Part 1

Whether positive or negative, reality and experience will always beat imagination and speculation. Was not it obvious? The blackout did occur, and I do not think anyone could imagine it to be such horror. I tried to grasp the gravity of my situation while I ran, hoping for it to just be a horrible nightmare. I mean, people do have dreams even when they pass out, right? Well, true or false, my situation was no dream. I was truly a 13 years old boy, in a very dark place, afraid and alone, hunted by over 700 villagers ready to rip me apart.

At some point, out of breath and mentally defeated, I just slowed down and started walking, determined to push myself forward until the last moment. I had run so fast and so far that I could barely hear the roars behind, and in the buildings then surrounding me I could no longer spot any pairs of eyes watching. It looked like Carla's new powerful voice did not reach the area I found myself in, so things were still calm around. All that almost created a false sense of security in my mind. I then heard a faint sound that plunged me back and deeper into darkness.

"TERRENCE!!!" I heard Carla or whatever evil controlling her call from afar, still with that disturbing male, deep, angry, and growling voice. However, she was calling me along with some other people.

Fortunately, she did not catch up with me yet, not even enough to at least see me. Therefore, I had a little time margin to do something, anything. I looked around and spotted the house of a friendly and very appreciated villager, Mrs Robinson. My mind raced as I contemplated the option. Why not? After all, she only lives with her dog, uses a wheelchair and is 74 years old, she cannot harm me, I thought.

"TERRENCE!!!" I heard again more clearly.

No time to think further, I thought, then ran towards Mrs Robinson's house, certain that I could survive a dog attack but not those murderous people after me. I opened the pet door and found something covering the entrance. I pushed then shifted it aside, and realized that it was a small wooden table that she probably just placed there to protect that entrance. I then passed my head through the pet door and saw Mrs Robinson unconscious, slumped on her wheelchair, an empty cup still hanging from one of her finger. I stopped for a few seconds, then squeezed myself through the opening until I was completely in the house. As I was placing the small wooden table back to its initial position, I heard something growling behind me.

I dashed towards the stairs without first locating it while the dog gave chase. One of the rooms had its door open, therefore, as soon as I saw it, I sped inside before closing the entrance behind me. The large dog let out its powerful and loud barks behind the bathroom door while I went to peek through the window. A fairly large group of people led by Carla walked in the alley. I could not believe my own eyes and almost forgot about the dog when Carla suddenly stopped and lifted her hand to halt the group. She then slowly turned her head toward Mrs Robinson's house. She heard the barking.

Terrorized, I hid and immediately started shushing the animal to no avail. The dog kept on barking, plunging me further into despair. I peeked again through the window and saw Carla or should I say my doom, slowly approaching the house. She disappeared from my sight and reached the entrance door. The dog might have sensed her since at that instant, it ran downstairs. I could hear it bark while I watched the outcome through the window and after a few seconds, I saw Carla leaving, immediately followed by the group, except for one woman who kept staring at the window. I hid again, hoping that she had not spotted me. When I peeked again, I saw her joining the rest of the group and I rejoiced at them going away.

"TERRENCE!!!" They kept on calling, something I did not understand. I know that they were confident predators but did they really expect me to answer? "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE, YOU'LL DIE TODAY!" Carla added. That could not be my baby sister.

Some relief at last, I thought. I sighed and sat on the bathroom floor, my face buried in my hands and on the verge of crying. What a 13 years old kid may have done to deserve this? So much hell for my frail shoulders. An entire village full of monsters with shining white eyes except for myself and a dog? Wait, I thought, where is it? I wondered when I realized that I could no longer hear it. I stood up and started looking for anything solid enough that I could use as a weapon. I literally ransacked the bathroom when something behind the bathtub caught my attention: a piece of brown cloth enveloping something apparently square.

Overcome by curiosity, I took the time to pull it and discovered what was hidden in Mrs Robinson's bathroom. There was a diary that looked ancient, you know, those that seem to belong in a museum. I opened it and noticed that there was no writing inside, but only drawings, depicting various kind of situations, scenes and maps. The representations were so different that it was obvious they were drawn by different people, however, I was sure that all of them revolved around the village and the blackout. The second item I found was a mechanical wristwatch, one of those powered by movements and not batteries. I knew nothing about the time when I found it. However, concerning the sunrise during that month in the village, I knew exactly when it usually occurred and was ready to set the time at that moment.

I opened the door only a crack, and peeked, trying to spot the animal. It was nowhere around. Knowing it would not work on the dog, I left the container of salt in the basin along with the diary and the watch, then exited the bathroom only armed with a toilet brush I found. After a few seconds of waiting, to see if the dog would rush back upstairs, which it did not, I then crept, going downstairs, with Mrs Robinson in mind.

The old lady was always worried about each blackout. She had nobody to rely upon during this terrible day. She could not risk to have anyone with her in the house, not knowing if the person would turn dangerous during the blackout. On the other hand, she could herself be the violent one. Therefore, her only companion throughout the blackout was her protective dog. Obviously, the blackout did not seem to affect animals, at least not her dog, and from what I saw of her earlier, I hoped that she did not choose a harmful way to escape this nightmare.

"Shit!" I let out, losing control over my lips, due to the dread awakened by the scenery before my eyes. The wheelchair was empty and Mrs Robinson and the dog were nowhere to be seen.

Giggles then resounded and echoed in the deafening silence of that horrible night. It sounded like the giggles of a much younger woman. Rapid running footsteps followed and also stopped abruptly, just like the giggles. I started walking backwards, creeping back upstairs, my heart pounding in my chest, my eyes widened. I was shaking to the core, when she said something that froze the blood in my veins:

"Iiii seeee youuu!" She stated playfully before giggling again.

I turned and ran, the salt container in mind, when I heard the rapid footsteps getting closer this time. I felt something flying over my head and saw Mrs Robinson land on the staircase and at some distance in front of me. I froze, unable to grasp what I just witnessed while she slowly turned and looked at me, her white shining eyes glowing in the dark and her lips curved into a crazed smile. I turned again and ran downstairs, unable to think straight and took a random direction that led me to her kitchen.

"We'll have so much fun today! Don't worry, I'll keep you all to myself, outlander." She said as soon as she came in, her voice clearly sounding like that of a much younger but very crazy woman. "After all these years, finally, I finally get a new toy. Well, Outlander, let's play a game!" She added, her smile suddenly vanishing from her face and arming herself with the largest knife from the block set next to her.

"Please, please Mrs Robinson. You don't have to do this you know, it's me, Terrence, Penelope's son." I pleaded, certain that she was about to hurt me mercilessly.

Her reply however, reflected her evil intentions and left no doubt in my mind:

"The game is called: red bloody kitchen."

Part 3