Note: Mature Content (Death) 7:00 PM. Laguna, Philippines. 

Darkness engulfed the village of Southern Heights, while the sound of crickets and abysses crept into the streets of every empty home.

Christmas Heights. An event hosted by the homeowners association in their open-area court on the tenth of December, where every villager can express their blooming Christmas spirit through singing, dancing, eating, laughing, and praying. 

The entire village enjoyed the colorful lights, festive decorations, the huge Christmas tree, karaoke, and the abundant display of food at the party, except for the Rych family, who quietly stayed at their home.

The Rychs lived in a modest two-story house featuring two bedrooms and a master bedroom on the second floor and another two bedrooms on the first floor, alongside the living room and dining area.

It felt creepy, the streets where the Rych residence stood, that is. But the toggled lights and moonlight helped lessen the eerie sensation that the path gave.

In their master bedroom on the second floor, Mr. and Mrs. Rych sat side by side in their matching pajamas, embracing the soft, chilly breeze coming in from their window, while a foamy blanket covered half of their bodies as they comfortably rested their backs against the bed's headboard, creating a nearly ideal, cozy memory.

“I love you,” Mr. Rych said affectionately to Mrs. Rych.

Mrs. Rych softly exhaled at Mr. Rych as she gave him a satisfied look, but the glossy eyes that reflected the lamps’ white light behind her husband exposed her dissatisfaction and regret. 

“I love you, too,” she said back.

Just right in front of the parents’ master bedroom stood Francine’s room, the eldest of the family, where she sat in her office chair, facing her monitor, staring at the clock in the bottom right of her screen, sighing her dismay at the displayed time. I wish I could have played volleyball.

After feeling an unwelcome breeze from her window, Francine finally decided to close it. Now, satisfied by the absence of distractions, she wore her headphones to play sad lesbian pop music to fully shut out the outside world as she completely centered her focus on the remaining work tasks she has as a programmer.

Across Francine’s room lies a wall that separates her and Andrea’s room, the second eldest. A room painted with a soft palette, while adorable and cute decorations flooded the inside, creating a messy and overwhelming sensation. Even so, she treated it like her own paradise.

“Finally,” Andrea softly exclaims in her seat, stretching her arms and back as she looks at the messy, paper-filled desk in front of her, relieved that she’s finally done grading her students’ essays as their teacher. After completing her final task, she immediately grabbed her laptop to take to bed to finish the fantasy rom-com anime she had been binging during her night skincare routine.

The rest of the Rych siblings were on the first floor. Lus, the third eldest, had his eyes locked onto the screen as he aggressively pressed the ragged WASD keys and energetically clicked the mouse while blasting the video game’s soundtrack in his headphones.

And the youngest, Ley, who was lying flat on his back on his bed, staring at the melancholic ceiling of his room, imagining the life he hopes to have as an anime protagonist—someone transported to another world, gifted with magic, and destined for greatness.

…

An hour later. 8:00 PM, December 10, 2023.

Everyone had finally finished their activities: Mr. and Mrs. Rych enjoyed their hour of gentle breezes. Francine completed her workload. Andrea finished the anime series she watches during skincare, completely satisfied by the ending. Lus achieved the level he’d been grinding for in his video game. And Ley, who was lost in his imagination, completely fell asleep.

The house was peaceful, quiet, calm, and enclosed. But the excessive feeling felt unsettling, depressing, and eerie, like a disturbing sensation that something bad was about to happen.

Then something did come. One by one, a forced, unnatural, and inescapable sleep overtook the family. It began with the parents, then Francine, Andrea, and Lus, with the exception of Ley who had already fallen asleep.

The family soon opened their eyes a few minutes later, finding themselves sitting on the sofa in their cramped living room, their limbs bound by the ropes, limiting their ability to move.

Ley woke up last, struggling to process what was happening around him, especially without his glasses. In his eyes, the world was a blur of shapes and figures, though he knew that the five blurred figures in front of him, sitting sideways from him on the sofa, were his family.

Mama. Papa. Ate Francine. Ate Andrea. And Kuya Lus. He managed to figure them out through their physical figures.

Unknown figures engulfed in black surrounded his family; Ley couldn’t tell who they were or what their purpose was, but he knew that they reeked of danger. 

But unbeknowst to him, there was another figure behind him, a man. Though he did not speak, his gentle placement of Ley’s missing glasses on his face allowed him to see clearly.

With clarity in his vision, Ley saw four figures surrounding them in their living room, dressed entirely in black uniforms—ones he’d seen on secret organization media.

He tried to figure out who the figures were, but their faces were covered with the same black mask with a memorable thin white circle on the forehead.

A tall man, a buff man, a tall woman, and a short woman. That was all he could describe about them.

The sight of his entire family tied up in their seats, surrounded by dangerous-looking people, made his blood run cold. His vision started to darken, his mind started to ache, and his body started to tremble.

Ley wanted to shout, scream, cry, and yell for help, but the tape on his mouth was too tight; he almost couldn’t breathe. He noticed that his family’s mouths weren’t enclosed, so he questioned why they sat there nonresistant. 

Why? Ley’s mind only repeated one thought as he looked over to his family and to the four figures back and fourth, fearing what would happen.

The man who gave Ley his glasses finally stepped forward, positioning himself as he stood in front of Mr. and Mrs. Rych. His hands held no weapon, yet that didn’t soothe the anxiety Ley felt. Especially now after the man raised both his hands, placing his palms in front of his parents’ faces.

The man’s hands were just two inches away from their faces, with his left hand on Mrs. Rych's and his right hand on Mr. Rych's. Despite the danger standing right in front of them, the two parents simply closed their eyes, tilted their heads upwards, matching the palm of the man’s hands, and accepted the situation non-combatively.

“Distance yourselves." The one who stood over the parents spoke; his deep masculine voice carried authority, ordering the three to back away as their leader. 

In a second after the leader proclaimed his order, a black mist began to rise from Mr. and Mrs. Rych’s bodies but was instantly absorbed into the leader’s gloved hand as he placed it in front of the two’s faces.

As three seconds passed, the black mist emitting out of the Rych parents stopped, but unfortunately, so did their lives.

Two figures, resembling a buff man and a tall woman, stood behind the parents and gently laid their bodies to rest on the sofa, making them appear comfortably as if they were just peacefully sleeping.

Ley sat directly as it happened, but he couldn’t process what he had just seen happen, or more likely, he didn’t want to. He kept staring back and forth at the lifeless bodies of his parents, but they never moved. 

Fearing that he and his siblings might be next, his anxiety grew, causing him to involuntarily close his eyes. But just as he got the courage to open his eyes a second after, he wished that he had never opened them.

It was instant, all of it. There was no processing this nightmare; all he could do was silently watch and stare at the sight of his entire family’s lifeless bodies, devoid of any signs of life and movement. To be continued in next part...