Shin Megami Tensei: Sonata of the Collective

Mall Trip

     I arrived at the mall and got on my bike, locking it up before entering the mall. There were many people inside as expected, so I continued forwards, looking for my friends. I passed by one of the stores to see it was more crowded than usual. It was a small shop that sold self-defense things such as weapons and armor. It seemed like all the rumors were making people nervous. I continued onward and finally saw the two.
    "Hey! We were wondering when you'd finally show up!" Keiji said with a smile. He had straight black hair that nearly reached down to his shoulders, and wore his red and black letterman jacket from school. I met him the same day as Umeko. He was in trouble for cheating on a test. He was never one for breaking rules, being in detention was clearly very uncomfortable for him, but Umeko brought him out of his nervous shell. Umeko held a drink bought at one of the shops and gave a smile as I walked up to them. It was nice to see the two again.
   "So what'd Devland want to show you this time?" Umeko asked me. I paused for a moment before speaking.
    "Nothing much, just some suspicious email that's been going around," I said. Keiji placed his hand on my back.
    "Do you guys wanna go check out the arcade that opened up in here?" He asked. Umeko excitedly agreed. I smiled, and we walked to the arcade. We got there and played games for the next few hours, and soon it got dark and we got bored. The three of us walked out and headed out the back exit.
    "Ah jeez- I didn't realize we were in there for so long," Keiji said, looking up at the full moon. His eyes then suddenly shifted towards the alley near us. There stood a man who slowly shuffled towards us. He looked sickly, and it seemed as if he was under the influence of some sort of drug. He pointed at us.
    "Hey!! You kids! Got any money?" He said to us in a gravelly voice.
    "No, we've spent it all, sorry." I said softly as I tried to leave, but the man's face looked frightening with rage. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. Keiji gasped, and Umeko stepped back. He lunged at me with it but missed. I yelled out and stepped back. The man prepared to stab again, lunging at me once more but I caught his arm. We struggled for a moment but we all heard a noise from the alley behind him. He turned his head, and let out a ghastly scream as some sort of creature shot toward him. The small creature ripped into the man's throat and blood poured all over him. We all screamed as the creature gnawed at the man. I was in shock. Could the things Devland said be true? I reached for my bag when the alley was suddenly lit up with blue and red lights. We all whipped around to see a police car stopped in front of us. Two officers got out.
    "Put your hands in the air!" one of them shouted. Keiji and I swiftly did as he said, Umeko hesitated for a moment.
    "Sir please listen! We were attacked and-" Keiji was interrupted by one of the officers handcuffing him. I looked back and the creature was nowhere to be seen. Soon we were all in the back of the cop car, and on our way to the police station.