[Warnings for this volume: descriptions of violence and gore]
"You're a disgusting sinner Billy." His mother snapped, "Where did you even get the idea of stealing from?!" The blonde shrunk back at his mothers harsh tone."I don't know, mom, I was just-"
"I don't care for your pathetic excuses! You're 16, for pete's sake, you should be mature enough to know not to do that."
He sniffled, swallowing down the lump in his throat and blinking away teary eyes, "Mom I'm sorry, I'll go back and pay for it. It's just a chapstick."
"Damn right, you will. We're also going STRAIGHT to the church for you to confess your sins. Got it?" The scared boy frantically nodded his head as his mom picked up the car keys and followed him outside. They slid into his moms white Saturn, and drove to Angelsporn church. The church was surrounded by a small forest in the middle of nowhere, not really the best place for a house of God to be in, but it'll have to do. Billy gazed out the window as the radio played some sort of pop music, it was the only thing keeping the car from being completely silent.
The transition from freshly paved road to bumpy gravel made it clear to Billy that they were only a few seconds away from his destination. He looked out the dashboard window to see the familiar wooden church he had been going to as a child, it was hard to forget. As his mom set the car in parked, they both unbuckled their seatbelts and shuffled over to the church. One of the two priests working at the church greeted them both with a small smile and a wave from the altar then went back to organizing. Billy's mother looked down at her son, gesturing over to the confessionals.
"Go and confess. I'll be waiting out in the car." He watches as his mother walks back out of the church before walking over to a confession booth. He opens the unoccupied side, sitting on the hard, wooden seat inside. He crosses himself, intertwining his fingers together and setting them in his lap.
"Bless me father, for I have sinned," He could hear the clicking of rosary beads coming from the other side of the divider, "It has been.. 4 days since my last confession."
Still silence fills the confessional. The only thing keeping the church from being dead silent was the subtle sounds of a broom sweeping the wooden planks of the floors of the church. Was the priest even awake?
He gulped at the silence coming from the other side of the booth, "I've stolen from the convenience store." He waited silently for the priest to give him words of penance, waiting for the good deeds he would have to do to get forgiveness.
"I'm glad you've come to confess this sin, my child," The priest finally responds, "Three hail Mary's and you'll be forgiven."
Billy sighed in relief, thanking the priest before sliding out of the confessional quickly walking over to the pews to pray. But yet, as he prayed in the nearly empty church, he felt like there was a set of eyes watching him while he prayed. He opened his eyes after the prayer, peering over the other pews and scanning the church carefully. Nothing. Must've just been his paranoia. Though he had recently been having the feeling of being watched ever since he and Vincent snuck out to smoke in the forest.
He shook the uneasy feeling away and just tried to stay focused on getting his prayers done so he could go home and get this all over with. After getting the short prayers done, he ushered outside back to the car. He slid into the passenger's seat and buckled up, and watched as his mother put the car into reverse, and drove down the bumpy, gravel path all the way back home.
It was silent all the way back.
It had been almost 4 hours since getting back from the church and running over to the store to pay for the stolen chapstick. Billy was busy doing homework while his sibling, Alex, and his mom were out of the house when suddenly, the phone started to ring. He perked up at the loud ringing and padded over from the kitchen table to the landline phone.
"Hello, Granham residence, Billy speaking." He politely answered the phone, twirling the cord.
"Heyyy! It's Vincent. So, uh, can you do a favor for me?" The raspy voice spoke from the other side of the phone.
"Of course. What do you need?"
"Well, me and my moms are taking a 2 day trip out of town and we need someone to feed Marshall while we're gone. Can you feed him for us? There's a key under the doormat for you so you can get inside."
"Sure. It's a bit late though." He sighed looking out the window to see the dark skies.
"Great! I'll tell my moms that you're gonna do that, alright? Stay safe." The familiar ring of the other line hanging up is all that's heard from the phone before Billy soon hangs the phone back up.
He walks around the house to make sure all windows are closed and all doors are locked. He then walks over to the front door and slips his sneakers on and pulls his jacket on, taking a flashlight from the junk drawer in his house. It shouldn't be a long walk to his house since he lives five houses over. Billy walks outside, locking the door behind him with his own key and starts walking down the sidewalk.
Everything seemed fine until the feeling of being watched returns, but it's only him outside. Right? Billy looks over his shoulder. Nothing. Just previously walked on sidewalk illuminated by street lights.
Is someone following me in the dark? The teen thought. No, I'm just being silly. It's far too late for someone to be out with me. He brushed off the feeling and tried to keep his focus on getting to Vincent's house, feeding his dog, and going back home.
Soon enough, he reached his destination. He lifts up the doormat to see the shiny key waiting for him. He unlocks the door and walks inside, instead of smelling the familiar smell of strawberries, he smells a strong, disgusting stench of iron.
"Good god.." He mutters. Maybe something just spilt! He thought, walking over to the kitchen to fill up Marshall's bowl with kibbles.
"Marshall, c'mere boy! I got your food!" Billy calls out to the puppy, yet no response. Weird. He might be asleep already. But he still scoops up the food and fills the bowl. After a while, he decides to look for the pup, walking over to the living room, he sees something move behind a chair.
"Marshie, come out. It's Billy!" He approaches the chair, looking over with a small smile before seeing a figure looming over the gorey remains of the tiny, twitching newfoundland. The creature looks up at Billy, its face poorly morphed into his best friends.
He gags at the sight.
"Hello-o Billy!!" It says in his voice before pouncing up from behind the chair. Billy screams, trying to run out of the dark house. He's encountered a thonk. The being chases after him with jerky movements. Billy starts to sob, he couldn't die now. He still has his sibling and Vinny to look out for. Unfortunately, in the midst of running down the foyer, he trips on a chair that hadn't been pushed in all the way. The Thonk tackles him down to assure he wouldn't escape before attacking him.
"No.. NO.. PLEASE!" Were the last words that left his mouth before the creature started ripping him apart easily like a stuffed toy. His desperate screams were left unheard for nights.
Two days later, the Herrings came back from their peaceful vacation to see the mauled, dismembered bodies of Billy Granham and their dog, Marshall. Vincent couldn't get the picture of Billy, the person he had known for pretty much all his life, looking like that.
