Chapter 2

"Something valuable? No doubt Hanley sent it," Pamela said. "He's always said he'd give you something special after your SATs. You smart cookie, what is there to worry about now?"

As she spoke, Pamela reached for the doorknob again.

Seeing Pamela reach for the knob, and the flood of messages in the live chat spamming "run!" made me hesitate.

On top of that, the delivery guy outside kept shouting for us to hurry up.

My mind was all over the place.

The guy outside didn't seem suspicious.

But what if?

I glanced at Pamela's six-month baby bump.

Then I looked at my mom, who was busy making my favorite chicken wings in the kitchen.

I couldn't risk it.

I just couldn't afford to take that chance.

I still stopped Pamela from opening the door.

Then I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a sharp machete.

With Pamela and my mom giving me looks like I was overreacting, I stood at the door.

I opened it.

But later, I found out that this choice would stick with me like a bad dream I just couldn't shake off.

The moment the door swung open, I barely had time to react before the guy kicked the machete right out of my hand.

Then, another dude hiding behind him brought the axe down on my head, hard.

To make sure I couldn't run, he slammed a hammer into my lower back.

Pamela let out a scream and tried to help me.

But the guy, grinning like a maniac, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the room.

My mom rushed in with a kitchen knife, trying to save us. But she was met with a longer blade.

The blade went straight into her heart.

A crushing wave of grief and a sea of blood swallowed me whole.

As my life slipped away, that flood of chat messages flashed before my eyes one last time.

[Poor girl, she did everything she could, but still ended up dead.]

[Yeah, and because she waited to open the door, her sister suffered even more. Even the baby didn't make it, got ripped to shreds right inside her.]

[Damn, this whole family was doomed from the start.]

When I opened my eyes again, the metallic stench of blood and the searing pain all over my body were gone.

I found myself standing in the living room, completely unharmed.

The air was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of chicken wings.

Pamela was sitting on the couch, hand on her belly, nagging me to remember my SAT admission ticket for tomorrow.

The chat popped up in front of me again.

[Is this the family from that massacre right before the SATs, the one where everyone got chopped up?]

[Damn, if those killers hadn't barged in, this girl would've totally made it to an Ivy.]

[Pamela had it the worst. She got ripped apart, and even her baby got shredded to bits.]

[Man, that's just heartbreaking.]

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I hugged Pamela tight.

This time, I'm not letting anything happen to you.

Pamela smiled and hugged me back.

"What's with the sudden cuddles? Getting nervous about the SATs tomorrow?" she teased. "Don't worry. Hanley gave me time off just for you. I'll be here with you the whole time until you ace your exam."

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

She's honestly the best sister ever.

Ever since Dad passed away, it'd just been me, Mom, and Pamela; we've been sticking together through everything.

Even when life got tough, I never felt miserable because I had them with me.

But the best people in my life were slaughtered by those heartless monsters today.

Just thinking about it, I fought to keep my emotions in check.

I was just about to grab the phone and call for help.

Suddenly, someone started banging on the door again.

Just like last time, Pamela was about to ask who was at the door.

But I quickly reached out and stopped her.

I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady, "Don't say anything. My classmate's dad is the police chief, and he warned me there are two killers pretending to be delivery guys hiding out in our neighborhood."