Demon Soul (1)

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I guess I'd fallen asleep in my truck. When I woke up I was still wrapped in my blanket, the radio blaring some service announcement I didn't care to pay attention to. I shut it off and grabbed for my clothes, pulling my shirt on over my head and shoving my legs in my pants. It was already getting close to sunset, which meant I'd missed dinner and would be left to fend for myself. Not the first time at least.

I made it back into town just as the sky was turning shades of gold and pink. For once in a blue moon, I didn't feel stressed or anxious, even though I'd just found out something I'm sure I shouldn't have known. My mind was all over the place, but I snapped to just in time to see someone crossing the street in front of me. I slammed on the breaks and probably scared them half to death, but in my headlights I could see Ryker holding his arms up to get a good look at me. I honked the horn and watched him jump again as I rolled down the window to lean out and shout at him.

"Hey there mister J-walker!" I laughed, watching him smile. "Where are you headed off to?"

"Home, but I think I could make a detour for you!" He jogged up to the side of my truck and smiled, a thick beanie pulled on over his head and a carhartt coat. "What are you doing out here so late? It's past ten."

"I fell asleep in my truck while it was parked." I chortled. "I don't really want to go home, I'm still pretty ticked at my parents. Want to hop in and screw around for a while."

"What do you mean by screw around?" He raised an eyebrow, and I made a small whistling noise.

"Not that kind." I laughed. "I don't know, I could show you the backroads around here. They'd be pretty good to know if you ever needed to shortcut somewhere."

"Sounds good." He smiled, and was about to hop in when he seemed to remember something. Ryker jogged back over to his car and popped the trunk, pulling a shotgun out of the compartment. He placed it in the back of my truck before hopping in beside me. "Sorry, I don't trust the woods around here. They hide too many woodland critters."

"Well you can add a critter to that list." I snorted. "Any sign of it?"

"None, thank god. I'm hoping that thing learned its lesson and bailed out of town."

"You and me both."

I took off again, driving all the way across town and even past my house. The trees thickened and we entered the Alaskan wilderness. I felt enclosed yet free at the same time, turning the music back on as we drove. My hands tapped the steering wheel to the beat while Ryker stared out the window, his eyes wide as he gazed at the darkening sky. Ribbons of color could be seen weaving their way towards us, and the Aurora could be seen for the first time in what felt like months. The sight had me grinning as we drove.

Eventually we came to a very barren four way stop. I was about to turn to the right when something on the road caught in my headlights. A man was on the ground, lying face down in a pool of his own blood. I honked to see if he'd move, but he didn't.

"Holy shit, Ryker we've got to help him." I said, and he nodded.

"Come on."

We both jumped out of the truck, rushing over to the wounded man. While Ryker leaned down and flipped him onto his back, I began to hear sounds in the trees. They sounded close, but not close enough to see us. I heard a cough and looked to Ryker and the man, actually taking the time to see how bad he was injured. There were what seemed to be knives sticking out of his chest, one having sliced through a green beaded necklace. My thoughts flashed back to the night they found Blake and I remembered an EMT with a blue one.

"Are those..." I knelt down, running my finger over one of the objects. "Ice?"

A loud boom distracted me, as well as a flash of light that followed. I ran back to the truck, listening to Ryker shout at me while I grabbed the shotgun out of the back and run off into the woods. If someone was being hurt, you bet your ass I'm going in there and helping. I moved fast, my feet breaking through bushes and my coat blocking most of the branches that tried to whip me. I stopped suddenly, feeling my head throb with a sharp pain before I reopened my eyes. Everything was in black and white, clearly visible, just without color. Some type of...night vision?

I saw figures move in the bushes. They were wearing night vision goggles from what I could see, so I dropped down out of sight. Each of them were carrying guns, aimed and ready to kill. And finally as I scanned the forest, I laid eyes on their prey: a boy with black hair a pure white eyes. My first thoughts jumped to Ronin, but upon closer inspection, I could see that it wasn't him. I began sneaking my way through the bushes, all the way until I was standing at his side. He was about to say something when I held a finger up to my lips before replacing them to the gun.

"Alpha Three come in, over." Someone's radio burst into static. "Any sign of the Yuki?"

"Rodger, come in Theta Five." Someone responded. "It's stopped moving, we're attempting to locate it and cleanse. Omega One and Beta Six are confirmed deceased, over."

"What are you?" I leaned over, whispering into the boys ear. "Who are they?"

"The same as you." He whispered back. "And they kill people like us."

"Not if I can help it."

I snuck away from his side, over to one of the people. They were all wearing the same black parka and had a green necklace, just like the man who was laying dead on the road. I came up behind one and pumped the shotgun so fast they weren't even able to register the noise before I fired. I dropped to the ground with the body while everyone attempted to figure out what happened.

"Alpha Three, come in!" Someone yelled, and Alpha Three simply twitched. When they approached the scene I popped up from the bushes and pumped the shotgun again, firing and killing another person. Another one of the people saw me and aimed a gun at my head, but the boy jumped in front of me, a pair of icy shields on his arms that caused the bullets to ricochet.

"You're an idiot, you know that?!" He shouted back at me, just as someone grabbed ahold of my arms.

"Let go of me!" I snarled, my voice coming out in an inhuman pitch.

"Nyx!"

My body was gripped with the could touch of a memory. Someone saying that name, someone important, someone that only I knew. Another shriek ripped through my body, and I felt my skin frost over. The adrenaline surged and I grinned, leaping up and throwing the man who had grabbed me over my shoulders. He landed face down on the ground and I shot him from behind, watching the puffs of cold smoke roll off of me while the boy stared.

"Here." I tossed him the gun, whipping around and shoving my hand straight through the goggles of one of these people. I pulled bits of brain matter back out as they fell, my entire hand coated in ice. An idea sparked in my mind, and over the claws I'd grown I formed ones of ice, razor sharp and deadly.

"You're a monster." He grinned. "Nice to see you."

"If I were you buddy, I'd shut up and start shooting."

My voice was altered, like there were two people speaking at once. The unearthly echo sent chills down my spine that made me moan in pleasure. I darted out of the cover of the trees and into the mess of destruction, tearing into the first person I laid my eyes on. They screamed in agony as I shoved my hands into their chest, between each of their ribs, and pulled. Their ribcage came off in one not so clean tug, and I was left to the internal goodies.

I dug out some of their organs, scattering them in the snow around me. Someone shot off a round and it bounced off of my hand, which only angered me further. I lunged at them and dug my now razor sharp teeth into their throat, pulling it out with glee. The sounds of ripping and tearing tissue was a symphony. Someone grabbed my arm though, and I saw the boy, pulling me to my feet.

"We have to go!" He called, and I nodded, speeding after him as we ran.

There was no such things as human limitations now. I was breathing so deeply as I ran that I could taste the blood still on my lips. The boy lead me back towards town, and I felt the claws I'd formed dissipate as we reached the first streetlight. Black strands of hair whipped against my head, just like the first time. I was a whole different person like this, and boy, did it feel good.

We raced up the side of the street in the darkness, all the way until we were on the other side of town. A pair of gates stood before us, familiar, even though I'd never been through them. The boy pushed them open and led me up the driveway of the Lumen estate, all the way to the house. I felt myself pause at its steps, my strength draining from me as I stared at the deep violet paint and charcoal shingles, with windows of stained glass that looked too old to still be intact. The boy must have run into the house before me, because when he came back out wth another person in tow, I toppled to the ground out of exhaustion.