Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher (Completed)

Chapter 4

I straightened and ordered my feet to freeze mid step back. My heart pounded double time as every instinct I had screeched at me to run and hide. They really were looking for me, and knew the one they sought was a Disciple. The Lady Cleric's gaze slowly passed over every female face in the group as she replied to Cleric Tu. My stomach clenched and sweat beaded my brow. Did her gaze linger on me? Did she hesitate to move on, or was it my imagination?

I wanted to scream at her that it was an accident. That I had no idea what all the crazy stuff happening around me meant, nor did I want to. I wanted to rewind a day, back to when things were simple. Where my life made sense and where boys spoke and acted normally. Where Clerics were the good guys who protected us from demons and my teachers were not heartless murderers.

The Lady Cleric scanned our faces once more than shook her head once. She left with Tu close behind her, whispering something to him.

What did I do? Surely if they had identified the Disciple in the forest was me, they would have hauled me out the class.

Alex glanced over her shoulder at the retreating Cleric, but was otherwise uninterested. Ro was more on ball, and his eyes narrowed as he watched me. Too messed in the head to try and be subtle, I glared at him, daring him to comment. Well, there was nothing I could do. I'd had enough of being stressed out. Slouching back into my chair, I kicked up a leg on the empty seat opposite and mud fell off my soles.

"Are you even listening to me?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry, what? Oh, yes," I said. "Yes, I do remember."

The Rupture was a global slaughter that had nearly wiped the entire human race of the face of the planet. It had changed everything. Vampires had emerged from the shadows one winter dragging all manner of wicked with them, and in one clean sweep had consumed the earth. Shapeshifters had prowled the streets in daylight. Hunting were-bears, were-lions and were-whatever-the-hell-you-can-think-of had feasted on human flesh. Goblins tore people limb from limb and roasted them in dumpster-sized stew pots. Raped the screaming women, and produced more deformed offspring. Powerful witches cast spells that stopped the hearts of entire cities, made all things in a thousand-mile radius just stop.

Within weeks governments had fallen. Monarchy's had been eliminated, a warped genocide, madness. No one but the crazies who had believed in such things was prepared. They knew how to protect themselves with stakes and silver, hiding places underground. Otherwise only the strong, quick and the smart had survived. The barbaric culling of the human race left us scattered across the world in tiny pockets of civilization. Communities of people who put aside old hates based on colour and religion, and blended together until the human race was a convergence unlike anything ever predicted. We lived in an overcrowded region of land surrounded by electricity, a patch of city untouched by the horror Outside.

At least, that's what the Priests told us in their sermons. Most people alive now-a-days were too young to remember what had happened, and the old ones who had experienced it had died of old age years before. Against all odds endangered humankind had survived and had the Sect to thank. A group of human men and women had erected the Wall, and set the strongest of us as guardians. Determined to keep fighting and to survive at all costs, they selected new protectors from the masses seeking sanctuary and trained them to hunt the monsters that had stolen the planet. Those protectors were the Clerics. They hunted down any demon that dared step on our territory. Of course I remembered the Rupture; it was something I, nor any other being, would ever forget.

Clicking her fingers in front of my face, Alex flicked my nose and I recoiled. She smirked, happy to have broken into my down time. "You wanna end up like the people who lost their lives for nothing?"