High School Demon Master

Homeless and Hungry

                                                                                   Chapter 1

My thick brown bangs hang over my pale face, the rain dampening it making it cling to me. My Evans High uniform blazer clings to my blouse like paper mashie, the once white blouse now covered in mud and transparent. My hands unwrap themselves in my red skirt as I sit on this resting park bench. Damn it I’m cold. I’m hungry and I’m a mess. The letter, that damn letter sits on the bench beside me the water soaking it making the ink run on the page like tears on a cheek.

Dearest daughter, as you know, your mother and I are in debt, we told you it was fine but you’re too smart to believe that… We’ve been evicted, so don’t bother going inside the house, we won’t be there. We’ve escaped this town to start a new life, start everything over, and we don’t need a third mouth to feed. Our deepest apologises.

                                                                                 From,

                                                                                   Stephen and Marcy.

It repeats and repeats in my head. A third mouth to feed? They eat more than I ever have! This is there problem! They are the ones who have the gambling and drinking problems… I try… I’ve tried so hard to look after us all. And now they have left me. Do I cry? Do I wake up? Do I break down?

This isn’t a dream; I’ve pinched myself enough times to know that. I don’t have the energy or want to cry. And I am certainly not going to break down. I’ve never needed them. I don’t need them now either. I can get a job, and sleep at a motel. I’ll be fine. They never looked out for me anyway. Nothing is changing.

It’s dark; I should find somewhere to get out of the rain. At least my parent’s but my items outside in my bags. Smartest thing they’ve done in years. I unlock my fingers around my bags straps and slowly stand up gaining my stance as my body is weary.  My feet sludge around on the wet grass that has turned into muddy mush as I walk along in the rain towards the town.

The town is always nicest in the darkness, the street lights are on, no one is around and the calm silence is nice for window shopping. It’s November, 19th 2013 and today my life is going to change forever, but I can’t tell for sure if it is for good or bad.

I walk down the path of the town until I get to the butchers when something catches my eye. Through the rain I see a light at the butcher’s back door. The light shines towards a silhouette, of what appears to be a dog. No a wolf. It comes forward, closer into the light. I can see it fully now. It’s pure white fur, piercing silver eyes staring into my soul. We stand glaring at each other, the only sound of the rain dropping from the drain pipe. His fur is amazing. I wonder if it will let me get closer…

I slowly step my right foot out further leaning closer to the butcher’s, I extend an arm out to him, his eyes looking from my eyes to my hand, his wild eyes widen as he leaps towards me his mouth opens in mid sprawl and he bares his large white teeth. I move my hand in front of my face and he misses me going for where my hand was. “…” Why my hand?

I leap back but trip on one of the stones behind making me fall to the wet ground. He shakes his fur and walks over to me. I sit there still as can be, one eye shut and the other squinting to see what he is doing. He slowly circles me getting to the side of me that he failed to chomp on. He lowers his head sniffing at my arm. I go to crawl away and my back hurts from the fall. My blazer sleeve goes up my arm revealing my chain with a silver jewel on it and his eyes widen even more. He puts his teeth under the chain and pulls it off my wrist running away past the butcher’s back door and into the bushes behind.

“Hey! Dumb wolf! Come back here!” I say regaining my voice as I stumble to my feet, slipping a bit in the wet puddles around me as I begin running after him. I throw my bags up on my shoulder in a more secure position and run through the bushes and into the forest seeing his paw prints in the muddy banks. Why am I chasing it? Why should I care for this chain? It’s not like it is useful or anything. I should let the dumb animal have it.

It seems I don’t have a choice I feel like my legs are moving at their own will, not mine. I continue running through the darkness of the night my breath heavy and my throat dry from panting. I skid to a halt as I make it throw the forest. A tiled path way is here, weeds and over growing grass is budding in-between the cracks. My eyes follow up the path and to the end where there are steps, old cracked steps up to an arch away with beads on a string around. A shrine?

I regain my breath to a neutral pace and begin walking up the steps. Each step making me want to turn back and go to the motel already. I can feel my heart thud faster and get heavier with each step closer and closer until I reach the top. I stand under the arch staring into the atmosphere.  A shrine is down the path, an old wreck of a shrine, I can nearly see the dust floating around it. The aura around it frightens me. My heart thuds quicker as my feet begin moving on their own towards the shrine door. I look around me knowing I can’t stop my feet from their curiosity. A well is at the side to the shrine and nothing else.

I make my way to the door. Standing in front of it is intimidating enough as it is. I can’t go inside. It doesn’t look safe or sturdy enough to even tap. Great, I’m soaking, I lost one of the only things that look decent on me, I ran away from town and now I’m under an old shrine. I throw my bags down onto the wet tiles and throw my head down into my hands.

I hear something stepping closer but then a sudden jolt, with a leading silence. I slowly lift up my head my brown hair on my face, through the strands I see the wolf, its eyes look irritated as it stands still looking at me intently.  “Hey! Dumb wolf! Give me my chain!” I shout at it as it jolts in shock going to run away but its back paw failing him. I go to run after him and stop in mid leap, making me fall down the shrine wooden step and porch and tumble beside him.

A deep thud seeps through my head as I groan in pain. The only sound of the wolf is his heavy panting. I hoist myself up on the palm of my hands to look at him. His eyes are shut and he mouth open, the chain visible in between his fangs. I hesitate. My body tense in awareness. I reach over his wet fur and to his mouth my hand shaking back and forth as I try to force myself to get the chain.

I slowly enter my hand into his mouth untwining the chain around my wedding finger and pulling away. The white beast’s eyes open full and wide. And I yank it out of his mouth faster falling back at my tug whacking my head against the cold wet ground. He yelps in pain and tumbles to his feet, limping as he leans over my body. I grip the chain tight in my palm closing one eye and the other slightly open seeing my inevitable killer in front of me. His white teeth bore as he lowers his head growling at me.

I crawl into myself holding the chain to my face as I try to hide my face. He lifts up his head then lowering it his mouth widening in the right position to get my arm veins. I scream in fear knowing this is my bitter end. I open my eyes as I hear a voice, a voice inside my head. The jewel on the chain is glowing brighter than anything I’ve ever seen, and the voice is like an echo. Order him, Order him. It repeats as the wolf’s eyes close at the light but continues to try and bite me. What does this voice mean?! In my fear I obey.

“Stop!” I close my eyes tight. The sweat and rain on my head mixed together to be unknown and my body quivering in the cold and my fear. The rain begins to stop ever so slightly. A small pitter patter, falling to my face. I slowly open my eyes. The wolf’s jaw is around my wrist his teeth look ready to bite into it. But it seems he is unable to move. His eyes full and wide in frustration and shock. What just happened?

I pull my wrist out from his jaw and skid backwards to get away; I quickly lift up my hand opening my palm to see the jewel has lost its glow. I look up at the wolf and my eyes widen. In the white furry neck of the beautiful beast there is what looks to be an internal, glowing jewel, the same shape size and colour as mine. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?!?!?!?!