Raiden's House

The night was young and dark. It was the time of the hour when people usually shuts down their shops and businesses. All the babies to be left alone to sleep in their little beds. The parents would be enjoying the lovely night with a little ounce of alcohol. And, the young ones would be using their phones under the blanket.

But, this night was not your usual night. It was filled with terror. Terror of getting eaten alive. All the survivors of that incident had closed themselves inside a shelter. No one dared walk out on the streets. Even the few cops who were still serving their duty, needed shelter to survive the night.

But, those 3 had made that night full of terror into their chance for escape. It was the night that would decide the tragic fate of lots of people, mainly those who had been bitten by those monsters.

It was the time when the second wave of those monsters would come. 6 days had passed and those who were bitten 3 days ago would turn into the Flesh-Eating Monster on the 7th day.

Those 3 chose the night of the 6th day to get as far away from that area because they knew the 7th day would bring them a lot of terror.

Raiden, Makie, and Toshi slowly walked under the moonlit on the cold roads which showed no sign of life.

Their destination was Raiden's house. They had left Ralf and Toshi's father behind and were determined to get out of that city. They had to sacrifice the one they cared about to reach this far. But, this was only the starting. Starting of the despair.

Raiden usually came by metro to school as his house was quite far.

The group had to cover that distance on foot. They were walking on the streets and tried to not make any noise.

They didn't talk at all with one another while they walked and they were taking breaks every once in a while.

The places they went by were empty. Not even the monster was there. It was like something had taken all the attention of those monsters. But, whatever it was, it was a blessing for them. Clashing with those things in the middle of the night would be the last thing that they would have wanted.

The 7th day was closing in on them means it was going to be midnight soon. They were close to their destination, too. Just half an hour of walk and they would be at Raiden's house.

They had made it quite far safely. Now, they had to bear that darkness for just a little more.

Their hearts were pouncing the entire time while they walked on the streets.

'What if one of them comes out from behind that street?'

Whenever a turn came this thought crossed their minds.

They were frightened of the unknown terror but they couldn't afford to stop. Moving ahead was their only option.

And, they had accomplished what they wanted when Raiden started noticing familiar figures around him. They had entered the area where Raiden lived.

And, just like others, that place was no different. That place looked isolated. All the lights were turned off and no sign of life could be found anywhere. Raiden had never seen his area like that ever before.

They kept on closing in the distance. Soon, just about when it was about to go midnight. They reached his house.

Raiden looked at his house from bottom to top to confirm it was his own house. But, despite the darkness, Raiden could tell that it was none other but his house.

Toshi and Makie looked at Raiden and waited for him to when he will go and enter the house first. He looked at them and went ahead of the group. He stood against the door of his house. He raised his hand to open the gate of the house but something caught his attention. It was the doorbell. He used to always ring the bell whenever he come back from his school and his mom would always open the door for him. But, this time it was different. He was almost certain that his parents did not survive. So, there was no point in him ringing the doorbell.

He went straight for the doors. He held the doorknob and looked behind him toward Toshi and Makie to take their confirmation. They nodded in response.

A few minutes remained for midnight to come and for the 7th day to start.

Raiden was ready to enter his home and witness for himself whether his parents were inside or not.

Hence, he rotated the doorknob.

But.

The gate didn't open.

Raiden didn't believe it for a second as if he somehow failed to open the door the first time. He immediately went in for the second try. But, it was not opening.

The door was locked from the inside.

Raiden stepped back and looked toward the other two.

They both were looking toward Raiden in the anticipation of some kind of news.

Raiden came close to them and whispered, "The door is locked."

The offspring of a smile appeared on Makie's face. She couldn't control her excitment but somehow kept that all in.

"That means your parents are alive," despite all her excitement she whispered those words.

"No way!" Raiden slowly murmured.

Raiden had both emotions of confusion and happiness in him. Despite how his parents were, even if they didn't care about him. They were still his parents. And, at a time like this where Raiden had lost some of his close friends. He was somewhat happy to finally know that his parents were alive.

"Will you stand there the whole day? Go and ring the doorbells already," Toshi said with no ounce of excitement or happiness. That reaction was obvious though. He had just lost his father. He couldn't just get over with it, yet.

Raiden nodded and turned around to press the doorbell. He reached out his hand and pressed the bell.

The doorbell of his house had always been so low in volume that he knew it was okay to ring it as the sound wouldn't reach outside the house.

He waited there for a few moments but no response came.

'Are they asleep?' He wondered about that as it was the time of the night when anyone would be sleeping.

He gave his patience a little more time then went for the second round with the doorbell.

But, no response came this time either.

Raiden looked toward the group and they all seemed confused.

He was anticipating a response from inside but none came.

We pressed the doorbell for the 3rd time.

'Even if they are asleep, there Is no way that they didn't hear this.'

All three of them desperately waited outside of Raiden's house. They all waited patiently for the door to open for them. But, even after the 3rd ring of the doorbell, there was no response.

They couldn't just stand out there for too long. They had been walking the whole night and they were tired.

Raiden finally got desperate and started continuously ringing the bell. Though the sound couldn't leave the house but inside, it would have become havoc.

But, the gate did not budge. They were constantly glaring at the gate for it to open. But, no one came to open the gate.

Raiden wasn't gonna give up just yet. He didn't stop ringing the bell.

And, finally, the gates opened. A face of a man popped out from behind the gates.

But, it was not Raiden's father.