Lately, things have been feeling a bit different. My parents have started acting weird and they have not spoken as much. My grandparents say to let them be and not get too close. I wonder what they could be going through that they are not telling me. Usually, they would be trying to hide this sort of thing from me by acting like there is nothing going on and that things are alright, but it's plain as day. I feel like something related to that incident is the reason why they are like this. I don't know what to do about that myself. I can feel I've also haven't been myself. I can't blame them for feeling this way.
During dinner, I try asking my father what is going on. He chuckles nervously and looks over at Mom.
My mother says softly, "I've seen it. The Echo. I've heard it."
"What does she mean?" I asked my father.
"Ice, last week your mother told me she saw an Echo in the middle of the night when we were asleep. She woke up to the sound of a screech and she saw this figure looming over my head," my father said.
"Does she remember anything? Like if it said anything to her?" I asked.
"She said 'axe'," my father said frightened.
I could tell he was scared and my mother was obviously on edge so I decided to drop it and let it go. I go to my room to cool my mind. I turn the TV into background noise to help. I decide to call Grandad and ask him about it. He picks up.
"Hey Grandad, how are you? How's Granma?" I ask.
"Hello Ice, we are doing fine. It's a surprise for you to call at this time. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" he asked.
"Just cleaning my mind and thought to call and see how you and Granma are doing. I wanted to ask something," I said.
"You and your questions," he said chuckling.
"So Mom and Dad said they saw something last week and it told them something before it disappeared. I forgot what it was. They didn't tell me much and I was wondering if they have mentioned anything to you guys."
"Ice, these things are a complicated factor to understand. From my experience, there's one thing I have always wondered. Why do they sort of 'warn' us before something tragic happens? Are they warning us or telling us our fate? I will go to the temple with your grandmother and offer our prayers to the family. Let's hope the gods are on our side," he said. "Ice, I have to go help your grandmother as there is another funeral tomorrow. We'll see you when you come to visit in a couple of weeks. Good night and sleep well tonight. Also, tell your father I need my toolset back that he took and hasn't brought back," he said with a nice chuckle.
I go back downstairs to check on my parents. They are sitting on the couch quietly and smiled when they saw me. We talked for a while till we got tired. I woke up on the couch the next morning. Mom had made dinner and as I was eating she came into the dining room and apologized for leaving me on the couch I was too tall for them to carry in my room so they covered me with a blanket. She seemed lively this morning and it put a smile on my face.
Three weeks have gone by and my parents seem normal now. It feels like things are going alright. We decided to go down to my grandparents. As we are driving down the small town, I notice it seems more quiet than usual and no one is in sight. As we get to my grandparents, I suddenly know why. I see blood near their entrance door.
I am scared I tell my parents to go back, but Mom starts screaming and Dad drives fast until we get to my grandparent's house. As soon as we get there, they both get out of the car to go check the house. As they leave, they tell me to keep the engine running and to get in the driver's seat. I knew what they meant by that.
As they open the door, an axe hits my father straight in the middle of his forehead. My mother gets sucked into the house by something I couldn't see and the door closes. The next thing I hear is the axe hit her. I scream and try to get out of the seat, but as soon as I tried opening the car, the front door to the house opened. I suddenly feel an ominous aura all over my body. Glowing eyes. I see an axe in its hand as it goes straight for my father's neck and in one swift move, I see my father's head fly over the room. As it heads to my mother's, I notice two other bodies that have been decapitated. As the horror filled my face, I realized it was my grandparents who were lying on the ground there, lifeless.
As it approached my mother it grabbed her by her neck, lifting her up to show me. It ripped her head off with its bare hands. I was terrified that I had forgotten I had the wheel. When I realized this I made a quick getaway. I drove so fast and in tears, I could think about nothing other than seeing my parents get killed.
I arrived home and went straight to my room. I cried and even through up seeing images of my parents and grandparents. For the next month, I lost all connections I had made. My friends, my family, my job. I have nothing.
It's December now and as I'm sitting in my room, I notice in the corner of my eyes this small figure in the corner of my room. It's Nia.
"Go away," I said.
"I see you have fallen deep," she said.
"I lost everything, everyone I cared about, my job, and pretty soon, this home as well," I told her.
Nia looked up at me. "I know what you are thinking, but hear me when I say this, it's not going to help. Do you want to know what took your family away? Do you want to get revenge? You, a person who can see and communicate on both sides, I think you are meant for something far greater."
"What is this thing I am meant for? My family is dead. I don't know what to do. What is this thing and what does it want from me?" I asked her while desperately trying to control my feelings.
"To know that, you must know of the past. How it started and what this thing is," she said. "It started about a thousand years ago. In a village where they were very determined to find out what happens to a soul after an individual's death. The after-death. Every June, the village chief will announce which child will be sacrificed at the age of six. The people of the village believed a child at the age of six was still pure from evil. They sacrificed them to the God of Death, but unbeknownst to them, they didn't actually know who or what the God of Death was."
She continued, "One day, they tried again, and this time they tried something different. After killing the child, they took out the heart and lungs believing that it was suppressing the soul from passing. After three days of waiting, they saw that nothing was happening. The elders spoke to the village chief about what they could do. After a couple of times discussing what to do, they all came to a conclusion. To simply get rid of the body as it was worthless now. The next day the village people went to the altar where they carried the body to the ocean and threw it there. The body was there deep in the ocean for six days until this dark aura absorbed it and turned it into something terrifying. That black aura was all the children the village had sacrificed in the past."
"As soon as it absorbed him, it turned the child demonic. Now arising from the waters, this demonic creature reached the surface and into the village where it saw this old man. The demon looked at the old man and jumped at him, ripping him to shreds, taking his lungs just as they did to him, but leaving the heart lying on the ground for it had no need for it now. With the help of the lungs it stole, it is going to use it as one of the most terrifying sounds known to mankind. It is now known as 'The Siren', The God of Death," Nia said.
"Why do they call it 'The Siren'?" I asked her.
"The reason why they call it The Siren is that if you ever hear a whistle in the middle of the night, be wary because that is probably the last thing you will ever hear," she said. "This is your chance to take everything back and restore peace to the people. I don't want you to end up like everyone in this town. Like me or your family. You must take action. Do you accept?"
I don't have anything to lose anymore. I took her offer. Nia started showing up frequently and I was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed because it didn't seem like she was going to kill me or anything. Although I feel something dark coming within her, I am not scared.
Somewhere in the land of the dead...
"My Lord, there is an important matter that is needed to be discussed."
"What is it?" an eerie voice replied.
"One of the Echos is missing, the girl. What should we do with the girl, My Lord?"
"Do not worry. For now we shall let her be. I shall watch what she is up to," the eerie voice said. "Our plan is nearing and she will be a helpful tool to my plan; for that, she will be my little spy."