Chapter 1: Under the Crimson Moon

A crimson moon hung low over the city’s dense skyline nearly filling half the sky.

An old, dark, rust-spotted city train sped through the metropolis under the red moon’s gaze. Inside, passengers in various clothes either read newspapers or dozed under the dim lights.

“Ding! Arriving at Moon Platform Station!”

Lu Xin startled awake from his doze grabbed his bag and followed the surging crowd out of the train car.

He carried his bag up the dirty worn steps across the platform littered with newspapers and emerged onto the city streets. Looking up the glow of neon lights cast a strange multicolored hue on the streets and the people moving through them. But no matter how vibrant the street colors were the red moon overhead remained the underlying color of this world.

The world had been this way ever since the Red Moon Event thirty years ago.

Of course Lu Xin didn’t know any different. He was born after the Red Moon Event; the world had always been like this for him.

He carried his bag through a rain-slicked alleyway and entered a dilapidated old building. The elevator was broken again so he had to take the stairs slowly making his way to apartment 401 on the fourth floor. He took out his keys and opened the heavy door.

The hallway was silent and chilly but inside the apartment felt warm and soft.

In the kitchen Dad was stewing meat. The pressure cooker bubbled releasing steam and the tempting aroma of cooking meat.

Sister was curled up on the sofa clutching snacks watching a very old cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants.

Mom looked elegant and proper wearing a white wool cardigan standing by the window talking on the phone.

“Ninth Brother you’re back!”

Seeing Lu Xin walk in and put down his bag Sister looked up and greeted him with a sweet smile.

“Little Seventeen were you good today? I bought the teddy bear you wanted!”

Lu Xin patted her head and handed her a small brown teddy bear.

“Ah thank you Brother! I love it!”

Sister jumped up happily hugging the bear tightly.

“Back?”

Mom looked up at Lu Xin smiled and nodded slightly. “Sit down and rest a bit dinner will be ready soon!”

Lu Xin nodded and sat down at the dining table.

…

…

Four sets of bowls and chopsticks were already on the table along with a few small dishes of green vegetables. The rice served in the bowls was already a bit cold.

But no one in the family seemed ready to sit down and eat.

Mom continued talking gently on the phone: “Zhang Jie actually what happened today was my fault please don’t be angry. Of course my gray wool sweater is a bit old-fashioned but how can you say it’s not nice?… Yes that’s why I called you… Of course you didn’t say it out loud but I know you thought it…”

“No no please don’t misunderstand… I just wanted to ask you to apologize… You shouldn’t curse it’s so uncivilized…”

The sound of Dad chopping bones grew louder mingling with his indistinct muttering: “Scum trash barging into someone else’s home deserve to die all deserve to die… Damn it eating so much can’t finish chopping can’t cook it clean!”

Meanwhile Sister sat happily cross-legged on the sofa tearing the brown teddy bear apart bit by bit. She pulled with both hands bit with her snow-white fine teeth tearing off the bear’s ears its eyes its arms piece by piece. As she watched the limbs separate from the body an excited and satisfied expression bloomed on her face.

“We’ll have to wait a bit longer for dinner!”

Mom had hung up the phone and said gently “I had a little misunderstanding with Neighbor Zhang Jie. I’m going to apologize to her!”

Saying this she casually took a pair of scissors from the drawer walked out elegantly and closed the door behind her.

…

…

Lu Xin sat quietly at the dining table waiting.

He considered himself lucky. In the chaotic times immediately following the Red Moon Event many people had died creating numerous orphans like him. A large portion of those orphans disappeared after reaching adulthood. But Lu Xin had been adopted by Mom and Dad gaining a warm home an object of envy for countless people.

Of course this family these family members could be a little strange sometimes.

But this family in this dilapidated and dirty little satellite city was still complete.

Mom returned quickly a gratified smile on her face. “Zhang Jie has reconciled with me!”

Lu Xin noticed an inconspicuous fresh bloodstain beneath the collar of her white wool sweater.

The family began to eat.

Sister still held her teddy bear. After tearing it apart she had sewn it back together.

Its body was pieced together crookedly covered in rough stitches but Sister seemed to like it even more than before.

Dad sat at the table opening a bottle of white wine with a label too stained to read. He picked up a chopstickful of vegetables then downed a glass in one gulp. There was no meat on the table. Dad liked chopping bones and stewing meat but he never let anyone eat it or even go near his iron pot. He was still wearing a plastic apron splattered with bloodstains and a few flies buzzed around him.

Police sirens wailed closer outside accompanied by the indistinct clamor of voices.

“Smack!”

Dad suddenly slammed his glass down his bloodshot eyes glaring out the window. “Noisy noisy all they fucking know is how to be noisy! Can’t even let people eat a peaceful meal! Useless police department can’t investigate shit! Useless neighbors always peeking at others!”

“Don’t scare the child!”

Mom picked up a piece of green vegetable eating carefully. Her bright red lips were very striking in the dim light.

Lu Xin remembered she wasn’t wearing lipstick.

“Fuck the child! Deserve to die all deserve to die!”

Dad grew even angrier his fingers gripping the wine bottle so tightly the veins bulged. He cursed “Bitch you deserve to die too!”

“Yes in your eyes everyone deserves to die only you don’t!”

Mom smiled elegantly and calmly. “Because you have to stay behind to collect the corpses right? You love collecting corpses!”

She put down her bowl and chopsticks smiling gently as she looked at Dad. “Because when those people were alive they lived better than you were more capable than you so you especially hate seeing them alive! You like seeing them unable to speak ever again!”

“Shut up! Shut up you hear?”

Dad was indeed provoked by Mother. He violently smashed the wine bottle and lunged grabbing Mom’s throat.

“Gurgle…”

Mom laughed very happily even as her face turned purple from the choking her smile remained elegant. “Use… useless…”

“Smack!”

Dad finally couldn’t hold back and started punching and kicking the impacts shaking the dining room relentlessly.

“Waaah… Dad don’t hit Mom…”

Sister cried out in fear hugging her bear tightly then suddenly her expression changed and she burst into cackling laughter. “Fun fun this is so much fun…”

Laughing loudly she suddenly flipped over and leaped up climbing onto the ceiling like an agile spider. Her feet hooked onto the chandelier somehow securing her body. She twisted her head around to watch the fight below the toy teddy bear dangling from her mouth. Her hands clapped forcefully while whimpering sounds escaped her like laughter like crying. “This is too much fun…”

Dad grew increasingly furious his body seemingly expanding muscles tearing through his shirt revealing a greenish back covered in stiff black hair. His features became distorted and enormous. He swung his fists punching Mom violently again and again. Mom was already beaten black and blue but her voice remained just as elegant: “How nice this impotent rage…”

Lu Xin held his rice bowl sitting beside the overturned dining table slowly eating the grains of rice.

After the Red Moon Event having a warm family is rare…

Although my family members have their little quirks and sometimes they argue and fight it’s still home…

…

…

Outside a room directly facing Lu Xin’s living room window had been set up as a simple workstation.

A short-haired woman in a casual suit jacket was observing Lu Xin’s room through a telescope.

Through the telescope lens one could see Lu Xin eating alone in the empty room sitting on a chair. Although he was the only one sitting there the room seemed to be experiencing an earthquake. Tables and chairs were overturned the chandelier swung continuously and starburst cracks occasionally appeared on the window glass as if something had hit it.

“Observer Subject Thirteen’s telekinetic power has manifested!”

Beside her two young men in neat work attire were busy one rapidly calculating the other recording.

“Does he have recruitment potential?”

“What’s the potential threat level?”

“What are his specific abilities?”

The short-haired woman shook her head. “It’s unclear right now. Unlike other Mental Alters he doesn’t show strong altered forms early on like entering others’ dreams or unintentionally releasing mental plagues. He seems very normal goes to work on time even handles his job well. But his mind occasionally becomes disordered!”

“Sounds like he has potential and could be guided easily!”

Behind them a man with a somewhat stern face asked: “Have you tried sending a Dream Maker into his dreams for assessment?”

“Yes!”

The short-haired woman nodded slightly. “But after that Dream Maker entered his dream they never came out!”