The night approached and the first drops of rain started falling on the ground.

A group of kids raised their hands to the sky and after their palms caught a few of the raindrops, the kids sighed and ran under a canopy where their parents kept firewood logs.

“Let’s play something else?” One of the kids mumbled.

“What’s the point? The moms are going to call us back soon anyway. Might as well run while we can.” Another kid retorted.

For a few more moments the kids pondered, and then a girl shouted: “To Ruth’s! The last one’s a rotten tomato!” And then she rushed away. The rest of the kids hurried after her, pushing each other and yelling incomprehensibly. But, before they ran far, a woman leaned out from a window, and shouted: “Patrick! Time to go home!”.

A boy stopped and stared at the window, before he called back: “Mom, I’ll play with Ruth and the others!”.

“Back home now, young man! You’ll play tomorrow, and now it is time to have dinner and go to sleep!

And stop standing under the rain already!” The woman shouted the last sentence after a short pause, and closed the window shutters.

“Sorry, guys!” Patrick called out to his friends, who waited all this time.

“See you tomorrow~!” The other kids waved their hands and ran away. Patrick frowned, and ran back home.

‘Creak’

The wooden door closed, and the kid shook and tossed like a dog shaking off water.  He stopped immediately after his mom saw it.

“You little devil.” She scowled, and started wiping him with a towel.

“What are we eating today, mom?” The boy asked innocently.

“Porridge. And boiled carrots.” The mother hanged the wet towel and headed to the oven.

They sat down at a table, and started eating what little they had. Even though the mom was grumbling about him fooling around all the time, the boy continued excitedly telling her how and what he played today with the other kids.

As time passed, the woman’s face softened. Before she frowned again.

“Carrots.”

“But mom…!” The kid whined.

“No ‘But’s, if you want to be as strong as your dad, then eat it all.” The mother moralized.

“Dad doesn’t it carrots either!” Patrick retorted.

“And that is why your dad is still a guard, and not a knight.”

“And I am a knight!”

“Oh, you are~?” The woman smirked.

“Yes! Ollie and I were knights and we fought against monsters!”

“And you’ve won~?”

“Yes!”

“Good boy.” The woman chuckled. “Now, my strong and brave warrior, it’s time to use your strength and help mommy wash the dishes.” She smiled as she pulled the boy closer to the basin where they wash dishes.

While Patrick washed the dishes, he was gazing outside a window, at the street.

It was dark, and the rainclouds blocked even moon’s light. The only time when the impenetrable darkness showed anything but black was when a group of town guards passed by their house with a covered lantern.

The boy continued with the boring business, and after he was done with the dishes, he ran upstairs to the room where the family slept.

But as soon as he entered the room and lit a candle, the boy froze in place.

Rain pattered the window, and suddenly the sound of drops was muted. Patrick glanced at the window, and then shrieked: “MONSTER!

HIEEEE!!!”

The boy ran downstairs and rammed into his mother’s legs.

“Patrick, are you not asleep?

My boy, what happened?” The woman gazed at him in confusion.

“Monster! Mommy, there’s a monster!” The boy cried and shook the woman’s waist.

“Dear, it’s alright~.” She gently brushed the kid’s hair and hugged him.

“Mommy is here~, so you don’t need to fear anything~.” She took the boy’s hand and they headed upstairs.

When they entered the room, the mother clicked her tongue.

“Silly, it’s just an open window.” She gazed at the window.

‘Drip’

And then something wet fell on her hand. The next moment after she thought that the roof was leaking, she looked up and froze.

‘Hissss…’

Both the child and the mother were paralyzed from horror when they saw a black something hanging on their ceiling.

‘Hrrrrrr…’

“KYAAAAA?!!!”

‘HRAAAA!!!’

…

“EMILIA!

EMILIA?!” The neighbors rushed inside the house.

“We’ll go upstairs! You two, look around the first floor!” A brawny man shouted orders, and together with the other men he rushed upstairs.

The man rammed the sleeping room’s door, and then was rooted in place. The people behind him rammed into his back and the man fell on his knees.

His palms hit the floor, and he felt warm wetness on his palms. He raised his eyes, and trembled as he looked at the room.

The room was smeared in blood from floor to ceiling, and two mutilated bodies were scattered across the space.

“Guards…

CALL THE GUARDS, NOW!!!”