Sirens Before Night Falls

The loud call of hope rang throughout half of the world. The darkness that enveloped the city faded as people started to fill the streets again. The horrors of the fears of the previous night was nothing but a memory just like any other day.

A world where the night is feared and the day is celebrated. A world where the sound of sirens is filled with both dread and relief. A world where the night is plagued with creatures that eat human guts and people in gray cloak battle the monsters to protect the declining population of humans.

A world with Stained Souls.

Devin awoke from his sleep, curling himself to the thick layers of his sheets. On a cold autumn night, he covered himself with a stack of blanket. Fate made it sure that Devin could not afford a heater.

He wrestled his way to the side of his bed where he gazed at the time.

"It's already quarter till 8," Devin said to himself after seeing the red numbers on his bedside table clock. His class is starting soon, but Devin couldn't care less.

His classmates would only bully him anyway.

He always thought that having light, clear and glass skin would let him live normally. When he was a kid, he was always mistaken for a doll because of his looks. As he grew older, his classmates turned agaisnt him because of it.

All his peers, all his friends. After one summer, they all acted like they didn't know Devin.

The people around him always said he was too manly to have such skin. To have such features. They said that he wasn't normal, and that he should just die.

Sipping his lukewarm coffee, Devin ate the egg sandwich that he made himself. He lived alone for as long as he can remember. His parents died when he was only little, so he lived in a foster home where the nuns smoke and the priests swear.

At 15, he got himself out of the foster home and worked part-time to provide for himself and his little cat. After school, he goes to work and comes home until 5 PM. Lucky for Devin, the bakery he works at was only a few blocks away from his tiny apartment. He doesn't have to run – literally – for his life until the sirens start to sound again.

"Where were you?" a voice asked him the moment he turned to a corner of his school.

"I woke up late," Devin simply said.

"Mr. Coltrane was looking for you earlier," his friend said. "But he seemed happy though."

"He's never happy," Devin muttered.

"Maybe he got on a date last night?" Alex joked that earned him an eyeroll from Devin.

"No woman could stand him."

His life wasn't all that bad. Devin had Alex, his only friend. Alex was the most annoying person Devin knew in his lifetime. He was more annoying than most of his bullies. But he's the only person in the school that likes the doll-looking boy.

When Devin got to their school's premises, he was greeted by an angry Mr. Coltrane. He was the bald principal of the posh public-school Devin and Alex goes to. And he also dislikes Devin even more so than his bullies.

Perhaps it was Devin's beauty that made the middle-aged man jealous. He was too pretty to be a human while he suffers a hereditary curse of early baldness. Maybe he was indeed jealous.

But then again, Devin wasn't interested.

"My office. Now," Mr. Coltrane said with his signature high-pitched voice and a quirked eyebrow.

Devin could only nod and follow his professor inside the school and into his office. He didn't miss the stares and smirks of the students in the hallway. They were happy that Devin was in trouble. They now have another piece of gossip to eat for lunch.

"What's wrong, professor?" Devin asked the man. He stood by the door for he wasn't allowed to sit on one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk. He was forbidden to do so.

Even when Devin was tempted to sit on one of those glorified chairs, he never did. The punishment would be doubled when it comes to him. He could only imagine what Mr. Coltrane would do when he finds the boy disobeying his rule.

"You are to be expelled," his professor said with an obvious fake frown. "What a pity."

"But sir, I haven't broken any rules–"

His professor raised his hand to silence the doll-looking boy. Devin was speechless. For the time he spent in this school, he was well behaved. Even when the other students mock, punch, or throw things at him, he didn't fight back. Just why is this happening to him?

Mr. Coltrane handed him a white envelope, "Here are the details of your expulsion. You are to finish your last 3 days of the semester here and after that well, I don't know, work behind the counter for the rest of your life, I guess."

–

"Evil chrome dome goblin!" Alex said in anger after hearing about his friend's expulsion. Devin soothed him by rubbing his back.

"It's okay," Devin said with a grin. His brown locks shined from the rays of sunshine that hit it.

"It's definitely not okay, Devin. Mr. Coltrane is mad, the board is mad, everyone in this school is mad," Alex mumbled with a frown. "I'm still surprised that you can take all this."

Devin shook his head and smiled at his friend. They were sitting on the bench beside their school's large field while they were enjoying their short break. Both boys were ignoring the judging stares of other students that pass by.

Alex pouted and was about to say something when the bell rang. The boys entered their school and went on to their separate ways. The world's classes should end at not later than 2 PM so the student would still have time for leisure after their classes and not get in trouble with the monsters.

After their class, Alex bid farewell to Devin while the latter went to his part-time job. Devin never knew his friend's residence nor his family. The fact that Alex was a good friend was enough for him to trust the raven-haired boy.

–

"Good work today, Devin," Devin's manager praised him. She was an older woman who takes care of Devin after knowing his story. Her soft heart melted even more after hearing the boy's past.

"Thank you, Mrs. Berry," Devin said and bowed. He clocked out of work at the first siren, meaning there are thirty minutes left before nightfall.

His walk home was just like any other. Some people would look at him in awe because of his beauty. The others would give him angry stares out of jealousy. When he turned to a corner, his eyes widened seeing two shadowy creatures beside the garbage bin.

One looked like a bird with a long beak while the other reminded him of a rabbit. Their glowing red eyes are what scared Devin the most. But he knew he shouldn't be scared.

The bird monster's beak was caught in the rabbit monster's claw. The rabbit leaped to the bird's direction, its fangs sunk deep into the bird's neck. The latter whisked its head, making it impossible for the move to recover.

The rabbit ripped the bird's head off, making Devin flinch at the sight. The battle was over in less than a minute. One Stained Soul won over the other.

And even after the battle, Devin was left unnoticed. Unseen.

It was what he called the greatest bad luck in his life. He was able to see Stained Souls even before the sirens before the night falls. His ability almost made him crazy, but he learned to live with it. Perhaps one day it will give him good luck.

When quarter past five came, he got home where he took a bath and ate with his cat, Revelation. He came to Devin's life one day when someone left Revelation in his unit's door. It was a surprise since his apartment complex wasn't an open area.

After dinner, Devin washed the dishes and cleaned after Revelation's litter box. He was tired since there were a lot of people in the bakery today. They were always busy because people were crowding over the doll-looking boy on the counter.

He carried Revelation to his room and finished his homework that he forgot to do. After solving all the rather easy math questions in his homework, his elbow touched the end of his bag, making it fall.

"Dangit!" Devin cursed. A familiar white envelope caught his eye that made him pause. Picking the letter up, he realized it was what Mr. Coltrane gave him earlier. Devin decided to open the message and read it.

'Devin Angelo Lewis,

You hereby end your education at the St. Luke's University and submit yourself to Brightburn Institute. Your credentials shall be submitted by your current school and will only present yourself and the requirements on the other sheet attached to this letter.

Tina Godfrey'

It was then that Devin knew that he wasn't expelled but he was transferred. Mr. Coltrane didn't even bother informing him that. He thought that he was expelled because he did something awful.

Does he hate me that much? He asked himself.

After closing the letter, he went to his bedroom to retire for the day. He was tired from all that's happened today. He needed to rest his eyes and mind.

"Good work today, Devin," he said to himself as he laid on the comforts of his bed. "Good work."

With that, Devin let his tired eyes close shut and let sleep take over his whole body. Little did he know his real-life was only starting.