Chapter Text
Blood. That was all Adam could smell when he first woke up. He heard a shrill scream which suddenly got cut off, then his parents begging someone to spare their remaining son's life. Remaining son? What about Neil? Where was Neil?
Adam curled up in his bed, terrified. "What's happening?" he whispered to himself, even though the answer was crystal clear. Your brother has been killed, and your parents are next. You're gonna be killed after them. A voice in his head sneered sinisterly.
"NO!" he argued back. He tried to be brave, but the sounds that were coming from his parents' bedroom, which was directly above his, faltered his confidence. Slashing, gurgling cries, coughing... Then, finally the dull thud of a body hitting the floor.
Am I having a nightmare? I want to wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up! Adam closed his fists over his ears, but he could still hear the thumping footsteps of someone racing down the stairs, and a second set of footsteps following straight after the first. He flinched when he heard a bloodcurdling scream, then another thud.
You're next.
Adam trembled and whimpered, curling himself into a tighter ball when the door to his bedroom squeaked open ominously. He shivered continuously, incapable of any rational thoughts. His mind was screaming at him to run, but his body refused to obey. Fear paralyzed him as he awaited his death with bated breath.
The thumping of footsteps got closer and closer. Adam squeezed his eyes shut and counted down.
Three...
Two...
One...
The pain and shock of getting stabbed never came. Instead, a loud gunshot blasted out, leaving him startled with his ears ringing. Another thud. What's happening?
Upon opening one eye, Adam screamed. There was a body in his room, but that was not the worst part. The worst part was the blood and brain matter splattered on the floor and wall near the body, and a face so mangled that Adam could not even begin to recognise it as human. The scent of blood was so overwhelming and revolting that Adam had to swallow rapidly to prevent the bile that was rising from his stomach from escaping his mouth.
A police officer was pointing a gun at where the man once stood. Obviously, he was the one who had killed that murderer. As Adam watched, more and more police officers piled into his room, some of them offering sympathy and comfort, some of them taking pictures and collecting evidence. The officer who shot the murderer approached a shell-shocked Adam cautiously and gingerly placed his right hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
"Hey kid, I'm Officer Ron. What's your name?" Officer Ron's gentle voice reached Adam, but he did not react. He was still shocked to the core. Officer Ron petted Adam's head softly, shaking him a little rougher to snap him out of his current state. That did the job and Adam sat up slowly, trying to move his mouth to reply Officer Ron.
"A-Adam... M-my name i-is Adam L-Lambert," Adam managed to force out with tears streaming down his freckled face. His eyes and nose were red and a little swollen, his entire body trembling in the aftermath of his shock. Officer Ron kind of looked like his father, and Adam began quaking at the realisation.
"How old are you, Adam?"
"E-eleven," Adam whispered.
"I have a son your age... Do you know what happened?"
Even though Adam was pretty certain that he knew what just happened, he needed to hear it from someone else's mouth to confirm it. "No..."
"Well, Adam, I know this is going to be hard for you, but that man over there had killed your parents and brother. You're the... only survivor."
Adam just laid on his bed, abashed. He knew that people had been killed, and the only people in his house that night were his parents, Neil and himself. However, he had hoped against hope that everyone was alright. But everyone besides him was dead. If that was the case, he did not want to live! He sobbed, the cruel twist of fate making his belly churn.
"Mom... Dad... Neil... No!" Adam wailed, causing Officer Ron to pull him into a sympathetic hug.
As Adam sobbed into Officer Ron's shoulder, he thought about all the good times that he and his family had. His heart ached as he whimpered, "I-I'm n-n-never gonna s-see them again, a-am I?" When Officer Ron shook his head sadly, Adam let out a keening wail.
"Hey, we've gotta go. Who's gonna take the kid?" a policewoman directed the question at Officer Ron. He nodded and pointed to himself. The policewoman nodded grimly and called out over her left shoulder as she strode out of the blood-splattered room, "We're leaving in five."
Officer Ron hauled Adam up and led him to the awaiting police car. Adam just followed him without any resistance, with large crocodile tears running down his face. He flinched when he saw the four body bags. He had not noticed anyone clearing the murderer's body. My parents and brother are in there... More tears fell from his eyes and he sniffled, tearing his gaze away from the black bags. As he slid into the backseat of the police car, he was not taking in anything, not really feeling anything either, besides bitter emptiness.
The ten-minute drive to the police station passed by in a blur. When they arrived, Officer Ron escorted Adam to the interrogation room to get his statement. Once he was done, Adam waited... And waited... And waited...
Three hours had passed before Officer Ron found him on a couch in the police station, fast asleep. He woke Adam up and led him to his car. "Where are we, dad? Are we going home?" Adam muttered, exhausted.
"Adam... We're going to my house..." Officer Ron tried to explain. Squinting his eyes blearily, Adam shrugged. His father sounded funny... Whatever. His father's house was his own, too.
Then he remembered, but only very vaguely. After that, he just nodded blankly, unsure of what was going on. It had been almost four hours since he had woken up in this nightmare. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion.
By the time they arrived at Officer Ron's house, the sun was just beginning to rise. It was Saturday, so he did not have to go to school. But he could not hang out with his family any longer, either. That thought made him feel utterly miserable.
Officer Ron ushered Adam into the house, leading him to the guest room. Adam collapsed onto the bed there, passing out from all the emotional stress and exhaustion. His sleep was disturbed by nightmares of blood, decapitated bodies and shrill screams.