Chilling tales for the restless night

Freak

At home, Owen quietly snuck the kitten into his room, feeding it scraps from the leftovers his father always left him.
A little bit for himself, and a little bit for the kitten.
Under the dim light of his small LED lamp, he examined the tiny creature.

"You're brown, with green eyes... like the inside of pistachios," Owen murmured, smiling slightly for the first time in days. "I'll call you Pistachio."

The moment was brief, as his father's voice bellowed through the thin walls.

"Get to bed, Owen!"

Owen flinched and quickly tucked
Pistachio under his blanket, falling into a restless sleep.

The next day, Owen couldn't bear to leave Pistachio alone at home, scared of what his father might do if he discovered the kitten.
So, he stuffed the tiny cat inside his jacket, making sure to keep it hidden as he walked to school.

In class, Mrs. Jane, the only adult who ever showed him kindness, noticed him fidgeting.

"What are you hiding, Owen?" she asked gently.
Owen hesitated but then revealed the small, brown kitten.

"This is Pistachio," he said, smiling nervously.
Mrs. Jane's eyes softened, and she smiled warmly.

"What a lovely kitten." The rest of the class were immediately interested. Peter and Tyler, however, burst into cruel laughter.

"That's a dumb name for a cat!" Peter sneered, and Tyler snickered beside him. But something had changed.

Owen could feel the jealousy radiating from them.
For the first time, Owen had something that made him happy, and they hated it.

Mrs. Jane, trying to diffuse the situation, suggested, "Why don't we take care of Pistachio as a class? It could be a fun project."

Owen's heart lifted a little.

For weeks, Pistachio became a small source of joy in Owen's life. Mrs. Jane would keep the kitten with her, and Owen could see him every day.

It was the first time Owen felt like he had something special, something his bullies couldn't take away.

But things never stayed good for long.

One afternoon, Owen was outside during recess, collecting stones like he always did. He enjoyed the quiet, the stillness of the woods just beyond the school yard.

It was his escape from the noise, the cruelty. When he returned to the school, something felt wrong.

He could hear sinister laughter coming from his classroom. And then he heard it-Pistachio's helpless yowl.

He sprinted to the door, heart pounding in his chest. When he entered the room, the sight before him made his blood run cold.

Peter and Tyler, along with their group of friends, were gathered around Pistachio, who was squirming in Tyler's grasp.
Tyler grinned wickedly.

"Shut up, you freak!" Tyler yelled, shaking the kitten.

Owen's voice was shaky, barely above a whisper, "Leave him alone... You can hurt me, just please, leave him alone."
Peter laughed cruelly. "Oh, we know you're weird, Owen.

We saw you in the woods doing that witchy stuff with your hands.

Why don't you show us what you can really do?"
Tyler grabbed Pistachio and marched to the window, opening it wide. "Let's see how weird you really are," he sneered.
"Go on, freak. Use your powers to save your dumb cat."

Owen's heart pounded in his chest. He was shaking, trying to focus, but fear and panic clouded his mind.
He couldn't concentrate, couldn't move anything, no matter how hard he tried.
Mrs. Jane rushed into the room, her face filled with alarm. "Tyler,Put the kitten down, please!" she demanded.

But Tyler didn't stop. He dangled Pistachio out the window. "Go on, Owen! Save him! Show us your freak powers!"
Tears streamed down Owen's face as he pleaded. "Please, stop! I'll do anything, just don't hurt him!"

The room was in chaos-Mrs. Jane was shouting, the students were screaming in panic-but it all came to a horrible halt when Peter let go of Pistachio.
The kitten's tiny body plummeted out of the window, and Owen's world stopped.
For a moment, everything was silent.

Even Tyler and Peter didn't speak. The air was thick with tension, the weight of what they had done sinking in. And then Tyler, cold and emotionless, broke the silence.

"Oops." Tyler laughed" sorry."

Owen froze. His chest tightened, and something inside him snapped. The tears that had been streaming down his face dried instantly as an unnatural heat built within him.

His vision blurred with rage, and the next thing anyone knew, the classroom erupted in chaos.

In an instant, Owen's eyes, filled with a mixture of heartbreak and fury, focused on Tyler and Peter.

His mind was no longer his own, driven purely by the surge of his unleashed power. Before anyone could react, Tyler's head exploded in a burst of blood and gore.

Then Peter's. Then the rest of their group, one by one, their heads bursting like overripe fruit.
The classroom was painted with blood.

The students screamed in terror, huddling in the corners of the room, but Owen stood motionless, tears streaming down his face, his hands trembling.

Mrs. Jane, standing in the doorway, was frozen in horror, her hands covering her mouth.

It was over.
Owen fell to his knees, sobbing, the weight of his powers crashing down on him like an unbearable storm.

Pistachio was gone, and with him, the last bit of innocence Owen had left.