Word Count →⁠_⁠→ 1 013 words

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Screams. Loud, loud screams echoed all around him as he moved in a daze. As the foh cleared from his mind, he could finally make out the abandoned streets with rows of cars whose engines were still running. Dozens of fires had broken out everywhere but even in all the chaos that was around him, he could make out the familiar street names he had grown up in.

Home.

He was finally home. He could finally get some rest, reassure his mother who was probably worried sick about him. She was all he had left, even when everyone else had left him, his mother had always stood by his side.

He suddenly stopped when he felt a tug on his ankle. Looking down he saw the face of a frightened red haired child, a girl who looked to be no older than five, whose eyes reflected the fear and trauma of all she had seen.

He bent down carefully to look at the child at eye level. The poor thing probably wanted his help, his protection.

"Hi there, what's your name?" He asked her.

"Hailey." The little girl replied with a sniffle.

She was still crying, it seemed. Children in distress had always tugged at his heart but for some reason, looking at that poor child, he felt nothing. He could not empathize with the poor thing and could not comprehend why she was in distress.

"Little one, didn't your parents teach not to approach strangers?" He asked her, his face devoid of all emotion.

His words seemed to frighten the child even more because she started crying even louder.

"Hush, now. I'm sure they wouldn't want their little princess crying." He said, picking her up gently in his arms and rocking her in an attempt to calm her down. "What do you say we go find them?"

This seemed to calm the girl as she gave a feeble nod of her head.

"Do you remember where you last saw them, Hailey?" He asked as he moved down the street.

"We were by the candy store across the street getting some candy for my birthday when the bad people came." She said in between sobs.

"Bad people, huh?" He said as he looked around for any sign of what should have been a candy store.

Her crying was starting to annoy him, for some reason but he forced himself to calm down. It was hard though, a part of him was fighting to break free, a very powerful part.

"What were your parents wearing? Do you remember?" He asked as he searched around for any sign of life.

"Uh huh. Momma was wearing a pink dress with yellow flowers and papa was wearing a grey suit." Little Hailey replied.

So they are middle class people it would seem, he thought.

A flash of movement on his right caught his eye and he turned in that direction. He found himself facing what looked to have been a candy shop, just as the child had said. The windows had been broken and there were sprays of blood everywhere.

Any normal person would have flinched at the sight, even little Hailey hid her face and clung to him even tighter. He wasn't even fazed. Deep down he knew he should have been but it felt like his body was operating on autopilot.

Looking around he saw even more blood inside the shop. Just as he had guessed, he saw the couple the little girl had described on the floor bent over an unconscious person. Their clothes were covered in blood and had been torn in several places but they didn't seem to care. Only focusing on their prey.

"Momma... Papa?" Little Hailey said with a tiney voice as she saw the frightening scene in front of her.

That's right, this is too traumatizing for a child, he thought to himself. So what the hell am I doing here? Why did I bring her here? Better yet, what am I doing here?

He should have been paralyzed by fear at the scene in front of him but again he felt nothing, not even fear. That was a lie though, he did feel something.

The metallic scent of blood in the air caused some sort of reaction from him. It wasn't one of pure horror and disgust but one of longing. He found himself, eyes closed, inhaling the addictive scent and almost salivating.

He was suddenly very hungry again. It was a familiar feeling now and he knew he would lose his mind if he didn't eat soon. Before he went and indulged his hunger, however, he had to deal with the issue that had brought him here.

"Hey you," he said out loud for those in front of him to hear.

Wait, what the hell am I doing?

They turned their full attention to him. Their stance was no longer one of predator but one of prey as they seemed to cower before him.

They're afraid of me, he noted.

Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself speaking to them.

"You're frightening your daughter. Or did you forget about her?" He said venomously.

He barely recognized his own voice or his own thoughts at that particular moment. It felt like he was a passenger in his own body watching everything unfold in from of him like it was some kind of movie.

What he had just said seemed to ease the little girl's mind because she looked at him like he was some kind of hero. This seemed to irk him even more.

"Worthless scum." He continued, "Do you think I have the time to clean up your mess? Or maybe you've gone so primitive that your brains no longer understand a simple command. I said no survivors."

With that he threw the frightened little girl at them, walking away as her screams echoed all around him.

What did I just do? Did I just... Did I just kill that child?

His mind was screaming at him but he continued on in cold indifference.