The sky was jet black that night and no star could escape the cover of the drab clouds. Alone, a brown-haired, teenaged boy walked home from the train station. His clothes were soaked from the heavy rain, and the smells of smoke and cheap alcohol clung to him.

Probably just more of the same shit again tonight.

He kicked a stone, sending it flying toward the closed door of the corner convenience store.

Nyaa!

Startled, a charcoal-colored cat seemed to jump out of nowhere, then it dashed across the street and disappeared into the darkness.

Weird cat.

Rounding the corner, he noticed a small crack in the glass door of the convenience store. The edge of his mouth curled upward.

Fifty points.

The boy walked further down the street for a few minutes and came to a halt, out of habit, in front of a brown door. It was a completely ordinary door, with decorated glass panels and a brass doorknob, except it was unlocked and ajar, which was unusual.

Something is wrong.

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

He gave the door a slight push, and it slowly creaked open. An unfamiliar fear made its way down his back and through his now quivering legs.

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

His eyes scanned the brightly lit kitchen and dining room.

His fears were soon cemented when he saw the glittering pieces of broken glass on the floor. Trembling something fierce, he forced one foot in front of the other.

And then he saw her.

She was lying curled up on the floor and in a pool of her own blood.

Time stood still, and in that instant, his heart pounded against his rib cage, louder than the rain’s impact on window panes.

Ma—

He was breathless, shaking as tears began to fill his agape eyes.

“Mama?!”

N-no! This can’t—

“MAMA! Please, Mama, p-please!”

He ran to her side.

Tears gushed down his cheeks. He wished so bad that this was a nightmare, one that he would soon wake up from, but he knew it wasn’t.

“NO!” he cried out.

He knew.

Deep inside he knew this was going to happen, just as he knew exactly who had done this.

He fell to his knees beside his mother and rested her head on his lap. “NO!” he cried out again. Her body felt cold and lifeless. Rocking back and forth, he gently stroked her hair out of her face to reveal her beauty, hidden behind the bruises.

“M-mama? Mama, p-please, wake up!”

He went numb from the sheer amount of pain that coursed through his body.

I’ll kill him…

Softly, he gently let his mother back on the floor.

I’m gonna KILL HIM!

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the emergency service number, then he left the phone on the floor next to his mother.

Blood-stained and puffy-eyed, the boy pulled himself up from the floor. His mind went blank, tears dried up, and sadness turned to pure rage.

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

His heart hammered against his ribcage, as if demanding to be set free. He couldn’t think straight but knew exactly where he was heading to. He knew who’d hurt his mother, and he knew exactly what he was going to do to him.

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

In the living room, the boy’s stepfather sat in his usual chair watching the television as if nothing had happened. One of his arms hung from the side of the chair holding a glass of whiskey.

The boy felt sick with hate and resentment rumbling in his stomach.

I’m gonna fucking kill you!

AARRGH!

Screaming with rage, the boy lunged toward his stepfather and flung his weight at him with all his might. They both rolled off the chair and slammed against the floor. The boy wrestled his way on top of his adversary and landed a heavy blow on his stepfather’s face, but the older man was stronger and easily shoved the boy off him to the floor, then he held him down by the throat.

“Oh, look! It’s the bitch’s little bastard boy! Ahahahah. You’re too late, you little mutt.”

The boy struggled to get free, but his stepfather was just too strong.

This guy is crazy! I need to get out before he kills me.

Just then, out the corner of his eye, he saw the whiskey glass on the floor not too far from his reach.

That’s it! I just need to—

He stretched out his arm and grabbed hold of the glass. And just as his stepfather was about to say something, he swung his arm as hard as he could against his head. The glass smashed into jagged pieces on contact, cutting them both. But he could at least get free of his stepfather’s grip.

Again, the boy charged at his stepfather and tackled him to the ground. With all the strength he could muster, he landed blow after blow on his face. The older man smirked mischievously, baring his blood-stained teeth.

“Ahahah, you are gonna join your bitch mother, boy!” he said as he spat blood in the boy’s face. “And then I’m gonna find that little sister of yours and teach her a lesson too! Ahahahah.”

The boy froze in horror.

No!

Is she okay? Where is she?!

I need to go find her.

He got up and turned around to leave the room. At that moment, he couldn’t care less about the excuse for a man lying on the living room floor. The boy broke into a run. He was desperate. He knew the only thing that mattered was finding his little sister and getting her to safety.

Getting her far away from this place.

BANG!

He felt his body getting extremely heavy.

Pulling him to the floor.

Dancing lights swirled in front of him.

And then all color drained from the world, to be replaced with silent darkness.

And then there was nothing.