Clark pov:
The door creaked open, and the sound of Mom and Dad's voices reached my ears. The soft hum of life was returning to the house. I could hear them laughing—Mom's gentle voice, Dad's hearty chuckle.
They were home.
I should've felt relieved. But all I could think was that I had brought the monsters with me. Not physically, no—but they were there. Watching. Always watching.
And there was nothing I could do to stop them.
********
Life back at home felt like a cold splash of water after a long day in the scorching heat. It was sharp and shocking at first, but then it numbed me. The tension, the crawling terror, the constant scanning of every hallway and corner for predators…then it was gone. At least, that's what I told myself.
Here there were no vampires waiting around every corner. No angry wolves whose claws could rip through me in seconds. No suffocating castles where the air smelled like iron and old blood. Just my street, my town, my family. People. Only people.
