1 - Nakao

There are many things in life that give me joy. A walk along the beach at sunrise, watching the sun rising in the blue horizon. A new year's barbeque with my family, being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Watching my younger siblings grow up into strong, capable people.

Except these are no longer my greatest joys in life.

The beaches have been claimed unsafe, the towns that rest beside them infested with the Demons that have devoured most of humanity and enslaved the rest. I no longer have a family to enjoy a barbeque with – nor meat to cook on a barbeque. And my siblings will never grow past the ages of ten and eight. They will never grow into the strong, capable people I knew they would. In fact, I will never see them again.

The wind rustles my hair, blowing it into my eyes. I sigh, brushing the hair from my face. I need a haircut.

I rise, taking one last look over the edge of the building I am perched on, scanning the dark, empty shops that line the even emptier streets. My skin prickles, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I hate being in town for too long. I've spent at least twenty minutes scoping out the vicinity, making sure the area is safe. I haven't run into too many Demons while I've been here, and even fewer humans – in fact, in the whole three years that I've been living in the Demon Apocalypse, I've only seen a handful of humans. But every time I do see a human, they point a gun in my face and make me give up everything I'm carrying. They then proceed to walk into the area of town I always avoid – the area where you're certain to run into a Demon. And I let them go, without so much as a warning. I hear screams and guns shots then I never see them again. It's better for me that way – sometimes, humans are scarier and more dangerous than the Demons.

I'm currently on two cans of food – baked beans and sliced pears – so I'll need to raid what's left in the food stores. I need a chemist for more medical supplies such as bandages and pills that eases pain. Sleeping pills and purification tablets would be a nice find, too. My water supply is getting lower and lower by the day. I usually rely on the rain to fill my bottles and buckets, but this summer has been drier than past ones. It's like even the weather wants me dead.

I jump down from the rooftop I'm perched on, landing on the one beside it that's slightly closer to the ground. A stack of crates acts as my stairs as I eventually get to the eerie street, dashing across the road to the convenience store with the hole in its front window. I made that hole the first time I came here, after noticing the untouched food in the store. It was like no one had been to this town since the Demon Uprising.

I climb through the hole in the window, slowly, careful not to cut myself on the broken glass shards. I swing my pack around, unzipping it and taking out the torch, turning it on and walking quickly to the canned food section. I scan the cans, grabbing the ones with a longer prescription date. I end up with five cans of peaches, a few cans of apple sauce, and some more beans, baked and refried. I leave the canned food section, noticing the flickering light of my torch. I stop by the batteries section, grabbing a handful of AAA batteries, then walk back out the shop front, through the hole in the window.

My next stop is the chemist, which is a straight shot across the road. I don't need to climb through a hole in the window this time, 'cause when I found the Chemist, the front door was still unlocked. I open the door, hearing that jingle of a bell that sounds every time I walk in. I hate it. It makes unnecessary noise.

I turn my flashlight back on, using up the last of the battery, before changing them. I then proceed to the back counter, where all of the prescription medications are. I jump the low counter, scanning the shelves. I grab the remaining boxes of Temazepam, the best-quality sleeping pills that I've tried so far, as well as some painkillers. After I jump back over the counter, heading towards the section full of bandages, grabbing a handful as I pass, leaving without a second glance, back out the noisy front door, coming to a fast halt outside the shop.

I glance to my right, eyes fixed on the ground. Voices. There are several voices coming from the next street over. They're loud, which means they don't care if they get somebody's attention. Either it's some really careless humans, or … Demons.

My legs won't move. I need to get back up onto the rooftops, away from the streets, away from the town, but my body says otherwise.

My breathing becomes heavier and heavier by the second, any louder and I fear the Demons would hear me. My legs begin to shake and my heart thumps in my chest. I can't. I can't do this, I can't.

The first Demon rounds the corner, a look of surprise rushing to his face. He stops, smiling, the Demons behind him eager to look over his shoulders – to see what has made him stop.

"Looks like we've got a little snack here, ay?" The first Demon says, tilting his head to the side, his deep red eyes seem to be holding me down. His body is huge, muscular, and tall. He could chase me down in mere seconds with legs as powerful as those and crush me instantly with arms as big as his.

"A snack, huh?" A second Demon from behind peeks over his companion's shoulder, a smile bursting to his lips as he lays his eyes on me. "Hmm, but we haven't seen too many humans around here lately, have we? Maybe we should savor him? Make him last a few nights at least."

A third Demon leans against a shop front, folding his arms across his chest. He's smaller than the other two, but there's something about his demeanor that sends chills down my spine. "Make him last? So are you suggesting one of us make him our Eternal? You know that's only something certain Demons can do. And if we fail, we won't be able to eat him at all."

Eternal? Oh shit. No way they're talking about me becoming one of their Eternals? Forced to supply the Demon who's made the contract with blood for forever? I heard it's hell for a human to go through. Eternal giving means eternal pain. And if an 'unsuitable' Demon tries to make a contract, and the human's body rejects them, the human will die instantly and their blood will become poisonous. I need to get out of here as quickly as I can, just in case one of them happen to be compatible with me.

The first Demon takes a step forward. "I think my body will be most compatible with his, don't you? I mean – look at me! How could a human reject this?"

He gestures to his body as the third Demon sighs. "I can't argue with your logic, Az, but how 'bout we first catch the little bastard before he runs away–"

I can only hear the last few words slightly, as I bound away, adrenaline coursing through my body. I dash through the empty streets as quickly as my short legs can take me, my pack full of food weighing me down. I want to throw it off my shoulders and leave it behind if it gives me even the tiniest boost of speed. But my food is too precious to discard so easily.

My feet are starting to ache, sharp pains shooting up my legs with every heavy step I take. Shit, I knew I should have ran more during my free time. And I have a lot of spare time. But hey, if I make it out of this, I promise to start exercising more.

I can't hear the Demons chasing after me, but I'm too scared to look over my shoulder. As my fears of whether they're following me or not start to eat away at me, I hear a laugh and sudden calls from behind me, indicating that they are close behind. I dash into an alleyway that I've had to use on several occasions, that leads to the forest behind the town. Hopefully, the smell of the rest of the forest will mask my scent. If I see a rabbit or small creature, I'll quickly slit it, so its blood will mask my scent even more. But the odds of that happening is slim.

The Demons stop laughing now, instead their cries turn more into pleading. I risk a look over my shoulder, seeing that they have stopped dead, looks of worry cross their faces.

"Hey, kid!" The third Demon shouts at me, his cocky grin from before now completely faded. "Trust me, you don't want to be wondering around in here. There's a mad Demon who own this territory who will be a lot more savage than we are. He'll rip you apart and devour so in such a painful way, even your soul won't make it to the afterlife. I can promise you an easy life if you just come back!"

I don't stop running, and their cries of warning and constant swearing grows softer and softer. I keep running until my legs scream at me to stop, a burning pain shooting up my legs and a stitch forming in my side. I take a small break, falling to the ground and catching my breath. The late afternoon air is cool in my lungs, turning my sweat icy cold. It's nice after being stuck in the sun all day. I stifle a giggle, which quickly turns into a burst of laughter. I was so close to dying today. Who would have know that not one, but three Demons would chase after me. I laugh a little harder as I recall their stern warnings: 'there's a mad Demon who owns this territory who will be a lot more savage than we are'. Ha! You can't fool me. I've lived in this forest for three years. There's no way a savage Demon could be living here without my knowledge. Without me having run into him before.

I rise, brushing dirt from my knees and shifting the pack on my shoulders. Another snort of laughter erupts from my nose before I begin my journey home. Stupid Demons, you can't trick me that easily.

The late afternoon sun shines dimly through the greenery, lighting up my path poorly as I navigate my way through the forest. I've trodden this path before. Often. I would have noticed if there was a Demon roaming around here. But what does surprise me is, even though they failed to trick me, they still didn't chase after me. As if there really was something scary keeping them away. I sigh and smile to myself. Whatever it was that scared them away, thank you. I would have been dead if it weren't for you. If you even exist or not.

A scream is stuck in my throat as a tight tugging at my ankle sweeps me off my feet, turning me upside down. A single bell chimes as I am snatched from the ground. I ascend quickly into the air, swaying back and forth by the rope attached to my right leg. Shit, shit, shit! No fucking way! There's no fucking way my luck is this bad?! I'm stuck in a trap Demons use to trap humans! I've walked this path numerous times before, how could I have not known?!

The sound of leaves rustling and crunching under a foot startles me as steamy tears roll down my cheeks. My blurry, upside-down vision snaps back into focus, as a dark figure steps out from the foliage. A young man around my age, wrapped from neck to toe in a black coat stretches, yawning as if he was just woken from a sleep. He blinks his blood-red eyes several times, adjusting to the light. He looks up at me, a look of disbelief crossing his face.

"I can't believe it," he mumbles, raising a pale hand to his head and brushing back the black hair that falls into his eyes. "I caught one. I actually caught one!"