It was a bright sunny day with no clouds in the sky as the sun shone brightly giving off just the right amount of warmth. But the morning was not so cheerful for Hannah who reflected back on her birthday last night.

There were so many things that were racing through Hannah's mind, so many doubts as to why her best friend, Emily left her all alone just like that - especially on her birthday. What could be so wrong that she had to go?

All these thoughts were in her head when suddenly she heard her mom calling her and her brother from downstairs. " Hannah! John! Look who's here!"

As the two of them came down, John ran towards the door. It was their Uncle Max and Aunt Petunia.

" Oh my God! Uncle Max! How are you? Come on in." John exclaimed. He was both excited and concerned about him.

Uncle Max's face was still down and exhausted. His eyes were still baggy.

"Uncle Max, feeling better? When did you get discharged?" Hannah asked him motioning them towards the hall.

" He got the discharge yesterday only." Aunt Petunia said on behalf of Uncle Max. " I told him to rest but he was so stubborn to meet you guys. "

" Oh, that's very sweet of you, Max. " Mrs. Jackson said. " I'll bring you guys some hot coffee and some snacks."

" Oh, no coffee for him, Rose. The doctors told him to take precautions regarding his diet. " Aunt Petunia said.

" But what was the problem? Did the reports showed anything?" John asked as Tom came running towards Uncle Max, his claws making the sound on the wooden floor as he ran.

" No, and that's very strange," Uncle Max said petting Tom who was sitting on his lap. " Even the doctors were confused as to what caused such a thing. The reports were all negative."

"Well then, we have to take precautions though. How about some soup?" Mrs. Jackson thought it'd probably be good to have hot soup down his throat. It always works when you're sick.

Uncle Max nodded and smiled.

"I'll come with you." Aunt Petunia said as they both went towards the kitchen.

" So, Uncle Max, are you taking your medicines properly?" John showed his concern.

"Indeed. Even though it feels like it's a waste of money because as you can see I'm fit and fine."

" Yeah, but your appearance says otherwise," Hannah said looking at the condition of his face and weak body.

"Oh, that's because of the hospital." Uncle Max waved his hand as if it was nothing. " You know how I don't like that peculiar hospital smell which will make you sick even if you're not. And then the doctors suggest so many tests, I know they're just doing their job, checking if we're alright, but still listening to all the tests and so many different, strange words from them, it ought to make anyone believe that something's definitely wrong with them."

Uncle Max continued as Hannah and John giggled hearing his opinions about hospitals.

"Anyways, where's David? " Uncle Max looked around the house. " How is his ankle now?"

" Dad's ankle is much better now. The doctors had advised him to carry on with his normal walking and then slowly and gradually told him to run. The X-Rays were all normal, thank God. Mom was the most worried about him all. He's in his office right now. He told us that he had some unfinished heap of file waiting for him. Mom told him to rest, but you know dad, he told us that he's alright."

" Uncle Max, why don't you go and take some rest? You definitely need some!" Hannah pointed out towards his baggy eyes which felt like they were forcefully kept open.

The two of them convinced him to rest for a few hours despite him telling them that he doesn't need any rest as he's fine.

" We'll wake you up when the soup's ready. " Saying this, Hannah went towards the kitchen as John went upstairs with Uncle Max in the guest room. Tom followed Hannah. As Tom was not allowed in the kitchen, he waited outside patiently.

" Mmmm... that smells delicious!" Hannah inhaled the aroma which floated through the air.

" Oh, Hannah, it isn't even ready yet!" Aunt Petunia giggled.

"Still...! Anyway, keep some for me too!" Hannah said and then left the kitchen. When she crossed the kitchen door, Tom got up and followed him waggling his tail.

"What's wrong, Tom?" Hannah asked kneeling down.

*Woof*

Tom began jumping up and down, running in circles.

"Alright. Alright. I got it. Let's go. And, the morning's beautiful too." Whenever Tom did like that, Hannah came to know that it was Tom's way of telling her that he wanted to go out for a walk. " Mom! I'm going for a walk with Tom in the park! " She took the leash from the hook on their mudroom wall, clipped it to Tom's collar and opened the door wide as the two of them headed out.

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"Hannah? Can you wake up your Uncle and take this soup to him?" Mrs. Jackson asked giving her the tray. After a long half an hour to 45 min. walk, the two came back.

Hannah took the tray and began walking towards the guest room as Tom panted and went to his bowl to drink the water.

Hannah knocked twice but no response. She creaked open the door but no sight of her Uncle.

"Uncle Max?" Then she heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom. " Oh, I'm keeping the soup on the table near the bed. Make sure to eat it before it gets cold."

Keeping the tray, she closed the door.

"How's he? Feeling better ?" John asked Hannah as she came downstairs.

Hannah shrugged. " He was in the bathroom. After a while, can you check up on him and make sure he has taken the soup?"

John nodded as Hannah went away towards the kitchen to inform her mom.

The faint sound of the water came from above indicating that he's still in the bathroom.

While waiting near the staircase, he looked at his reflection. He adjusted his hairs, styling them with his hands and then he practiced his kicks. Championships are coming. I'm so ready but so nervous at the same time. But we have prepared a lot and the team had come a long way. I got to keep my headstrong. Harry, I and the team are gonna nail this!

Harry was John's best friend. They both were very close to each other, just like Hannah and Emily, since middle school.

John was practicing his kicks when suddenly, his reflection stopped all at once. John's leg was in mid-air but his reflection's leg was on the ground. John's breath stuck as he stood there frozen unable to think what was happening. And then it struck him that they don't even have a mirror there! So, who was it that John thought to be his reflection all along?

As he stood there, watching himself staring back at him, without any mirror or any shiny surface, he saw himself in front of him - beginning to decay, starting to rot. He stood there in terror as he saw himself melting away in front of his eyes. And then suddenly his melted black body just vanished in thin air and a shadow of someone came into his view.

" John!?" Hannah shook his brother hard seeing him staring into an empty space. " John? Are you even listening? Mom's been calling you for so long!"

John turned towards her sister with a horrifying look on his face.

" Did you see that? " John pointed towards the wall where he saw the shadow.

" Where? There's nothing there! Anyway, mom - "

Hannah stopped as a loud scream came from upstairs.

" Uncle Max! " They both said in unison looking at each other. They ran as fast as they could. Hearing his shrieks, Mrs. Jackson, Aunt Petunia, and Tom came rushing.

They opened the door and then the bathroom door.

Aunt Petunia screamed ear-piercing shrieks.

In front of them, on the bloodied bathroom floor was their Uncle Max - dead.

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The next few days the neighborhood witnessed the cops and investigators in Jackson's house.

Aunt Petunia's condition went from bad to worse. The Jackson family comforted her but still, she got all silent and sad. Who wouldn't be though? The horrendous scene of Uncle Max's body could give anyone a nightmare of their lifetime.

Thorough investigations were done but still no clue. No murder weapons. No fingerprints. After many days were passed but still, the cops didn't find anything, for the time being, they closed the case telling that it was probably a murderer on the loose.

But still, the horrifying mystery and the disturbing scene of Uncle Max's death kept haunting the family for days.

Later that night, John closed his eyes but was unable to sleep.

He was in the guestroom, where Uncle Max was there. He opened the bathroom door but the dead body wasn't there - only the bloodied water and floor. He didn't know what he was doing there. He then started to go further inside. Even though he did not want to, his legs were not coordinating with his mind. He was not knowing why he was going away from the door and towards the bathtub when he should be running away, away from the place. He could only see blood. Everywhere. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon something which caused him to stop in his tracks. He felt paralyzed as he saw something written in blood on the bathroom wall tiles -

'You All Will Die'