She finished setting down the things, a small black and green backpack and a picnic basket her mother-in-law gifted her a year ago, she had sworn to herself never to use it on account of it looking exceedingly cheesy, but it came in way too handy on this situation, while she was spreading the mantel on the ground and placing the baby on the stroller, a child came running up towards her, he tripped a small distance away… falling headfirst into the dirt, he rapidly stood up and smiling, pretending as if nothing had happened, he happily asked her.
"Can I go play?!" He was pointing to a place in the distance, jumping up and down in place swept in unbridled excitement.
"Yes honey, go have fun, and please don't-"
He didn't bother to stay and listen to his mother's plea, the little brown-haired seven-year-old took off, wobbling away as fast as he could towards the playground where all the children of the neighborhood were playing tag; She let out a defeated sigh and returned to taking care of the baby.
Just another Sunday in the suburbs for her, the park was filled with the usual group of families she had already grown sick and tired of seeing during these last two years of her new life; One of these such families noticed her and the baby resting on the shadow of the old willow tree, The wife, Maria, waved at her and they exchanged pleasantries before parting ways again, clearly, neither of them wanted to be in the presence of the other.
The mother was ecstatic, now that Maria had left, and she didn't have to bother putting on a fake smile to entertain the same woman that spoke atrocities about her to every wife in the neighborhood; maybe now she could have some time for herself
After a few minutes of browsing her phone and chatting with her real friends, far away from her. Duty called out to her.
"Okay, cutie, let me see." She talked to him as she spread a towel on top of the mantle and set the green-eyed child on top of it
He was her second son. Luckily, had been a healthy baby despite the worries of hereditary diseases from the father's side, the pregnancy had been a hard and dangerous one, but the end result of it was worth it, she would gladly give her life for them both.
She changed the baby's diaper and watched as he fell asleep under the warm, the rays filtered through the leaves of the tree just enough to be comfortable, she felt she could fall asleep like the small baby beside her, unlike the first son who cried non-stop all night and crawled to every single dangerous thing in the house, the second son was a saint by comparison.
A quiet one that sleeps the nights away without as much as a pip. "Little piglet," she called him. The baby spent most of his time napping or eating, making cute noises, the young mother melting in love at the mere sight of him.
She looked in her older son's direction. He was playing with the other children and as of, yet no fights had started, so she figured out this was her chance to continue her me-time with her phone.
Time passed; the sunny sky started to get covered by splashes of dark ominous black clouds that, at first glance, seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Guess we have to go back, fun time's over now boys."
She called the oldest one back. The sky had turned a deep dark color by the time they were reunited and ready to depart, despite being sunny and clear just a few minutes ago, a storm was about to let loose, and all the other families were also leaving in a hurry.
What strange weather
she thought.
"Honey, we have to leave," As soon as she said that she felt a foul stench, a rotting meat smell so strong she couldn't help to cover her nose in a hurry, the odor had seemingly come from nowhere, in particular, it was like a miasma covering the surrounding area with no source of origin on sight. The aroma of rotten, putrid flesh almost made her barf, but she managed to hold the bile in.
A strong wind picked up. A wind so strong the branches of the tree they were under swayed violently as if they were no stronger than a sheet of paper in a hurricane.
Rather than leaving in a hurry under this weather, she knew it would be safer to take refuge somewhere before going back home, especially since the walk would easily take them 20 minutes or more.
The trio hid under a small bridge on the east side of the park. The baby was still asleep inside the stroller.
"Mom, I'm scared. Are we going to be fine?"
"Of course, honey. It's just a storm. As soon as it passes, we'll go back. I'll let your father know where we are so he can come to pick us up,"
When she reached into the pocket of her purse, she realized there were a few small red droplets on the back of her hand.
"What the hell! is this, Blood?"
Lifting her arm closer, she could smell it: a rotten essence wafted in the air like a dark spirit covering them, like sharks swimming circles over their prey. The scent was even stronger than before.
Then, a light flashed. She couldn't tell if something had exploded or if lightning struck had a nearby pole. It was so strong she was blinded for a few seconds, all thoughts wiped clean from her mind, in her fear and newfound desperation she managed to hold onto some of her senses, enough to shout instructions.
"Cover your ea—" as soon as she said that strong thunder roared and cut out her voice; a sound so robust, they both instinctively covered their ears. The rotten smell was now unbearable, the only good side was that the wind was so strong the stench couldn't linger for long stretches of time. that sole fact gave them respite from the relentless sensory attack.
Another sound, much duller than thunder, a loud thud near them.
A blunt sound, as if someone had let a sack of flour fall from a second-store window.
Then another, they didn't know what it was, she thought for a second that it could very well be hail, but it wasn't nearly that cold. In fact, it was still summer, and the temperature hadn't changed that much from before.
"Mom, look…" her son called after her, his voice cracking and breaking as if he was about to burst into sobbing or full-on crying. He pointed to something outside the sanctuary they found themselves in.
A small lump of flesh, another one near that first one, and as she kept looking, realization dawned on her; a terror-inducing comprehension.
Body parts.
Body parts were raining. Lumps of red meat, feet, arms, genitals, and disfigured rotten faces of unknown people were falling from the sky in all shapes and sizes.
"Could it be a plane crash?"
How could it be? No loud sounds, no explosions or pieces of debris falling from the sky, it was, simply raining blood and flesh, even if such a thing is impossible.
"Close your eyes, baby. it will be okay." she wanted to scream. She wanted to cry for help, but she had to be solid. Strong as a rock unbreakable, for her two sons' sake. She had to hold on.
She did notice something weird, even after the strong thunder and the horrible smells, even now with the sounds of flesh falling and landing all over the place.
The baby hadn't cried, not even once. Thinking that something could be wrong with her child she hurriedly looked inside the stroller, only to find it empty, with no baby inside.
Her gorgeous black-haired baby boy was gone in a flash of light.
She screamed; the rock crumbled.
What she didn't remember at the time was that a similar thing happened a few years ago, in another country, a widespread story worldwide, a rain of grotesque gore.
A strange disappearance.