“Noooo!”
Mom’s scream makes shock shudder through me. Dropping the hair dryer, I jump up and run out of my bedroom.
As I burst into the landing between the three bedrooms, where Mom’s bookshelves decorate the walls, I see a man with a ski mask grabbing hold of Mom’s hair and dragging her out of the main bedroom.
Paralyzing shock hits me so hard that the air leaves my lungs in a whoosh, and intense fear pours through me.
Mom’s face is bleeding, and she looks completely dazed as she tries to claw at the floor and walls to keep the man from dragging her with him.
Not thinking at all, I charge the man while a horrible-sounding cry tears loose from me. Icy pins and needles erupt over my skin, and as adrenaline fills my veins, it feels like I’m running down a long tunnel.
I lose all sense of time. Colors dim, and I swear my hearing sharpens until I’m able to hear every single sound in the house.
Dad’s grunts from downstairs.
Sage’s sobbing.
Mom’s wheezing.
My breaths saw over my lips, and as I jump onto the man, hooking one of my arms around his neck, another wave of shock saturates every fiber of my being.
“Fucking bitch,” the man growls.
He lets go of Mom and grabs hold of my arm, trying to shake me off. I have no idea how I’m able to function during the terrifying situation, but I repeatedly slam my fist against the side of his face and neck.
My breathing becomes harsher, and I’m unable to get a word out, only managing snarls. It’s as if I’ve been reduced to my most basic animal form and I’ve gone into pure survival mode.
The man ducks forward, and he manages to throw me off. I slam hard into the wall, pain shooting through my right shoulder.
I’m grabbed by my hair and yanked backward. The next instant, a fist connects with my nose. My face erupts with a pain so intense, I can’t think. My eyes instantly tear up, blood spills from my nose, and my ears ring.
“Kelcie!” Mom cries, her voice raw with panic.
Another blow hits my left cheek and eye, causing everything around me to darken and my legs to go numb.
“No!” It sounds like Mom’s screaming down a dark tunnel.
I’m pushed hard, and as I stumble backward, the ground suddenly gives way beneath me, and I tumble down the stairs. Somewhere in my stunned mind, unbearable terror registers, and I realize there’s an attacker in the house and we’re in grave danger.
I come to a groaning stop in the space between the kitchen and the living room, and as my sight focuses for a few seconds, I see Mom fighting the man. He has her pinned against the wall, one hand clamped around her throat while he tries to dig something out of his pocket. She hits and claws at the black fabric covering his face.
I force myself up into a sitting position. My body aches all over, and it feels like there are hammers slamming against my skull. When I try to call Mom, my voice comes out weak.
Dad lets out an agonizing roar, and my gaze snaps to the living room on my right.
As if I’m stuck in slow motion, I take in every single detail around me. The couch that’s askew. The overturned lamp. The shattered glass by the doors that lead to the backyard.
Another masked man is on top of Dad, stabbing him over and over, the sight of the blood-coated blade filling me with terror. Dad’s bruised face is twisted with pain and desperation.
A third man is kicking Sage, and she seems to be unconscious. There’s a deep gash on the side of her head, and her skin is deathly pale.
A garbled sound draws my attention back to Mom, and seeing blood gush from where her neck has been sliced open, I’m filled with unbearable devastation. It shreds through me until all that remains are the unrecognizable pieces of my once-happy life.
My emotions spiral into a turbulent mess, making it impossible for me to form a coherent thought.
When the man lets go of Mom, her body sags down until she’s sitting on the floor, lifting a limp hand to her neck while her eyes widen with horror.
Mom!
