The night Rinn died was a joyous one. It was the Fourth of July, and she celebrated it with her close friends at one of their homes. The friend hosting the party, Everest Lorette, had just entered her home through the sliding glass door of the patio.

It had been a long day, and everyone sensed that the party was coming to a close. Of course, they didn’t want it to; today had been everyone’s favorite day that summer. They spent it swimming in Everest’s pool, lighting fireworks, sharing stories from that summer, discussing the nearing school year, and eating various snacks and treats. What a fantastic night it had been. They didn’t get many opportunities to hang out this summer, as some had summer jobs, and some went on vacations. This was the first time all her friends were able to be in one place spending time together, and it had been the happiest Rinn had felt during the whole season.

Rinn was sitting next to her best friend, Noah Quinn. Rinn loved and valued her best friend more than anything; they had been best friends since they were six. When they met all those years ago, they immediately formed a bond that grew more and more over the years. She shared a similar connection with her other friends, but with Noah, it was something that couldn’t be broken. They were both well aware that this friendship would probably last a lifetime, and they were both very proud of themselves for maintaining such a healthy and wholesome friendship with someone.

Everest opened the sliding glass door and re-entered the patio. “Time to wrap things up,” she announced.

Another of Rinn's friends, Violet Morgan, sheepishly raised her hand. “Sleepover?” she asked, already knowing the disappointing answer.

Everest shook her head sadly. “Nope. Parents said no.”

Everyone groaned. None of them wanted this night to end; it had been such a wonderful experience that they didn’t get very often anymore.

Noah was the first to speak this time. “Well, can’t change anything ‘bout that. How about everyone who lives in the neighborhood stay and clean up, and everyone else heads out?”

Nods of agreement. Everyone seemed satisfied with this.

Rinn, Noah, and Everest stayed behind while Corvus, Tyler, and Violet headed out. The three tidied up the backyard, cleaned up trash, placed the pool cover back on, and put away water toys.

Once they were done, Noah and Rinn bid Everest farewell and returned to their homes. Their houses were very close, so they always walked home together from places. Whether it was the movie theater, the cafe, or school, they were almost always together.

The two walked silently on the way to their houses, enjoying each other’s company and the fireworks going off throughout the neighborhood. The clear black sky was splashed with various colors and shapes as the fireworks lit up the sky.

Admiring a certain cyan one (cyan just so happened to be Rinn’s favorite color), Rinn felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and was met with Noah pointing over his shoulder. “We’re at my house.”

Rinn looked where he was pointing and saw his two-story home. “Oh, alright! Have a good night, Noah. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Noah looked slightly troubled. “Uhm… listen, just be careful tonight, alright?”

“Everything okay?”

Shaking his head, he said, “Something’s off. Can I take you home?”

Strange. Noah never acted like that. He never offered to take her home because her house was just right up the street. They were practically neighbors with how close their homes were.

“Listen, Noah, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Noah still looked unsure, but he let her go anyways.

Rinn would later be very relieved that she went home alone. She couldn’t rope Noah into this.

After saying their goodbyes, Rinn headed to her house. Soon enough, she felt the ominous air that Noah must’ve felt; it felt like something was wrong. It caused her to tense and take each step with caution. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

Maybe all of it would end once she entered her home. Standing in the doorway, she fetched the key out of the backpack she had brought with her containing her swimming suit and phone and unlocked the door.

Immediately upon entering, she felt something was very, very wrong. Chills went down her spine, and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. She went rigid from the cold air. She couldn’t quite understand what she was feeling, but she knew it was terrible.

It felt like this sinister aura was strangling Rinn. She turned to exit the house and stay at Noah’s for a bit, but the door slammed shut right in front of her. She backed up, her ears ringing from the loud noise.

Rinn began to panic. Her breathing became shallow and quick, and her eyes became blurry. This wasn’t good. Not at all.

And then the lights started flickering. Rinn froze, still facing the closed door. She heard a low and guttural growl behind her. She wanted to cry. She wanted to curl in a ball on the floor and block out everything that was happening. All she could do was curse herself for not listening to the bad feeling in her gut before arriving home. She should’ve accepted Noah’s proposal… wait, no. She shouldn’t have. That would’ve dragged Noah into whatever was happening, and she couldn’t let that happen. She cared too much for him to allow that to happen.

The growling grew louder and louder until it was practically over top of her. A tall shadow was cast over Rinn’s much smaller body. She couldn’t quite tell what the shadow belonged to but knew she didn’t want to turn around.

And yet, she had to see this thing. She couldn’t open the door; she had tried as soon as it closed. Rinn turned slowly, and slowly, and slowly, until…

Towering over her was a creature with pure black skin and hollowed eyes. Where eyes should have been were two glaring crimson orbs of light. The beast was standing on its hind legs, and its hands bore claws the size of kitchen knives. Its jaws weren’t much better; they were human jaws filled with razor-sharp fangs.

Rinn whimpered beneath this monster. She didn’t know what to do; should she run? Should she stay still? What did she need to do to avoid death?

Unknown to her, nothing would keep this thing from killing her. Its intent was solely to kill that night; it had no other goals. It wanted to cause fear and slaughter without consequence. And she was about to be its first kill.

Raising a clawed hand, it brought down a ferocious attack on the poor girl. She dodged the attack last second, finally coming to her senses and adrenaline coursing through her, but its claws snagged on her t-shirt. The monster took advantage of this and yanked her towards it. It leaned down and grabbed one of her arms in its mouth before biting down.

Rinn screamed from the pain, and she tried to free her arm from its grasp. It yanked its head, yanking Rinn around with it. It threw her in the direction of the kitchen, which was directly left of the front door, and she crashed into one of the counters, her back hitting it violently.

The impact caused the air to escape her lungs. She released a sharp, pained gasp before collapsing to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t feel anything anymore. Her whole body was numb.

The monster crept forward, this time on all fours. Its hands were human-shaped, but its legs were built like that of a dog. It crawled toward her on all fours, drool dripping from its jaws. 

Rinn couldn’t read the emotion in its eyes. At least, not until it was over her once again, and then it did something she never imagined a thing so inhuman could do; it smiled. A nasty, blood-lusting grin, one full of malice and hunger.

The last thing Rinn saw was the thing lunging at her, its jaws wide, before her vision went black.