Immortal Shadows

The Day The World Turned Black

Carlos Castillo was a very...peculiar child to say the least. He wasn't much to look at, He was a pale scrawny kid with black hair from Venezuela. The only strange thing about him were his eyes. They were black as obsidian and never showed many emotions. Carlos had spent his life hidden away in the safety of him, his brother, and his mothers house on Long Island. Carlos didn't mind this very much, He was different from other children. He knew that much, He had ADHD and Dyslexia.

He was often assumed as a dumb child. Carlos was by no means dumb. He was frighteningly smart. He knew it wasn't normal for his heartbeat to be dangerously slow. He knew it wasn't normal for his skin to be Icy cold to the touch. He knew it wasn't normal for things to die when his emotions spiraled. He kept himself hidden from others, Including his mother. He loved his mother with every ounce of his being. He couldn't bear to see what had happened to so many plants and small animals. Happen to his mother.

His mother was kind and sweet, She never regarded Carlos as what he thought he truly was, A Monster. She cared for him more than anything. In turn, Carlos was cold to her. It was heart wrenching to be so cold to his mother. Carlos deemed it best, He couldn't risk hurting her. Carlos was sat alone in his bedroom twirling a wilted rose between his fingers. The rose hadn't originally been wilted, It was once dark red and full of life. Carlos brushed it with the tip of his index and all the life in the plant disappeared.

Carlos's brother, Evan was Carlos's best and only friend. Evan was by no means scared of Carlos. Carlos thought he was foolish for this reason but Evan still wasn't scared. Evan took care of Carlos like an older brother should. Their relationship wasn't what you would call normal for brothers. Yet, They still loved each other to death.

Carlos sighed and rested the plant on his bedside table and stood. He hadn't eaten today and he was quite hungry. He walked out of his room and into the living room where his mother was humming softly as she painted. He came up behind her and tugged at her dress which was risky as is. His mother turned around and smiled softly at him. "Good Afternoon Carlos." His mother said softly "Good Afternoon Mother." He said as he looked up at her painting. It was of a man, He had black eyes and shoulder length black hair with black wings on his back. The man held a scythe and he had a black laurel wreath on his head.

Carlos stepped back in sheer awe and turned away as he swallowed the bile building up in his throat. He blinked a few times before looking his mother in the eye. "I'm Hungry." He stated as his mother laughed her soft and sweet angelic laugh. "Oh My! Where has the time gone? It's nearly dinner time!" His mother said as she walked towards the kitchen.

Carlos's brother came up behind him with a grin on his face. "Afternoon Carl." His brother said, "Good Afternoon Evan..." Carlos said. Evan wasn't too different from Carlos. He was a tall and pale, slim boy with a mop of curly black hair, His eyes which were the most vibrant shade of blue just like his mothers were hidden behind his hair. "Good Afternoon Evan." Their mother stated with a smile "Afternoon ma" Evan said as he sat at the table.

Carlos sat next to Evan and leaned his head on his shoulder. Evan shot Carlos a look before smiling and facing ahead. "I was a little distracted, Dinner's gonna be a bit late tonight." Their mother said as Carlos and Evan nodded. Carlos thought it was immensely stupid for him to be so close to his family when something could go wrong so easily.

Carlos and Evan made small talk as their mother cooked. Carlos couldn't help but continue glancing at the painting of the man. Something about it was so strangely familiar to him, Like he'd seen this man in person before. His mother set a plate down in front of him, Piled with steaming hot Arepa. "Sweet!" Evan said as he took an arepa and bit into it his mouth curved up into a grin.

Carlos couldn't help but smile at his brother as he too took an arepa and ate it. He smiled at the taste. Even after all these years his mother was still the best chef in the world. The hairs on his neck started to raise as a cold chill went down his spine. It was as if someone was whispering the word 'Death' in his ear. Carlos shuddered and tried to push the thought out of his mind.

They ate in silence until a sound broke through the air "HELP!" Someone shouted from outside their house. Carlos's blood ran cold as his mother looked towards the window in the kitchen. "What was that?" Evan asked as their mother started to walk towards the door "Don't Follow Me." She said seriously. Carlos's senses were going into overdrive, His head was pounding and he could hear a buzzing in his left ear.

He had the feeling that no matter what his mother shouldn't open that door. Carlos and Evan watched as their mother opened the front door and peeked outside. The world went still for a moment. In that single moment, Carlos's life was torn apart. A creature pounced from the darkness and jumped onto his mother. The creature sunk its fang into his mothers throat causing crimson blood to spill from her throat.

Carlos felt something in him snap and die. Carlos's eyes welled in tears as he looked at the creature. It was a creature with the body of a stag, the neck of a lion, cloven hooves, and a wide mouth with a sharp, bony ridge in place of teeth. Carlos shouted in panic as Evan grabbed a knife and charged at the creature "This Is For Mom!" Evan said. Evan managed to dodge a swing of its hoof by dropping to the floor.

Evan tried to drive the knife through the creature's lower jaw only for the knife to harmlessly bounce off of its skin. He froze in shock as the creature bashed him over the head with its hoof. Carlos didn't need to hear the loud Crack to know that Evan was badly hurt. Carlos stood shakily as he walked towards the creature.

His mind was spinning, Wondering if his family was actually dead. The creature glowered at him and in his mothers voice said "Come Closer sweetheart.". This set Carlos off; he charged at the creature and tackled it. The creature bit down on his neck extremely hard. Carlos shouted in pain but continued to force the creature back as his legs buckled. Carlos glanced at the body of his mother, Her neck was bleeding badly and It had been torn open and she wasn't breathing. Carlos let out a sound that didn't quite resemble a sob but it wasn't a shout either. as he looked back at the creature. It hurt too badly, He wanted nothing more than to curl up and let the creature kill him too.

Carlos dug his nail into the creature's neck as the creature continued to bite his own. Carlos could  feel himself dying as blood soaked his shirt. "Please, Just die already..." Carlos said and the creature stopped writhing in his hands. The creature's body went cold and limp as it fell to the floor. Carlos was in a moment of shock and awe which for a second he thought was his body shutting down and dying. Carlos pried its jaws off his shoulder as the creature turned to dust. He touched his hand to his bleeding neck.

Blood and tears were streaming down his face yet Carlos stood and crawled over to his mother. He touched her neck and he started to fume in anger. She was ice cold like he usually was. Carlos managed to pry his hand away from her neck as he started to crawl over to Evan.

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I know it's bad, I'm not a good storyteller alr. It sounds way better at 3am in my head when i'm trying to sleep🗣🗣🗣🗣