The cold air hit our faces, chilling us following the open door of our home. As the wind whipped across the field, the snowflakes danced around us. It was a beautiful winter day. We stood there, watching the sunrise in front of a mountainous landscape covered with trees and ice from distance.
Her hand touched mine as she looked at the beautiful scenery around us before turning to look at me, “Adam, it is a wonderful morning, isn’t it?” I turned to her, “Yes mommy, it is a nice day for a walk,” as I took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air.
We walked down the road side by side in the village, enjoying the beauty of the scenery around us from the place we are currently living in. The wooden buildings all around us appeared to blend in perfectly with the snowy forest surrounding the village.
I stopped for a moment to gaze at her visage, Lilith’s soft red hair blowing in the breeze. Her red eyes sparkled like the clear blue sky above. The natural beauty and charm of her facial features made it appear as if the world around her was frozen in time, and that it would stay that way forever.
However, aside from her beauty; I cannot grasp the strange feelings whenever I continue to look at her deeply, it felt like there was some different than she presents herself to be, even eerie and creepy. I could feel that something about mommy being off, it is as my life with her was not as it appears, like she was hiding something.
No…what am I saying? There is no way mommy is a different person than how she presents herself to be. She is the same loving, caring and sweet woman every single day of the week. Mommy is always kind to everyone and treats them equally, whether rich or poor.
That is right, I only need her. Isn’t that what a child should do, depend upon their parent’s love and care for them, instead of having to worry about themselves? Particularly how the whole world is against himself?
“Adam?” I snapped out of the trance as I realized that she was staring at me with a questioning expression.
“What is it mommy?”
We stopped our walk, tilting her head with amusement as she looked at me, “how about we play a game in the forest?” The words echoed in my ears, “what is a game and why are we going back to the forest again?”
I was already tired of walking in circles in this village, it is rather boring. All the houses are so similar and the people are always dull and uninteresting anyway. Nothing more than a big prison.
She giggled at my questions, finding it amusing as she continued to lead to the forest, “well, a game is a fun activity to do, you know, it is a chance to show your skills and abilities to others.”
I frowned as I thought about the word ‘game,’ “sounds cool. But I want to know why we are going to the forest again? I already went there with…” I cannot help but say my former friends’ names despite my hatred of them, “Alice and Bobby.” I do not want to remember them or their faces again, after what they did to me.
Lilith smiled at the memory as well, “because it is a wonderful place for a nice, relaxing stroll. We could talk, laugh, and enjoy the scenery. However, that is not what we came for Adam.” She paused as we arrived at the forest, turning to me before letting go of my mind, “let us play hide-and-seek. Do you like that game?” the voice carried eerie laughter in it.
My eyes widened as I felt a chill run down my spine, “no! No!” My hands started shaking, “please, stop it. You are scaring me,” I begged as tears formed in my eyes, “I hate it here. This place reminds me off…”
“Reminds of them,” she finished my sentence, taking a step forward, “but it will be fun, I swear it Adam. It is just a game,” the woman said in a soft and soothing tone as the air around her changed, “you will see.”
I have no choice in this matter, do I? Regardless of how I feel about this place, it would be wrong to disobey her after all the good things she had done to me.
“A-alright. So how do we play this game mommy?” I had never heard of hide-and-seek, but it sounded simple enough for a child like myself to understand and learn
She took a moment to consider it, “it is mostly for two players, Adam. So I will start, you close your eyes and count for ten while I hide. If you find me, you win. Otherwise, it is my turn. Ready?”
I nodded, feeling a bit nervous about this game as it not only reminded about the siblings, also my father who I once always tried to hide from whenever he was drunk or angry.
Lilith gave a small giggle, “good luck,” walking further into the unknown depths of the woods as she slowly disappeared from my sight, leaving me alone in the windy and quiet forest of the day.
Wanting just to get this over, I remember the simple rules of the game. Since mommy is the one hiding, I guess that I am the one to look for. I then close my eyes, counting ten seconds as I wait.
“One,” I whispered, still closing my eyes.
“Two,” I continued, looking around.
“Three,” the sound of the rustling leaves filled the silence of the forest.
“Four,” a bird flew by overhead while another chirped out in a different direction.
“Five,” the sun shone down upon the ground, lighting up the trees around.
“Six,” a squirrel scampered across a tree branch, jumping back and forth as it went.
“Seven,” the sounds of more birds became more noticeable as the breeze picked up.
“Eight,” presence of rabbit darted past before disappearing deeper into the forest.
“Nine,” a slight crackle could be heard in the distance.
“Ten,” a large gust of cold winter air blew past me as I opened my eyes.
Even though I know mommy is gone, I still remember which direction of the forest she entered, so I walk in that general direction. As I walked to where she went, I noticed that the surroundings appeared to be getting colder. It was not that it was too cold, but it felt like there was something unnatural about it that kept me shivering.
As I continued to move forward, the temperature got even worse, as if someone was trying to keep the heat away. The farther I moved, the stronger the chill. My feet started to feel numb like the blood stopped flowing to them.
“Mommy?! Where are you?!” I called out, hoping that perhaps her voice would be coming from somewhere. But all that came to mind was the old saying that no one ever answered. “I quit this game! You won mommy, okay?! Let us go home now!” I yelled as loud as possible.
But no one came.
“Please! Mommy come back! This is not fun anymore!” My voice slowly faded as the feeling of the coldness intensified. “Mommy I-“
Out of nowhere, I was then clobbered by the head from behind, knocking me on the ground, still conscious from the sudden strike.
“Do not move, child.” A recognized voice spoke behind me, causing me to stand up hastily and glance towards the source, turning my eyes toward the two figures, perceiving the assailant closed to me who was clenching her fists towards my direction.
“W-what?” I asked, slightly scared by their presence.
“You are the child of that redhead, am I wrong?”
I remember, oh god I remember these two. They were the two women in the church that were conversing about the loss of their spouses. It is strange that it has been easy to recall their voices but it is so difficult to recollect their names or faces since I never got to know these two women.
“Y-y-yeah!” Scary, terrifying, and confusion. These three feelings are all intertwined as they run rampant in my brain.
“What is your name, boy?” The young woman asks, approaching closer. However, I did not answer. “It is not polite to ignore a lady,” She scolds, but again, I remain silent, shaking a bit as I look at them both with fear in my eyes.
Getting fed up of my silence, she slapped me on my face, making me cry out and fall onto the floor, holding my cheek as it throbs with pain. “I know what you did! What you did with my boyfriend.” She snarls, grabbing a hold of my shirt collar and pulling it tight.
“No… No…” I whimper, struggling against her grasp while crying, “I d-did not do anything!” I shout, as the tears roll down my cheeks. She then slams my forehead against a nearby tree, leaving a small dent in it as the impact rattles around us.
“That is enough,” the older woman said, stepping between the both and glaring at the younger one. “You are going too far, he is simply just a child.” She then turned to me, “are you okay? I hope you did not gain any grievous wounds.”
I nod as I sniffle, wiping away the fresh blood that seeped down from the cut in my forehead. “W-why did she attack me?”
She sighed, “you did not intentionally involve yourself with the murders of the men in this village, is that right?” The old woman asked, glancing at the other one, who remained quiet.
“Y-yes,” I replied, nodding.
The younger woman snapped, “fine! But it does not help the fact that he was with that murderous red bitch.” She hisses, pointing at me disgust and hatred.
“What does a ‘bitch’ mean, anyway?”
They glare at each other for a moment before turning their gaze towards me. “A female dog,” the girl snorts, “that is all it means.”
What?! Are they implying that she insulted mommy?! That is like calling someone a dirty pig or something. “Mommy’s not a ‘bitch,'” I retort, anger flaring within, “in fact, she is more prettier than you.” I said with a smile, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
Her eyes widen, as she steps back in shock, “how dare you talk about my boyfriend in such a way! You are nothing but a filthy little mongrel!”
I frown, “I am not a dumb bimbo like you, and stop saying things about Mommy. She is kind and gentle. She loves me very much. So please don’t say bad things about her again or else…”
She scoffs. “Or else what?”
“Or else I will tell everyone that you hit me.”
Her face pales. “You would not do that. Why would you even bother telling people about that? It is not my fault that your mother murdered our loved ones. Besides, she is the reason we are here now.”
This sudden statement caused me to freeze in shock, mommy being a murderer? No, that does not sound like her. No way she could be a killer.
“You are lying! Mommy is not a murderer! Stop insulting her,” I snap, shaking with fury.
She sneers, “you are pathetic, little boy. You really think so highly of that monster, do you not know who he really is?!” She snaps, stepping forward and grabbing hold of my shirt, lifting me off the ground. “I bet you are so happy to be with the person who killed all of us, isn’t it, you little bastard?”
“No,” I replied, gritting my teeth as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Mommy is not a monster! You are a monster! All of you are monsters! We should kill all of them, they deserve to die!”
She growls and squeezes tighter, “what did you just say, little brat? I have looked and searched hard for the person responsible for murdering our loved ones and all of the pain I seen, and heard. It all points to your mother.”
“Stop it! Stop it! I hate you!” I scream as I struggle against her grip. “You are all unpleasant people, and all of you should be dead. All of you should be dead! I hate everyone. Everyone should die. They should die. Die. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.”
The young woman snaps, immense anger boiling within her visage before taking out her pistol, aiming at me with the intention of ending my life, “do you know how much I suffered? do you realize how long I awaited this?! After his death, I thought I could continue my life as normal but seeing every man and woman losing their precious lives, it made me feel so guilty for surviving. So I decided to take it upon myself to take revenge for the deaths of those people!”
The girl continues, “I slept every night and day, searching for a clue of the person responsible for brutally killing them! All of that effort and time had led me to here, studying you and your mother from afar, learning each clue and answer that led to the truth. And now, all that work has paid off because of-“
We all stopped as the gargling sounds suddenly reached into our ears. Slowly and carefully, our heads turn to the origin, seeing no other than Lilith brutally piercing through the old woman’s chest from behind, Lilith’s hand was covered with blood and the heart of the victim as she then retreated it back, memorizing at the heart with pleasure.
“Mommy…?” This is not real, this must be a nightmare, yes nightmare right? I laughed at the scene in front, streaming tears, feeling the disbelief and uncertainty of reality.
Lilith opened her mouth, her razor sharp teeth gleaming white in the sunlight, “so delicious and wonderful, aah!” She moaned, licking her lips at the beating heart on her hand.
My head began spinning again, “this is not happening, this is a bad joke, this is a sick and twisted game…” I muttered, trying to shake away the thoughts.
But the images would not stop.
Lilith’s face turned to look at the fuming young woman, “oh my! Where are my manners? My name is Lilith,” she then bowed in a mocking gesture before standing straight, grinning. “Although, it hurts does it? Losing someone you love? The despair of knowing that there are still more victims to be found?”
Mommy then continued, “you are a smart one, are you not, dear? You figured it all out. Oh how much I want to devour you and rape you like all of the men I have killed.”
“Monster…monster! You killed him! You killed all of them! You fucking inhumane bitch!”
But she laughed at her ever-growing desperation, grinning with a monstrous smile. “Oh, don’t worry, sweetie. I will find all of them and make them my precious toys. You see, all of the men in this village are my toys to play with! Toys to break, to hurt, to kill, and to fuck until they bleed dry and die before their rotting flesh enters into my stomach. They will never be able to satisfy this pussy of mine. Never. But you know what, sweetheart?”
“What?!”
Lilith’s eyes glowed redder than before, “that I ate his heart like this,” she bit a large chunk of the beating heart, chewing it slowly as the blood dripped down to the ground. Then another bite, and then another, each bite was larger than the previous.
The young woman could feel the cold sweat trickle down her forehead as the image in front of her became nightmarish as if it is getting closer to reality. She screamed at her killer, “YOU FUCKING MONSTER! DIE!” As the young woman pointed the gun at her, Lilith smiled as the shots fired, causing her to head to explode from the explosive bullets.
Within seconds, Lilith then stood up, walking towards the girl as her head rapidly regenerated from the injury “That feels so good,” her voice sounded more sinister than it did moments ago, “keep firing, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside,” she said with her horrifying smile.
She looked terrified, shaking in fear as the monster approached, realizing the truth that Lilith is unable to be defeated by mere weapons such as guns or knives.
“No no,” Lilith said in a soothing tone within inches away from the frightened woman. “You will not be brutally harmed. Not this time. Just relax and let me see your beautiful face,” as the beast’s fingers wrapped around her throat and began to squeeze. Her eyes widened in panic, looking at me in desperation.
I want to look away, I want to believe this is not real. But I know what is happening in front of me. And these thoughts kept reminding me of it.
“Help me…” She desperately tried to reach me, but there was nothing I could do. Nothing I can say or act. As she slowly dies, the vision of me being replaced by her caused me to clutch my head at the reminiscent feeling of Lilith gripping my neck before.
I can feel it, feel how the poor woman is going through. As she took her last breath, I could only scream internally from the sheer terror from watching it all unfold.
As the corpse fell to the ground, the sound of bones cracking echoed throughout the atmosphere as the smell of fresh blood filled the air. The scent of death that lingered around us.
The moment Lilith turned her head towards me, locking eyes with each other, I knew that something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Something about her is not right.
Before she opens her lips, the overwhelming stress and tension of the situation, the anticipation of cry and the adrenaline rushing through my veins, the darkness inevitably started to take over once more.
“Adam honey?”
