Marie dropped the phone.
The operator's voice still crackled faintly from the receiver, but her body was already moving—fast, silent.
She had to check on Theo—even if every part of her screamed not to go.
She crept downstairs, every step heavy with dread. The hallway stretched like a tunnel, shadows thick and cold.
Then she saw it.
The kitchen door.
Wide open.
The night breeze pushed gently against the curtains, making them sway like ghosts. She stepped through the threshold—and froze.
Her husband stood stiffly in the middle of the kitchen.
In front of him, a man.
Enormous. Ragged. Filthy.
And he was staring right at Theo, as if deciding which part to break first.
Then her eyes moved upward—past the bloodstained prison rags, the massive frame, the scarred arms—and locked onto the man's face.
One dead gray eye.
One glass eye glowing faint purple.
Her breath caught in her throat.
She knew that face.
From years ago, back when she worked in the Hero League's intel division, she'd helped build what agents called the "villain book"—a digital dossier of the worst threats they'd ever cataloged.
And one of those faces had haunted her most.
A name burned into every psyche report with red ink warnings.
Sineye.
A brute. A sadist. A monster who didn't just hurt people—he enjoyed it. Not chaos for ideology. Not pain for profit. Just for pleasure.
And now he was in her kitchen.
She couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Her mind screamed, but her voice stayed locked behind her teeth.
Sineye turned—slowly.
That glass eye pulsed faintly as it landed on her.
He smiled.
Teeth yellow. Lips cracked. The cupcake still in one hand.
> "Was wonderin' where the wife was."
He licked frosting from his thumb.
> "Nice family you got here."
Sineye's words snapped Theo back to reality.
He looked at Marie—his wife, wide-eyed in the doorway—and nodded.
She understood immediately. He was asking the question neither dared speak aloud.
Is Orion safe?
She nodded back, lips trembling, and forced what might've looked like a smile.
Theo turned back to the monster. His voice shook, but he kept it steady.
"What do you want? I have money. I can give it to you. Any amount—just name your price. Please, I beg you… just leave me and my wife alone."
He said it like that on purpose.
No mention of Orion. Not a word.
But Sineye just chuckled.
"Money?" he said, licking frosting from his thumb. "That's just paper idiots chase. Me?"
His cracked lips peeled into a grin.
"I chase something better."
His voice dropped.
"I feed on pain."
Theo's gut twisted.
"So there's no reasoning with you," he muttered.
Sineye tilted his head, amused.
"Wow. You're awfully calm for a man who's about to die. I see the fear in you—your body's screaming. But your face?"
He grinned wider.
"It's steady. That's no fun."
Then he stepped forward.
Theo moved fast, blocking his path.
"Leave my wife alone."
Then he lunged—low and fast—arms wrapping around Sineye's waist in a full-body tackle.
He pushed with everything he had—
But Sineye didn't budge an inch.
"That's it?" the villain said, flatly. "That's pathetic."
He clasped both hands together and slammed them down like a hammer.
Theo gasped. Blood flew from his mouth as his legs buckled. Pain shot up his spine. His vision blurred.
"Ahhh," Sineye groaned. "The feeling of shattered ribs… Been too long."
Then, in a blink, he spun toward Marie—too fast to stop.
His hand closed around her throat.
Theo moved on instinct, charging again.
So Sineye hurled Marie against the kitchen wall.
Her head slammed with a sickening crack.
Blood.
Then silence.
"No—!" Theo wheezed, staggering forward.
Sineye laughed. "Ohhh, you want more?"
Theo roared and lunged again—but Sineye caught him mid-stride, hand around his throat.
With his other, he grabbed Theo's left arm.
And started to tear it off.
The pain was blinding—unimaginable.
Theo clenched his teeth, refusing to scream. Not for Orion. Not while he might still be listening.
But when the shoulder finally gave—when the limb ripped free—he let out a broken, muffled howl, lips shut tight.
---
Upstairs, Orion heard it.
That strangled cry.
That scream.
His heart pounded like a drum.
He wanted to run out. Wanted to help.
But—
> "No matter what happens,"
"Don't come out until I call your name."
He hugged his knees tighter inside the cupboard, ears covered, tears streaming down his face.
> "Everything's okay…"
"Mom and Dad are here… Nothing will happen…"
He whispered it over and over, a prayer against a nightmare.
---
Back in the kitchen:
Marie, dazed, watched her husband's blood spill. His arm was gone. Just a stump, leaking red onto the floorboards.
She saw Sineye go for the other one.
No. No. NO—
She grabbed the kitchen knife and ran, blade raised.
She stabbed it straight into his side. The blade bent with a sickening clang—useless.
The metal bent like plastic.
Sineye barely looked at her before grabbing her neck again. He twisted it slowly, savoring the pop.
A gurgle escaped her throat.
Then he hurled her through the kitchen window.
Glass shattered. Her body landed in the front yard, motionless.
"No!!" Theo choked out.
He rushed forward, head-first, and crashed into Sineye's jaw.
It staggered him—a little.
"Finally," Sineye muttered. "Something."
Then he lifted one massive fist—
And brought it down on Theo's head.
Crack.
Theo collapsed. Still. Bleeding. Motionless.
Sineye stood over him, chest heaving with dark satisfaction.
---
Theo, barely conscious, his head spinning, saw it all.
He could hardly see. The blood in his eyes burned.
But then—
Sirens.
Distant. Faint. But coming.
A thin breath left his lungs. He smiled, barely.
>"Please… let him be safe. Even if it's without us."
He tried to picture Orion smiling at school again.
Then darkness.
***
Outside, Marie lay still, vision blurry. Pain pulsed through every limb.
She could hear it too—
Sirens.
Her broken lips moved.
A whisper. A prayer.
> Please… don't let him find Orion…"
Her eyes rolled back.
And the world went quiet.
***
Inside, Sineye laughed.
> "That's all? You're supposed to be a man."
He turned sharply.
Sirens were getting closer.
> "Tch. That bitch called the Hero League."
He turned and bolted upstairs, heavy steps shaking the hallway.
Crash! The front door burst open. A hero in blue armor came rushing in—just in time to catch sight of the villain disappearing into the upstairs corridor.
"FREEZE!"
Sineye ignored him, sprinting down the hallway.
---
Orion's cupboard door creaked open.
He'd heard the sirens.
He stepped out, legs shaking.
He opened the door to his room—
And in that instant, Sineye passed by.
Their eyes met.
That glowing glass eye pulsed faintly.
Then—without a word—Sineye turned, dashed, and exploded through the hallway window in a hail of glass, vanishing into the night.
Moments later, a hero sprinted past, hot on his trail.
Orion just stood there, shaking.
Relief started to trickle in.
The heroes were here.
They were here.
He made his way downstairs—slowly, shakily.
The front door stood wide open.
Then he saw it.
A body—still, small—lying in the front yard.
He stepped forward.
One step.
Another.
His breath caught in his chest.
> "Mom…?"
He knelt beside her.
Blood on his hands.
And said again "Mom…?"
But she didn't answer.