Reiss Of the Eternal

Prologue

The kid came running up to her.

"Buy me some ice cream, mom!"

"In a minute, honey. Go play with the other kids. I have to change your brother's diaper."

The little brown-haired seven-year-old did as he was told and promptly left the security of the shade projected by a willow tree near a small artificial river where he, his mother, and little brother had taken place under.

He went to play in the park.

Just another Sunday in the suburbs, as usual. A few families had decided to spend the day away at the small, quaint, lively park. The scene was filled with greenery, and a small playground was present for the children to play in so that the parents could catch a break for once.

The woman prepared a small towel to set the baby on.

He was her second child. Luckily, had been a healthy baby despite the worries of hereditary diseases from the father's side.

"Okay, cutie, let me see."

She changed the baby's diaper and watched as he fell asleep under the warm sun with its rays filtered through the leaves, unlike the first son who cried non-stop all night and crawled to every single dangerous thing in the house.

The second son was a saint. A quiet one that sleeps the nights away without as much as a pip. "A small 3.5kg, little piglet," she called him. The baby spent most of his time napping or eating, making cute noises, with the young mother melting in love at the mere sight of him.

She looked in her older son's direction. He was playing happily with the other children, so she figured out this was her chance at some me-time with her phone.

Time passed; the sunny sky started to get covered by splashes of dark ominous black clouds that, at first glance, seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Guess we have to go back, fun time's over now."

She called the oldest one back. The sky had turned a deep dark color by the time they were reunited, despite being sunny and clear just a few minutes ago, a storm is about to let loose.

"What crazy-ass weather," she thought.

"Honey, we have to leave," she said as she covered her nose in a hurry as soon as she felt a foul stench, seemingly coming from nowhere in particular, like a miasma covering the surrounding area. The smell of rotten, putrid flesh, almost made her barf, but she managed to hold the bile in.

A strong wind picked up. A wind so strong the branches swayed violently. The big tree they were under shook as if it were no stronger than a sheet of paper.

Rather than leaving in a hurry under this weather, she knew it would be safer to take refuge somewhere before going back home, especially since the walk would easily take them 20 minutes or more.

So, the trio hid under a small bridge on the east side of the park. The baby was still asleep inside the stroller.

"Mom, I'm scared. Are we going to be fine?"

"Of course, honey. It's just a storm. As soon as it passes, we'll go back. I'll let your father know where we are so he can come to pick us up,"

When she reached into the pocket of her purse, she realized there were a few small red droplets on the back of her hand.

"The fuck is this? Blood?"

Lifting her arm closer, she could smell it: a rotten essence wafted in the air like a dark spirit covering them like sharks swimming circles over their prey. The scent was even stronger than before.

Then, a light flashed. She couldn't tell if something had exploded or if lightning struck a nearby pole. It was so strong she got blinded for a few seconds. In her fear and newfound desperation, she shouted.

"Cover your ea—" as soon as she said that, strong thunder roared and cut out her voice; a sound so robust, they both instinctively covered their ears. The rotten smell was now unbearable, the only good side was that the wind was so strong the stench couldn't linger for long stretches of time. that sole fact gave them respite from the relentless attack.

Another sound, much duller than a thunder, a loud thud near them.

A blunt sound, as if someone had let a sack of flour fall from a second store window.

Then another, they didn't know what it was, she thought for a second that it could very well be hail, but it wasn't nearly that cold. In fact, it was still summer and the temperature hadn't changed that much from before.

"Mom, look..." her son called after her, his voice cracking and breaking as if he was about to burst into sobbing or full-on crying. He pointed to something outside the sanctuary they found themselves in.

A small lump of flesh, another one near that first one, and as she kept looking, realization dawned on her; a terror-inducing comprehension.

Body parts.

Body parts were raining. Lumps of red meat, feet, arms, genitals, disfigured rotten faces of unknown people were falling from the sky in all shapes and sizes.

"Could it be a plane crash?"

How could it be? It was raining blood and flesh, such a thing should be impossible.

"Close your eyes, baby. it will be okay." she wanted to scream. She wanted to cry for help, but she had to be solid. Strong as a rock. She couldn't break, for her two sons' sake. She had to hold on.

She did notice something weird, even after the strong thunder and the horrible smells, even now, the sounds of flesh hitting against the floor.

The baby hadn't cried, not even once. Thinking that something may be wrong with her child she hurriedly looked inside the stroller, only to find it empty, no baby inside.

Her gorgeous black-haired baby boy was gone in a flash of light.

She screamed; the rock crumbled away.

What she didn't remember at the time was that a similar thing happened a few years ago, in another country, a widespread story worldwide, a rain of grotesque gore.

A strange disappearance.