Chapter 2: Rapture

My father releases me and I dart toward my sister, I catch her in between my arms and rush to the back door.

"Hayley," Jackie screams in my ear. "What's wrong with Hayley?" She digs her fingers into my back. Her blood-curdling scream shakes my soul, her fear palpable. With each stride, the only goal is to make sure she makes it out alive.

"We can't leave Daddy," I try to ignore her request. "I don't want Daddy to go away too!" My body reacts on its own, powerless to my sister's command. It's muscle memory at this point.

I rush back and deliver a kick to the side of the monster with all of my weight. The monster reels and then retaliates with a devastating kick to my side. In a split-second decision, I throw Jackie to the side, allowing myself to take the brunt of the blow. I fly into a wooden pillar of the house, my back slams against the washing machine.

"Run Jackie!" I wheeze, as I struggle to regain my breath. I look up, my vision distorted but not enough to miss the absence of my father's figure.

"Dad?" a fire begins to swell in my throat. "Where the hell are you?" I grit my teeth and lift my arm to crawl toward my defenseless sister. He didn't; I just know he didn't.

Water splatters onto my hand, the washing machine must've busted when I slammed into it. I keep inching toward my sister, she stands there frozen in fear. As I crawl over to her, the water continues to soak my clothes.

As my vision clears, I see it more clearly. It's not water. She's not frozen in fear.

"Jackie?" My voice is breaking. "Jackie say something!" I yelp as she gives into her weight. Blood spreads beneath her, painting a horrific scene.

"I'm gonna kill you!" I scream, collecting all of my strength, forcing my battered body to its feet once more. Gunshots pierce the air and impale the monster, blotting holes into the demon.

I look beyond the monster and I see a woman with rich brown skin, deep black hair neatly tied into a ponytail. A maple breeze flows in her presence.

"Mom?" Her gaze softens. "What are you-" She snatches me by the hoodie and kicks the door open.

"Bullets don't work on those things," I look around to see all kinds of demons that have swarmed the neighborhood. "It only stuns them for a bit, the only way we're making it out of this thing is if we make a run for it."

"Mom they- they killed," tears begin to spill from my eyes. As we make our way through the blood-stained streets."

I know baby, I know," she looks at me with a tear rolling down her eye.

We rush down the alley of infinite screams, begging to be saved by someone, anyone. Then it's silenced, only to be replaced by another hopeless plea for life.

As we rush down the street, my mother fires off shots at monsters periodically. It seems endless, Is this some kind of rapture, has the world reached its end ? The questions fill my mind, with no answer.

My mom pulls me in suddenly, a flock of demon birds encases us in a murderous storm. I look up at her face, warm and unwavering in its focus on me. The world fades away, leaving only her tender touch of her hands. I haven't felt this warm in years, I wish I could freeze this moment, but I can't.

The flock of birds disperse, allowing my mother's light to cast a forlorn glow on the city. Her soft gaze remains focused on me. She sinks to her knees, I catch her before she can fully collapse.

"Mommy no" I plead to her fading smile.Her hands, frail yet as soft as I remember them, gently cup my face. "I spent endless nights thinking about what kind of person you'd grow into without me," she murmurs.

"Now, seeing you here, so brave, so strong... it breaks my heart that I won't be there to see all that you will become." The grip of her fingers is a delicate, fading presence.

"I couldn't... I couldn't live not knowing if you and Jackie were safe," she whispers, her voice a fading wisp. Our tears meet, mingling in a silent, shared sorrow. "I was too late to save Jackie... but I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too."

"These moments with you... they hold more life, more love, than all the years I endured with your father." Her voice is barely audible over the chaos around us. "The fact that you are standing before me-" blood sprays across her chest. I wipe it quickly knowing that it won't stop the inevitable.

"Means that I can die at peace, I know that doesn't account for all our lost time, but don't forget your Mom okay..."

The vibrancy that once lit her eyes fades into a dim, distant gaze.

I stagger backward, my heart crumbling under the weight of grief. I collapse to the ground, my knees giving way. The storm cloud of monsters swirls around me, suffocating me. My sobs echo through the desolation. I push off with any remaining strength I have, feeling the weight of grief taking its toll on me.

I reach a hilltop, many survivors take refuge there. Looking out at the demolished city of Detroit, the sky a sickly gray and the ground reeks of death. Suddenly, a familiar chill runs down my spine as a large hand grasps my shoulder. With a surge of adrenaline, I whirl around, slapping the hand away. It's my father.

"Get your hands off of me," my teeth grinding against one another.

He tries to offer his consolation, it makes me wretch. I lash out and strike his face. His indifference to the blow is stark, and he retaliates by forcefully pushing me to the ground.

I rise up to face him, his monstrous stature now serves as a front for his complete cowardice. Eyes once filled with resentment and anger–now seek forgiveness in my gaze. But there isn't any left, not for him.

"I HATE YOU," a guttural roar erupts from my throat. A sinister presence follows, enveloping me, controlling me. A crater forms below me and a massive shockwave consumes my father. At first it rips at his skin like tender meat off a bone. It relentlessly fusillades his bones, crushing them into particles scattered out into the air. The echoes of my rage reverberate through the atmosphere, lingering in the aftermath. I collapse to the ground, the weight of my emotions finally breaking through the surface.