Demon

2. Normal Life

“Mommy, why are you so sad?” It was my birthday she shouldn't be sad!

“I'm not sweety! What makes you say that?” Couldn't she see it too?

“Because you're all grey, and I can see the sad! Can you not see it mommy?” She looked at me not understanding what I was saying. “ When you're happy you glow like white light. That's my favourite! Do I not glow mommy?”

She got down to eye level with me and I started to smell the worry coming off her. “Do you see everyone like this?” She glanced around the park at the others playing.

“Well, not everyone is happy or sad all the time, and not everyone are normal mommy.”

“What do you mean sweetheart?”  Her voice shook with fear.

“I see people sometimes who feed off other people's sadness and anger. They scare me mommy.” Tears sprung to my eyes. I didn't want mommy to be scared too.

“It's okay sweetheart, if you ever see a person like that you need to tell me or daddy okay. Don't look at them or talk to them ok? Do you understand?”

I nodded my head at her trying to stop crying like a baby, I was five years old now I wasn't a baby! “ But mommy, there's a person like that here.” I pointed towards the back of the playground where there was a clown handing balloons out to my friends. Mommy followed my finger as the clown looked up towards me.

The dream awoke me in sweat, if you could call it a dream. The memory of first realising I was different was saddening, but at the same time I was happy every time I remembered my mother. I found out later when my dad sat me down, what I saw was people's auroras. Dad called me a empathetic, I could see and feel people's emotions.

At thirteen dad started training me to fight. My favourite weapon was the samurai sword. I always felt like I was dancing not fighting with a samurai. There wasn't many ways you could kill the monsters my father hunts but special damascus steel. The steel is distinguished by flowing design, reminiscent of water. Most believe the original method of producing the steel was lost centuries ago, but that's not true, hunters still know. Even the kitchen knives are made of the steel.

At fifteen I loved hunting with my dad, at first I was scared at the types of creatures my father killed but I soon learnt their weaknesses. Dragmon are quick but sensitive to bright light; Roaches are bug like creatures with a thick layer of skin nearly impossible to pierce but aim for their heads and they don't stand a chance!

I stopped at eighteen. I came so close to dieing, I never wanted to hunt again. My dad was down unconscious and an 8 foot slender had his claw embedded in my chest. Slenders are basically how the slender man became legend except they don't wear suits in fact they don't wear anything.Their bodies are like skeletons wearing suits of flesh. They get inside your head and poison your mind.

I don't know how I survived, all I remember was waking up in hospital and swearing I would never hunt again. Seeing Mars by my hospital bed scared and worried for me, I could feel how he did and I never wanted him to feel like that again. My dad had no memory of that night either so to him its was like nothing even happened, just a contract gone wrong.

Steam filled the bathroom as I stepped from the shower, wiping the mirror I stared at my reflection and dark brown eyes stared back, almost black against my pale skin. Subconsciously I reached up and traced the scars on the left side of my chest just over my heart. The claws of the slender went so deep I still hear the cracking of my ribs every time I looked at them.

Dressing in jeans and jumper in headed downstairs to start on breakfast. It was almost the beginning of fall in New York. Not warm enough for a t shirt but still not cold enough to wear a coat. Mars came down as the bacon began to sizzle, he still had a sleepy look on his face and the bruise on his face looked darker today than it did yesterday.

“I told you to put ice on that.”

He just shrugged his shoulders. “I couldn't find any. It's no biggy.”

“You don't look clever you know? How did you manage, your first week as a freshman to get punched by a senior?”

“I might have been flirting a little.”

“With who? His girlfriend?”

“With him!”

“Mars!”

“He was being a dick to this small guy half his size! I only wanted to mess with him a little, and it worked, I got to him good!” He seemed proud with his achievement.

My brother never went into details about his sexuality. He's liked and dated girls before but he's never held back in his opinion on guys either. I've ask straight out if he's bisexual but he's never gave me a straight answer (no pun intended). I'm proud that he’s never tried hiding who he is from me, but I worry about what others' will think. I know better than anyone that being different in high school is not easy.

“Just be careful please. I don't want you coming home beaten and bruised again.” I know I sound more like a mother than a sister but with mom gone and dad being...well dad, I was the one to take responsibility of him.

“Well, you could always show me a few moves, so if something does happen I'll kick their-”

“You’re not kicking anyone!” I cut him off.

“Fine, to better defend myself.” He rephrased himself. I've always tried to keep him away from fighting and dads hunting habits but apart of me felt bad. I always felt safe because I knew how to defend myself but Mars only knows how to throw a punch and not even a good one.

“A little advice then, if you’re gonna kick, aim for the knee. It’s nearly impossible to block a kick to the knee.” It wasn't what he wanted but he seemed a little bit happier with the knowledge.

After breakfast I dropped Mars at school and headed towards downtown to the “Biscuits Café" I work part time at. I like to get a shift in before any of my classes start, rather than work late.

Sophie was already busy making coffees as I came through the back. Relief spread through her panicked state as she saw me.

“Thank god you're in, Anna has come down with a case of ‘I drank too much last night now I can't move- itus’. The girl is a pain in the ass I swear!” The café is small and only need two or three of us in at a time. Its when there's only you in that things get hectic! I knew first hand.

“Sorry, there was road works going on and I got stuck behind a learner.” I got to work taking people's orders while Soph got them ready. It wasn't until sometime later when I was clearing tables that I noticed him or I should say it. I tried to ignore anyone who wasn't quite right. You see everyone has an aura around them, everyone human anyway. Anything that doesn't usually isn't human.

The man sat by the window reading an old copy of Dracula wasn't normal. At least I didn't think so. Something about his aura wasn't right; it kept fading in and out. One second it was there and angry the next there was nothing. “Take a picture it might last longer.” Sophie’s voice brought me out of my dazed thoughts. “Seriously if you don't I will. That man is beautiful.” I hadn't actually looked at him properly, but a thick head of black hair, and a chiseled jaw covered in a well kept thin shadow. He did look like he's just stepped out of a shoot for Armani.

Just then his deep mahogany gaze met mine. I didn't hold it, in fact I made a point to not look in his direction for a whole thirty seconds (I have no self control). When I looked over again the table was empty. Closer look showed me he had left the worn copy of Dracula. A hundred dollar bill bookmarked a page; my eyes were draw to a highlighted quote.

“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”