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Chapter 18 - Storms Don't Knock, They Kill

It was a stormy night in 1925. In the neighborhood of Gallagher's street, GreenLand, all of the lights were out. It was very quiet— the only thing you could hear were the drops of the rain everywhere and the wind whooshing. 

Lukas's Father, Michael, lit up the candles in their home. After the final candle in the kitchen lit up, he immediately turned on the radio for any news about the ongoing storm. The signal was very bad and all of the words that could be heard were distorted. A thunder suddenly struck nearby and Lukas looked at the window. There were people outside their house and we're holding something. He could not see it properly because of the darkness. His mom, Elizabeth, came up to him and sat on the couch. 

"How are you feeling in this stormy, cold night, my dear?" Elizabeth asked.

"I-I'm good, yeah. Thanks for asking" Lukas replied with fear.

"Why are you feeling anxious? Is there something wrong?" She was questioned about the sudden change of his son's expression. 

"Mom, I feel like there are some people outside our houses." he whispered to his mother and was shaking.

She looked at the curtain but found nothing. It was just darkness— pure darkness. She turned back to her son and asked. "There is nothing, Lukas. What do you mean?" she questioned his son. 

"There's someone outside. They're many." Lukas whispered.

Elizabeth called Michael hurriedly and told him about what their son was seeing. He walked to the living room and asked his son, "Do you believe in ghosts?" 

Lukas replied with a "No" and looked at the window again. He checked the sides of the windows to see if he could spot them but no— it was just pitch black.

"Dad, do you think I'm crazy?" 

"No, you aren't crazy. Maybe it's just, you're creative with your imaginations, y'know what I mean. Right?"

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the front door. Michael looked at Elizabeth— she was looking directly at the front door. She looked at Michael too. Michael stood up and went towards the door. 

The tension in the atmosphere rose because they did not know what to expect when they opened the door. He opened it and strangely, there was no one outside. He looked at the sides but there was no one. He closed the door back and someone knocked again. 

"Who is this now?" he asked— facing the door. 

No one answered. Elizabeth got chills for what was happening. Michael asked her if she could help her check outside. She agreed. They opened the door and their flashlights.

The door closed. Lukas was just sitting there with fear. His heart was pounding. His legs were just swaying. He was too anxious for this. 

Lukas heard a crack and footsteps outside. He grabbed a pillow and hid behind the couch. He looked around him to check for any intruders. He realized it might just be his parents. 

"Oh man, I'm so stupid! Hmph!" He sighed in relief. 

But the window suddenly broke. It was in his room. He quickly ran towards the door of his room and tried to open it. It was locked. He looked for the keys but the door opened unexpectedly. 

Lukas stared blankly at the door. He ran to his room and opened the lights. He saw a figure with a mask— a bird-like mask, holding a bat with violence in his hands.

The masked man ran towards Lukas and swung his bat. His head was struck by a powerful swing of the bat. Lukas became dizzy and touched his forehead. His head was already bleeding. He screamed in fear and tried to crawl away. 

His vision became more blurry over time. He didn't know what to do. A hand suddenly grabbed his head and smashed it to the sink. The sink opened. His head, still facing the sink— was drowning slowly as the water rose. He was trying to get up but the grip was too strong. His screams were all just bubbles in the water. 

"Let go now! We need to get out of here!" The masked man yelled at her but she wouldn't listen. 

"Stop! You're gonna kill him!" He yelled again but the masked one still continued. 

He slowly drowned and died on the spot. The bubbles have faded and his body became inflated and pale. The masked one released Lukas with her eyes full of tears and fear.

"Y-you killed him!"

"I don't give a fuck about it."

"You just executed a man on the spot!"

"Who gives a fuck?" 

"Us! All of us!"

He grabbed the masked one's neck. He punched. He kicked. The masked one still hasn't gotten hurt. The masked man dragged the masked one outside the kitchen window and ran for their life. The truck beeped and they entered and drove away.

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