Chapter 0: Prologue

It was a dark and rainy day, which quickly became a darker, rainier, muddier night. Rai was trying to follow her mother, who was just barely out of reach. No matter how much she struggled, but her mother never seemed to get closer, always just a shadow right in front of her. She slipped in the mud, landing hard on her face.

“Ow! What the-!?” Rai said, waking up

She had fallen out of her bed while she was sleeping

“Ugh. I need to get dad to fix this thing. It's slanted.” Rai said, kicking her bed multiple times

“Hey, Rai! Breakfast is ready! Get up or you're going to be late! And stop hitting things!” A voice called up to Rai

“Coming! Make sure Taz doesn’t eat all of the bacon!” Rai yelled back

“Dad is guarding it too well, Rai! I couldn’t if I wanted to!” Taz said, reaching for Rais food

“OW!” Taz yelped 

“For the record, I AM keeping an eye on the food today, Taz.” Dad said

“Jeez. Stingy. It’s just bacon.” Taz said, checking the mark that had been left after dad slapped him with the spatula 

“Rai, are you coming down or what?” Dad called

“Dangit, dad, gimme a sec! I just woke up!” Rai said, rushing downstairs after getting ready

“You have practice today, right?” Dad asked 

“Yeah, it may run pretty late tonight.” Rai said shoveling food into her mouth

“Alright, thanks dad, bye! See ya later, Taz.” Rai said, rushing out the door to school

“Bye, sis.” Taz said, smiling

The last bell rang, an annoying, yet relieving, sound to Rais ears.

“Damn, that was tiring. High school sucks..... Time for practice, I guess. Great. Damn, wish I could just relax for a little bit.” Rai said, stretching 

“Nope! Can’t have that. Cmon, practice is gonna start soon!” A voice said, slapping Rai 

“Don’t slap her there, Jen. That’s inappropriate.” Another voice said

“Aw, cmon, Layla. Don’t worry about it. She doesn’t mind, right Rai?” Jen asked

Jen was promptly hit on the head by Rai 

“Idiot. Blue, what’s the schedule for today?” Rai asked, putting Jen in a chokehold

“Hm. First there’s drills, from this to this, then that.....” Layla said, reading a schedule

“Got it. That’s a lot of stuff we have to do.” Rai said, sighing 

“Rai, while I understand that my sister is annoying, she's turning purple. Maybe you should let go?” Layla asked

“Oh. Oops.” Rai said

“Gah!! Ha...ha….Jesus, Rai. You coulda just said no…. ack…. my neck. You’re as brutal as always.” Jen said, breathing heavily

“Sorry, I’m so used to putting you in a chokehold that I don’t even realize it anymore.” Rai said

“Whyyyy.” Jen said, whining

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“Maybe it’s because you sexually assault her daily.” Layla said

“Hmph. She likes it.” Jen said, puffing her cheeks in mock anger

“Shut it, you two. Let’s go practice, okay?” Rai said

“Fiiiine!” Jen said

“Fine.” Layla said

They went to the field

A few hours passed, and practice ended

The sun was no longer in the sky, and the orange glow from the sunset slowly faded away.

“Bye, Rai! Merry Christmas!” Jen yelled

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Rai. Happy Holidays” Layla said

“Bye, Jen. Seeya, Blue. Happy Holidays, you two.” Rai said, heading home.

Chapter 1: The Kitchen

It was late. Practice had lasted much longer than Rai had expected.

She was walking down the street, heading home after a long and tiring day.

Rai was lost in her thoughts, ignoring most of what was going on around her, until she got to her front gate

“Huh. It’s unlocked? Oh, right. Taz broke the lock again. What was he doing this time, anyways? It’s always something strange. It’s like he lives in his own little world.” Rai said, shaking her head

She got to the front door and froze

“Taz… didn’t break this lock, did he? Hold on. The lights are off. Nobody’s home? Lights are off, front door is open…. did something happen?” Rai asked

She walked into the house, and flicked on the light in the kitchen

She immediately flicked it off.

“I’m….dreaming. Yeah. This is a dream. This…..has to be a dream.” Rai said, expressionless 

“Maybe…. maybe it was a hallucination. Yeah, a hallucination. If I just turn it back on, it will be all gone.” Rai said

She flicked the lights back on, and heard a voice from the kitchen

“Rai? Is….that you?” Taz asked

Rai walked into the kitchen and stared at Taz

“Rai…. don’t come in… just…..run. Far. Fast.” Taz said, coughing 

“Taz? Is...this real?” Rai asked, trembling 

“Rai…. forget me.... right….now. Run. She dragged dad off already. He’s dead. I can’t move. Just run. Call somebody. Please.” Taz said, smiling

He puked up blood

“There’s… blood. No, nonononono. What? H-hold on… run, right? Yeah, run. I’ll… I’ll get help.” Rai said

“I’ll… be fine. ‘Tis….GAH!.... ‘tis but….a scratch.” Taz wheezed, laughing sadly

His guts were spilled on the kitchen counter. He shouldn’t have even been alive, let alone conscious or able to speak. 

He had waited for Rai.

To warn her.

“I… no, I’m not stupid. I’ll… I’ll be back. With help. You’re going to be fine.” Rai said

She ran out the door, jumping over the gate and sprinting down the street as fast as she could

“Ha...ha…. you can't… have my sister, you…bitch.” Taz said, laughing

A knife came down, smashing through his skull, splattering chunks of hair, flesh, skull, and brain on the walls and floor, blood spraying even on the ceiling.

“Oops. A bit too much strength. Well, it doesn’t matter. You got too close to her. Family or not, nobody can have her. She’s mine, you know. All mine. You helped me out a lot, though, you piece of shit. Now I can be there to comfort her while she grieves for you. Oh, right. Your father, too. I only needed his upper half to display him properly. Ahhh. The look of these cold dead eyes is incredible. Unlike you, who chose to get them squashed. Fucking idiot. Ha. I feel sorry for whoever has to clean this shit up. Wait. No, actually. I don’t, I guess. I don’t really care. Ah, whatever. I’ll hang up your father and be done with it, okay? Hmm. I should have kept you alive a little longer just so I could hear you talk. It’s boring when I have to do this alone.” Said a voice, smiling happily

The voice started humming, the sound of a rope being thrown and tied being made repeatedly. After a second, you could hear the sound of something being dragged across the floor.

“God, damn. Your father is fucking heavy, you know that? I guess he is an adult. I hate killing adults. Wasn’t as fun to hear him beg. That’s why I killed him immediately, I guess. But he’s a pretty nice looking decoration. Ahhh, right. It’s Christmas soon, isn’t it. I can use his intestines to wrap them around your tree. That would look nice, right?” The voice asked

The rustling of a tree and a wet plop could be heard from even the next room over

“Ah, I should crucify you, no? Really get into the true spirit of christmas. Hm. Would it have the same effect if there’s no head above the bottom jaw? Nah, I guess it looks fine. I don’t have a cross, though. Sorry. The wall will have to do.” The voice said, sighing

Two large thunks could be heard, as the voice stabbed a knife into each of Taz's hands, pinning him up on the wall, his arms splayed outwards

“Hm. This arm is a tad broken, but I guess it could look worse. Ah! Look at the time. I gotta go, I promised to meet someone soon. It's a good alibi, I guess. Bye, you two! Don’t touch Rai again, okay? Only I can touch her. Anyways, Merry Christmas!” The voice called, to a room devoid of life. She flicked off the kitchen lights.

The back door opened and then closed as the intruder left the house.

Despite the mess, she had left almost no trace of herself for the police to find.

Night fell completely, the moonlight reflecting off of the pooling blood on the kitchen floor.

It looked beautiful.