BLAST...

I tried to control my pounding heart, forcing myself to take a few shaky steps back to steady my nerves. I scanned the room desperately for an escape route, but every corner seemed to close in on me, reinforcing the terrifying reality—I was trapped, and the suffocating situation was almost unbearable. I took a deep, hard breath, swallowing hard as tears threatened to spill over. My eyes were locked on the door, where whatever was outside continued to struggle with it, rattling it violently as if ready to break through at any moment.

In that scary instant, I clasped my hands together, whispering a silent prayer. Fear had consumed me entirely, paralyzing me to the point where I couldn't even muster the strength to scream for help. It felt like an eternity, but then, through the thick veil of dread, I heard a voice—filling me with hope. It was the cashier, John, shouting from outside, "Hey you, what are you doing?"

The frantic noise at the door suddenly ceased, as if the thing on the other side had shifted its attention toward John. Moments later, the unsettling sound of snarling filled the air, followed by John's panicked voice yelling, "Get away from me, you crazy lady!" I clamped my hands over my mouth to stifle the scream that was clawing its way up my throat, just as the sounds of gun shot filled the air. And then—silence. A heavy, oppressive silence.

What was happening out there? I reached cautiously for the doorknob, my hand shaking as I contemplated opening the door just a crack to see what was going on. But something held me back, a strange fear rooting me to the spot. Then, a sudden noise at the door made my heart leap into my throat, but it was quickly followed by John's voice, calm yet firm, saying, "Andrea, are you in there? You can come out now."

I exhaled a small sigh of relief, my body still tense as I gently reached for the bathroom door and pushed it open. Stepping out, I saw John standing there, clutching his right hand, which had a large, bleeding bite mark. Yet he still held his pistol tightly. "Oh my God, are you okay? What... what was that?" I stammered, my eyes darting around, catching sight of blood splattered on the walls.

"Aww shucks, it was just some crazy lady," John replied, his voice filled with both disbelief and grim humor. "Her eyes were all bloodied up, and her whole body was covered in blood, lookin' like a real mess! She was completely nuts, and when I shot her with this," he said, holding up his gun, "she took off like a bat out of hell, busting through the door like it was made of paper!" He pointed at the now shattered bathroom door.

I was terrified when John and I finally stepped out of the bathroom. The entire store was in shambles, with shelves overturned and products scattered everywhere. The glass door at the entrance was shattered.

"Oh shit! She's gone and wrecked my store, and broken my door! I'm gonna make sure she's held accountable. I'm callin' the police. I wonder what kind of things they be putting in drugs that got her acting all high and mighty," he muttered angrily as he rummaged through the mess on his counter, desperately searching for his phone. After what felt like an eternity, he finally found it and immediately began dialing the emergency number. I stood frozen, trying to piece together what had just happened. No ordinary human could cause this kind of destruction after being shot—it didn't make any sense. Something was seriously wrong here.

"You might want to get that checked. Maybe go to the hospital or something?" I suggested, pointing to his injured hand. Concern flickered across his face, though he tried to brush it off.

"Hospitals are mighty pricey these days, so this is just a small thing. I'll get it cleaned up when I get home. You oughta head on home now, it's gettin' late. The police and I will handle this, don't you worry about it," he replied with a forced grin. I hesitated, unsure whether to leave him alone, but eventually nodded and made my way out of the store.

As I walked home, I took deep breaths, trying to steady myself, but my mind kept circling back to the chaotic events at the store. Something was definitely off, but I decided not to dwell on it too much. When I reached home, I slowly opened the front door and sighed in relief finding that my mother wasn't around. But I knew it was only a matter of time before she stumbled in, drunk, or dragging some random guy from the club to spend the night. She was a mess—had been ever since Dad left us two years ago. He had already moved on, remarried last month, while she was still stuck in this downward spiral of alcohol and meaningless flings.

Exhausted, I plopped onto my bed, only to be interrupted by a message notification on my phone. It was from Tracy, with an address attached. I sighed, setting the phone aside, deciding to focus on something more productive, like my assignment. There was no way I was going to that party. A few hours later, I heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs, followed by my mother's giggling and a man's voice whispering something to her. I strained to listen and caught her saying, "Shh, don't wake my daughter up."

Her reckless behavior was exactly how people ended up dead at the hands of a serial killer, bringing random men home without a second thought. But I let it go, pushing the thoughts aside as I settled into bed, trying to get some sleep. My mind kept drifting back to the situation at the store, the chaos and the danger, until I finally drifted off to sleep, my thoughts filled with confusion and fear.

The next day started like any other. It was a Saturday, so I only had a few chores and assignments to tackle. When I went downstairs to prepare breakfast, I was shocked to find my mother already at it. I arched an eyebrow in confusion, taking a step back as I eyed her up and down. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Andrea, you are awake," she greeted me with an unusual smile on her face. I arched my eyebrow even higher. Why was she so happy this morning instead of her usual sad and depressed self? She even managed to clean up nicely.

"Hey there, little lady," one of Mom's weird boyfriends, Steven, greeted as he walked down the stairs. I never really liked him much, but I wasn't going to tell Mom not to live her life and have some fun at the same time.

I looked at him, and there was something unsettling about him besides his full-body tattoos and weird piercings. He always gave me this strange look, as if he had bad intentions whenever Mom wasn't around. Unable to stand being around him any longer, I said to my mom, "I'll be in my room."

"But you haven't even had breakfast yet," my mom said, concern lacing her voice, while Steven chimed in, saying, "Yeah, little lady, come have breakfast with us." The disgust I felt toward him intensified. I didn't want to be anywhere near him at that very moment. I forced a smile and replied, "Thanks, but I'll be upstairs in my room."

I was about to walk away when my mother interrupted, "Aren't you going to hear my announcement? It should make you happy." I turned to look at her, wondering what she was talking about. Steven walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist, a smug look on his face as he pulled her closer. Then my mother held up her hand, showing off a ring, and said joyfully, "I'm getting married."

I arched my brow, glancing around, trying to process if I had heard her correctly. I swear to God, if this is another one of my nightmares, it's not going to be funny. "Uhmm, great, I guess." I paused for a moment before adding, "To who?"

I watched the shift in my mom's expression as she incredulously said, "Are you kidding?" She stepped closer to Steven, repeating, "To him, of course. Are you kidding?"

I stared at her for a moment before letting out a small laugh, then asked, "Alright, where are the cameras? This has to be a prank, right?" But the confusion in her eyes confirmed it wasn't a joke. Is she serious? Anger rised within me as I snapped, "Are you serious, Mother? You're getting married to that mess?"

"What are you saying? A mess? I expected you to be happy for me. You were happy for your dad when he got married last month—you even attended his wedding, so why not me?"

"I would be happy for you if you weren't marrying Steven over here. Just look at him." I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my emotions in check. "You've barely dated this man for a month, and now you want to marry him? Come on, Mother, why are you letting grief lead you?"

"You do not get to speak to me that way, Andrea! I am your mother!" she yelled, but I rolled my eyes and replied,

"Mother? How funny. When was the last time you were even a proper mother? I've had to take on the responsibilities in this house, being a mother to you ever since I turned 16. So don't stand there and use that 'mother' card on me." My eyes shifted to Steven as I added, "Have you even noticed the way this creep looks at me? And now you want to marry him and force him to live with me?"

"Control your child, Melissa," Steven said, clearly annoyed. But my mother was too blind to see that he was nothing but a glaring red flag. I inhaled deeply, trying to contain my irritation as I responded,

"You don't get to tell her what to do with me. You're the intruder here."

"Look, Andrea, if you're so unhappy with the way I do things, how about you go live with that backstabbing father of yours?" she barked at me, and I rolled my eyes, saying,

"Maybe I will. It's hard enough parenting you anyway. I don't need that kind of stress around me." The good news was that my father didn't mind me living with him, and neither did his new wife. But I couldn't bring myself to leave my mother behind in the hardest stage of her life—I loved her that much.

"Fine then, just leave!" she yelled. But just then, a huge explosion shook the ground, the blast wave shattering our glass windows. We immediately ducked as the ground trembled like an earthquake was tearing through the earth. After a few terrifying seconds, everything settled. We slowly rose from the floor, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"What was that?" my mother asked, and I shook my head, unable to provide an answer. Then we heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots, followed by screams and snarling from outside. We exchanged a look of bewilderment and fear as cold shivers ran down my spine. What the hell is going on this time?