I used to think my life was good.
Not perfect—nothing ever was—but good enough.My real father left when I was six, but Mom remarried a year later. Her new husband was kind, patient, and gentle with us. For the first time, the house felt warm.
Even when his wife died last year, the three of us survived by leaning on each other. Piece by piece, we filled the emptiness inside.
Today was supposed to be one of those rare happy days.My eighteenth birthday.A future ahead of me.Mom smiling. My stepfather proud.
For a moment, I believed life could be kind.
He went outside for his usual cigarette while Mom and I washed dishes, laughing about how bad he was at wrapping gifts.
And then—The scream.
A sound so sharp it sliced something inside me.
We froze. Mom's hands trembled as she reached the door.I followed, every step heavier than the last.
When she opened it…
My world ended.
My stepfather lay on the ground—twisted, broken, lifeless.And over him stood a thing.
A creature with glowing red eyes like shattered blood-glass.A mouth stretched into a smile no human face should be able to make.Tears—black, burning tears—dripped from its cheeks, steaming as they hit the cold floor.
It looked tormented.And hateful.And somehow… familiar.
Mom and I collapsed. My legs refused to move.I clung to her like a child, shaking, wishing I could disappear.
The creature bent toward us, smiling wider.
Its voice was wrong.Layered. Echoing. Like several monsters trying to speak at once.
"Elizabeth… I killed your husband, and you stayed quiet?"
Mom strangled a sob.My blood turned to ice.
Then it looked at me.
"And you, sweet Adam… hiding like a child? Your father died screaming. Your mother will too. And still you tremble?"
How…How did it know my name?
Mom shoved me behind her and screamed,"W-what kind of monster laughs while killing people?! What did he ever do to you?!"
She rushed forward.I reached for her—too late.
The creature caught her by the throat.
I thought it would strangle her.But instead—
—its arm tore straight through her chest.
Mom's body twitched.The creature held her living, beating heart in its hand.Her eyes dimmed as she looked at me one last time.
And the monster…smiled.
"Wrong, dear mother. I'm not a human being. Not anymore."
Footsteps.A laugh—sharp, metallic, cruel.
A jester stepped out of the shadows, amusement dancing in his painted eyes.
Mom fell.Her heart hit the ground with a wet thud.
Something in me broke.I crawled to her body, shaking her, begging, praying—
She didn't move.She would never move again.
I screamed until my throat bled.
"Kill me! JUST KILL ME, YOU MONSTER!"
The creature's grin twisted into something unholy.It lunged.Pain exploded through my body—heat, tearing, agony.My bones snapped.My flesh peeled.My world burned.
Through the agony, I heard the jester laugh.
"You and your brother… fell for the same trick."
He laughed harder.
"Unbelievable."
—
When the pain vanished, I gasped and opened my eyes.
I was sitting upright.In a wooden chair.Hands tied.
The jester stood beside me, smiling like a child admiring his favorite toy.
I touched my chest—whole.My face—unbroken.My heart—still beating.
I screamed,"Where—where is the monster?! Mom?! Dad?! WHERE ARE THEY?!"
The jester leaned close, his grin stretching too far.
His whisper was cold enough to freeze my soul:
"Oh, Adam… don't tell me you've had enough already."
His smile widened, impossibly.
"We haven't even started."
Then he laughed again—and the sound made my ears burst, blood running down my neck.