THE ANGELS LAND

FOUR

When he was younger, his mom used to sing him to sleep with a lullaby. It was always the same lullaby. You Are My Sunshine. Aiden loved it. It put him to sleep everytime.

As he grew older, the tune stuck in his head. Even now as he sprinted through the entangling darkness, losing himself, the tune played over in his head.

He hit the yard as soon as he heard a loud crash from inside the house. It sounded like a lamp shattering.

The night had grown cold, but sweat still dripped from his forehead. It was as if he had just gotten out of a pool.

A car whizzed by. He saw the headlights out the corner of his eye as he slowed to a stop on the porch.

"Mom? Dad?" Slowly, he pushed the door open. The creaking was eerie enough to send shards of shivers up his spine. "Kim?" The door creaked open a little further.

Silence hung in the air. Aiden pressed on into the house. "Hello?" His voice was a tremble.

Blood was smeared on the wall, causing Aiden's breath to catch in his throat. His mind went wild, thinking of other possibilities.

Nothing came to mind. Was it one of those creatures in the alley? He wasn't sure. But he heard a gasp for breath from the kitchen and ran to the kitchen to find everyone... Dead?!

His dad's throat had been slit. Kim lay in motionless with a spear going right through her.... And Julian.... She lay in a puddle of blood.

Aiden rushed over and dropped by her side, tears littering his face. "Mom! No, mom!"

"A-Aiden..."  was all she could manage.

His breaths were now coming out in short gasps. Memories flashed through his head. He remembered his mom always being there for him. Always helping him through the tough times. He remembered when she would tease him. Or push him to try his best.

And more tears came. They now rolled down his face, dripping off on to his dying mother. Everything was adding up. All of his memories. Regret.

It was a knot that was tying itself in his gut. Pulling his insides together with a simple tug.  And he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to. Part of him wanted to die. Part of him never wanted to breathe again. His sobs grew louder.

"I'm so sorry..." Aiden sobbed.

All his mother did was force a smile and touch his cheek with one hand. She lay her head back.

She hadn't had that great of a life. Being abused as a child, as Aiden himself was by his dad. To being bullied in highschool and dropping out of college. To being abused by her husband.

Aiden wished he could take it all back. He wished he could change it. Hell, all she did was try. That's all Aiden ever needed in his life.

"Mom, it's okay. We can get you help.... We can get you help, mom." More tears rolled. He felt numb all over. Julian's cheeks were also wet with tears.

She shook her head. "Aiden... Your sister is upstairs..." She had to force the words out. "Get her. And take her away from here." She was gasping for breath now. "Don't you come back. Aiden Robert Weaver, don't you ever come back here. Do you hear me?"

Aiden sniffed. Tears splashed in a puddle. He nodded.  "Mom..."

Again, she touched his cheek and smiled. And her head fell back, her eyes rolling back into her skull.

She was dead.

"Mom?... No... Mom!" He checked for a pulse but he already knew. Every instinct. Every fiber he had knew the truth. It was over.