They came in the early morning, dressed in all black. Thinking back, that probably should’ve been my first red flag. The next red flag should’ve been that nobody ever visited our town. Changnyeong was a serene town, really it was. Not too big and not too small, that was my hometown. Everyone was so nice and ready to accept visitors with open arms. We were so excited to get eight newcomers. The week that they stayed was full of jovial festivities to welcome them.

And then it all went to hell.

XxXxXxXx

“Ran! Ran, you have to get up.”

My eyes groggily flickered open to find my older sister staring down at me. It took me a moment, but I finally registered the urgent tone she was using. There was panic in her warm brown eyes.

“Ae-Cha?” My eyebrows furrowed in worry. Her body was tense, posture rigid. She was scared—no—she was terrified. But of what? “Wh—what’s going on, Ae?” I asked, and my voice trembled a bit. She didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled me out of bed with a firm grip on my arm. Once I was standing upright, she placed her hands firmly on my shoulders, causing me to look up at her.

“Ran, you have to listen to me. You have to do this for me.” She said, eyes imploring me to listen and obey. I nodded immediately. I just wanted her to stop being scared. I wanted to chase all that fear away. She took a shaky breath before offering a weak smile to me. “Get under your bed, okay? Get under it and don’t come out no matter what. Understand? Don’t—“ She was cut off by a blood curdling scream.

Mom.

That was my mother.

I watched with wide eyes as Ae-Cha flinched, pain flashing across her face. Before I knew it, I was being spun around and pushed back towards my bed. “Get under the bed, Ran.” She commanded, and I did as she said with terror weighing down on my chest. “Be quiet an