Leave Now

I tried taking my hand out of my mouth as fear crept into my being. Then I looked at who it was, and I was surprised to see Dad. He was putting his pointed finger near his lips, telling me not to say a word.

The sweat on his face, the way his lips moved... it all told me something was wrong. Were there other cases of death? I nodded in understanding, and he took his hand away from my mouth as he walked faster, grabbing my wrist. We hid behind a particular tree so that nobody would see us.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked, barely a whisper. I was worried to the point that I couldn't stop the fast beating of my heart, and different possibilities kept rushing through my mind.

He faced me with an unexplainable expression, and suddenly I felt fear. "Maiveline, listen. All the sheep of Mr. Galeryo died last night. Several cows on the ranch died as well, and even the two men patrolling near that area were killed," he said in a raspy voice.

I gasped in fear. "What? Dad, how did it happen?"

Our house isn’t close to other houses, but the closest one was Mr. Galeryo's. The ranch is just 500 meters away from home. One thing is for sure... the killer is getting closer to us.

"We don't know. No one knows, Maive. But… you know how people think about us, right?" he asked, and I could see the sadness in his eyes.

I nodded. "D-do they think… w-we did it?" My voice came out so low in disbelief.

He nodded hesitantly, which sent me into panic. How could they? We’ve been good residents; we never touched nor hurt anyone. I was born to do good deeds… to be silent even though we were the talk of the town.

"That's unfair, Dad! We've been good to them. Let's tell them the truth—" I said, about to go to the crowd, but Dad cut me off, holding my wrist tighter to stop me.

"No, don't go there, Maive. Don't let yourself be seen by other people. Don't even try to explain yourself because they would never listen. Go back to the house and stay with your brother, okay? Don't trust anyone," he said, then suddenly disappeared out of my sight.

Wait… w-what just happened? I was left alone, dealing with terror and confusion. But suddenly, Zonen popped into my head. "Oh gosh, Zonen." I immediately rushed toward the house as tears fell from my eyes.

I know that people think of us as devils… a curse, but we could never hurt anyone, nor kill our own. We didn’t kill those sheep, those cows, or the patrolmen… someone else must have surely done it. But who? Who could have done such terrible things? Whoever it was… it wasn’t human, and most especially, it wasn’t my family.

As I was heading home, I couldn’t help but think about where Sheon had gone. I have a feeling that she's still alive… I could feel her. My heart could tell, though I don’t understand. It seemed like we’re connected to each other. To be honest, I feel so guilty for leaving her with those bullies, but she will be mad if I don’t.

When I reached home, I immediately headed toward the room where Zonen was sleeping, but I suddenly got nervous when I saw the bed empty—he wasn’t there.

Damn it! I immediately rushed through every room, seeing no one. "Zonen!" I called in the living room, but there was no response.

However, my eyes fell on the window, and I saw Zonen in the backyard, staring at the gloomy clouds. I rushed outside again, and when I got near Zonen, I held his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked angrily.

I was so nervous that I thought I had lost him. I couldn’t even think clearly; my emotions were driving me mad. I took a deep breath, calming myself when I saw the shock and fear on his face. "Oh Zonen, I’m sorry," I apologized as I pulled him into a hug.

Shit, I gave him a fright.

"Maive, will everything really be okay?" he asked all of a sudden.

I faced him. "Why did you ask that?"

"I had a dream…" he stated hesitantly. "And people are very mad."

My forehead creased in curiosity. "Why?" I asked, out of breath.

Ever since, Zonen had been dreaming of bizarre scenes; somehow they came true, and that was also one of the mysteries swirling inside my head.

"They were accusing us… murderers," he said as his eyes turned watery.

"No, no. Don't think about it, okay? It’s not true," I said, trying to calm him down, and he nodded.

"Come on, Zonen. Let’s wait inside for Dad to come back."

Night had come, yet Father hadn’t returned. He never stayed out this late, and right now… I couldn’t help but pace back and forth in the room.

"Can you stop that, Maive?" Zonen annoyingly asked.

"I can't help it. What if… what if…" I said, unable to continue.

However, our attention was caught when, suddenly, a loud thump was heard on the window glass.

"What the heck was that?" Zonen asked in shock as he immediately stood from the sofa.

"Watch your mouth, Zonen," I lectured as I went near the window to see what it was. Another thump was heard, and when it struck the window glass, I immediately recognized who it was, which lightened the heaviness of my heart.

"Sheon!" I exclaimed happily as I rushed to open the window.

Sheon came in, and she fell directly to the floor. When I saw her entire condition, it felt as if my heart had been squeezed tightly. "Oh God, Sheon," I cried as I ran toward her.

I kneeled on the floor, wanting to hold her, but she was wounded. Her wings were badly scratched. Blood covered most parts of her body. Her breathing was unsteady, and her eyes kept closing as if she was fighting for her life.

"I'm… I’m so sorry, Sheon." Damn it, it was all my fault.

Suddenly, I felt someone pat my shoulder. I knew it was my brother comforting me.

"W-what should I do?" I cried. Oh shit, I didn’t even know what to do. She was dying!

I stood up and was about to grab any first aid I might use when the door suddenly opened, revealing my Dad.

"Dad, what happened to you?" Zonen asked in shock and fear.

But I was frozen on the spot. I couldn’t process what was happening. My pet Sheon was dying, and my father… was bleeding!

His side, his stomach, was bleeding badly, and my world fell apart. I couldn’t think straight, but then suddenly, it was as if a bucket of water had been thrown on me.

"Zonen, help Father sit. I’ll find some medicines," I panicked, about to run to the kitchen, but Father stopped me.

"No! We have to leave, far from here. C-come on, they’re coming."