The whistling grew louder as it entered the house and was quickly joined with footsteps. Heavy and powerful footsteps, that clearly wished to announce themselves to the entire house. It wasn’t the thing from before.

A slight hope began to ignite inside but was quickly extinguished. What person would arrive at a house after its been attacked and silently search around. She could trust anyone.

A shadow suddenly appeared in front of the door, completely blocking out any light leaking in and plunging Rosa into complete darkness. Rosa felt as if her life had stopped. Not a heartbeat or breath occurred as she watched wide-eyes in horror at the door, dreading it would open in any moment. 

She was going to die. Despite everything they did for her, despite their sacrifice, she was going to suffer the same fate. Tears streamed. At least her sister would live.

The shadow moved on. The door remained closed and small rays of light returned. Her life force resumed. The whistling and footsteps returned even louder than before, and with a slight wetness in their step. She listened as they wandered through the house and headed upstairs. They moved efficiently and effectively searching every room with zero difficulty. It was like whoever was here knew the exact layout of the house. Whoever it was reached her parent’s bedroom. Their whistling came to an immediate stop. They cursed. 

The house became silent. No footsteps, no whistling, not even a creak all she could hear was her own heartbeat and shallow breathing.

Suddenly the wooden panel swung open and blood flew all over the hallway. Her heart didn’t stop this time, no, instead it decided to try and break free from her rib cage. 

A tall man stood before her. He had gleaming blue eyes and thick, dishevelled, black hair. She knew him. It was the same man who saved her the earlier that week. He was real. How hadn’t she noticed the sign. The whistling man.

A subconscious relief flooded her body. The Killer hadn’t returned.

Without warning, the man reached in and took hold of her. He was so fast she didn’t even have time to flinch as he gently lifted her off the floor and covered her eyes. Without a word he carried her through the house. She was abruptly released onto a soft surface and now that he was no longer covering her eyes she found herself in the relatively unharmed living room. The only abnormality was the bloody footprints in the carpet. He pulled a large metal flask out of his long coat and placed it on the coffee table. 

“Stay here” he said, sorrow pulled on his voice “don’t move until I return”, he then went to the living room door. He hesitated and glanced back at her, “You’re safe now”. He then left the living room and firmly closed its door, blocking out any sights or sounds from the rest of the house. 

Rosa sat frozen on the couch. She never even tried to touch the man’s flask despite her throat feeling like the Sahara. Instead she listened to the occasional bump upstairs or in the adjacent rooms. There was a phone call at one point followed by the brief mumbles of a conversation.

The man returned into the living room and Rosa caught a glimpse of the crimson splattered hallway, exactly like her dream. He carried two mugs of steaming tea. He placed both mugs on the table and sat beside her on the couch. His eyes glanced over the unused canteen.

“Drink” he ordered firmly. Panicking she quickly did so. The water was cold and quickly rejuvenated her body and mind. She screwed its lid back on handed it back to the man.

“Thanks” she done her best to say, but it only came out as a mumble. He stored the canteen back in his coat and nodded.

Now that she saw him in the light she realised how young he looked. He couldn’t have been older than his early twenties, in fact if he told her he was nineteen she wouldn’t be shocked.

“Drink the tea, it will make you feel better” he said as he grabbed his own mug. He let out a long breath “trust me”. The man took a small sip and then locked eyes with her. There was a cold, sorrowful look in his eyes but with a hint of empathy. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Rosa” she said, her voice slowly returning, “Elacti”. He nodded.

“It’s a been awhile, didn’t recognise you” he mumbled while taking another sip.

“Who are you?” She brewed up the courage to ask.

“Louie Huntor” the man said without delay, “I knew your father”, his eyes went dark. There was a subtle vibration and Louie checked his phone. He let out a sigh. “Alright, you’ve been through a lot and this is going to be hard to follow but do your best. Soon a group of people are going to arrive and deal with the whole situation. Then me and you are going to go up to your room and you’re going to pack everything you need and come with me” Louie explained. 

She completely failed to comprehend what his said. Her mind felt numb, like it had been injected with tranquilliser, but under his strong gaze she hesitantly nodded.

“What do we do right now?” she sheepishly asked.

He sat back into the couch “We wait. I don’t want you seeing the house” he told her.

“I want to”, she spoke without even realising, “I need-”.

“No” Louie said calmly but sternly. “I’d recommend you drink your tea, it’ll make you feel a lot better”. Feeling like an empty husk and with nothing better to do she grabbed the hot mug and took a sip. She was surprised, despite everything that happened, she did feel better.

The house’s door swung open and Rosa almost jumped out her skin. The living room door opened and a woman with short black hair wandered in wearing a black militaristic style uniform.

“Huntor” she greeted.

“Vanessa” Louie replied. 

“Report?” she asked.

“Outside” Louie stood and gestured towards Rosa. The woman’s eyes widened a fraction like she’d only just noticed Rosa’s presence. She nodded and left the living-room and Louie followed.

“Stay here, I won’t be long” he said at the door before leaving. This time without closing the door. Rosa took a sip of tea.

Something abruptly came over her and her body was moving. She sprinted out the living room and for the stairs, not even glancing at her surroundings.

“Kid!” Louie shouted, but she was already up the stairs. This was where she heard the bangs and commotion. She had to know. Rosa followed the bloody trail to a closed door. Her parent’s bedroom. As the sound of footsteps rushing behind got closer she flung the bedroom door open. 

The room was destroyed. Every piece of furniture ruptured and enough blood to fill a fountain painted every surface and object. Rosa’s stomach churned. She entered. Ignoring every squelch her feet made against the floor she walked forward, trapped in tunnel vision. In the corner of the room was two bodies. Mangled and broken, but it was definitely them. Mum and Dad. Dead.

‘They’re actually dead’.

Rosa keeled over and her stomach’s insides uncontrollably launched out. Her body went to collapse but someone caught the back of her shirt. She was yanked out the room. Louie dragged her back into the upstairs landing and once he let go her throat burnt and she threw up again. Others joined them, including Vanessa, and they glanced into the bedroom. 

“Oh my god” she said breathlessly.

“Close it” Louie growled and one of the uniformed officers quickly obliged as everyone else looked away from door. She looked up to Louie’s face creased like he was conflicted. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and guided her into her room. Unable to control herself she threw up again outside the door. He led her to her bed and sat her down. Without delay he knelt and pulled out his canteen as well as a blue, circular tablet. He added it to the water and gave the bottle a firm shake before handing it over.

“Drink, it’ll help” he said. Feeling her stomach churn again she quickly grabbed onto the canteen and downed the water. In an instant her insides settled and her mind even felt slightly more alive. Louie stood and wandered around the room, glancing at every detail. Rosa noted that unlike the rest of the house her room was unharmed, except for freshly made bloody footprints.

“Do you have any suitcases, bags” Louie asked. Rosa pointed towards the cupboard in the corner of the room. Louie walked into the same storage room. He walked back out carrying her black suitcase and two back packs. He placed them on the bed beside her. “Pack your belongings. Make sure it’s everything you think you need, you won’t be coming back” Louie said casually.

“What?” She asked quickly.

“Hurry let’s go” he ordered clapping his hands, “there’ll be time for talking later”. Her stomach now settled and him leaving her no option she rose from the bed and began collecting belongings from her room. Clothes, books, photos, just like he said, everything she thought she needed. The man waited patiently at the door until she was done packing. He then handed her one backpack while grabbing the other bag and suitcase himself. She stood to leave but the man quickly blocked the door.

“You’re sure you are ready?” he asked. Rosa shrugged weakly, the bag weighing her down into an even deeper hunch. “Sounds about right” he mumbled, “I’d recommend you keep your eyes down until we leave. I don’t have another tablet”.

He carefully guided her out the bedroom. Although she didn’t dare look back at her parents, the image still fresh in her mind, she didn’t keep her eyes down. 

Now feeling slightly more connected to reality she took in her surroundings. The house looked like someone had been in a fight with a beast of hell. Every piece of furniture had been destroyed. Deep and huge claw marks were dragged along the floor and walls and holes in the walls lay where it looked like someone had been thrown. Downstairs she could see multiple people in that black military uniform cleaning. They piled all the rubble and furniture in a corner and rubbed some sort of thick liquid on the blood and dissolved it from every surface it stained. 

“Come on” Louie said placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her outside.

The cold night air hit her like a brick wall and she was quickly reminded that wasn’t wearing a jacket. He led her down her house’s steps across the yard and onto the street. 

They reached a black car. There was a click and the cars light flashed. Louie pulled open the car’s back door and placed Rosa’s belongings along the seats. He then opened the front passenger door and gestured for Rosa to get in. She did without delay, desperate to escape the night air. Louie’s shadow then moved around the car as he sat in the driver’s seat.

He turned the car on but showed no desire to move. She watched as he glanced back through the rear window. Directly at her house. Suddenly a pained, exasperated sigh escaped him and he faced forward.

“Off we go then” he announced.

“Where to?” Rosa asked quietly.

“For now my house” Louie explained before his foot pressed down on the pedal and they set off on the road. Rosa lent her head on the window. She didn’t feel ill anymore, just lost. She watched her house one last time as they turned into a street and it faded from view.