Hide & Seek

Kin extended his hands across Luna and Emma, stepping forward.

"He's..." Luna said softly, "possessed." She felt her vision darken for a moment.

Emma was in shock, her hands covering her mouth, the other holding onto the door.

"My phone... it's in my backpack in the living room," Luna murmured.

She started fidgeting with her fingers. What happens if she suddenly leaves? They all knew they could not approach without a plan.

The dehumanized Kiefer grinned and turned to face them. He grabbed Lily by the feet and dangled her in the air as a small blanket unfurled and dropped to the floor. A loud cry set off, and Luna unknowingly ran to her niece, but Kin pulled her back.

"You want her?" It raised Lily higher as her trembling cries continued. It threw Lily forward, and Kin immediately ran and caught her in his arms, protecting her with all his might. Luna then ran to them, checking on Lily.

"You know what would be fun?" It twisted its neck, releasing multiple cracks.

"A game of hide and seek."

Kin, holding Lily close, backed away slowly. "What do you want?" he demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.

The entity laughed, a chilling sound. "To play, of course. If I can't find you, I'll let you go. If I do..." It left the threat hanging in the air, its grin widening.

Luna's mind raced. They needed a plan.

It slowly lowered its hands to the floor, moving backward on all fours like a panther ready to play with its prey.

Kin immediately handed Lily to Luna as he noticed the demon ready to attack.

In the blink of an eye, it leaped towards them. Kin intercepted, grabbing its hands, and they both tumbled over.

"GO! GET AWAY FROM HERE!" Kin shouted amidst being clawed. He held onto the demon's torso, refusing to let go until the three had fled.

Luna, holding Lily, grabbed Emma by the hand and pushed the door open with her foot. Emma was still frozen. Luna knew her sister had witnessed a possession before, and it had always been a traumatic experience.

"Emma." She shook her sister's shoulder. "You're okay. We're okay. Lily's here. Kin is strong. Let's call for help, so please... hold Lily for me."

Emma nodded through her tears, taking Lily into her arms and starting to comfort her.

Luna quickly found her phone in her backpack and dialed 112. It rang four times.

"112 cases, what's the address of the emergency?"

"Block 23, Amanita Hills, the third house from the Coco Cafe. A man in his thirties is possessed, please hurry over," Luna said into the phone.

Loud thuds and crashes echoed from Lily's room, each sound weighing heavier to listen.

Luna's breath was short and rapid, yet focused. She took Lily from Emma and handed the phone to her, letting her explain the location and situation to the operator.

"Somewhere to hide… somewhere to hide…" Luna mumbled.

She noticed a trapdoor covered by a carpet in the kitchen hallway.

"Emma," Luna called, and her sister ran towards her. Together, they opened the trapdoor to the basement and descended the stairs. Luna switched on the light. The basement was spacious but only tall enough for a person to stand.

"Help is 20 minutes away. They said not to leave the house," Emma said faintly. Luna nodded, and they each found a place to sit in the dimly lit space.

"Why would the possessed target us? Why wouldn't they go outside or run away?" Emma asked, not making eye contact.

They fell silent before Luna finally explained, "Any demon targets the nearest soul to them." She looked at Emma, their eyes meeting. "It's better to trap them in a house than to let them roam free. More people will be in danger if they get outside."

Her sister looked at her as if disappointed. Luna wondered if she said something wrong.

Emma stood up. "So it's okay for us to be in danger instead?"

Luna couldn't see her sister's face because of her hair, but she could see she was shaking.

Emma finally faced her. "What? You like the thrill or something?"

"What…" Luna froze in her seat, taken aback by the words. Yet she knew better than to give in to her emotions given the situation.

"You know I don't mean that. And the operator ordered us to stay inside. It's a way to lessen the casualties until help comes." Luna explained calmly, trying to slow her own breathing.

"Oh. Like pawns." Emma turned around and started going upstairs. "Help will be here any minute now."

"Emma, no. Kin told us to get away from there." Luna told her, grabbing her by the arm to prevent her from going any further.

She shook her hand off. "Take care of Lily."

"Emma, no!"

"That is my husband!" she snapped, pointing to the door. "There, right now. Lily's father." She fell silent and released a deep breath before she shook her head, "Not my child... not again, no."

Luna grabbed her by the arm and pushed her down to the floor. "Please, won't you just..." She tried to calm her voice down, "...stay here…"

Emma broke into tears. "But Kin…" She covered her face and bawled, "...he's in danger."

"He's got the best chance of surviving among us. He's good at fighting. Let's… let's trust him."

A loud crash came from above, followed by a thud. The sisters paused and listened to a few footsteps until it ceased, and everything fell eerily still.

Footsteps. Light… and multiple. Luna cursed as she gave the sleeping child back to her mother and immediately rechecked the latch, gesturing for them to hide behind a stack of heavy boxes and furniture. "Go! go! go!"

She turned off the hanging light and quickly followed to the corner.

Loud banging set off as a foot stomped on the heavy trapdoor.

One, two, three, and it opened downward, opposite from its hinge, causing the door to detach and break.