Call of Pandemonium (Open Novella Contest)

Order and Chaos

Demons are creatures feared in every culture throughout the world.

They are the deceivers, the ones who lead the world astray. It is said that they were once angels, but they defied their Creator and were cast out of the Heavenly Realm and thrown to the earth below.

To mock them, He tore off their wings and replaced them with the horns and a tail. However, they kept their unearthly beauty.

It helped them weave their way into the hearts of men. Once the humans let them into their hearts, the demons could twist their desires in any way they wanted.

Love turned into hatred, desire turned into obsession, and charity turned into greed. Wherever there is evil, a demon is sure to be whispering in someone's ear. They tell the rich the poor deserve their suffering. They tell the honest that lies do no harm. They tell the brave to stay at home.

They're the whisper in your ears before you turn your back on a friend and the voice that spurs you on right before you kill another person.

Of course, the angels don't do much to stop it. They're too content with sitting in their castles in the sky, pretending they have some sort of virtue that makes them special. Not that it means anything.

They only come down occasionally to deal with the demons and pass judgment on them. Not that they truly care about the world of man. It's a festering wasteland they can barely touch anymore. For the demons, it's a hunting ground. They are the top predator.

So can somebody please explain to me...

Why I feel like I'm the prey?!

"Ahahaha! Come back here so I can cut you to pieces!" The crazy girl shouted at the top of her lungs. "Don't think you can escape."

I was screaming as I hopped from rooftop to rooftop. There was a massive chasm between the two buildings but I effortlessly hopped over it with no problem.

I'm awesome like that, you know?

Not that it helped me much since the person chasing me could fly. She also had a spear in her hands.

The monster appeared in front of me, her deep red eyes tore into my skin. It was clear she wanted me dead, but that crazy smile creeping over her face told me she wanted to drag it out for as long as possible and make it very, very painful too.

"Ooh, you're kind of cute, too bad I'm gonna have to mess up your face!" she shouted. She swung her razor-sharp spear around her shoulder, bringing the edge dangerously close to my cheek.

Like a boss, I swiftly dodged out of the way with unbelievable speed and skill. The second attack was going so slow that I could have dodged it in my sleep. I yawned after she missed horribly.

I had the upper hand in this fight, but I had places to be so I quickly jumped off the roof of the building and landed in an alleyway below.

It didn't hurt at all as my feet hit the pavement.

No one paid any attention to me as I dodged around the street corners. I was another face lost in a marching procession of strangers.

I carefully looked at the sky, there was a flash of something moving between the buildings. She was still hunting me. I needed to get out of here.

Careful to seem like any other part of the crowd, I marched through the streets at an average walking pace, occasionally looking up to see if I was being watched.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see anything following after me. I might have lost her, though I doubted she was ready to give up yet.

Not that it mattered anyway, once I turned that next alleyway I was going to be out of here."Hey, heads up!" A voice shouted, making me freeze. I only had a few seconds to see what was happening.