The Tale of Edward Benson.

How it All Began.

Chapter 3

I could still remember how it all began. It was a rainy evening. The weather was gloomy, and the rain seemed to fall endlessly. It was so cold, yet I could feel warmth in the air. I ran into a convenience store to avoid getting wet and catching a cold. The clouds raged violently, flashes of lightning tearing through them, followed by thunder.

I was just seven years old then, coming home from a football game when it happened. I waited for the rain to calm down, and once it did, I hurried home. My parents hated it when I came home late, and when I did, I was always scolded. I eventually got home, but I didn't see them in their usual spot in the living room. It was dark—only the fireplace was lit, which struck me as strange.

"Guess they haven't come back from work", I thought. I switched on the light and headed straight for the kitchen.

I ate the lunch Mom had left for me and was heading to my room when I heard a loud scream from upstairs—from my parents' bedroom. I ran as fast as I could and saw bloodstains on the doorknob. My legs shook; my muscles felt so heavy I could barely move. I forced myself to gather my courage and opened the door. The moment I did, my life changed forever.

The room reeked of blood, as if a bloodbath had taken place. I raised my head toward my parents' bed and saw my mom sitting helplessly beside it, blood pouring from her neck. In front of her lay a man I didn't recognize, already dead. I ran to her, tears streaming down my face.

"Mom! What happened? Why are you bleeding?!" I cried, holding her hands.

"Ed... Edward, I'm so... sorry." She struggled to speak, using the last of her strength to reach up and touch my chin.

"Who did this to you? Where's Dad?" Tears streamed from my eyes. "Please don't struggle—don't say anything. I'm going to get help."

"Don't bother, kid." A deep voice came from the shadows. I turned to see a strange man leaning against the wall, one leg propped up, arms folded, his gaze fixed on the floor. There wasn't a single drop of blood on him.

"Who... who are you?" I stammered, fear thick in my throat.

His eyes lifted to meet mine. His expression was calm, almost peaceful—but his stare was deadly.

"R-run," my mom struggled to say, grabbing hold of my leg with what strength she had left.

"Mom..." I said, holding her hand, frozen with fright.

"Run away! Don't look back! Edward, run!" She used the last of her strength to push me away, tears rolling down her face.

"Get away from here!" she screamed weakly.

"But—"

"Kid, I'd do as she says before I change my mind," the stranger said flatly.

"Lucky for you, you're not our target, so I've got no business with you. But try anything funny, and you won't like what happens next." As he spoke, his canines lengthened, his skin turned pale white, and his pupils narrowed into a snake-like slit, the whites of his eyes flooding blood-red.

I was terrified. My legs wouldn't move. My heart pounded, and sweat poured off me like rain. I stood there, trembling at what I saw.

"Run!" my mom shouted with everything she had left, collapsing to the ground.

I tried to move, but the stranger appeared in front of me in an instant, looming over me. I was beyond frightened—my legs barely worked, my hands were slick with sweat, and no words would come. His presence alone sent shivers down my spine. The air around me seemed to thin, and I felt like I was gasping for breath. He was a gentleman in a black suit, with thin, cruel lips. I etched his face into my memory in that moment—I would never forget it.

"Your mom is quite the strong woman," he said, stepping past me toward her, an evil smirk on his face. His eyes drifted to the dead man at her feet.

"Shame for this one—came here to finish a job and got killed by a mere human instead." He pressed his foot against the dead man's head. "You humans always fight to survive when you're up against something stronger. Too bad it ended so quickly for you. Too bad your husband wasn't here to protect you." He gripped my mother's chin as she lay helpless on the floor.

"Ed... Edward, run. Get out of here..."

"Well, Angelina, it'd be a shame to watch you die slow and painful. Why don't I speed things along?" He wrapped his hand around her neck. "And kid—don't make me warn you twice." His eyes cut toward me without his head so much as turning.

I could only stand there and shake, unable to do anything.

"Edward, I'm so... sorry. I... I couldn't... watch you grow," she said, struggling for breath. "But just know I'll always... love you, my boy. Even in death, I'll always keep watch over you. So do this for me... run, and don't stop... till you're far away from here." She forced the words out between gasps.

"How pitiful," he said, sinking his canines into her neck and draining her of every last drop of blood.

I bolted from the room, tears blurring my vision. I turned back once, and though her voice was faint, I heard her last words as she looked at me while I ran. "I love you," she said, smiling as the life drained out of her. I sobbed and ran as fast as I could, my chest aching with grief. My heart grew heavy, and from that moment on, hatred took root inside me.

Heart racing, tears streaming down my face, I ran as far as my legs could carry me. I wasn't thinking straight—I just knew I had to run. The air was still cold from the rain, though the breeze had gentled. It was late at night, and the moon shone bright overhead. If I'd looked up, I might have noticed how beautiful the sky was. I stopped at the roadside, beneath a streetlight, and clung to the lamppost, my fingers wrapped around it like a vise—the only thing keeping me upright. My body wouldn't stop shaking. My legs threatened to give out. I was paralyzed with fear.

After a few moments, once I'd caught my breath and calmed down slightly, it hit me: I had nowhere to go. The thought of living on the streets crashed over me, and before I even noticed, more tears were rolling down my face. Then I remembered—my aunt was in the city on vacation. I got up and rushed to find a phone booth. Searching for one in the middle of the night wasn't easy; owls hooted somewhere in the dark, and I hadn't been out this late before in my life. I was terrified.

Luckily, I spotted a phone booth. I dialed my aunt's number. It rang and rang with no answer. I kept trying until, finally, I heard a voice on the line.

"Hello, who's this? Don't you know it's 12:25 in the morning?" she said, her voice sharp with irritation and exhaustion.

"Aun... Aunt Ma... Mary, it's me, Ed... Edward," I stammered, still reeling from what had happened.

"Edward? What are you doing out this late? And why are you calling my landline?"

"Mo... Mom..."

"Mom? What happened to Angelina? Why does your voice sound like that?"

"Mom's dead!" I cried, the tears coming harder now.

Silence followed—about six seconds of it. She must have been in shock. Who wouldn't be, hearing news like that? Then came a heavy sigh.

"Calm down, son," she said, hearing me still crying. "Tell me exactly where you are."

"I'm in a phone booth somewhere downtown," I said, choking back tears.

"What do you see around you?"

"Lots of tall buildings. There's a tree by the roadside."

"Is the tree across from the phone booth?"

"Yes."

"That's downtown. Stay there—I'm coming to get you." She hung up before I could say anything else.

So I waited. While I did, I replayed everything that had happened that night—it was terrifying, traumatizing. I couldn't stop shaking. Memories of my mom, the good times and the bad, kept surfacing, and the tears wouldn't stop. My chest ached with grief, and beneath it, a burning hatred took hold for the man I'd seen in that room. I wondered whether my dad was okay—I hadn't seen him anywhere in the house. I was confused, helpless. Time dragged on with no word from my aunt. The cold night air cut through me; my legs shook, and I felt weak, exhausted. I didn't have the strength to move, so I stayed by the phone booth. I kept wondering if Aunt Mary would actually find me—she was my dad's sister, the only relative I knew who lived nearby. It took her about two hours and fifteen minutes. By the time she arrived, I was already weak, tired, and hungry, my body ready to give out. Everything around me blurred, and the sounds around me faded to almost nothing.

"Edward! Edward! Stay with me!"

Those were the last words I heard before I passed out.