The moon shone upon the earth as heavy white headlights pierced the jet-black night. Trees appeared as blobs, scattering the surrounding environment as a white van tore through them. Under the car, paved black roads lit up after being exposed to the highlights. Revealed in the center of the road, minuscule rock-shaped lights lit up following the heavy headlights, dimming down after being left to the devices of the dark once again.

Ahead of the van, headlights shone, temporarily blinding the van's driver before the headlights passed. Multiple times would this happen, and each time it did, the driver would slim his, attempting to lessen the intense heat of the headlights.

This continued for thirty minutes as the driver cruised through back-end roads. Everything around the van was surrounded by forest. Occasionally, houses, farms, and neighborhoods would cross his path. Yet in the curtain of the night, no details could be made out of any of them, appearing as uniquely shaped blobs. Light would only appear momentarily each time cars passed by him.

Suddenly, the van turned right into a conspicuous neighborhood. He continued to trek at lower speeds before turning into the driveway of a one-story house. On the driveway, he unexpectedly turned it off the road and parked in his yard. With precision, he parked on top of four muddy gaps that held no grass, made from the constant pressure of the wheels of the van.

White, heavy headlights pierced into the neighbor’s yard as they shone onto his two-story house. Although only temporarily as everything darkened and the once noisy quieted to a halt. Moments later, the door swung open before an obese man stepped out. A bandana covered his face as shades sat on top of his hat, which was above his bald head.

The man slammed the van door closed before walking away. He approached the house door before fumbling through his keys, stopping at a specific bronze key, and unlocking the door.

Creaks sounded for every inch the door moved as the dark night mixed in with the even darker house. The obese man hesitated for a moment before stepping in. Disappointment flashed over his covered face as he hoped his daughter would be playing the piano once again. In the end, though, it was the only hope. In reality, the piano sat in the same corner as it always did, cold from the lack of usage. He closed the door before flipping the light switches on. Instantly, a flash of light flooded the room, revealing a dirty, disorganized living room. Toward the back end of the house, the kitchen and dining room were also not properly cleaned. In general, it was a pathetic house that could hardly be considered a home.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The man walked slowly to the dining room of the one-story house. There, he dropped a bag of fast food he had bought earlier onto the dining room table. Without the food, his daughter would most definitely not have enough to sustain herself. In some way, this was a way to ensure she got the minimum amount of calories she needed in order to sustain herself.

The man looked deeply at the bag of food before calling his daughter’s name.

“Yasmine! I got you food.”

No one responded. Everett took his bandana off before walking into the hallway that was connected to the living room. He continued down the hallway until he arrived at a white, blank door. Hesitantly, he moved his hands toward the knob before attempting to open it. A slight click sounded as the door creaked open.

Inside, nothing could be seen. Only a slight amount of light was able to enter from the living room. However, it was nowhere near enough to illuminate the room to a sufficient level. Even so, he continued into the room. He did not turn the lights on in case it would frighten his daughter. So, he trekked into the dark room blind. Every step he took was careful not to knock something over or disturb something. Slowly, he approached her bed before reaching down to wake her. He carefully pushed her; however, she did not respond. Sweat began to form on his forehead before he pushed her more roughly. Still, there was no response. His face tensed up as he shook her one last time. Still no response. He fisted his hands before pulling the blanket covering her away.

In his head, he had hoped she was only in a deep sleep. But considering her lack of response, it was more likely something had happened to her.

Moments after he pulled away her blanket, a thick smell of blood flooded Everett’s senses. Immediately, he stepped back and covered his mouth before he vomited.

On the bed, next to Yasmine’s wrist, a thick, recent puddle of blood melted into the covers, seeping into the very mattress.

“Shit!!”

Everett shot back into reality before approaching her swiftly and shaking her roughly, yet he did not hear a response. Automatically, he pulled his phone out before calling 911 and alerting them of the situation. Afterward, he placed his phone down as he attempted to stop the excess bleeding. Blood seeped into his hands as he grabbed her wrist forcefully. Then, his head darted across the room as he looked for a cloth to wrap her wrist around.

Next to him, on the floor, a black T-shirt sat. He immediately grabbed it before wrapping it around her wrist. Sweat fell from his forehead as his face was heavily tense.

Wrapped around her wrist. Everett lifted her up easily before taking her to the living room. Her skinny body limped out of his hands as he took her, as though she were liquid, melting out of his embrace. Even with all this movement, she still did not respond, as though she were put under a spell.

Everett stepped outside and sat down on one of his steps as he patiently waited for an ambulance to arrive.

In the distance, its sound gradually grew as blue and white lights pierced through the neighborhood. Moments later, an ambulance drove into Everett’s yard as many stepped out and rushed to the two…