It was just an ordinary night, at least that’s what I originally thought.
My mother, my elder brother, and I were in the living room, watching the news while having dinner. It was then that the power suddenly went out.
We were surprised for a moment but quickly shrugged it off and went about our business. After all, we lived deep in the mountains, and the construction team at the foot of the mountain often messed up the power lines, causing outages. If it were summer, we might have complained, but since it was late autumn and we didn’t urgently need electricity, we didn’t pay much attention to it.
My mother and brother quickly finished their meals and went back to their rooms. I, on the other hand, went out to the balcony, where the breeze was cool and pleasant. From there, I could see distant skyscrapers and the forest below.
I took a can of beer from the now powerless fridge, brought a stool to the balcony, and sat there drinking while gazing at the quiet forest below.
I saw a few familiar figures not far away—they were my uncles and other relatives. Our family had lived on this mountain for generations, except for my father’s siblings. Back when the economy was booming, they all went out to make their fortunes. My father, however, died in a car accident many years ago, and today was both his death anniversary and his birthday. The three of us had gathered to commemorate him.
At first, I was content with the view outside. There were still the sounds of birds and insects, and the elders loudly discussing various gossip. But after a few dozen minutes, I started to feel bored, maybe because I couldn’t keep up with their humor? In any case, I became drowsy and ended up dozing off against the balcony wall.
I don’t know how long I slept, but I was half-awake when I heard the sound of the front door handle being turned and the door slowly opening. At first, I thought it was my brother, but I didn’t hear anyone leaving their room. My second thought was that my mother had forgotten to lock the door, and now we had a burglar. That jolted me awake, and I tried to get up to check, only to realize that I had fallen asleep on the balcony floor. If I hadn’t cleaned earlier today, I would have screamed.
I slowly lifted my head to look toward the entrance. A tall figure was walking into the living room, glancing around. It didn’t seem to notice me and just lingered by the dining table for a while, doing something I couldn’t make out.
At that moment, a door creaked open from elsewhere in the house. Judging by the direction, it was probably my mother. She called my name, asking if I had just opened the door to go out, and so she ended up face-to-face with the figure in the living room. They stared at each other for a few seconds. My mother kept asking if I was trying to scare her and pointed her flashlight at the figure. I wanted to respond, but the words caught in my throat because before the light reached him, the tall figure grabbed my mother by the throat.
She struggled, trying to pry his hands off, but only managed to shine the flashlight on her increasingly pale face. As time passed, her expression grew more twisted, and just when it seemed she had reached her limit, her face suddenly relaxed as if embodying the phrase “the calm after the storm.” Her hands went limp, and she dropped the flashlight. Unfortunately, it rolled towards the balcony, casting light in my direction. I cursed silently and quickly pressed myself against the floor, praying the tall figure wouldn’t notice me.
I stared at the tiles on the wall, barely daring to breathe. Thankfully, after a while, I heard his footsteps move away, accompanied by the sound of something plastic breaking. The tiles no longer reflected light—he must have crushed the flashlight.
Feeling somewhat relieved, I slowly lifted my head, only to see the tall figure standing right in front of me. I screamed at the top of my lungs as he tore through the screen door, grabbed me by the collar, and lifted me off the floor. I fumbled to turn on the flashlight on my phone, shining it at his face. It was thoroughly decayed, but there was something disturbingly familiar about his features.
He crushed my phone and grabbed my lips, silencing my screams. Then, in a voice that was distorted and laced with countless static noises, he said something that felt oddly familiar, though I couldn’t immediately place it: “I don’t like noisy kids.”
Just when I thought he was going to kill me, the sound of a door being flung open echoed through the house, followed by the slam of it closing and my brother’s frantic voice calling out. The tall figure heard the noise, threw me to the ground, and walked towards my brother.
My brother rushed into the living room, shining a flashlight around. In the reflected light, I glimpsed something metallic in his hand. When he saw our mother’s corpse and the tall figure, his expression briefly showed shock—no, disbelief. Then he started screaming and charged at the figure, swinging whatever he was holding.
My brother had been strength training, so even though the tall figure looked like a monster, I still had some hope. But the figure casually caught my brother’s weapon with his left hand and crushed his head with his right.
Seeing this, a cold chill ran through me. I collapsed, praying that the monster would forget about me and just leave my house.
The tall figure seemed to hear my plea. After glancing at me from a distance, he walked out of the house, quietly closing the door behind him and even locking it.
A few minutes after he left, the power came back on. The bright overhead light illuminated the two corpses on the floor, making their skin appear even paler. With trembling legs, I forced myself to stand up, went inside, and picked up my brother’s phone to call the police.
I remembered that the tall figure had lingered by the dining table for a long time. When I looked, I found a piece of paper there, detailing the specifics of a murder case. The victim was my father, and the killers were all my relatives—except me. This realization filled me with growing dread.
About ten minutes later, the police arrived. They told me that aside from my mother and brother, all my relatives on the mountain had been killed. They took me to the station for questioning.
The police were able to find significant evidence related to the case from the information on that paper. Although it was enough to convict, some crucial parts were still missing.
After giving my statement, I had no choice but to stay in a hotel, since my home was sealed off. I lay in bed, mentally and physically exhausted. Soon, I remembered where I had heard those words before. They were what my father used to say to comfort me whenever I cried. What was once a comforting phrase now sent chills down my spine. The familiar facial features of that figure were identical to my father’s. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t dare. It felt like he was still watching me.
After all… I was the mastermind behind the entire murder case, the missing link that explained everything.
Just then, in the hotel…
The power went out.