I don’t understand what is happening. Everything used to be so peaceful. I didn’t have to worry about anything; I could play with my friends in the soft, white snow while my mommy kept watch, with the other mommies. Then she would take me home and feed me; fish, always fish, not that I’m complaining; I love fish. Occasionally a huge bull would come charging through, crushing everything and everyone in its path, but my mommy would keep me safe, she always kept me safe.

Until ‘they’ came. I don’t know who ‘they’ are, no-one does, not even mommy. They don’t have flippers, they walk on two sticks and wherever they go, they turn the snow red.

I was with my friends when it started; my mommy had gone to get dinner and I was left with my friends by the rocks. We were playing tag – Billy was ‘it’ – when I saw one of ‘them’ climb over the top of a boulder. It was holding something but I don’t know what it was called. It came up behind Billy, I tried to warn him but he didn’t hear me. The next thing I new Billy squealed and the ground around him turned red. One of the monsters was standing above him and the same red liquid that was all over Billy was dripping from whatever it was he was holding. I tried to get Billy to run but he seemed to be ignoring me.

More monsters started appearing so I had to leave Billy. We didn’t know what was going on but we knew we had to run, my mommy had told me stories of monsters that killed babies whenever they got the chance, I always thought she was just telling me that, so that I wouldn’t go off on my own. But I forgot mommy never lies.

I kept running I had to find my mommy but the further I went, fewer friends followed. I don’t know what happened, I was too scared to look back, until something stopped me, I had to look back then and that’s when I saw it. The white snow we used as a playground was covered in that familiar red and my friends seemed to be asleep all over it, but something was wrong, they were covered in the liquid and it seemed to be coming from them, their heads to be exact. That’s when I noticed, they didn’t look like my friends anymore, I think I must have been seeing things but it was like part of their skulls were missing.

Now I can hear my mommy, finally she found me, now she can keep me safe just like always. She’s calling me.

“JAMIE, JAMIE”

The monster’s raising its arms, still holding that strange item. I’m scared, I don’t know why, but something is telling me that I should be. I try to run one last time but before I can go I hear an almighty CRACK. My head hurts, I don’t understand. I can’t see properly, everything is fuzzy and red, I feel cold but something warm is running down my face. I can hear my mommy screaming and something is laughing. I open my eyes one last time and try to look around. Everything is red. I can see my mommy. She’s crying; I didn’t know seals could cry. I don’t know what’s wrong. I want to comfort her but before I can get even a centimeter closer the world goes silent and I’m plunged into darkness.

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