While Yu Zixin was running for his life, the person he was desperately trying to protect was struggling just as much, if not more.
Lin Jing was curled up in the corner of his bed, his small body trembling as he hugged the blanket tightly around himself. He had pulled it all the way up to his chin, as though the thin fabric could somehow protect him from everything happening outside.
The sounds beyond his bedroom door were getting louder.
The scratching.
The crawling.
The horrible growling.
Every now and then, something slammed heavily against the door, making the entire room tremble.
Bang...
Lin Jing flinched.
Bang...
He squeezed his eyes shut and hugged the blanket even tighter.
The door creaked with every impact, its hinges groaning as a little dust fell from the frame.
It wouldn't hold for much longer.
Lin Jing knew that.
He didn't know how he knew it, but he could feel it. Every time the door shook, his heart seemed to jump into his throat.
"Mom..." His voice trembled as tears began spilling from his eyes. "Mom... please... Please, I'm scared."
He buried his face into the blanket.
"I'm scared..."
They didn't stop.
They never stopped.
His mother usually went to sleep around ten o'clock every night. Sometimes she would come into his room before bed, tuck him in, and tell him to sleep properly. But tonight, she had been awake the entire time.
And she kept banging on his door.
All night.
Lin Jing didn't understand why she was doing it.
He had tried talking to her at first. He had called her name. He had even cried and begged her to stop.
But his mother didn't answer him.
She only kept scratching at the door and making those strange noises.
It was so loud that he could barely sleep.
Tears had already left salty trails down his cheeks. Lin Jing rubbed his face roughly with the back of his hand, trying to wipe them away, but more tears immediately replaced them.
His eyes wandered toward the only food he had left.
A small packet of M&M's.
Under normal circumstances, he would have happily eaten them without thinking twice.
Right now, they looked like the most delicious thing in the entire world.
But Zixin had told him to save his food.
Only eat a little.
Lin Jing swallowed.
Yes.
He would only eat a little.
He carefully opened the packet with trembling hands and took out one yellow candy.
He placed it in his mouth.
The sweet chocolate melted against his tongue, while the peanut inside gave a satisfying little crunch between his teeth. For a brief moment, the horrible sounds outside seemed to disappear.
It tasted so good.
Lin Jing immediately reached for another.
Then another.
Soon, he was stuffing several into his mouth at once, chewing as quickly as he could.
He hadn't eaten anything all day.
Being hungry was horrible.
It hurt.
He had never experienced anything like this before. His parents had always made sure he ate every day, at the proper times. His mother would complain if he skipped breakfast, and his father would remind him that he needed to eat properly if he wanted to grow tall and handsome like his brother.
His brother...
Lin Jing's eyes filled with tears again.
Sometimes he wouldn't eat something his mother cooked simply because it was a little too salty. Sometimes he would complain about food he didn't like, pushing the plate away and asking for something else.
If he could go back now, he would eat everything.
Anything.
He wouldn't complain anymore.
"I'll eat everything you make mommy... so please… stop. I'm scared." he whispered.
Sniffling, Lin Jing continued eating, but before he realized what he was doing, the entire packet was gone.
He stared down at the empty wrapper.
There wasn't even one left.
He shook the packet several times anyway, as though another candy might magically fall out.
His little fingers tightened around the empty packet.
Lin Jing's lower lip trembled. "No..."
Slowly, he climbed down from the bed and walked toward the window. His legs felt weak, but he forced himself forward. He carefully pushed the window open just a little and peeked outside.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
There were no cars moving. No people talking. No lights from the neighboring buildings.
But then he heard it.
Shuffle...
Lin Jing froze.
Shuffle... shuffle...
Someone was walking outside.
His heart immediately filled with hope.
Maybe someone was there.
Maybe they could help him.
Maybe they could save him from his mother.
He pushed the window open a little farther and leaned out.
"Help!" he cried.
His voice shook with desperation.
"Help! I'm scared!"
The shuffling became louder.
Lin Jing's eyes widened as several figures slowly emerged from the darkness.
At first, he thought they were people.
Then he saw the blood.
There was blood all over them.
Their clothes were torn, their faces pale and strange, and some of them looked as though an animal had bitten huge chunks out of their bodies.
Lin Jing's eyes widened until they looked almost too large for his frightened face.
They weren't normal people.
They were making the same horrible sounds as his mother.
Some of them suddenly looked up toward his window, reaching their bloody hands toward him.
Lin Jing's entire body began shaking.
"No..."
He stumbled backward from the window.
The people outside weren't people anymore.
They… they were like his mother.
A sob escaped his throat as he desperately backed away, but then another voice called softly from somewhere nearby.
"Kid."
Lin Jing turned around.
Across from his building, in another apartment, an old woman was standing near her window. She was waving at him desperately.
Lin Jing's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Aunty!"
He rushed toward the window again and grabbed the railing with both hands.
"Aunty! Help me!"
His voice broke as he began crying harder.
"I'm so scared! Please, aunty, help me!"
The old woman shook her head frantically and raised a finger to her lips, desperately gesturing for him to be quiet.
But Lin Jing was too frightened to understand.
He only saw another adult.
Someone who might be able to save him.
"My mother..." he sobbed. "My mother... she... she is trying to hurt me..."
"Kid, stop crying," the old woman whispered urgently. "Don't make a sound."
"But I'm scared..."
"I know. I know."
The old woman looked at him with pity, her own face filled with fear.
"Close the door. Lock it. And close the windows. Rescue will be here, kid. You just have to wait until then, okay?"
Lin Jing stared at her through his tears.
"Rescue...?"
"Yes. They'll come."
The old woman gave him one last encouraging look before quickly closing her own window.
The curtain fell into place.
Lin Jing was alone again.
He stood there for a few seconds, staring at the closed window.
Then he slowly wiped his tears with his sleeve.
"Rescue will come..."
He repeated the words quietly to himself, as though saying them enough times would make them true.
"They'll come for me."
Behind him, something slammed into his bedroom door again.
Bang!
Lin Jing screamed and immediately ran back toward his bed.
He didn't know what was happening.
He didn't know why his mother had become like that.
He didn't know where his brother was.
He only knew that he was scared.
And he wanted his brother to come home.