1.3

Ben decided to go to a store and look for a hair dye. When he arrived he was overwhelmed by the seemingly endless amount of different colors. After spending what felt like an eternity to Ben finally decided on a black tone that seemed to match his natural hair. When he left the store, the sky above him was roaring.

When he got home, his mother was sleeping on the couch. He looked at her in sadness. that she of all people had to comfort him yesterday. If he failed to improve she would also have to live on the streets. And this was the last thing he wanted.

When he entered the kitchen to make himself a tea, the lights flickered. If he had paid attention, he would have seen that his shadow didn't move. Almost as if it was too sublime to obey to a mere lightbulb.

"Tomorrow, I have to find a way to get this skull off my arm." After he read the manual and he got ready to dye his hair he heard a dull bang. And then another one. And then another one. "What is that?", he thought while putting his shirt back on. When he ran through the living room to find out what caused the sound. His mother, who probably woke up because of the sound, looked at him with puffy eyes.

"What’s going on?", she asked and yawned. Ben simply turned away and shrugged.

Then there was a loud sound. But it didn't come from the raging weather. No, it came from the door or rather, from the place where the door should be. Ben shivered. Because of the newly formed hole, the room was suddenly a lot colder. Then a creaking sound filled the silent room. Ben squinted his eyes. Though it was hard to see through the darkness someone stood in the doorframe. Slowly the creaking got closer.

When the person got so close to the light that it could be seen Ben's eyes widened with terror. The woman no, calling this a woman would be wrong. The monster in front of him had pale, yellowish skin. The thin black Hair was scruffy and almost reached the ground. But the worst part was the face. The opened mouth where only lonely black tooth remained, the dry lips and the eyes. pitch-black and lifeless they were looking around the room until they stopped on Ben. After a moment of nothing, a scream cut through the silence.

"S-Stay away!", his mother screeched. Hysterically, she grabbed the table lamp and threw it at the monster. The lamp hit the monster in the face and shattered. It wavered for a second but then regained balance and began to move, slowly and with weird screechy noises, towards Ben.

His mother screamed something but Ben didn't hear her. Something about the monster fascinated and captivated him. Deep inside he felt that nothing bad would happen, that there was no reason to fear the monster. When it was about half a meter away from him it stopped and stretched out its scrawny arms. But before the long, untidy nails could touch him he heard a scream. From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother storming towards the monster.

Ben was suddenly taken back. The scene reminded him of an incident when he still lived in a homeless shelter. He was playing on the floor when a man screamed at him that he was making too noisy. The man was part of a group who always came back to the shelter. They always reeked of alcohol and were screaming around. Even though this all happened years ago, Ben still clearly remembered the face of the man. The matted grey beard, the greedy, evil eyes, and the big pierced nose. The image was imprinted in Ben's head. Because his mother told him not to talk to that man, Ben didn't answer or react when the man came screaming towards him. When he reached him and raised his arm Ben saw a movement very similar to the one, he just witnessed. His mother ran in front of him and spread out her arms rebelliously. Ben doesn't remember what happened afterward. He just knew that an ambulance came and picked up his mother. After the incident, they moved into a different shelter and his mother started drinking. Ben never saw the man again.

Back in the present his mother ran into the monster and pushed it away from the side. Both, his mother and the monster, lost their balance and fell to the ground.

The monster jerked and attempted to get up. His mother didn't. It thundered and Ben heard footsteps. Two people, a boy, and a girl ran through the door into the living room. They both wore hooded capes and Ben couldn't see their faces. The girl screamed something, that Ben didn't understand, and threw something at the monster. The monster let out a scream and began to slowly dissolve into nothing in front of Ben's eyes. "What is happening?" Before completely disappearing, the monster whispered one final word, so quietly, it could only be heard by Ben.

"Madam."

Then it was over. The only thing that remained was the smell of burned flesh and a chill, cold atmosphere. The boy ran over to Ben and helped him to stand up.

"Are you alright?", he asked.

"Eh, yeah I'm okay but my mother needs help.", Ben answered dazed.

The boy looked at his mother. Then he turned his face away from Ben. He took a deep breath and said: "I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do for her now."

Ben felt as if someone punched him in the guts. He turned towards his mother. There she lay. Quiet and lifeless. A dark smoke started rising from her. The parts it rose from, slowly started to dissolve into nothing.

"What's happening to her?", he screamed and rushed forward. But before he could reach her, he was stopped by the boy, who grabbed him and pulled him away.

"I'm sorry."

Ben tried to free himself. He screamed, kicked, punched, and bit as hard as he could but he wasn't able to escape the tight grip. And then it was over. The smoke cleared up and gave him a view of an empty floor. She was gone. Now he was all alone.

"No..."

Ben felt himself being let go. He fell to his knees. A drop of water fell to the ground. And another one. More and more tears left his eyes and fell onto the laminated parquet floor. They fell and fell until the girl came over and handed him a handkerchief. Then she got up and turned away. But before she could leave Ben grabbed her arm. He just had to know.

"Please tell me. Why did she die?"

The girl looked away uncomfortably and pushed his hand away.

"I-I'm sorry but I can't tell you that."

Again, Ben grabbed her arm. "Please I have to know. She... she was the only one I had.", he pleaded.

The girl hesitated and looked at the boy. The boy first shook his head but then he saw the skull on his arm. His eyes widened and he slowly nodded.

"Alright, we'll explain it to you. But not here, somewhere else."