Alena bolted right towards her house, her breath coming in ragged burst. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
The footprints.
She slammed the door open. It crashed against the wall with a force that rattled even her teeth, but the house… the house remained still.
The TV flickered in the corner. A distorted melody hummed softly from its speakers.
"Don't you make me feel guilty ~ And suffer the pain..."
The song crawled under her skin, like a phantom she couldn't shake. Why won't it stop?
The fridge was open, leaking cold air like the house itself was bleeding. The curtains hung still, undisturbed by any breeze. But something about the shadows..... they felt alive. Watching. Waiting.
"Kate!" she yelled.
No answer.
Her pulse quickened as she moved through the house, slamming doors, searching. The weight of every step seemed to echo louder than the last. Sweat clung to her skin, each breath heavier, more frantic.
And then, from her bedroom, it came....
Whispers.
Low, indistinct murmurs, as if two people were speaking in hushed voices. Alena leaned in, straining to make sense of the words, but they slipped just out of reach.
She without making a sound, moved closer to the bedroom door.
And, suddenly the whispers stopped.
Alena froze, her hand hovering over the doorknob. They know.
She pushed the door open. The hinges let out a long groan, the sound loud enough to set her teeth on edge.
But inside, the room was deathly quiet.
There, in the wheelchair by the window, sat an innocent looking girl. Kate, "Hello mom."
She smiled softly, as if totally oblivious to the storm in Alena's heart. The sight of her - so composed amidst the chaos, it sent a chill down Alena's spine. For a moment, all she could do was stare.
Then Alena dropped to her knees, trembling hands cupping the girl's face. "Sweetheart," she asked, "Are you okay? Did anyone… anybody come in here?"
Kate shook her head slowly. Her eyes locked onto Alena's, but her lips stayed sealed.
"Talk to me, Kate. You can tell me anything," Alena asked again, her voice breaking. "I'm your mother. I know and I should know everything about you, right baby?"
But Kate's gaze....normally full of warmth and light, seemed distant as if she was staring through Alena instead of at her.
What's wrong with you? A sharp pang of frustration bubbled in Alena's chest, "Why won't you talk to me?"
There, Alena felt an overwhelming urge to shake her, to slap her, to force an answer out. But she swallowed it down.
"Go to your room, Kate," she said, "Now."
Kate obeyed without a word, disappearing down the hall with slow steps.
"I will take care of it all," Alena's eyes darted around the room. Nothing was out of place, but the feeling of being watched .... it's eating her from inside.
She shook her head violently, muttering, "Get a grip, Alena."
"Just get a fucking grip"
Storming out of the bedroom, she made her way to the small linen closet in the hallway.
She yanked the false panel off the bottom shelf.
Her fingers were steady, her breath uneven. And there it was.
The gun. A familiar metal wrapped in an old cloth, hidden away like a relic of a past she couldn't erase.
"Hell, it's been a long time," she shrugged, her voice thin, trembling. The words tasted bitter on her tongue. "Can I really touch it again?"
Her fingers closed around the weapon, and the moment the cold steel met her skin, her world tilted sideways.
Every single cell of her body roared.
Flash—
Floodlights.
The air was thick with smoke and dust. Her boots crunched against gravel. A voice screamed her name, sharp, "Officer Alena!"
Her grip on the gun slipped, sweat slicking her palms. She blinked hard, trying to ground herself in the present, but the memory was already drowning her.
Get it together.
The gun felt heavier.
Flash—
Boots crunching on gravel. People were moving fast in the haze of smoke, voices barking commands. "We don't take risks, Officer."
"Stop," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. She was here...now.... but her body didn't believe it.
Her knees buckled, and her shoulder hit the wall.
Flash—
A boy. Small, trembling. Dirt streaked his cheeks. His wide, glassy eyes locked on her rifle.
"He's just a kid!" Alena's own voice echoed back at her, pleading.... begging.
"Do it, Officer Alena."
"Shut up!" she hissed, clutching the gun tighter, her knuckles white with the force.
She stumbled forward, the sound of her boots on the wood overlapping—
No No No No Nooooo...
Boots on gravel. A scream. A gunshot.
The house was silent, but her ears rang with phantom noise.
The sound of the child's body hitting the ground.
That moment—the way he fell, lifeless—looped in her mind like a broken record. And in that record, as a background score, played a tune...
"Don't you make me feel guilty ~ And suffer the pain..."
Alena's breaths came shallow. Her hand brushed her damp face. Was she crying? She didn't know.
She gripped the gun tighter, trembling, and shoved herself upright.
The hallway felt stretched, endless.
"I am still not over those memories, Am I?"
Just then, a sudden crack !! A sharp sound behind her.
Alena spun around, heart racing. In the hallway mirror, she caught a glimpse of something. A figure, something like a ghost. Sitting behind her reflection.
"Mother, is it you?"
She knew it was again her mind playing tricks, it's just an illusion.
But that didn't stop the shiver she had running down her spine. Slowly, her fingers reached out, pressing against the cold glass, whispering to the shadow in the mirror.
"Oh you…. Why can't you leave me alone? huh? Tell me. It's all your fault. Everyone... every fucking murder.... all of my sins.... It's all your fault, Mom."
Her grip on the gun softened, her voice cracking with anger and sorrow.
"I won't be like you. Not a monster. I've changed. I am fucking better. That darkness… it's never touching me again. This metal…" she looked at the gun, "It's never touching me again."
The gun slipped from her hand, falling onto the desk with a soft thud. Alena picked up a hammer, its weight grounding her as she carefully placed the gun back where it had once been, tucked away.
She looked at the mirror again. The ghostly reflection still lingered.
The figure was shadowy and obscured, a distorted version of Alena herself.... but taller, more broken.
And to her surprise..... "I won't be like you, Not a monster," that shadow form echoed the same words as Alena.
Alena whipped around, but the hallway was empty. Her chest ached with tension, but it eased slightly as she realized there was no one there.
Just illusion, huh? I mean i knew it was all....
She looked at the clock, "I have to pull myself together. I have to find who the fuck that intruder is. Lys and Kalli will be back soon."
"Don't you--"
Alena : "No more fucking time for those pasts."