"Your things are heavy, Max. Finish up your food quickly so we can…"
Sally stopped dead in her tracks at the doorway, Max's bags still scooped up in her arms.
"Mom?"
Max noticed her trance-like state and looked past her, to what she was so transfixed on outside.
Only to realise that it wasn't just something, it was everything.
The sky darkened in an eerie way. Strange wisps of black smoke danced in the sky, swirling and coalescing into tornadoes that towered up through the atmosphere.
All around, the Earth seemed to be drained of life as a black sickening colour spread across the lands. Trees withered till nothing was left.
The wave of black reached their home, draining everything of colour and eating away at the walls.
Sally still stood there, shock and unbelief frozen on her face.
Max's mind rolled with thoughts of alarm. This was not something any natural phenomena could cause. He already had his suspicions from the red lightning he saw flickering across the sky, but they were quickly confirmed when he heard it.
A faint distant chime, like it came from a clock tower.
From the way Sally turned sharply, he could tell she heard it too.
Just then, a screen flickered before his eyes, translucent but real.
Written across it was a menu that spelled "Audio of Impending Doom". Another smaller menu to the bottom right was written "Click Me".
Max had no idea on how to interact with this holographic madness. He turned to his mother for some help. She was very smart, maybe she would know what to do.
He saw the same screen flickering before her eyes.
And saw her arm moving towards the "Click Me" menu.
He was about to scream at her not to, only to see that his arm robotically moved towards it as well, seemingly encased by a black swirling aura.
He couldn't even struggle. All around them, the walls of their home crumbled, blackened sand pouring from the ceiling.
Sally and Max clicked the button at the same time, and an audio track began to play.
The clock tower chimed again. It had chimed 5 times already. Max's dreams had taught him enough to keep note of that.
"Well, well, well, look at you all! My beloved little mortals! Gather 'round, because I've got a real treat for you today—yes, you heard me right! See, I've been watching you scamper about, clutching onto your little routines, thinking everything is just fine and ordinary. But that's about to change in a way you'll never forget, believe me!
Now, I know what you're thinking—'Who is this magnificent voice, and why is he speaking to me?'—but let's make it simple: think of me as... your new best friend. You know, the kind who shows up uninvited, rearranges all your furniture in the dark, and leaves presents under your bed that you definitely did not ask for.
So here's the fun part: To mark our new friendship, I've got a special gift for you. Take it like a game, where you'd have lots of new friends to play with, and not your regular old human companions. And each moment, each gruesome death, is all yours, tailored just for you by yours truly.
Don't be afraid, my dears—fear is just a little seasoning. Think of it as a… delicate spice that I'll be adding to your days, and your nights, and everything in between! And remember, this isn't just my game—it's our game. I promise, I'll be here for every scream, every whimper, every last breath.
See you on the other side... if you last that long."
The audio track ended. In the background, there was the 12th chime.
The very last one.
All hell broke loose.
Dark clumps of energy gathered everywhere, in the skies, on the ground, at the walls of Max's house. They seemed to eat away at the fabric of reality, opening up what seemed to be dark portals. Out of them came the most nightmarish creatures.
They towered at ten feet tall, with skin the patchwork of charred muscle and bone. Dotted across its body were more than fifty eyeballs. Its fingers were elongated and spindly, with talons that ended in razor-sharp, bone-white claws. It roared with a mouth that opened unnaturally wide, containing rows of jagged, uneven teeth.
It stared at Max, and he was paralysed with fear.
Literally…
His muscles froze against his will. It was like the black aura thing all over again. The creature lunged at him, claws stretched at his throat.
And he found himself tackled to the floor. He expected to see the creature chomping at his sides when he looked up.
He saw Sally instead.
"Quick, we have to go. Now!"
Somehow, she had escaped her own shock as she dragged him across the living room to a section of the house he wasn't quite sure existed.
The creature had crashed into the dining area, shattering the table and dishware. Sally and Max ran down towards the basement. She punched a section of the wall, and it collapsed into a doorway Max never knew existed.
"Take this." She shoved a small box that glowed with yellow light into his palms.
"I love you Max, don't ever forget that.", she said with tears in her eyes.
She pointed at the direction of the collapsed doorway. A tunnel ran through the ground.
"Go, and don't turn back." She shoved him into the dark passage and ran back towards the basement door. Max's heart sank as he realised what she was doing.
Before she even got within fifteen feet of the door, it crashed down in splinters, a roaring creature standing at the doorway.
It jumped towards her and sank its wide mouth round her throat, ripping a section of her neck out of her body. Blood gurgled as her eyes turned white. She had already died before she hit the ground.
Something within Max snapped.
He felt pain, anger, bitterness… Waves of emotion crashed down on him like a raging hurricane as he stood there, frozen in shock.
The creature turned its multiple eyeballs in his direction. It roared and gave chase on its hind legs.
He charged back at it with unbridled fury. He was not going to back down like a coward. This thing had murdered the only family he ever knew. The only family he loved.
Time stood still as man and beast lunged at each other, roars and screams deafening the space between. Max was halfway through the air when he heard a strange robotic whirr at the back of his mind.
DING!