2038, in a place far from civilization.
An old, decaying apartment building stood alone down the road, a relic of neglect and despair. It was a crowded structure, packed with tiny, suffocating apartments where only the most unfortunate souls resided. A single glance at this place would be enough to make anyone say, "This is no place to raise a child."
Then, in the midst of the deafening silence, a scream shattered the night.
A little girl, Jia Sun, froze mid-step as the piercing sound reached her ears. Her heart pounded as she turned, trying to locate its source. Whoever had screamed had been in excruciating pain-she was sure of it.
And then, she saw him.
A boy, around her age, burst through the door of a burned-out apartment, barefoot, clad in worn-out, dirt-stained clothes. His eyes were puffy and red, as if he'd been crying for hours. Behind him, a large, unkempt man staggered after him, his face twisted in drunken fury. His body reeked of filth, and his bloated figure made it seem like he hadn't bathed in weeks.
Before Jia could even process what was happening, the boy screamed-
"AHHHHHH! HELP-"
It took only a second for Jia to connect the dots. That first scream she had heard? It had come from inside that apartment. Something terrible had happened.
Her hands trembled as she frantically pulled out her phone and dialed the police.
Jia: "Hello, police?? There's a drunk man chasing a boy-he's going to hurt him! PLEASE, HURRY!"
She could barely breathe, her voice shaking as she pleaded for help. But before she could even finish, her phone slipped from her grasp and crashed onto the pavement.
Then-a sickening thud.
Jia barely had time to look up when she saw it. The man was falling.
He tumbled down the stairs, his bloated body rolling uncontrollably. Once. Twice. Three times. His limbs flailed awkwardly as he crashed to the bottom with a final, unnerving stillness.
He did not move.
The boy, who had been sprinting for his life just seconds ago, now stood frozen in place. Jia, too stunned to react, could only gape in horror.
What the hell just happened?
She swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jia: "Y-you... what happened?"
The boy's lips quivered, his body trembling as he whispered back-
Boy: "I-I don't kn-know... he was chasing me a-and then..." sniff "...Dad? Dad, are you okay? Please... Dad... DAD, PLEASE, I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
He rushed toward his father's lifeless body, his hands shaking as he reached for him.
Boy: "Please... help me turn him over. Please, I need to see his face."
Jia hesitated. Every instinct screamed at her to stay away. But looking at the boy's desperate, tear-streaked face, she swallowed her fear and stepped forward.
She took a deep breath.
Jia: "Okay... in 3... 2... 1... Now!"
Together, they turned the man onto his back.
And Jia immediately regretted it.
Her stomach twisted. Her breath hitched. And then-she vomited all over the ground.
A jagged bone jutted out of his twisted neck. The unnatural angle of his head made it clear: he was dead on impact.
Jia wiped her mouth, choking on her own breath as her body shook violently. But then-she saw something.
Something worse.
Something that made her skin crawl.
Her breath caught in her throat as she whispered in pure horror-
"Did... did he just smile?"
She blinked, rubbing her tear-stained eyes. But the image burned itself into her mind.
The twisted corpse, the grotesque angle of his neck, the blood pooling beneath him...
And that eerie, unnatural grin stretched across the boy's face.
Jia barely even registered the sound of police sirens in the distance. Even as two officers stepped out of their patrol car, her mind stuck on that on soul-chilling question.
"Did I see that right?"