A little girl was crying in front of her mother’s dead body. The woman’s body was torn in half, from her head to the space between her legs. A pool of blood had formed around her, and her organs had spilled out: severed intestines, torn kidneys, and a heart split in two. 

“Wake up, mommy,” the child whispered tearfully, but of course, her mother wasn’t going to wake up. What a strange and horrifying scene it would have been if, by some miracle, she had.  

It’s hard to say how an 11-year-old would feel watching her mother being slaughtered in front of her eyes, but one thing was certain—those images would stay engraved in her soul forever. 

It was 11 PM. The Perous family had returned home from their usual evening walk. After climbing up to their fourth-floor apartment, the father immediately switched on his favorite song. Tiana never managed to pronounce the song’s title; it had always seemed strange and complicated. All she remembered was that the band was called Queen.  

“Mama, just killed a man  

Put a gun against his head  

Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead...”

“This is the greatest song of all time, Tia,” was saying daddy, and her mother was smiling quietly. It seemed to Tiana that her mother agreed.  

When they got inside, her father didn’t turn on the lights but rushed to switch on the music. If only he had turned on the lights, perhaps he would have noticed the horror waiting in the corner of their home.  

“Mama, oooh...”

Tiana had never seen creatures like this. Her father had given her a book for her birthday filled with illustrations of monsters, and when she saw them for the first time, she cried in fear. But her mother hugged her, saying that monsters like these were just fairy tales, and if any did exist, she would always protect her.  

But her mother was the first to be struck. 

Tiana saw the creature from the corner of the room quietly advancing toward her mother. The full moon shone brightly that night, and in its light, the monster became clearly visible. It was a giant creature, slimy and entirely blue, with a long neck, short forelimbs, and long, awkward legs. Four short horns protruded from its head, its eye sockets were empty pits, and from its open jaws, green teeth gleamed. But the most terrifying part was its tail—a long, thick, seemingly endless tail, with a sharp, axe-like tip. It was with this tail that it struck her mommy.

Her mother let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the floor, right at Tiana’s feet.  

Daddy turned around, but before he could comprehend what was happening, two more monsters attacked him. Yet Tiana couldn’t tear her eyes away from her mother. The monster pulled its tail out of the woman’s body and raised it high again. In the next moment, it struck her head. And then again. And again. 

Mother’s blood splattered all over Tiana. The child was paralyzed with fear, unable even to scream. The monster crouched over the woman’s body, slurping the blood and devouring the flesh. Its green fangs tore through the meat, and Tiana forced herself to look away.  

“If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,  

Carry on, carry on...”  

“Run, Tia, run!” her father shouted. 

Tiana turned her look toward the voice. One of the monsters had driven its horns into her father’s stomach, and blood was gushing from the open wound. Another monster leaned over the wound, drinking the blood greedily while tearing his flesh apart. He writhed in agony, screaming in pain.  

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“Run, run, run...” 

The monster pulled its horns out, and the other one struck the father’s chest with its sharp tail. His body flew to the side like a rag doll, and the three monsters pounced on him.  

The one that had killed the mother also joined in, and together, they ripped the father apart. He was still alive, screaming in torment with every piece of flesh they tore from his body.  

“... I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all...”

“Wake up, mommy,” Tiana whispered, still hoping her mother would rise. “You promised me, mommy, please.”But, of course, her mother would not answer.

***  

Tiana stood frozen, drenched in blood. Her father’s song echoed loudly through the room, and suddenly, she remembered the title: *“Bohemian Rhapsody.”* Yes, that was it. But what did it mean? Probably something good, since the song was so beautiful.  

One of the monsters seemed to finally notice Tiana. It slowly turned toward her, staring with its hollow eye sockets. At that moment, a survival instinct awakened within her, and she ran. She sprinted toward her room and, like any child, found refuge under her bed.  

The three monsters stormed into the room, leaping over one another to attack the bed.  

“I see a little silhouette of a man,  

Scaramouche, Scaramouche,  

Will you do the Fandango...”  

The music was so loud that it echoed even inside her room. Tiana shut her eyes tightly, imagining that her mother would soon come and take her away from this nightmare.  

Then came the sound of shattering glass. Tiana felt the monsters move away from the bed. She thought, perhaps her mother had woken up after all and had come to rescue her. Summoning courage, she peeked out from under the bed.  

But it wasn’t her mother.  

A tall man stood there, someone Tiana had never seen before. His face was hidden—he had wrapped a green scarf like a hood around his head and neck, concealing his features. In both hands, he held strange, curved black swords. Though he looked terrifying, since he resembled a human more than a monster, Tiana thought that he had come to help her.  

For a few moments, the stranger stood silently, facing the three monsters. Then, without warning, he lunged toward them.  

One of the monsters raised its tail, and Tiana thought it was the same one that had killed her mother.  

“Galileo (Galileo),  

Galileo (Galileo),  

Galileo Figaro...”  

“Who is Galileo?” Tiana always wondered when that part of the song came up. But now, as she watched the stranger leap onto a low cabinet, propel himself higher, and strike the monster’s head with both swords at once, she thought: " This must be Galileo."

The monster’s head split into four pieces, splattering green blood all over the walls.  

The other two monsters let out a terrifying scream and charged at the stranger. They swung their tails at him, but he skillfully parried the blows with his swords. After a few powerful maneuvers, he severed one of the monster’s tails entirely. The creature roared in agony, but the man with the green scarf drove one of his swords into its throat, the blade emerging through its neck. With a heavy thud, the monster collapsed.  

“Bismillah, we will not let you go...”  

Only one monster remained. The stranger slashed its stomach, and green blood gushed out. Screeching in pain, the creature tried to escape, but the man chased after it, plunging one sword into its back. With the other, he delivered a sharp, forceful blow, decapitating the monster.  

“Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me...”  

Tiana crawled out from under the bed. It was only then that the stranger noticed her.  

“Bloody he ll. There’s a child,” he muttered, walking toward her.  

“What are you doing here?” he asked.  

Without a word, Tiana threw her arms around his neck and, at last, began to cry.  

***

The stranger carried the child out of the apartment. As they passed through the living room, he stopped in horror. Torn and dismembered bodies lay scattered on the floor, with blood and body parts everywhere.  

“Were those your parents?” he asked.  

Tiana nodded silently.  

“And you saw all of it?”  

Again, Tiana gave no answer, burying her head deeper into the folds of his scarf.  

Once outside the building, the stranger walked toward a small park just a street away. It was October, and the cold had already begun to set in. At that moment, the man noticed that the child was trembling.  

He sat her down on one of the park benches, removed his green scarf, and wrapped it around her.Under the dim glow of the streetlights, Tiana finally saw her savior. He was a handsome young man with long chestnut hair. His face was clean-shaven, like her father’s, and he had green eyes. A small scar above his left eye gave him a slightly mischievous appearance.

"Feeling warmer now?" the stranger smiled. "I’ll bring you some hot tea."  

"Thank you," Tiana whispered softly.  

"Do you have a name?" the young man asked.  

"Yes, I’m Tiana," she replied.  

"And I’m Sam—Samuel. How old are you, little one?"  

"Eleven."  

Sam looked at her with deep sorrow. No child so young should have witnessed something so horrifying. Even for an adult, it would have been unbearable.  

"Do you have any uncles or aunts who can take care of you?"  

"No," Tiana said quietly.  

"Is there anyone I can take you to?"  

"There’s no one left," she answered. "Besides Mommy and Daddy, there was no one... and now they’re gone too."  

Sam was silent for a moment, studying the small girl. Then, without hesitation, he hugged her tightly, wrapped the scarf more snugly around her, and began walking toward the main street.  

"Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out for you. The important thing, is that it’s all over now. Everything’s gonna be okay."  

Tiana rested her head on Sam’s shoulder. Her eyelids grew heavy, slowly drifting shut, while in her mind, the music continued to play:  

Mama, oooh...