Chapter 3: chapter three: Shooting in the neighborhood.

Sofia's pov

There was a shooting in my neighborhood. Leaving two people dead. The image I just saw on the screen made me freeze as I stared at it blankly. The body of a woman was shown, completely naked and her abdomen wide open with no organs in it, indicating that they have been removed.

Realization dawned on me when I thought of my mother, she was all alone in the house. Without a second thought, I put the small bag I was holding across my neck and stamped outside of the bar.

"What happened Sofia, where are you going ? It's raining heavily outside". Alex said behind me but there was no time to stand and answer him. The idea of my mother getting hurt was not a nice one, all this made me not think straight, as I stepped out into the rain.

Standing at the roadside to get a cab, I stopped about three taxis, but none of them halted. Some did not look in my direction. I tried stopping the fourth one, which stood right in front of me. I drifted closer to it and told him where I was headed, he looked at me head down, like I disgusted him, and then sniffed " it's like you are completely unaware of what is happening in that area. I can't go there, it's dangerous " He told me and drove away. I couldn't contain the tears that were now streaming down my face, and at the same time, the rain was washing them away. At this point, I was completely drained in the rain and my teeth were clicking tightly together and shaking vigorously. I stood under the rain with my hands folded across my chest and my body shaking violently from the cold weather, just waiting for a miracle to happen. But it looks like I was going to wait for eternity for that miracle to happen, I did not have that patience.

I sigh in frustration under the heavy downpour and decided to do the only thing that was in my mind; to track. My house was 30 minutes away from where I was standing.

I started with a slow pace but took off on my heels when the rain increased and thunder stroked violently in the sky. I clutch my bag to the side of my body using my left hand as I run off on the watery tarred road.

The rain was so heavy, our house must be soaked down with water as it had a broken roof. My mother was the only thing I could think about.

I couldn't clean up my tears, as the rain watched them down my face.

So focused on my running that I didn't know when I bumped into a stone.

"Gush!" I hissed in pain, I stopped in my tracks to look at my leg. Looking down, the age of the only boots I have was badly damaged and blood oozed out from my toe, there was no time to check it. I have had enough of crying already.

It hurt, I couldn't run anymore so I had to walk like a lame to my house. Luckily I reached home.

****

"Holy mother of God!, Mother!". I gasped in shock, with my hands around my mouth. stumbled backward when I entered my mother's room? to see the figure laying on the bed, if not for the door frame that was behind my back, I would be in the gutter in front of my house. ...

"Mother!" I screamed at the top of my voice, trying to digest the situation in front of me. I tried to let out tears, but it felt like nothing was coming. Jumping across the dead bodies in front of me with a speed that was faster than the fastest car I know, I made my way over to the naked body that was laying on top of the bed.

I was eager to touch the body and at the same time scared to touch it. "No!...no! This is not my mother, tell me this isn't what I'm seeing. Tell me I'm just a hallucinating mother! Who did this to you? who is this heartless human being, how on earth could...could someone be this heartless?". Her lifeless body could not answer my questions, but I needed answers to why all this was happening to me.

Was my entire existence a mistake, ripping me and my parents off our possessions, me being molested by different men over ten years, my father disappearing into thin air and now my mother killed in cool blood, a corpse which I couldn't much recognize as that of my mother?

Her internal organs were all taken out, why and what for?

What did she do to deserve such a brutal murder?.

I was weak, no voice left again for me to shout, no tears for me to cry out, my body became numb, and my strength was all gone, I wish the ground could just open up and swallow me, this was more than I could handle.

I was not wrong when I said this morning that something felt off, but this is not what I meant. Waking up from the ground where I was sitting wallowing in tears, I took slow steps toward the disfigured human in front of me.

I stretched my hands to touch the body, but hell no, I felt nauseated at the sight, her face had terrible cuts on them, and her eyes were bleeding out blood. I looked further down her body, her thoracic cavity was open up, right down to her abdomen, with every organ taken out.

The sight disgusted me.

From fighting, getting fired at my workplace, and then coming back home to a hideous act in front of me.

When I looked closely at the bed, I spotted a piece of paper that caught my attention because I didn't leave any papers while cleaning up my mother's room in the morning, so I had to pick it up in my hands.

"I will come back for your dear".

The words were printed out in black on the paper. Come back for me! Who was after me and my family? They killed my mother and promised to be back for me.

With shaky hands, I looked around the room and that's when I saw three dead bodies on the floor, all masks up and with guns. I remembered jumping over them.

This got me confused, what on earth was going on, if they killed my mother, then who in turn killed them and also left me a note.

I took dangling steps to my mother's closet, I started to rummage it, and that's when I discovered that some of her clothes were gone. The only thing left behind was a small bag hanging in the closet. I grab the bag, and when I search it, I sigh in relief when I notice her gold chain was still inside. At least it was safe.

I felt like there was more to the death of my mother, but I have to leave. I couldn't stay here anymore. It would only hurt me.

I hang the bag over my neck, taking the last servings I have, I dug right inside the bag and zipped it up.

"I'm sorry mother, sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you," I said with my hands over my mouth as I walked backward. I could hear my sobs echoing in the room.

I stumble on something in fright, I look back to see that it was one of the dead bodies on the floor. "Fuckers" I cursed, before getting up from the floor. "MAY YOU ALL ROT IN HELL". I said out in anger.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder from behind before I could make my way out of the door. My heart skipped heavily in my chest and was rising so high. I closed my eyes, turning around slowly to welcome what was to happen to me. Feeling like I was standing right in front of the person, I slowly opened my eyes just to be welcomed by another masked face. My legs felt numb as I slumped to the floor, with my back against one of the dead bodies that were right behind me.

He came closer and I tried crawling back with my hands, but my movements were halted by the body behind me.

I looked up at the man in front of me who was standing all high up and looking at me with downcast eyes, with an evil smirk on his face.

He looked just like the man who had molested me last night.

I could fear the tears burning in my eyes right now. I couldn't hold them back as I let them fall down my cheeks.

Did they come to get me as written on that paper? I cried out even louder when that thought crossed my mind. This was the end for me. Time to say goodbye to my torments.

"Strip off now", that was the next thing I heard, when I looked up at the figure in front of me, there he stood, with his knife and gun pointing directly in my face.