Excerpt: Masked

“The source of the recent upswing in the number of unexplainable deaths has been found. Two months ago, a prototype for a war machine was stolen from a laboratory. At the time, it was thought that the machine had, like others of its kind, self-destructed from an extreme overload of its circuitry. However, it has recently come to light that the machine in question was, in fact, stable, and is now being replicated. These copies of the machine, though weaker, are still dangerous. We have been informed that this machine works using physical appearance to injure and/or kill the target. It is recommended that until these machines are collected, you stay inside and take measures to make sure that your face cannot be seen when you do go out.”
A woman turned her television off, eyes wide. She knew she didn’t live in the best part of town, and she knew that a few people in her neighborhood had already been mysteriously injured or killed. Her children may not have been too young to understand danger anymore, but they were still troublemakers. Who knew what consequences their pranks might have?
She rushed outside and collected her children. “I don’t want you four playing outside for a while. I don’t know how long. It could be very dangerous. Do you remember the men with the bad tempers? They might try to hurt you, even worse than they did before. We want you to be safe, Daddy and I. Stay inside, and we’ll all be safe.”