ANGLERFISH.
1760, NOVEMBER 5th.
Without turning their heads, both could see all the rowboats on the island gathered into one massive bonfire. Two more soldiers guarded this area, one of which was executing a line of familiar faces. Shadows danced from the flickering flames. Combined with the faint lantern light nearby, she could barely make out the faces of her neighbors. With a loud bang, the nearest person sitting on their knees fell limp. Blood leaked from the hole in his forehead, but the dancing lights weren't strong enough to reveal his face.
Her mom's body twitched with a sudden jolt as the little girl saw the knife was fully drawn. An anglerfish was deeply engraved upon its blade. Without hesitation, her mom grabbed the rifle with an uppercut like motion while simultaneously kicking the soldier. She dashed madly back around the corner as the soldier quickly regained footing and fired.
Bullets ricocheted and chipped the nearby walls. Ash and soot filled the grimy air around them as her mom quickly searched about. The bullets stopped and the little girl's limbs began to shake. She was clammy, cold, and it felt like her heart would burst out her chest. Every moment that passed in silence made this feeling get worse.
Before she could react, her mom ran to the safest thing the little girl saw. Her mom ran back towards their house. Prismatic energy surrounded them as the mom used Create to flood the buildings with fog. They barely made it to the hill when two soldiers appeared on their trail.
One approached from the side and fired its wrist-mounted grappling hook. The wire missed and wrapped around the nearby tree in the front yard instead. Snapped in half by the retraction of the wire, only a stump was left behind. As this wire retracted, a third soldier approached. The same soldier with the engraved knife. The anglerfish soldier. This time, with a Gatling gun.
Bullets rained above the mother and daughter as the Anglerfish soldier opened fire. Soaring overhead, a crow watched as they tried to outrun molten lead. From its perspective, the fire of the village cast an insidious shadow. It almost appeared to be a dark anglerfish, with its jaws wide open; teeth chasing after the woman and child. Little did they know, from the eyes of the bird, the glow of the front door they were so desperately running too... Was the monster's antenna.
Moon behind the crow, darkening its black form, it wailed an insidious echoing caw. Three bullets pierced the chest of the mom. All that remained of her right shoulder, left kidney, and right hip was a long bloody like chain from where all three bullets exited her mangled torso. Falling on her knee, she let out a deathly scream as pink and red chunks fell out of her. Nevertheless, shaking and stumbling, she stood back up and ran.
Each step felt like a stumble, but her mom made it to the door and slammed it shut. She slid down the door, leaving a blood trail, as bullets flew by overhead where she was a mere split second ago. Sitting on the floor for a moment, her mom placed her hand over one of the wounds. Removing it, the entire hand was red. They could both see heaps of blood pouring out of the injury. The little girl shook with tears in her eyes as the mom gazed up at her. She didn't understand what was going on. She didn't know why. All she knew was this bone chilling feeling, and the black pit in her stomach, were both unbearably growing worse.
Her mom grit her teeth and raised her head up all the way up. The kid noticed her mom's gaze grow squinty. Her head also shook slightly, as if she was disoriented and dizzy. Following her mom's gaze, she saw the straight path to her bedroom door. Yet her mom's head bobbed and turned like it was some unnaturally long, twisted, spiraling path.
She was suddenly picked up by her mother, who began the long stumbling trek down the hallway. Blood splashed on the ground in large pools with each step her mom took. It coated the crayon drawing of the family and her palm smeared prints on the household portraits. Her mom's breath was short and rapid. The little girl watched as those eyes grew more distant. Then her mother tripped, and the kid bounced as she hit the floor.
Tears blurred the little girl's eyes as she stared at her motionless mom. She tried to crawl towards her, but even on all fours, she lost her balance multiple times. Eventually, she made it to her mother and shook her. For a moment, the mom didn't stir, and the child started to whimper. However, before she began to cry, the mom raised her head. The little girl held a bittersweet expression. A small smile of relief that didn't completely obscure the overwhelming fear and sadness. Weakly the mom raised her head and struggled to reach for the door.
Since the explosion, the room had become dark. Dust drifted about slowly in the faint sources of light. All that could be seen was the abysmally black closet ahead. Weakly, the mom shuffled towards the closet, tripping again. Shaking, and slower than before, she stood again. With trembling hands, she gripped the knobs. Faint wind blew back her hair as the doors were thrown open.
Mom picked up the weeping daughter and placed her in-between the clothes. She stared at her mother's tear-stricken face. The little girl noticed her mom didn't seem to react to her injuries any longer, and her skin looked clammy... Cold. Her mom's face held poorly stifled agony and sorrow, yet despite this, her expression stayed warm; eyes full of love.
"Mo-mommy and daddy love you. We love you very much..." Her mom's voice wavered. It was hesitant, hushed. "Mommy needs you to be quiet, stay very quiet, ok sweetie."
The child's skin pricked from the anxiety bottling up inside her as her mom slowly closed the closet doors.
"If... I'm not back soon... Then... Go find your Grandfather... Ok?" She said, "He's a very smart man... He'll know how to protect you..."
By now, the little girl noticed her mom's skin was as white as the shells on the beach. An inexplicable dread filled her core as she struggled to grasp what was going on.
"I love you... Goodbye"
The doors closed. The light disappeared... There was a brief pause of silence. A few moments passed. Then, there was a loud bang.