"Shhh, quiet!"
The eldest boy pressed his fingertips to his lips, then shook his head slightly. The signal for silence was addressed to the youngest boy on the other side. The boy was crouching under the table in the corner of the room.
There was another child who was younger than the boy who had just signaled to be quiet earlier, but he looked a year or two older than the youngest who was now hiding under the table. The child is currently hiding behind a cupboard, and has been there for over an hour.
The atmosphere in the room seemed dark because it was approaching sunset. They are currently hiding in one of the empty apartment rooms. It is located behind the sunset direction so that it is not exposed to sunlight when the afternoon arrives.
The eldest child seemed very calm even though he was just trying to hide his fear. No one saw how his knees trembled as he gasped for breath.
"Jack—" his voice was hoarse, his throat constricting.
Even though it was dim, the light that came in through the slit of the broken window hit a photo hanging on the wall. It is a family photo of the apartment owner: A young man wearing a suit, posing with his wife and child, a little girl wearing a pink fedora. The photo had been taken at last year's summer holiday parade—all of which was clearly visible against the backdrop of the banner where they were standing.
If more light enters, it will be clearly seen that not far from the photo there is a vase filled with synthetic sunflowers that is displayed on a round table with high and curved legs. The room was actually a very messy and dusty room. It hasn't been inhabited for a long time and looks eerie. Everything was scattered on the floor, some of which shattered as if it had been torn apart by a terrible earthquake. The wallpaper was torn with long lines like scratch marks.
"Jack—" the oldest boy called again. This time, his voice was softer, but a bit repressed. The child who was called Jack was the child who was hiding in the closet.
"I'm here—" Jack answered in a very low voice too.
"Come out," said the eldest. He was now crouching behind the wall of the window and trying to look down through one of the broken glass slits.
"Are they gone?" asked Jack.
"I can't be sure, but I don't hear that voice anymore," replied the oldest child.
"Just come out," he ask again, "you too, Thomas. We have to find another hiding place. It's getting late."
Jack came out with a very careful movement. The cupboard door opened little by little. The sound of the hinges creaking but very small because they are pushed very smoothly. When Jack tried to get out, the eldest child immediately approached and immediately held the cupboard door so as not to slam when Jack was through it.
"Careful." Jack put out his right leg first. The soles of his shoes could be heard crushing the shards of the lamp glass in the mouth of the closet door. While busy with Jack, the eldest child didn't notice that his other brother was also trying to get out from under the table. Suddenly there was the sound of something falling.
"Tommy!" the eldest child immediately looked in the direction where his younger brother was hiding.
"What are you doing?!"
"Sorry, I dropped something. My head hit the table," said the boy.
"Shut up," the oldest child caught the voice again.
The voice now sounded very close.
"They're here! Get back into hiding!"
Jack quickly closed the cupboard door. Thomas returned to the corner of the table, leaned closer to the wall, and clasped his knees together. So is the eldest child. It returned to its original place. The nightmare was now in the apartment, moving slowly up the stairs, leaving behind a very strong smell of carrion and they were very thirsty.
