Terror
The joyful laughter echoed through the room.
"Dadaa, da…ca."
"Say daddy…say daddy…you're so cute" that simple word made the exhaustion on his face disappear. A smile so bright slowly crept in as he caressed his one year old son.
The middle aged man, still wearing his suit, crouched to the floor and pinched his toddler's nose and cheeks.
"Gaahagahagh…" His innocent giggles echoed in the room creating a rather warm atmosphere.
He looked at his son and felt great pride, he felt no longer tired, he no longer complained in his mind about the long hours and whenever he felt like this, a phrase repeated itself in his mind
It's worth it… It's worth it…
Time marched on unobscured, as he playfully entertained his son with a smile on his face. The room they were in, appeared simple and carried a strange charm, A faint aroma of fresh tea mixed with the rich smell of wood created a serene air in the place, sounds of birds could be heard occasionally, and rather than big tables and furnitures, this room adapted a minimalist decor with low tables and cushions for seating, and sliding doors made of pure wood.
" Ohh, Shinsuke, I have been waiting for you…" stepping through the sliding door appeared a woman, her white skin,red lips and small nose gave her great charm as she gracefully walked towards her husband.
"I have been waiting…" She gently repeated, her hand curled around his neck.
"I know…" his voice calm, but deep down, a tempest was twirling inside him, he sniffed her scent in relish as he kissed her neck gently.
" Wai-wait, Shinsuke I I have to tell you something" As if she couldn't contain her agitation, her voice broke a bit.
" What is it?" he turned, only to find that she looked pale, her lips trembling a bit as she frowned.
" This? I've never seen her like this " he thought.
He turned serious as he asked.
"What's wrong Emi…?"
She looked at him in the eyes, she had a grave expression on her face as she muttered.
" Follow me"
Her steps carried great burden as she headed to another room, Shinsuke followed her closely.
" Nako, Haruka, and Kenj-ji…they all di-ed, they were eaten! Eaten alive Shinsuke…"
"Huh..!" shocked, the man stood rooted, his body froze.
Confusion, fear, sadness , all these emotions went through his head.
" Are you serious? Eaten, where do you think we are, what nonsense are you spouting again"
" I'm not lying !look at this…" she said as she pointed at the tv" I knew you wouldn't believe me "
A beautiful woman appeared and with an emotionless voice stated.
In recent days, incidents such as these, are happening more frequently, just today… a family of three has been found dead in the 20th ward, their bodies cannot be shown for obvious reasons, but reports stated that they were killed and devoured by ghouls.
"GHOULS !! " His face contorted into an ugly expression as he thought " weren't they just a rumor, I thought they were not real…! "
This time he really considered that possibility, after all everyone has been talking about them, and fear was slowly consuming the people.
Any normal citizen would be horrified if suddenly, the government revealed that there is creatures with human skin that live on eating our flesh. And what's worse is, they can't be identified amongst the population.
That is why Shinsuke did not completely and blindly believe in such absurd news. His internal struggle continued before they showed the faces of the victims.
This time, he felt all the strength he had faded away and he took several steps back in silence, time seemed to stop, and a suffocating aura filled the place.
His wife, Rima, looked at her husband and felt great fear and terror. For herself and her family, Shinsuke's desolate back no longer felt strong and safe, she felt that he couldn't protect them anymore, he also was powerless, and under the threat of being killed.
"Fuck!!"
The faces that appeared in the news were their neighbors, and they were close friends for years, even their daughter used to play with his son often.
"Dadda, Nakoo!" a tender voice startled them, Shinsuke turned his head only to fall on his crawling son that appeared overly excited" Nakoo!Nakoo!"
Their faces distorted, they opened their mouths, but halfway through it closed. No words came out, or rather they couldnt utter a single word upon seeing the scene in front of them, Only after a long time did the father said emptily.
"Take him away Rima "
Similar situations were happening all over the city, some did not believe the news, others didn't take it seriously and some were slowly consumed by doubt and fear. Media platforms exploded after it was officially stated in the national news, and countless people argued about the authenticity of this absurd announcement.