"Mom! Mom!"
"Yes, sweetheart… what is it?" my mother answered gently.
"Are there monsters in the zoo? There are, right?!"
She chuckled and ruffled my hair. My dad, still focused on driving, let out a loud laugh.
"There are no monsters in the zoo, Kiki. There are no monsters in this world," Dad said.
"I was asking Mom, not you!"
Dad only laughed even harder.
But suddenly, the laughter stopped— the ground trembled.
The faint vibration grew into a heavy jolt. Horns blared, people screamed, brakes screeched. Chaos swallowed the road in seconds.
"Hold on!" Dad shouted.
SCREECH!!
CRASH!!
The car slammed into something and lurched violently. My body jerked forward.
"Ugh… i-is everyone okay?"
"Kiki and I are fine, honey. What about you?"
"I'm… okay. Just scratched."
The ground shook again—stronger this time. From the widening cracks in the asphalt, something shifted toward us.
"Honey! Protect Kiki!"
My mother wrapped her arms tightly around me. Her breath trembled.
BOOM!!
Something struck the car. We were thrown aside and rolled over.
"M-Mom… Dad…"
My mother lay weakly beside me.
"Kiki! Cover your ears!"
BANG! CRASH!
Dad shot the window open.
"Get out, Kiki! Find a place to hide!"
"B-but what about you and Mom?"
"We'll follow! Go!"
With shaking legs, I crawled out. Tears streamed down my face. And the moment I stood up, I saw it.
Dad… that monster…
It was real.