Little Lester was staring out of the barred window with eyes that had witnessed too much horror, especially for a child like him. It was night, which naturally was the time when madness, fear and violence prevailed, but that night was one of those when it all was worse. He could tell by the way Mother Eleanor had been acting during the day. It was why Lester couldn't sleep and was instead letting his gaze wander around the outside world he could see from the window of his room. The landscape was rather barren and dark, but that was only natural considering that a nest of evil like this orphanage had been built on such cursed land. It basically radiated wicked energy which prevented plants from growing, except for the twisted kind. It was the night of a full moon and so everything Lester could see was basking in the cold light it emitted, creating shadows that wanted to come out and play until morning. A harsh wind was blowing and with it came the unsettling whispers that hold the power to mess with the heads of young ones like Lester. And he listened to these vile words, for there was a possibility that they would help him survive the night. Lester could see a lone raven sitting on a branch of a half-dead tree, defying the cruel and strong wind. And just for a moment, as their gazes met, the little boy felt that there was some creature that shared a connection with him. Maybe the bird was there to pity him. Or maybe it was there to scout and let all of its friends know when Lester's lifeless body would be left outside to rot and they could have a feast. In the end, it didn't really matter.

After a while Lester turned away from the window and started to pace around the room, not because of boredom but because of anticipation; the other children were probably feeling the same. Lester shared the room with a few other orphans, there were six beds in total, but at the moment he was the only one in that room. Maybe others were hiding, maybe they were trying to make Mother Eleanor happy. Lester didn't really care; he had already learned not to care about the other children. The floorboards were creaking and whimpering slightly beneath his light steps as he continued to do his circles around the room and he noted how cold the air felt that night, shivering a little bit. He started to feel the need to wrap the blanket on his bed around him. He made his way to the bed that had been assigned to him and cocooned himself with the blanket, only his face being visible. Sitting alone in the room, Lester began to count the stains of the filthy wallpapers that surrounded him. He had done it many times before, but it was one of the few things that occupied his mind for a little while. He was just waiting after all, there was no way he should fall asleep.

Lester wasn't sure how much time had passed when he heard running footsteps from the hallway outside of his room. It immediately piqued his interest and he listened carefully. Was it finally the time they had been dreading for all evening? But the footsteps faded away and after that, there was only silence, except for the wind wailing outside. Lester felt tensed up, but started to relax after minutes kept passing. Mother Eleanor wasn't on move just yet, it seemed. But the terror was definitely in the air. He could practically feel the tension of the other children. None of them knew who would live to see tomorrow.

Only a short moment passed when Lester heard a weak knock on the door; it was fearful and insecure. He knew that behind the door was some other child before their timid face even appeared on the crack they uncertainly made. It was another boy, Samuel, who was now peeking into the room, looking extremely nervous.

“I… uh… Mother Eleanor told to come downstairs…” Samuel said weakly. He wasn't the type who could survive in a hellhole like this place for long, even Lester knew that.

So it was time. Lester didn't say anything – he rarely spoke anyway – and he left the comfort of his blanket and headed towards the door. Samuel hurried away, maybe to bring the same message to other children. Lester found himself from a hallway which gave access to the rooms of all the orphans. It was dark, even though there were a few lamps that desperately tried to illuminate the space. Lester turned right, heading to the stairs with a quick pace for he knew that Mother Eleanor wasn't the most patient person in the world. You definitely didn't want to get on her bad side. Lester placed his hand on the smooth wooden handrail as he descended the stairs. He soon noticed a lone person standing in the hall – it was Mother Eleanor – and the creaking sound of the stairs notified her that somebody was coming down. Mother Eleanor watched how Lester descended to the hall, wearing an uncomfortable smile on her face.

She was quite a peculiar looking woman. Mother Eleanor was overweight even though no one had ever seen her eating anything and she was rather short. She had messy black hair and it reminded Lester of the feathers of a raven. Her clothes were always dirty. But it was her face that stirred fear in a lot of the children. There were a few horrible scars that spread across her face, like somebody had tried to slash it off. Her left eye was damaged and had a very unsettling look in it, like she was able to see things no one else could while at the same time it looked blind. Most children had trouble looking at her in the eyes – but not Lester. And in fact, it seemed like Lester was one of her favorites.

Once the boy had managed to descend the stairs all the way down, he noticed that there was no one else in the hall at that moment. It was a little weird, where were all the other children?

“Lester, my little darling”, Mother Eleanor rasped out; she even sounded like a raven. “Mommy has been waiting for you!”

She stepped towards the silent boy and patted him to the shoulder. There was something she was holding in her hand, Lester noted, and she was offering it to him: it was a knife. Somebody else's alarms would have surely been blaring at that moment, but Lester took the sharp tool without hesitation.

“Good boy”, Mother Eleanor smirked, clearly pleased. She started to pace around the hall while speaking to Lester: “Mommy's been having a real bad day. Would you like to make Mommy happy? All you need to do is bring Mommy a heart. Can you do that, sweetie?”

She nailed her gaze at Lester and there was a disturbed look in her eyes. Though Lester didn't even notice such a thing, he was too young to understand. The boy simply nodded at her, which satisfied Mother Eleanor. At that moment, Lester understood exactly what he had to do and also, where the other orphans were. It was either kill or be killed. Weakest ones were hiding and those that wanted to please Mother Eleanor – like Lester – were the ones who had the role of a hunter.

Mother Eleanor was smiling one of her ugliest smiles with her rotten teeth and patted the boy to the cheek. “Now, let me see your smile! Smile and bring me that heart!”

Lester did as was told. Even though he lived in a twisted world, he still had a smile that could be considered as sweet and innocent by an outsider's standards. He was still so young that he had some childish innocence left in him, but he was slowly growing into a horrible monster. This night would only prove it. Lester left Mother Eleanor and disappeared to the shadows, smiling as joyfully as if he was just about to go fly a kite. But he would wander around the first floor of the orphanage as ruthlessly as a hunting wolf. Now, where were all the rabbits?

At first, he thought about Samuel. But he decided that he would leave him be, it wouldn't be fair to go after him since he had been the messenger for that night. No, he needed someone a little bit more… challenging to find. Mother Eleanor would be more pleased. Lester decided to check different rooms systematically and so he made his way to the dining hall. There weren't really many hiding spots, but he wanted to investigate it anyway. He pushed open the badly worn double doors that led to the spacious room and just as he had expected, he didn't see anybody. All the long tables and benches were standing still and were just as uncomfortable as ever; it wasn't uncommon to get splinters from them. The dining hall was eerily quiet now that it wasn't filled with the noise of cutleries clinking against the plates. Only Lester's own soft steps could be heard. There were a couple of decorative cabinets standing against one of the walls, their upper shelves showing some beautiful ornamental items that people could admire through the glass. Lester remembered hearing a story about some child who had tried to steal one of those treasures and their fingers were chopped off and fed to them as a punishment. Nobody had tried the same after that. Though most orphans wouldn't dare to try anything that would anger Mother Eleanor in some way, it was common sense.

Lester quickly checked the lower parts of the cabinets as some smaller children could fit in behind those doors. But he soon discovered that there was no one. That was about all the possible hiding places there could be in the dining hall, so Lester had to move to another room. He glanced at the door of the kitchen, but he knew without trying the door that it was locked; children weren't allowed to go there at night. He left the dining hall behind, closing its doors behind him and that way they would remain until breakfast. His next destination was the lounge which was one of the most favorite rooms for the children, perhaps because in there, they could always pretend to be, even if for a short moment, just regular children. Even Lester enjoyed spending his time there. It was a little safe haven in the middle of a hellhole. It wasn't located far away from the dining hall, so Lester reached it soon enough and he wasn't surprised to see that the place seemed empty.

The lounge was probably the most well-kept place in the orphanage. It was tidy, the furniture was actually in a good condition, the stacks of books in the bookcase were neatly organized and there were toys lying around as a sign that children lived there. It could be a place that Mother Eleanor would show to outsiders with pride as it gave an illusion of a happy environment for children – but there never were visitors, for the orphanage was located in a remote land, forsaken by god. There was no one who could hear them cry, there was no one who cared. But at the lounge, they could have a moment of peace in an otherwise chaotic life. Lester had turned on the dim light and it barely aided him as he went around the room checking if anybody was hiding there. He looked under the sofa, inside cabinets, opened a crate full of toys and fumbled around to see if someone was there under them, checked behind a counter and took a look at few secret spots he knew, such as a small space behind a grandfather clock which he pushed away, only to find an empty hole. He pushed it back to its place and stopped to think for a while.

Perhaps the lounge was too obvious. But maybe something obvious was a place where he should go. He didn't really put much trust in the intelligence of his peers. They were just frightened children after all. They could be somewhere that was filled with hiding spots, hoping that they wouldn't be found because there were too many places to check. Lester figured out that he should go to the basement. It was a dark place cramped with various things, so it was possible that somebody had taken desperate refuge from there. He walked out of the peaceful lounge, switching off the lights as he left it behind and took a next step in this twisted play of hide and seek.

He walked through the dark hallways, grasping the knife in his hand like it was his friend, keeping a watchful eye on the shadows, not wanting to miss even the slightest movement. He moved silently, his steps so soft they didn't make any noise, but he kept his ears open, trying to pick up even the faintest gasp of breath. He heard nothing, saw nothing as he continued to proceed towards the basement. He found the stairs soon enough and began his descent to the lowest part of the orphanage, to the depths of unnatural darkness. In a way, it was like going down to the underworld. And Lester was the reaper.

The wooden stairs turned to cold stone; it was one of the oddities the place held. The air was stagnant and musty, but Lester could also sense something else too: it was fear. When you have been living in a place like this you start to distinguish and become familiar with what the terror smells like. Weird clunking noise could be heard from the pipes, it was hollow and sounded like death's knocking. The basement was pitch-black, but Lester found a light switch after a short moment of searching, and soon the place was bathing in a revealing light – it somehow felt like the brightest light in the whole orphanage, but maybe it was the fact that the light can shine at its brightest in the most dark places. Lester made his way all the way down and started to look around the basement. He could almost sense the fast heartbeat of a child. There definitely was someone here.

Lester moved like a shadow: soundlessly, threateningly and keenly. Since a lot of different things had been stored in the basement, there were many potential places to hide, but Lester was eagerly going around and checking all the dark corners. He was swift but thorough with his search, his senses sharp, and he was aware that by turning the lights on he had sent a sign that his presence was there. But let them have fear. He walked among the many stacks of boxes, zigzagged between various objects that had been abandoned to the basement and bypassed some rusty devices, not knowing what they were or what their purpose was. He infiltrated deeper and deeper into this world that was usually filled with darkness, but he had casted a light he had to use in order to find some poor soul whose light of life he had to extinguish.

They made a fatal mistake. Lester heard how something hard fell on the stone floor, making a loud slamming noise which echoed in the still air of the basement. He immediately turned his face to the direction where the sound had come from and with a quick pace he headed there. He didn't want to give them too much of a head start, it was obvious that they would try to sneak away now that they had foolishly given away their position. Lester raised the hand holding the knife, ready to finally put it in use. He hurried through the cramped space and he actually managed to catch a glimpse of a small figure that moved in between boxes. Lester was small too, it was no problem for him to proceed forward even though there was a lot of junk in his way. The environment was challenging, but this wasn't the first time for Lester to move around it. But maybe, the basement would turn out to be more of a hindrance to his target.

Then they made their one final fatal mistake. The child had run to the far end of the basement, straight into a dead end. They were trapped by a cold stone. The only way out was the direction where they had come from, but before they could use it and desperately get to safety, Lester was already standing there on their way. Now that Lester could have a better look at his target, he noted that it was a boy he knew well. It was Blake, one of the children he shared the room with. Often suffered from nightmares and was very meek and let other children push him around. Always avoided conflicts. But now, he wouldn't have to do that anymore. He could be free of such struggles, forever.

Lester could see pure fear in Blake's eyes, a person couldn't possibly look more terrified than this. But he didn't care. He smiled, just like Mother Eleanor had told him to do, and he slowly walked towards the absolutely horrified boy. Blake attempted one last desperate move and tried to dash around him, but Lester was faster. He managed to grasp Blake's arm with a very tight grip and both boys tumbled down on the floor, Blake on his stomach and Lester fell on his side. Lester was quicker to recover from this and he jumped on the other boy's back and struck the knife at his flesh.

Screams were echoing within the walls of the basement as Lester repeatedly stabbed Blake to his back. The cold, cruel steel would cut his soft flesh and then Lester would pull back and draw the blood out of the wound. Blake struggled, trying to crawl away, but Lester had him pinned on the floor. The boy underneath him continued to scream, praying that somebody would hear and save him, but of course, that's not how things worked in the orphanage. Even if someone could hear him, they wouldn't care. Mercilessly Lester continued to stab him in the back, spilling blood everywhere, it stained his clothes, the floor and some of the nearby objects. Little by little Blake would succumb to his fate, his strength and will to live drained from his body as his blood left his veins. But Lester kept stabbing him, striking the knife at his body over and over again, and eventually Blake's back was all mangled up from this heartless treatment. Long after Blake had taken his last breath, Lester continued to tear his flesh, it felt satisfying to do somehow. He enjoyed the control, the way the sharp and deadly blade cut the weak body and brought forth blood that usually remained hidden within their bodies.

At some point, Lester had finally had enough fun with mutilating the corpse of his roommate. There were blood splatters all over his clothes and some blood droplets were running down by the edge of his knife as he held it in the air. Lester moved away from the body, only to turn it over, for he still had one last task. Once Blake's body was lying on its back, Lester struck his knife at it again, this time to the chest. He repeatedly stabbed the upper body, determinedly trying to infiltrate inside Blake's rib cage. Bit by bit the wound was getting longer and deeper until Lester could finally reach what he was looking for. He cut off the heart from Blake's chest and ripped it out. He held the removed organ in his hands, inspecting it with his gaze. It was his prize. Now he only had to take it to Mother Eleanor. Lester rose to his feet and started to hurry out of the basement, leaving behind Blake's corpse like it was just useless garbage.

Lester climbed the stairs up from the basement and got to the dark hallways. In the dim light, he ran through the orphanage, heading to the hall where he had seen Mother Eleanor the last time. And as he was approaching the place, Mother Eleanor's stout figure was clearly visible, pacing around the hall. Lester slowed down as he was getting near her and he walked into the light of the spacious room and soon Mother Eleanor noticed his arrival. She nailed the unsettling gaze of her eyes to the boy and as she detected the heart he was holding in his tiny hands, she smiled widely, revealing her rotten teeth again.

“Oh, Lester, my darling”, she spoke and stepped closer to the boy, snatching the heart from him. “Excellent work. I knew I could put my faith in you.” She patted the boy on the shoulder once again. “You'll get a very special surprise tomorrow! How does that make you feel? You know what Mommy wants to see!”

Lester was smiling. An innocent and sweet smile of a child who had just committed a gruesome deed. He knew that Mother Eleanor liked it when he smiled like that. He just wanted to make her happy. And that night, he had succeeded in that, she was pleased with him. Lester had a feeling that he could sleep well now. It was a comforting thought.

The boy headed to the stairs to the upper floor, heading to his room. And he continued to smile. He would always keep smiling for his Mommy.