"RUBY, there's blood on your shirt!"

"What?" Rubena checked her shirt, and sure enough, there it was. The blood was clear as day. Emma had spotted it while eating a sandwich in the kitchen. A look of utter confusion spread across Emma's face; she could smell the metallic scent of blood. It was fresh! Rubena covered her mouth in shock.

"I don't understand. How could this have happened?" Rubena asked.

"I don't know. Go to the bathroom and scrub that mess before your mom returns," Emma replied. Rubena frowned. "Right. Or maybe it could've been some fruit juice. Still weird, though..."

Rubena ran upstairs to the bathroom. She filled the bathtub with water, grabbed a bar of soap, and scrubbed. It took her ten minutes to get the blood out. Luckily, it wasn't a white shirt; it was blue. She put the blue shirt in the dryer and changed into her Captain Marvel shirt.

She returned downstairs and continued watching a romance film with Emma while they ate. Emma talked about how her boyfriend could relate to the film's protagonist, which made Rubena laugh.

When the movie ended, Rubena's mom, Penny, returned and asked how they were doing. "Fine," they both said—even though what had happened an hour ago made them feel weirded out.

...

A week later, on Sunday, Rubena and Emma decided to bike around their hometown of Crimson. Rubena still struggled to keep up with Emma's cycling speed; Emma was simply faster.

As they passed a gas station, Rubena felt something warm under her green sweatshirt. They stopped their bikes on the sidewalk. Rubena removed her sweatshirt and checked her white T-shirt. It was stained with blood.

"Emma, come here. I've got blood on my shirt again. Where the heck did it come from? Can you smell it? " Rubena called, hopping off her bike.

She cupped a bloody palm to Emma's nose. Emma's face twisted into a mix of confusion and disgust as she took a cautious sniff.

"Of all the shirts in your closet, you had to pick white?" Emma asked.

"I don't know. I thought it was just a fluke last time. Guess I was wrong." Rubena replied.

She pulled on a sweatshirt, the motion jerky and awkward.

"I don't recall seeing any blood on your shirt when we left." Emma said.

Rubena sighed.

"I'm going back home to clean it up."

"But won't your mom notice the smell?" Emma questioned.

"I know, but what else can I do? I can't risk someone thinking I'm a killer. "

"I don't want you to take the blame for this."

"Uh...I appreciate that, but I don't want to involve you with my mom. I'll text you when it's all over."

"Gotcha." Emma replied.

They went their separate ways.

Rubena rode her bike home, worrying about how her mother would react if she smelled blood on her shirt.

Forget it. There's no turning back now. I'll just have to hope she doesn't notice.

When Rubena entered the house, she strolled into the living room, where her mom was finishing a romance novel she had picked up from the Apple County Public Library, Immortal Fiancé. Since she didn't have to work on Sundays, besides monitoring her clients, she had a decent amount of free time—aside from other things.

Penny looked up from her book and took off her glasses.

"Where's Emma? I thought she would come back and stay a little longer," Penny said. Rubena walked around the couch and grabbed her textbook from the glass table.

"She changed her mind. I'm going to do a load of laundry early if that's okay," Rubena said.

"Just a small load? Did you get something dirty?"

"A stain."

"Alright then. Carry on." Penny put her glasses back on and continued reading her novel.

...

It was 3 PM, and Rubena had already finished most of her chores before her bike ride with Emma. She walked out of the kitchen, breathing shallowly as she strolled upstairs to the laundry room. She took off her bloody sweatshirt and put it in the washing machine, then gathered the rest of her dirty clothes from her room to add to the load. Starting the machine, she felt a wave of relief.

As she walked back to her room, she decided an early shower was a good idea.

If my mom asks, I'll just tell her I needed to refresh after sweating on the bike ride—that's all.

She felt a pang of unease as she undressed and stepped into the shower.

What if the shower head suddenly starts pouring out blood instead of water?

After twenty-five minutes, she turned off the water, grabbed her towel, and got out.

Walking over to the sink, she stared at her forehead in the mirror. Even after showering, the blood seemed to cling to her. A drop slid down the middle of her forehead onto her nose. She turned on the faucet and wiped her face again. Finally, the blood was gone, and just when Rubena thought she could finish her day without arousing her mother's suspicion, she realized she was wrong.

...

It was 4 PM, and Rubena had just finished all her assignments except for math. She considered calling Emma for help but dismissed the idea, knowing Emma would only bring up their paranormal situation.

Of course, if another supernatural event occurred, she would be obligated to tell her mother the truth about what she believed was happening—which was, in fact, nothing. Her mother wouldn't be any less clueless than she was, even if Rubena revealed the "blood" incidents she had kept secret for a week. She sighed.

As she put her pencil down, she heard the washing machine signal the end of its cycle. Sluggishly, she got out of bed and left her room.

She went straight to the laundry room and froze. The inside of the washing machine door was covered in blood. An unpleasant taste filled her mouth, followed by a wave of nausea.

Great god almighty—if Mom sees this...

But  it was too late. Penny was already coming up the stairs. Her footsteps were distinct, like how a child could differentiate between their mother and their best friend simply by the sound and rhythm. Rubena quickly turned and headed for her bedroom, only to be stopped by her mother at the top of the stairs.

"Are you going to put your laundry in the dryer, or do I have to do it for you?" Penny asked tiredly.

"I actually have a couple of homework problems left. I...I'll do it later."

"If you can't do it now, I understand. I'll just do it for you, and you can sort the clothes once they're dry."

"NO...I  mean, it's fine. I'll put the clothes in...I mean..." Rubena stuttered. Penny walked to the laundry room, and Rubena felt powerless to stop her. She bit her nails anxiously. Penny bent over and looked at the inside of the washing machine door, her eyebrows raising.

"...What's this?" Penny asked as she straightened up. Rubena shrugged.

"I don't know where that stuff came from. I just used Tide and Shout. That's all."

"Well,  clearly, you did something wrong." Penny opened the washing machine door. Rubena could see her agitation. Penny took out one of the red-stained shirts and smelled it. Within a split second, her face contorted in terror. She dropped the shirt, hoping that what she had just smelled wasn't blood.

"Ruby...what did I just smell?"

"Blood, I think," Rubena replied. Penny started to sweat.

When she wiped her forehead and looked closer at the blood, she felt like gagging. The stench was almost unbearable. Trying to distract herself from the smell only led to her noticing it somewhere else: the ceiling.  She looked up and saw bloody spots on their once-pristine white ceiling. Taking two steps back, she bumped into Rubena and almost tripped.

"What in the world is going on here? Ruby, I will ask you again, was this your doing? Was it Emma's? Is this a prank?" Penny demanded.

Rubena  shook her head. Penny could tell she was being truthful and was just as confused. Penny sighed. "Go to your room and shut the door. I'm calling the police," she said as she walked to her bedroom to grab her purse.

If this wasn't Rubena or Emma's doing,  then they potentially had an intruder. Was the stranger still hiding in the house, or had they been there the previous night—only to break in and vandalize their property after stealing some belongings? It didn't make any sense.

Could it have been  a spirit, demon, or ghost? Ironically, any of those ideas seemed more logical than someone breaking into their house just to put blood in their washing machine and on the ceiling.

Something had sent Rubena into a state of shock. She collapsed, trembling. Her saliva turned to foam, and her eyes rolled back. When the trembling stopped, she vomited blood, staining her shirt. Penny threw open her bedroom door, phone in hand, dialing 911, and gasped at the sight. The roles had been reversed, as only one dominant creature existed now—a beast that had refused to bear any malice in the presence of weaker prey.

"Ruby...no...no...RUBY!"

...

It's 4:30 PM. Jack and Ardyce are racing to the woman's house.

"Ma'am, slow down." Jack interrupts. "You found blood on your ceiling out of the blue, and now it's everywhere? Is your daughter safe? Stay put. We're four minutes out. Don't hang up."

He mutes her, glancing at Ardyce. She rolls her eyes and makes that irritating clicking sound with her tongue.

"So, what's the deal with this blood thing?" Ardyce asked.

"Apparently, blood's just appearing out of thin air. Sounds like some crazy movie plot, right?"

"Yeah, well, maybe she's just freaking out. Or maybe she's hiding something."

"Either way, it's a waste of our time. Let's just get this over with and go home."

Ardyce missed her turn. She drove a little further, checked for oncoming traffic, and quickly made a U-turn. Driving fifty miles per hour on those terrible, pothole-filled roads was a surefire way to ruin your tires.

As Ardyce turned right into the neighborhood where the woman and daughter lived, she slowed down. She caught a glimpse of a dark, bald humanoid figure with eyes as white as dumplings, staring at her from a first-floor window of the house they were supposed to enter.

"What was that?!" Ardyce yelled, slamming on the brakes.

The car screeched to a halt twenty feet from the house. Jack instinctively reached for his Glock but slowly lowered it when he realized there was no immediate danger.

"What is it?" he asked.

Ardyce's gaze was fixed on the figure as it vanished from sight, leaving only the garnet curtains visible through the windows. She hadn't realized she'd been trembling the entire time.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jack's voice broke through her trance.

"You... you were right. We need backup. If we go in there, we're going to die." Ardyce stammered.

"How... wait. Ma'am? Okay, okay, we're coming in. Don't panic." Jack said.

Jack gestured for Ardyce to get out of the car. They needed to approach the house.

Ardyce mouthed a silent, desperate "No."

Jack sighed and opened his door. As he stepped out, he drew his Glock and jogged towards the porch.

"Jack! Get back in the car," Ardyce pleaded, scrambling out to follow him.

Reaching the porch, Jack froze. Bloodstains marred the steps. He instinctively shielded Ardyce with his arm, halting her. A sudden movement behind them made him whirl, firing on instinct.

"Holy—" Ardyce's words were cut short as the creature, recovering instantly, struck. Her head flew from her body.

Jack cursed and kicked in the front door. It wasn't until a searing pain ripped through his gut that he realized the futility of his actions.

As he collapsed, senses fading, the last thing he heard was a smacking sound—the sound Ardyce always made when she was frustrated.

Here's a revised version with a more horrifying and poetic tone:

A seven-year-old boy, with wide, fearful eyes, witnessed the macabre scene from his second-story window. His parents stood beside him, their faces etched with terror. The monstrous figure, a grotesque caricature of humanity, dragged the lifeless forms of fallen officers into its lair. The once-peaceful home, now a grotesque stage for a gruesome ballet, echoed with the sickening sounds of bone meeting bone. A grotesque feast commenced.

The boy was not alone in his horrifying vision. The entire neighborhood bore witness to the creature's power. Yet, for the young boy, the image was indelibly etched upon his soul. A decade later, sleep would claim him, and he would never awaken from the nightmare that had begun that fateful night.

...

It was 6:20 PM on a Sunday. Emma sat on her living room couch, eating popcorn while watching Bridgerton. Twenty minutes earlier, she had been texting her boyfriend, but she decided it was time to take a break. There was nothing better than spending the rest of a Sunday binge-watching a new Netflix romance.

As the credits rolled on episode two, Emma thought about the immense pressure Ruby had felt when she arrived home earlier. The pressure was from her mother, of course. Was Ruby still okay? Emma thought she should probably give her a call, but then decided against it. For some reason, Ruby didn't seem to like the idea of her best friend being involved in her supernatural problem—if it was even a supernatural problem.

But she's my friend. The least I can do is check up on her. She's probably in her room scrolling through TikTok or something. If that's the case, then all the more reason to call her.

Emma grabbed her phone, but then it started ringing. Who could that be?

"Who is it, Emma?!" Her father yelled from upstairs.

Emma strolled to the front door and looked through the peephole. She saw three police officers patiently waiting.

This isn't good.

"It's the police!" she yelled.

"Hold on. We're coming!" Emma's parents hurried downstairs and opened the front door. They saw a police officer holding a photo of Ruby and her cousins at a beach in Elm Springs. Dried blood covered the picture.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Emma's father asked.

"You have affiliations with the Graham family, correct?" she asked.

"Well...we're friends of the family, yes. Why? What's wrong?"

"I'm very sorry, but Penny Graham was murdered at her home just about an hour ago. The murderer is suspected of having also taken her daughter and fled into the woods surrounding this town. We searched the house, but the only thing we could find was this picture."

The officer showed them the photo. Tears streamed down Emma's cheeks.

"The murderer must have dropped it while going into the woods. Please, if there's any information you might know, let us know so we can catch, well, whoever did this."

Emma clutched her chest. To keep herself from falling, she held onto the porch railing. Her heartbeat was racing.

"Emma..." Her mother started.

Her father, on the other hand, only seemed perplexed, almost in disbelief that such a thing could happen.

"We'll run some fingerprint tests and get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding," the officer said.

She and the other two officers started heading back to their car.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Emma's mother said.

When she hugged Emma, she pulled back immediately.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"There's...blood on your shirt..."