Nelson's PoV

By the time I got home, my rib cage was burning, and I had a feeling that I had at least one broken rib. Right before I opened my front door, I took a deep, shaky breath and blinked back tears of pain. I couldn't let my mom see me in pain or else she'll ask what happened. I finally opened the door and walked inside.

"Mom, I'm home," I called out. I was greeted by silence which was odd since usually my mom is home after school. I just shrugged it off though and figured that she was in the bathroom or something. I went to my room and set my back pack down on my bed. I then walked to my bedroom window and looked out at my small garden. For some reason, I was obsessed with growing grape vines. I wouldn't grow any other type of plant, but I was very good at growing grapes. Every summer we would have a fresh batch of home grown grapes that my mom would use to make wine and jelly. Now that it was October, however, I let what was left over of the vines wither and decay back into the soil in order to keep the soil healthy for next year. Looking at the garden, even when it was dying, had always been a source of comfort for me. It was the one thing I was proud of and could do well with. I sat on the window seat and looked out at the garden as I tried to ignore the pain in my sides and forget what happened today. It was nearly impossible, but I still tried.

Eventually, I got up and walked around the house to grab something to eat. As I ate from a bunch of grapes, I looked for my mom. She should have came out of the bathroom by now. After I looked all over the house, I walked into my mom's room and stopped cold in my tracks. A girl with hair made out of fire, a donkey leg, and a metal leg looked up at me, licking her fangs. Her fangs were dripping with blood, and I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that I knew who's blood that was. I slowly looked from her horrible face to my mom's bed. Her body lay on the bed, unmoving. Blood covered her side and neck and it pooled out onto the bed. I looked back at the girl and she smiled at me.

"Hello, Nelson Madera. I was wondering when you would come home." The girl cooed. I felt a strange sense of calmness wash over me, and I almost walked closer to her. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and I focused on my mom's blood dripping from the girl's fangs.

"H-how do you kn-know m-my name?" I stuttered. "W-what did you d-do to m-my m-mom?"

The girl chuckled lightly and sashayed over to where I stood. It took me a few seconds to react, but I stumbled backward as she approached. "Oh, sweety. You're mother is only like this because she refused to kiss me, but you don't have to suffer the same fate. Come closer, it's okay. I won't hurt you." Her voice was silky and hard to resist.

I found myself leaning forward to kiss her, but then, suddenly, a picture of my grape garden flashed through my mind and broke the spell binding effect this monster's voice had on me. I jerked away from her and stumbled backward out of the room. "No, y-you're lying. You're going to kill me too! What are you?" I shrieked.

The girl looked at me with genuine sadness in her eyes, and I forced myself to look away from her. "Oh, sweety. You should have just kissed me when you had the chance. To answer your question, I am an empousa, and yes, I am going to kill you." She smiled sweetly at me and lunged.

I dodged to the side and screamed. The bunch of grapes that I had been eating from grew in my hand and turned into a long, thick grape vine. I dropped it in surprise and watched as the vine wrapped itself around the empousa. The monster shrieked and struggled against the vine, but the vine grew faster and wrapped itself around and around the monster until she was covered from head to toe. After a few seconds of muffled screams and struggling, the monster in the vine stopped moving and turned to ash. The vine shrank back into the bunch of grapes that it was before.

I just stared at the grapes uncomprehendingly. Finally, after standing there for a few minutes that felt like forever, I ran out of the house. I kept running without being able to see where I was going until I ran into a body. I shrieked, thinking about my mom, as I fell to the ground. I didn't dare get up. I didn't want to see what I ran into. I didn't care if it was another monster or not. I didn't care if I was in danger of dying at that moment. I could only break down, and I started sobbing.

The feels never seem to end do they? It'll be alright, in a few chapters. Or will it? Dun dun dun. Hope you guys have a good day!