"So, how was school?" My mother approached me as I entered the apartment.

Her eyes gleamed.

I avoided them.

"Good," I muttered, making a beeline for my room.

"And the dagger?" She intercepted me with eager bounds. She grabbed my hands and spun me around, making me wince. "Have you thought about how you will use it?"

Cold hands seized at my heart, and I felt it hasten in speed. How could I tell her? I was scared of what she would do if I told her. The manic glow in her eyes only confirmed that she was going mad.

"I-I won't," I stammered, refusing to meet her eyes. "I can't kill them."

My mother's grip on my hands tightened. I tried to pull them away, but she wouldn't let go. Her jaw twitched, and I could tell she was searching for words to yell at me. If anything remained in my mother that I knew, it was when she was going to tell me off.

"They killed your father!" she hissed, her eyes growing wide with shock. "That's the least you can do!"

"They didn't!" I objected. "And even if they did, I can't just murder them!"

"Please, it wouldn't matter," Mom sniffed. "They don't count."

"Yes they do!" I protested, ripping my hands from hers forcefully. "I won't kill them just because one of their kind went bad! That's just stupid!"

"I am your mother," she snarled, grabbing my shoulders with clawed hands. "You will do as I say, do you understand?"

"Even murder?" I continued, defiant, even as she shook me. I went to a high school with monsters, creatures that haunted my own kind. Intimidation would not work. I would not cave in.

My mother slapped me. Hard. At first, the impact was dull and cold as my head snapped sideways, but as I glared at her defiantly, tears already welling up in my eyes, I could feel the pain warm and blossom into an uncomfortable stinging sensation. As I reeled from the hurt, she yanked me closer my the elbow.

"If you won't listen to me, fine," she spat, leading me towards the hallway. She walked quickly, and I could barely keep up with her, stumbling over the rug. We came to an abrupt halt in front of the closet, where all our coats were kept. My mother opened the door and kicked me inside, and more pain flared in my side. I tumbled into the dark, small, enclosed space, and she slammed the door, locking it from the outside. "You can stay in here until you come to your senses."

It won't work, I thought somewhat triumphantly. They've already done this.

"Either cooperate, or I kill them myself tomorrow at school," she added with a vicious bite in her voice. "In fact, I'll schedule a conference with the principal right now."

My eyes widened, and I fought back a cry of terror.

"This... This isn't what Dad would've wanted," I murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.

My mother laughed a spitting, harsh cackle. "You don't know anything about your father," she responded curtly. "He would've wanted you to avenge him."

"...M-Mom?" I whimpered, tears streaming down my face now. "Is..."

Is that even you? I didn't dare finish that sentence, but it was there. Was that my mother out there? I'd never seen her like this, yet there she was, raving mad. She couldn't be possessed, could she? But what monster would want to kill its own kind? I felt lied to and betrayed, and I wasn't sure what hurt more, that or the fact that my classmates would die tomorrow.

I heard my backpack zip open and then closed. Must've been my mother taking out the dagger. My heart felt like it was slowly decaying in my chest, and I had never felt so helpless in my life, not even the other two times I had been locked inside closets. It was a wonder why I didn't have a phobia of them.

"Hello?" my mother said loudly. "Principal Lee?"

She walked away, her voice eventually fading into obscurity, but I realized what she was doing. She was serious, and that terrified me. A new energy surged through my veins, and I felt a panicked need to escape and prevent my classmates' early deaths. My hands flew for the door handle, but of course, it was locked. Could I try to force the door open? It was a small apartment, and my mother would more than likely hear...

Jimin, I whimpered, are you there? Please help me... I'm locked in the closet.

A painfully bright light seared my retinas. I instinctively shut my eyes, and when the light faded, I only then dared to open them. There was still a source of brightness, though it was considerably less intense.

Jimin sat next to me, engulfed in his halo of light. He wore a calming expression, and he moved forward to take my hand. He squeezed it comfortingly.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll get you out of here."

He pressed his palm against the doorknob, and it silently opened. I peeked out to see my mother's back, leaving the kitchen to go upstairs. Then, Jimin pushed me lightly to spur me on, and I tip-toed quickly out of the closet, my heart pounding. I should've been terrified out of my wits, but with Jimin there, I felt a strange calm settle over me.

Take your backpack too, he projected as we passed it. We still have to go to school tomorrow.

I nodded, swiping an arm down and catching a strap over my forearm. Slowly and quietly, I swung it gently over my back. After throwing a quick glance up the stairs, I nodded to Jimin, who grabbed the doorknob and twisted.

And just like that, we were out.