ALONE ✔

AWAKE

I jolted awake, gasping for air like my head had been submerged under water.

My heart danced widely in its cage as I sat upright on my bed using the back of my right hand to wipe the beads of sweat that had formed on my oblong face.

I walked up to the mirror sitting on the purple wall of my bedroom and was greeted by a blurry image of the dark curly mass of hair on my head.

I put on my glasses so I could see the rest of my slim body properly, ignoring the sense of fear I still felt. That was when I spotted the red paint smeared on the caramel skin of my nose.

What is this?

But I relaxed, remembering how playful my brother could be. This was definitely one of his pranks.

Taking a quick shower to wash off the night sweat and the paint on my nose; my day was already gaining shape.

As I dressed up, the feeling of dread swept it way into my heart again.

Why is the house awfully quiet?

But I shrugged it still. Maybe Kelvin was down with a flu again.

I descended the stairs to the kitchen, expecting the sweet scents to greet me like it did every other day but was hit instead with the smell of the sea.

The only thing breaking the eerie silence was the creaking floorboards.

"Mum?" I called out.

No response.

"Mum?" I called again now in the kitchen but like I suspected, it was empty.

Is she down with a flu too?

"Dad! Where-". But even their room was empty.

"Dad!"

I ran back up to Kelvin's room.

"Kelvin!?" I tried.

"Kelvin!" I called again. I pushed the door open and even his bed was empty.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I ran out the front door.

Is this some kind of prank?

But even outside, little Gena and her friends weren't playing as they normally did every Saturday morning.

Where is everybody?

"Hello?" I called out again.

I reached the neighbours' houses and pounded on their doors one after the other.

"HELLO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I could only hear the continuous thumping of my heart and the breeze slapping my face as I ran to the harbour. I was beginning to think it was an awful nightmare.

As I approached the beach, it was the same with the entire town.

Empty.

I ran to where my daddy's yacht should have been and what I saw restrained my muscles, glueing my favorite all-star trainers to the hot sand.

Evil.

A body laid like a ghoulish scare crow that had been attacked by angry birds wanting to feed off a farm. His intestines had been plugged out like he was some old cow on a slaughter table. His eye balls which laid by his side, stared at me like it had been clawed out of it sockets.

Daddy?