"M-mom... Cedric... he—" Her throat seized. "He's—oh my God—he's dead!"
The scream that ripped outta her mouth was inhuman. Some demonic mix between a sob and a howl, and her mom on the other end? Went dead silent.
Her screaming echoed out the speaker so loud she dropped the phone. Her mom's wails cracked through the air like thunder. Spanish curses and desperate prayers overlapping as if words alone could undo the horror. "Dios mío—mi hijo—qué—NO! NO!" Her grief hit like a fucking tsunami, pouring through the line like it could drown the whole damn world.
But there wasn't time to collapse. She needed help. Real help.
Her hands shook harder now as she dialed 911, and when the dispatcher picked up, she didn't even wait for the whole "What's your emergency?"
"My brother's fucking dead! There's blood—he's—he's just—just his head—!" she sobbed into the phone, sounding half-insane. "There's nothing left of him but his fucking head!"
