Keith trudged home from school, his small feet dragging against the pavement as the evening sun dipped below the horizon. The ten-year-old had no reason to suspect anything was wrong—until he stopped in front of his house.
The air was thick with the sharp, metallic stench of blood. It burned his nose, clinging to the cool breeze. A wet, sickening sound filtered through the door—crunching, tearing, chewing. His heart pounded against his ribs.
Something was inside.
With trembling fingers, Keith pushed the door open. The sight before him sent a wave of cold terror crashing through his body. The once-familiar walls were streaked with deep claw marks, the wooden floor smeared with blood. Furniture lay overturned, signs of a desperate struggle littering the space.
His breath hitched as he followed the grotesque sounds deeper into the house. His small, hesitant steps led him to the source.
And then he saw it.
A hulking creature loomed before him, at least nine feet tall, its back hunched grotesquely. Two jagged horns jutted from its skull, and its body was covered in red, glistening scales. Its mouth—filled with jagged fangs—was stained dark with fresh blood. From its back sprouted two mangled, flesh-like wings, half the size of its towering form. Its long, clawed hands dripped crimson, fingers curled around the remnants of its latest meal.
Keith's breath left him in a silent gasp. The thing was feasting—gnawing hungrily on a severed human arm.
His gaze shifted downward.
A man lay crumpled on the floor, his black ink-like hair matted with sweat and blood. One of his arms had been ripped off, a pool of red spreading beneath him. Behind him, a woman with brown hair and pale, lifeless skin slumped against the wall. Her brown eyes, once warm, now stared blankly ahead.
Keith's knees buckled. His body refused to move.
The monster stopped chewing. Slowly, it turned its head toward him.
And then, it grinned.
Keith's mother was the first to notice him. Her bloodshot eyes widened in horror, and a scream tore from her throat.
"Keith! Run!"
But his body refused to move. His legs felt like lead, frozen by the overwhelming terror clawing at his chest.
The creature turned its attention to him. A low, guttural growl rumbled from deep within its throat as it took a slow, deliberate step forward.
Keith's parents didn't hesitate. His mother and father lunged at the beast, their hands grasping desperately at its legs, screaming for their son to move—to run.
His mind reeled. His lips parted, but all he managed was a weak, broken whisper.
"M-Mom… Dad…"
Fear strangled his voice, gripping his throat like an iron vice.
The monster let out a growl of irritation before reaching down. Its massive clawed hand wrapped around his father's throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. Keith's father gasped, his fingers clawing at the beast's grip, his legs kicking helplessly in the air.
With its free hand, the creature plunged its claws into his chest.
Keith could only watch in horror as it ripped his father's heart from his body.
Blood splattered onto the floor. His father's body convulsed before the monster callously tossed him aside like discarded meat. His lips barely managed to form his son's name one last time before his lifeless eyes glazed over.
Keith's mother's scream shattered the air.
"Keith, run! Please, run!"
But he couldn't. His legs had long since failed him, his body trembling violently as he remained frozen on the bloodstained floor.
The creature wasted no time. It reached for his mother next. She thrashed in its grip, her nails digging into its thick, scaled arms, but it was useless. The monster tightened its hold around her throat, strangling the life out of her. Then, with a sickening crunch, it lunged forward and sank its fangs deep into her neck.
Keith choked on a silent scream as he watched his mother's body go limp. The light in her eyes faded as the creature tore away a chunk of her throat, blood gushing like a crimson river.
And then—silence.
Keith could hear nothing but the pounding of his own heartbeat, his shallow breaths ragged and uneven.
The monster turned back to him.
It stepped forward, extending a bloodied clawed hand toward him.
Keith flinched, his body screaming at him to move, to run—but the beast suddenly stopped. It tilted its head as if considering something. Then, without warning, it withdrew its hand, its red eyes narrowing.
And in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
For a long moment, Keith remained frozen, his breath coming in short, uneven gasps. Then, as the realization hit, his body lurched forward.
He crawled toward his parents' lifeless bodies, his small hands clutching them desperately.
"Mum wake up… dad" His voice was barely above a whisper. "Please… wake up…"
They didn't move.
Tears streamed down his face as he buried his head against his mother's cold, unmoving body. He sobbed, his tiny frame shaking with grief.
And there he remained.
Clutching his parents' corpses, Keith sat in the blood-soaked room, unmoving, his cries echoing in the emptiness of his shattered home.
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