Yann suddenly opens his eyes, woken up by a chilling sensation all over his body. The shock left him unable to move, but his heart was still beating at a fast rate, and he could feel his pajamas stuck to his torso by sweat. His breathing was erratic but mostly silent, and his sleeping position on the back made him look like a plank of wood on a carpenter’s desk.

The young boy took deep breaths as he stared at the room’s ceiling. It is still nighttime. This is the room he slept in. It’s darker than usual. The old bed is damaging his back. There is a slight air current coming from somewhere. His body is not restrained in any way. After assessing the situation, Yann could feel his heartbeat and breathing slowly adjusting their paces. Not fully relaxed, he slowly turned his head to the side to check the rest of the room, only for his heart rate to ramp up again.

The smaller bed across the room, lit up by a nearby lamp for children, was loomed over by a tall, slim, unmoving figure draped up in floating clothes. From his position, Yann could not see much of the apparition, let alone its face, but he could recognize it nonetheless, and the thought of being correct made him even more anxious. Slowly getting up from his bed, Yann called out in a weak voice.

“Mom ?”

The figure did not seem to react. Only the wind blowing from the open window responded with a gust. More chills ran across Yann, but instead of paralysis, agitation was overtaking him. He had to move. But he did not fully recover yet. His breathing started to accelerate again. His attempts at moving were too slow and messy. But there was no time to waste.

“Mom ? When did you get here ?”

Yann was now almost up from his bed, but his legs refused to move immediately. He kept looking at the apparition, expecting it to move, fearing its next action.

“Please… Get out of our room.”

As if to answer Yann’s anticipation, the figure slowly got closer to the infant’s bed it was guarding. Thin arms moved from the apparition and, in delicate gestures, reached out to the still sleeping boy inside the bed.

“No… Get away…”

Yann’s legs were still numb. The poor boy could only call out from across the room in a trembling voice, as the figure was now right above the infant. No expression to see. No feelings to percieve. No love to sense. White cold fingers softly caressed the toddler's cheeks, before moving toward the hips for a pick-up motion.

“Get away from my brother !”

Yann suddenly jolts from his bed and recklessly leaps towards the figure. The lamp turned off and left the room in complete darkness.

Soon after, the lamp turns back on again. Yann was resting awkwardly upon the side of the infant’s bed, watching his little brother sound asleep. With no energy left, the big brother stayed in his uncomfortable position, close to his precious sibling. No matter what, he promised. To keep his brother safe from scary monsters. After all, this is what their mother would have wanted.

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WC : 540