"This is… Mom’s garden."
The realization settled deep within her, spreading like ripples on a still pond.
"I’m home."
Her heart lurched, and before she fully understood her own actions, she was already moving, standing, her body responding on instinct.
She took a slow step forward, the soil soft beneath her boots. The garden stretched around her in perfect serenity... rows of blooming flowers, their petals catching the golden hues of the magical sun. Each plant, each carefully arranged vine, exactly as she remembered it.
A home that had not changed.
And yet..
Her pulse quickened.
The wind whispered through the trees, but the silence beneath it was… unnatural.
Still, she pushed the thought away.
She turned, gaze locking onto the house nestled just beyond the garden. A modest home.. wooden walls neatly built, windows glinting softly in the sunlight. The porch steps worn yet sturdy.
It was real.
It was home.
Emma’s lips trembled slightly, but she exhaled sharply, steadying herself as she ran.
Her feet barely touched the ground as she bolted forward, the skirt of her dress fluttering behind her. Her breath came fast, heart hammering as she neared the entrance.
She didn't hesitate.
The door swung open.
Warmth enveloped her instantly, wrapping around her like a long-lost embrace.
The wooden floors beneath her creaked with familiar weight, the scent of old books from the library and morning magical green tea lingering in the air.
It smelled like home.
A lump rose in her throat.
"Mom? Dad?"
Her voice echoed, bouncing against the walls.
There was no response.
Her footsteps slowed as she moved through the passageway. The house felt full, as if it had just been lived in...nthe air wasn’t stale, the warmth of life still lingered.
Yet..
Something was wrong.
The air felt too still.
A slow dread began to creep into her limbs.
She took another step.
"Ellie? Ethan?"
Her twin brother. Her elder sister.
Still no answer.
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The silence stretched.
Then, slowly....
A scent.
A sharp, unmistakable tinge.. coppery and thick.
Emma’s breath hitched.
Blood.
Her eyes dilated, heart skipping a beat.
Her legs moved before she could think.
"Mom! Dad!"
Her voice cracked as she rushed forward, checking each room.. her parents' bedroom, empty.
Ethan’s room, empty.
Ellie’s room, empty.
Each door she pushed open, each room she checked, the pounding in her chest only grew louder.
This wasn’t right.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Emma’s legs moved before her mind could catch up, her body acting on pure instinct. The passage stretched before her, the wooden floor beneath her feet creaking softly, each step a whisper in the suffocating silence.
Her breaths came fast, uneven. The scent of something heavy and metallic clung to the air, thick and unmoving.
Her pulse pounded.
The living room was just ahead.
And the moment she stepped inside..
Her world stopped.
Her mind blanked, her thoughts severed like frayed strings.
And then came... a deafening roar of silence.
Her knees buckled, her body collapsing onto the wooden floor with a dull thud.
She barely noticed the impact.
Because in front of her..
Blood.
Thick. Fresh. Pooling.
A grotesque stain sprawled across the room, seeping into the crevices of the wooden floor, dark and glistening under the soft glow of daylight filtering through the windows.
And amidst the crimson ruin..
A figure.
Slumped against the sofa, his tall, broad-shouldered frame lifeless, unmoving. His silver white hair, once neatly combed, now lay matted with blood, strands sticking to his pale, shredded face.
His piercing blue eyes... lifeless. Open, but empty.
A jagged wound had torn through the side of his head, leaving nothing but a gaping, jagged ruin where flesh and bone should have been.
Emma's lips quivered.
Her voice escaped in a whisper, raw and fragile.
"Dad…"
Her eyes locked onto him.. Derrick, her father.
But she barely had time to breathe before her gaze shifted.
Not far from Derrick, a small, mangled figure lay motionless.
A boy.
Half of his body was missing.
Torn. Split apart.
His silver white hair, just like Derrick’s.. soaked in crimson. His deep blue eyes, the very same shade.. vacant.
A mere six years old.
Her twin.
"Ethan…"
Her voice cracked, barely audible.
Her hands trembled, her body scraping against the floor as she crawled forward. The rough wood bit into her knees, but she felt nothing.
Because her world was falling apart.
And then..
Another still form.
A young girl, eleven years old.
Dark blonde hair, long and tangled, drenched in blood. Strands of it were ripped apart, torn from her scalp, exposing raw flesh underneath.
Her chest..
A gaping hole.
Carved through her ribs, a void where her heart should have been.
Deep blue eyes, staring into nothing.
Ellie.
Emma’s body convulsed, her breath hitching.
But her gaze moved once more.
And the last figure..
The one that shattered the remaining resistance left in her completely.
A woman.
Dark blonde hair framing her face like a halo.
Her skin.. deathly pale.
Her eyes..
An ethereal, haunting white, her unique white
Pierced.
The sockets were dark, hollowed out, the edges torn and bleeding, as if someone had ripped the light from them.
Her face, once beautiful, was left battered, broken, disfigured.
A mother now nothing more than a ruined corpse.
Emma’s hands flew to her mouth, a broken sob forcing its way out.
Her chest heaved, air choking in her throat.
"Mom…"
Her body shook violently, the tremors racking her bones as the horror fully set in.
She was staring at death.
Not just any death.
Her family.
All of them.
Gone.
Torn apart.
Slaughtered.
Something inside her snapped.
Emma let out a sound... a scream, raw and unfiltered.
"This isn’t real! This isn’t real!"
Her nails dug into her scalp, scraping, tearing, as if clawing at herself could rip her from this nightmare.
Her mind reeled, spiraling, crashing.
"I need to wake up... wake up, wake up, Emma Wake Up!"
Emma couldn't help but scream louder....
