leaving him hanging by his shirt. Before he could even think, she threw him against the wall and used his collar as a sling shot. He used his hands as shields, hoping his face would be safe and as he crashed his hands bent back and his arms followed taking most of the force. Danny vocals sounded like a fox while he held his boiling arm and broken finger. The arm had been numb for a while as well, he thought.


    Elizbeth ran with all intent, getting on her knees and cornering him towards the wall. She licked his tears, while speaking after each lick, ¡°I will suffocate you¡­ I will make you succumb to this torture¡­ you will be forced to enjoy it¡­ or it will get worse¡­ and when I am done with you¡­ I will kill you, you little shit!¡± Danny could see the fear coming out of his eyes while he watched his mother fantasize about tormenting him. He just needed it to be over. Suddenly, he unintentionally spoke, ¡°Where has my mother gone?¡± He feared her next action as he looked up to her eyes, expecting some nasty remark or her to beat him. However, she kneeled still like a statue. Instead, she picked him up and began dragging him towards the stairs.


    ¡°Your mother is still here, looking gorgeous and feeling free. And I¡¯m certainly not trapped by you freeloading, demanding, depending on everyone but yourself! Do you hear me, little shit?¡± Her words were calm, yet her walk had a temper, which scraped Danny¡¯s knees on the floor; he just didn¡¯t have the strength to lift them. But he feared what failure would bring, so he decided to do anything he could to avoid such consequences.


    He waited until they were both near the broken stake. Danny desperately tried to elbow her wound again, yet she grabbed his left arm, letting his right hand go. He knew he had one chance. He seen the broken stake and he quickly grabbed the stake that had the sharp end.


    She clocked on to what he was doing and chucked him to floor, but he managed to grab it. He turned, standing from her poor attempt at throwing him and he successively drove the stake into her hip. Blood was bursting towards Danny¡¯s face, covering him and it caused sick to burst out of his mouth, making a puddle of blood and sick.


    Danny felt his mother¡¯s pain and he couldn¡¯t let her go, feeling a bundle of love, once again, enter his soul. Yet he still felt relief from not failing and he began to feel evil for experiencing such solace. He started to look at the stake, which was still nailed into his mum and wished it was his life instead. He watched her moan, groan and bleed. Hope creeped in and he began to think what if? My mum came back when that died. He ignored his delusions and moved in to comfort her. He needed it and knew his life would be rested afterwards.


    He brought her closer to him, embracing her with his arms and prayed to the lord that everything had been a hideous dream. He thought, even if it was nightmare, the aftermath would still be traumatizing and the sweat after waking up would be enough to end it all. Yet he knew that was a pipe dream while he looked into her eyes. He smiled at her, thinking about the good mother he once had, yet he was interrupted by the evil that remained in her soulless eyes. Anxiety creeped in like a ghost. He just didn¡¯t want to believe it.


    Suddenly, she destroyed his illusions. She pushed him to ground and readied herself to jump on top of him. As she jumped, a small, circler object came towards her and smoke exploded out of it, vastly filling the hallway full of smoke. Elizbeth winced as smoke journeyed into her eyes, starting to panic and wave her arms around; hoping it would help in some way. She desperately punched the area she last seen Danny, yet her hand smashed against the floor, exposing her knuckle bones. She screamed in agony, while feeling a stinging sensation on her whole hand and she bit her lip trying to ignore her own torment. She stopped screaming and composed herself because an idea had entered her mind.


    Elizbeth looked to the ceiling in concentration. She focused, trying to hear Danny¡¯s footsteps, yet the only noise that could be heard was the hovering, heavy smoke. Instantly, she heard a bang that indicated he was going down the stairs and rushed to follow him. She moved past the smoke, but her effort ends with misery. She kneeled within her misery, finally seeing the rough stake punctured into her hip and she placed her hand onto the bleeding stake. She had no thoughts as she yanked the stake out of her body. The moist fluids and blood helped slid the stake out as blood sprayed across the white wall, forcing her to howl her soul out of her body. The stake rebounded of the bloody floor as she throws it with pure frustration. She could not believe the outcome that could potentially present failure; her howl was nothing but frustration as her doubts grew.


    Her movements were slow as she trawled to the stairs. She cursed herself, ¡°You weak, bitch. You cannot defeat a child. You righteous, bitch, you deserve nothing but endless death.¡± She ended on a desperate squeal that echoed throughout the house.


    Danny was struggling to walk as he was stumbling through to the kitchen, landing onto a wall for support. He was resting on the wall, praying he would be able to move soon, yet he was doubting his efforts would be successful, even if luck was on his side. He ended his rest and tried to move to a cupboard in the kitchen. His movements were slow, yet he eventually reached it, thinking that he hadn¡¯t heard Elizbeth move yet. He thought nothing more of it and continued to ride his luck. When he opened the cupboard, he had the biggest smile on his face, hoping the device that he lifts out of the cupboard can rescue him and as he puts it on top of the cabinet, a loud bang surged on the floor. Danny instantly reacted by going straight to the cupboard and grabbing more homemade objects and after setting them all on the counter; he grabbed a sharp, shiny knife.


    Danny stopped what he was doing. He stared at his mother¡¯s magnum opus, the bloody canvas where he was standing in the middle. He was trapped inside, ready to experience a thousand deaths with a thousand cuts that were deeper than the ocean. He felt his fate as his whole body felt like a wound that could not heal. He just hoped his soul was restorable and he could die in peace, knowing the mimic had perished.


    Danny¡¯s ears heard evil as his thoughts vanished. He was moving fast, picking up a mat that he had stuck loads of nails, glass and scissors, and they were all facing upwards. He runs back from the stairs and picks up the rest of his stuff, hiding the device and a jar full of smoking fluid behind his back. He was heading to the storage cupboard when he heard the same evil howl as footsteps creeped downstairs, yet the howl had more impact, disturbing his ears, which caused blood to drip out of them. The head-splitting howl was like a bomb and Danny was struggling to handle the vibrations; thus, he nearly dropped the jar full of fluid and when his grip stayed strong; a sigh of relief came out of him.


    In an instant, he seen his mother¡¯s evil shadow enter the room and the howling had ceased. He was happy to hear the howling had stopped, yet his anxiety went through the roof as he seen his struggling mother. She was barely walking straight. The blood was still bursting out, making Danny wonder how she was still alive; he knew she wanted him dead but how far would she go, thought Danny, and he knew, he would match her soulless acts, no matter how deep, deprived and evil they were.


    The steps felt like hell as Elizbeth walked down the last one. She was happy to be downstairs as her energy began to recuperate. She was just leaving the stairs, slowly putting her foot down and a couple of sharp objects started to enter the bottom of her foot. A couple of long, rusty nails slid in first, and she felt them hit her nerves as her foot continued to press down. The scissor legs were next, and thickness of the scissor legs caused the pain to surge through the whole of her foot, sending painful shocks up and down her leg. As the foot fell flat, the large, rough and sharp pieces of glass was crushed between the bloody mat and the bottom of her molested foot. The glass crinkled as her other foot dodged the torture mat, yet she was nervous about lifting her ripped up foot. She could feel the pressure when she slightly lifted it which caused it to leak more blood. Her breathing was out of control as she tried to compose herself because every time she breathed in her foot would move and she could feel the scissor legs move inside her foot, and hit the multiple nails that were wedged next the scissor legs. She began to get use to the surging pain; however, she knew she needed to move if she wanted to grab her fate.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Suddenly, a noise came from the kitchen, disturbing her thoughts and as she looked, Danny was next to the kitchen counter. He was grabbing a device that worried Elizbeth. Thus, she reacted without a single thought, lifting her nailed foot off the mat; the lodged in scissors departed out of her foot, a chunk of thick, black blood pounced out too. She put her damaged foot on the ground and winced once again, yet her focus remained on Danny, who was preparing to run in the direction of the storage cupboard. Her face was dropping on the floor, knowing her fate was doomed if she couldn¡¯t stop him, so she ready herself.


    She lifted her foot, breathed in like it was her last time and drove the bottom of her foot to the floor. The head of the nail slammed against the floor, which made the metal clank against the wooden floor, and it lodged the rusty nails further into her foot. Elizbeth was looking at Danny, making the pain bearable as the nails shot through the front of her foot. She ran smiling at Danny, yet that smile changed instantly as her eyes focused in front of her.


    Danny seen the pain in her eyes as he readied his arm. He was pulling back his right arm while he ran towards the storage cupboard. He let his arm go like a canon, throwing the jar full of streaming liquid and the trajectory of the throw was heading straight towards her face. ¡°I heard you like chemical cocktails¡± The jar smashed against her chin and released the steaming liquid. The strange, steaming liquid attached to her skin like glue and it spread like spilling a glass of gone off milk, dripping off her chin and landing on her chest. Her silky looking skin immediately started to burn and melt away like burning cheese. Her skin was becoming sludge that mixed with the steaming liquid, causing the bloody, steaming and sludgy skin to bubble up that eventually turned to white foam.


    He could not believe the outcome, yet part of her jawbone started to show, which haunted his eyes. He thought, he had seen enough when he reached the door. The storage cupboard was a blessing as the door was shutting, slightly hiding her woeful screams. Yet her screams still couldn¡¯t be ignored by him, even as he wished to forget his love for her. He let out a big sigh as he knew his efforts were idle. He hadn¡¯t thought of himself as a murderer. But he knew he was one, yet he felt calm about it. He thought, his soul had finally turned to black.


    He was grabbing his device as he began to think how everything had changed for the worse. He hated how his mother was taken off him. He hated how his life was turned upside down. But most of all, he hated how his childhood had been ripped from him. He felt he had lived a thousand lives that all ended with a thousand deaths. His loving memories had been forgotten, leaving nothing but torment within his dark mind. As he stuck his device to the boiler, he wished for his darkness to be gouged out; the Darkness that kept his mind in the abyss.


    He almost forgot about his mother and hadn¡¯t noticed that her screaming had stopped. He wondered if his story had come to an end. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but remember how long his father burned for as hurtful images entered his mind. All he could see was his burning face, then he began to smell the burning hair and skin. Danny fell to his knees as the consequences of his actions started to feel real. Tears poured. And the pain went deep inside his stomach, twisting it inside himself. The feel of surrealness died. The images surged through his mind. He seen the death, the pain and despair that he had once experienced; his mind was bleeding with fear. The images would not stop, wouldn¡¯t allow him to think and wouldn¡¯t allow him to move; and the torment sent his mind into oblivion.


    Suddenly, he felt immense amounts of pain. He began to put pressure on his arm and cheek. The arm¡¯s skin felt too tight to bear. And the pain just kept surging through his body like his nerves were playing a game of pinball. Yet a moan outside of the storage cupboard interrupted his painful sensations. Then his fear told him what to do.


    He lifted himself from the ground as his boiled arm began to feel significantly weaker, yet he continued to finish what they started. He ignored the vivid darkness that loomed over him, the overwhelming pain that would stop someone from sleeping for over a thousand years and his overbearing guilt that often felt like a noose around his neck.


    He was standing. Manging to keep himself up by what felt like a strand of hair. The room felt cold, empty and powerful. Nothing felt clearer to him. He knew what he had to do. Yet a little voice in his mind that was just able to think straight, do I really want to kill my mother? The voice shocked him. Yet Danny knew his reasons. He knew his mother was already dead and he wanted to kill the one who is awfully mimicking her. And that is when his eyes led him to the boiler. He seen his device, which was readied to be activated.


    Danny could smell his own fear as he walked towards the door, praying Elizbeth had no fight left inside her. He tried to wipe the sweat that matted his hair, and the sweat caused his hair to stick to his hand as he swept his matted hair back. His steps got him closer to the door, causing his fear to increase and eventually bringing him to the moment he dreaded. The door zoomed outwards. His throat gulped as he tried to grow the courage. He stood staring. He wanted this path, he thought, but the feeling that he got from seeing the clear door was too much for him.


    So, he tried to listen, listen for anything that would comfort his soul. He couldn¡¯t hear anything. Maybe she¡¯s dead, a voice said. He disagreed with, thinking she was playing coy with him; Danny knew she was smart, cunning and the type of thing she would do. He didn¡¯t know what to believe, but he knew what he wanted to believe.


    Danny opened the door while he looked at the floor, thinking about how things had turned out. His thoughts instantly stopped as a shadow appeared on him. He looked up and fell back in fear. Elizbeth was at the door, dragging her foot behind her and continued to stumble towards him. The chemical liquid continued to drip and one of her eye lids had begun to melt where she had been wiping her face and it had caused her eye to expose itself.


    She fell to floor as her steps became too much for her. The impact sounded like a canon had gone off as the body smashed the floor. Danny could smell the skin burning, which was beginning to look like wax that was dripping further down, causing other parts of her body to burn. He didn¡¯t take joy in seeing her. She looked too much like his mother for it to be satisfying. Then he began to think whether he would enjoy his worst enemy in this state. Mushy skin mixed with bloody liquid and pus constantly squirting out. His eyes refocused to her exposed eye, which was on the urge of popping out and flying towards him. Even her eye was bleeding pus and watery liquid. He couldn¡¯t stand looking at his mother¡¯s slowly dying body, so he readied himself to leave the house.


    She instantly grabbed his foot, ¡°please don¡¯t leave me? It¡¯s me. It is your mum.¡± Her face was the definition of innocent. All Danny could see was his mum.


    Suddenly, he lifted his foot, stepped back and shouted. ¡°You are not her! You never will be.¡± A tear ran down his cheek. ¡°I lost my mum! I¡­ I¡­ I have lost her¡­ AND you will never be her!


    Elizbeth put her hand out, ¡°I could be her. You can save me. You can save your mother. Wouldn¡¯t you want that.¡± She tried to reach her hand out further, yet she failed, and her arm dropped to the wooden floor. ¡°Please, son. I need your help, Danny. We can be a family if you just help me. Don¡¯t you see, you have won.¡±


    Danny looked at her with all his emotion drained. He was left standing without a thought.


    ¡°Come on ¨C we can be a family ¨C a loving family that could live forever. Don¡¯t you want that because I want that now; I want us to be a family. I have changed, boy.¡±


    He noticed her last remark, and she couldn¡¯t stop staring at him. He smelt the desperateness. Yet he wanted to believe it so bad that he began to consider it. He wanted a life where he could still be with his mum but then his father entered his mind, reminding him of his reality. He finally looked her in the eyes, calmly saying, ¡°the chance to save her disappeared long ago.¡±


    His tears poured as he was walking past her, brushing her hand away. All he could hear was a ringing sound in his ear and her woeful howls. And as he got closer to the front door, she began cursing him. ¡°You will die out there. Do you hear me? You need me.¡± He ignored her words. ¡°You have never been a son to me, even before I was trapped. I wished you had died during birth. And I could have had freedom much sooner.¡± He stopped walking. Didn¡¯t do nothing but stand.


    He looked back at her, showed his face and she would have seen the face that was a brick wall. He proceeded to stumble nearer to the door.


    The screams went silent as he shut the door and walked aimlessly.


    He tried to hurry his steps. The voice in his head was pushing him to his extreme, making the muscles in his legs ache and eventually turn his legs into wobbling jelly. He ignored the other voice in his mind which was calling him selfish, ungrateful and evil. The voice wanted his mother back, no matter how he got it, but Danny remained on his dark, yet real path.


    The house exploded, the impact hit Danny in the back, forcing him to the concrete floor. As he dropped to the floor, everything went silent as he turned to face his house. Flames raised on his eyes. The house was unrecognisable, leaving him with no comfort, but just despair as his once-loving house rose in flames. The door had flown off, yet no noise came from inside and it gave Danny a silver lining and the peace he wanted.


    He continued to lie in a pit of pain ¨C looked at his burning home ¨C and he could feel his memories burning in front of him. He knew his life had perished within the nightmare. He knew the nightmare was to be prolonged and would live with immortality.


    He felt the power of the new world as he managed to sit up. The endless power that surged through the rotten earth. He felt the murder, smelt the rotten blood that spread through the streets and heard the innocent souls screaming out to the lord that was once felt in the sky. Danny shed another tear.


    Danny got up ¨C walked in a bloody mess ¨C and he could not ignore his pain as he struggled to walk, yet his steps had taken him to the road, and it left him surprised. He was looking at the sky as he felt flames on his back, and it gave him some serenity as it warmed his bloody body. The sky was looking wickedly beautiful. One word he had was, ¡°pandora.¡± The sky was glistening red, making him think blood had covered the whole sky and only leaving the black sun that looked upon him. He continued to shed tears as his eyes focused on his neighbours abandon and broken houses. He wondered what happened to them, wondered whether they died with nothing but the feeling of torment. He could not help but feel sorry for them which gave him hope that his soul still had light left inside. Yet his eyes kept wondering to his knife.


    He was stumbling past a burning car that smelt like people had been in there. The smell stopped him in his tracks. His surroundings offered him despair. He knew his place in this world that had been reborn. He looked up at the dark path ahead to see nothing but dark shadows.