BRAIN EATER

"Mom… where are you? I'm scared…"

Carl, a thirteen-year-old boy, whispered those words in a trembling voice.

The house remained completely silent, as if every corner had fallen dead still. Beyond the walls, the night had already arrived, knocking softly against the world like an omen waiting to enter.

Carl felt as though someone else was inside the house besides his mother.

But whoever it was… he had no idea.

He was shaking as he walked slowly through the foyer. Outside the trees were covered in mist. It made the night feel like a wall of grey. The house was too quiet.

Carl could hear his breathing. Something felt wrong. It was not loud or clear. It was there. A cold feeling ran down his spine.

Carl started to move step by step climbing the stairs. Each footstep felt louder than it should have. It echoed in the silence. At the top there was a room.

Carl stopped in front of it. His heart was pounding hard. It felt like his heart already knew something was wrong. It felt like his heart was begging him not to go any. His throat felt dry. His breath was uneven.

For a moment Carl just stood there. Then slowly he leaned closer and looked through the keyhole. Inside he saw his mother. Her back was facing the door. She was standing near the window staring outside. She was not moving. Carl pushed the door open. Spoke in a broken whisper. "Mom?" He reached out to touch her arm. As her body turned Carl saw something horrible. His mothers face was gone. There was a raw red crater where her features had been. Her torso was unzipped from her collarbone to her pelvis. Her ribcage was cracked open like a wishbone.

Carls mother had no organs. They were replaced by a void. Her entrails were coiled neatly at her feet like a heap of glistening snakes. Carl stared at his mother in that state. Fear took hold of him. His legs gave out. He fell to the floor. A scream rose in his throat ready to tear out.. Then his mothers body jerked. Her eyes bulged outward in an instant. They were wide and unnatural.

Carl froze. Then something moved at his mothers mouth. It forced its way out with a horrifying motion. Carl could not understand it. He did not want to. He could only watch, paralyzed as it dropped to the floor. A dark stain spread beneath his mother. There was blood everywhere. The room, the floor all of it was swallowed by red.. The silence returned, heavier than before.

Sixty miles away in a cramped apartment overlooking the rain-slicked streets of Seattle a phone rang. Detective Elias Miller reached out. Answered it. "Miller " he grunted. The voice on the end was thick with static and panic. "Elias it's a Code Crimson. Another one. Same signature,. Its worse this time. The whole neighborhood is seeing things." Miller sat up feeling the weight of his badge. "I'm out Sarah. My retirement papers are signed. Give it to the rookie."

The rookie had thrown up the moment he hit the porch. The locals were calling it a ritual. They were terrified. "Please Elias " Sarah said. Miller closed his eyes seeing the ghosts of every victim he had failed. "I'm on my way. Keep the feds out of it for now." His wife stirred, the red glow of the alarm clock reading 6:00 AM. "Elias, not today. Not your last day." Miller said, "One last monster, honey. Then I'm all yours."

The crime scene was a mess of rain flashing sirens and screaming civilians. The American suburbs so quiet were echoing with the sounds of a hunt. A woman shrieked, held back by two officers at the tape. "How more children have to die? You let a demon into our town!" Miller stepped out of his car his trench coat heavy with rain. He did not speak. He simply walked past the line his eyes hard as flint.

Inside the house the smell was overpowering. It was like a butchers gallery. The coroner spoke, his voice shaking. "He was alive for the half. The killer used a serrated blade to maximize the agony.. Just like the others the vault is empty." Miller looked at the victims head. The scalp had been folded back with precision. The skull had been sawed open. The brain was missing vacuumed out leaving nothing but a bone bowl. "No prints. No DNA. No forced entry " the coroner continued. "It's like he just appeared."

As Miller walked back to his car, a man in a cassock stood by the fence watching the house with a sickening blissful smile. "Beautiful isn't it Detective?" the priest whispered. Miller grabbed him by the collar slamming him against the fence. "Talk. Before I lose my temper." The priest did not speak. Miller stormed out his temper barely. Slid into the car with a sharp motion. Slamming the door he leaned back. Glanced at the junior officer beside him.

The junior officer straightened, a smile on his lips. "Sir the new officer should arrive any moment now. His name is Tim. He just moved here with his family." Miller let out a scoff his eyes narrowing. "We'll see. Lets see how big of an officer he really is."

A blue SUV drove through the winding mountain roads of the Blackwood Range. Giant redwoods towered over the asphalt like sentinels their branches blocking out the sun. Inside the heater hummed. Louis sat in the back staring at his iPhone. "Dad this is a zone " Louis complained. "No LTE, no 5G. Nothing. Are we going to a cabin or a witness protection program?" His father laughed, a sound. "Its called 'The Great Outdoors,' Louis. Try it. The trees won't bite."

Louiss mother turned back with a smile. "Your father is right. Unplug for a bit. It'll do you some good." Louis. Tossed the phone onto the leather seat. He looked out the window. The forest felt different here deeper and darker. The shadows between the trees seemed to move, keeping pace with the car. "Dad, how much further?" his sister asked, her voice small. "I don't like the fog." Their father replied, "Ten minutes, honey. Ten more minutes until we're exactly where we're supposed to be."

As the SUV rounded the bend the radio cut to static and the temperature inside the car dropped. Louis felt a chill run down his spine. Something was not right. The trees seemed to be closing in the fog swirling around them like a living thing. Louiss father kept driving his eyes locked on the road.. Louis could sense his fear, his uncertainty. They were not alone, in the forest. Something was waiting for them something that did not want them to leave.