June 9, 2020

12:02 A.M.

Li Residence

Carter Li

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Seconds after they had heard the screaming from upstairs, Danny rushed out of his bedroom and slammed the door. The boy was crying from fright, holding the door handle tightly. The door was being brutally battered from the inside with vicious scratching and pounding on the wood. Wild shrieking could be heard from the bedroom, something primal and voracious. Seeking to devour.

Carter shoves his father into the wall near the stairs and then forces him to the ground, as his mother races up towards Danny to help him with the door. Carter looks into his dad's eyes. They were colorless, the familiar, warm brown was completely absent. His father lets out a low growl, opening his mouth and attempting to bite. Carter quickly grabs the book that was lying nearby on the ground and jams it into his father's mouth.

"James, please calm down," his mother begs from upstairs. "What's gotten into you?!"

"He tried to hurt me, Mom!" Danny starts to cry more. "He jumped on me and then tried to bite my arm!"

Carter looks into his father's eyes again with disbelief, not able to efficiently collect his thoughts. He looks up to where his mom and younger brother were standing on the upper level and notices his parent's bedroom that was close by.

If we're fast, we can make it to the room and block the door off.

"Hey Mom!" Carter shouts. "You and Danny need to get ready to run to your bedroom. I'm gonna let Dad go and I'll switch out with you so you can get there safely!"

His mother ignores him, and instead continues to try and talk to James through the door.

"Please, baby. Stop this," She begins to break down. A loud crack noise comes from the door as a hand breaks out from the middle area of the wood, causing both her and Danny to scream. The hand writhes around without control, grasping and clawing the air. A high pitch cry emits from within the bedroom and echoes out into the house's foyer, drilling its shrill melody into everyone's eardrums.

"Ready?!" Carter shouts upstairs, maintaining a strong grip on the book in his hand as he glances up to the rest of his family. His mom looks down at him and nods quickly, preparing to run.

Carter steers the book to the left, along the wall and away from the staircase. His father, whose teeth had punctured through the leathery cover to the pages within, follows with the book and ends up laying on the ground. Carter takes this opportunity to move. The boy ascends the staircase, skipping steps. He makes it to the door as Danny scrambles past him along the bannister and into their parent's bedroom. His mom remains at the door, unmoving, and keeps attempting to negotiate with the fury on the other side.

"Mom, you gotta go," Carter insists. He ducks under the hand protruding from the door as it takes a swing at him.

"I don't understand?!" She shouts over the snarling. "Please James, let me help you-"

If Carter blinked he would've missed it.

The hand lashes out and grabs hold of his mom's shoulder, yanking her close. At the same moment, Danny's head explodes through the door. Pieces of wood rain down on carpeted floor beneath them, and dust billows into the air. His little brother snarls one more time, before swiftly sinking his teeth into his mother's neck.

Carter staggers back in shock, as blood droplets fly and make a couple scattered marks on his face. His brother continues to attack his mom, who struggles to fight back. She eventually breaks free and falls to the ground, clutching the gaping wound on her skin. Carter stands up and helps his mother to her feet, pulling her away from the door. They make it into the bedroom across the hall, and Carter turns around to shut the door. He looks at his brother James, still clawing at them from across the hall through the makeshift opening he created. 

His eyes were radiating with a yellow light. Unblinking. Only fixed on him. 

Carter notices that his father had silently made his way up the stairs and was only a few feet away, which causes him to panic even more. He slams the door as his mother stumbles into the room and collapses to the floor, blood still seeping out of the gash on her neck. Carter and his brother work together to push a large dresser in front of the door, desperately hoping that it would be enough to keep them all safe.
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Foster Residence

Adam Foster

The man he had once known as his father sprung into the air, with Adam as his prey. Adam sat there, immobilized. He had never experienced true fear before this moment. Sure, there had been times in his life where he had been scared. But this...it was too much to process. Time seemed to slow down, as the beady yellow eyes approached ever closer. The light from inside the house faintly illuminated his father's face. On it was a wicked snarl, an expression that almost looked like the man was in pain. Adam closes his eyes, preparing himself for what he knew he couldn't stop.

"Angie," he thought to himself."I'm so sorry."

An object soars through the air and collides with his father a mere second before he could land an attack. Adam opens his eyes, seeing his father get knocked back as the frying pan from the kitchen bashed him in the head. The pan clatters against the ground as his father lets out another bloodcurdling howl and grips his head, thrashing around with rage.

"Adam! Get your ass inside right now!" Angie screams at him. Adam turns back to the house to see his sister running towards him. Adam starts to get up and is yanked to his feet as Angie grabs his arm. She throws him the direction of the house and keeps running.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just stay back!"

Their father stands up again, just to be met with a dropkick from Angie. She nails him in the chest, sending him staggering back and eventually he trips on himself and falls into the grass. Adam watches as Angie quickly looks around the yard, looking for the frying pan. Once spotting it, she dashes over and grabs the object. She runs back over to their father, who had just started to recover, and swings the object down. After the first successful strike, she swings again. And again.

And again.

Adam stands in the doorway, horrified. He watches as his sister murders someone in their backyard. Not just someone. Their father. Their flesh and blood.

How is this real?

Angie stops. She quietly walks back towards the house. Adam stays silent. As his sister gets closer, he can see the blood on the frying pan. Adam was thankful that the patio lights weren't on. While he could somewhat make out his father's body that was sprawled out on the lawn, he didn't want to see the face.

"Stay out here." Angie pushes past him, without making eye contact. "I need to take care of Mom."

"Wait Angie, I can help--"

"No, you can't," she says quietly, stopping inside the house. "You could've just died out here, Adam."

"I -- I'm fine now though," Adam pleads. "Besides, I uh, kinda owe you now."

"For once Adam, stop making those fucking jokes."

"What?"

Angie turns her head to one side, still facing away from Adam.

"They aren't helpful. Not right now. And why did you just lay there on the ground?!"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't try to run. Or fight. There was more than enough time to get up and try to make it back to the house. What the hell is the matter with you?!"

"I'm sorry Angie," Adam mumbles, not knowing exactly what to say. He had never heard this tone from his sister. He starts to tear up slightly, and looks down towards the patio tiles. "I was overwhelmed. I guess I froze."

"Exactly," Angie nods to herself. "Look, I'm sorry if this sounds harsh. But just stay outside and don't get in my way. Do you understand?"

"...Yes."

"Take a minute or two to just listen out here," Angie motions to the rest of the neighborhood. Screams could be heard from many directions. Some faint, other louder. Gunshots ring out from a house to their left. A police car races past their home, the red and blue lights illuminating the night sky. Adam smells smoke. Most likely a house fire.

"I'll come get you once I take care of things inside. Try to wrap your head around what's happening. If this is actually going down everywhere..." Angie pauses for a moment, then finally turns around to face her brother. Adam spots some bloodstains on her face and jacket. Angie looks exhausted, yet determined.

"I understand, Angie," Adam states, pulling himself together. "I'm sorry I freaked out. It won't happen again."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Angie rests a hand on Adam's shoulder and looks him in the eyes. "We're in this together, don't forget that. I have just as many questions right now as you probably do. Just stay out here and calm yourself down a bit. I'll be back as soon as possible, don't do anything too stupid while I'm gone alright?"

"Don't have to worry about that," Adam lets out a shaky laugh. He sits down on the doorstep and looks out into the backyard. Angie quietly reenters the house and makes her way toward the lounge. Adam glances over to where the corpse lay in the backyard. He thinks of his friends, his teammates from track, his teachers. He goes through lists of names, trying to find out who else may have turned into a monster like his father.

He shivers as a current of chilling nocturnal wind makes its way through the backyard. Adam pulls the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, and listens to his surroundings. Sounds of muffled screaming and fighting flood his ears from just about every direction. Too much chaos to be controlled. He wonders briefly how the military and law enforcement was responding to all this. Their forces were probably spread thin, and if this was happening everywhere...

Adam glances up towards the sky, noticing the moon for the first time tonight. The dense clouds had cleared up, allowing the light of a full moon to cast off its soft glow. He takes a deep breath, watching the vapor rise in front of his face. Hearing Angie's footsteps return, Adam turns around. He noticed a little more blood on her outfit. Angie's face was set with an expression of pure exhaustion, but something else too.

Resolve.

"Come on little brother. We've got work to do."

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