It was almost sunset when Kai was on his way him. He was excited about telling his mother the news. Finally they would be able to leave this hate filled city and start a new life somewhere else. He noticed that the sky was getting dark, like it was going to rain. He decided to take a shortcut through the alley to get home quicker.
While walking through the dark path between houses Kai suddenly felt cold. It was the middle of March, yet the air felt like January. Kai heard something, like a whisper in the chilling breeze.
“Kai…”
He looked over his shoulder. “Who’s there?” There was no answer, only the soft push of wind between the houses. A little frightened, he turned around to leave the alley quicker.
Kai gasped as he saw someone standing directly in front of him. The surprise took him off guard and caused him to fall on his butt. The man has long black hair with a tinge of red that closely resembles the colour of blood. Long sharp bones protrude from each of his fingertips, like claws. His canine teeth are long enough to show past his lips, and his eyes… dear god the eyes, they were the most frightening eyes Kai had ever seen in his life, things not even seen in nightmares. The whites of his eyes are pure black and his pupils are dark yellow. Just the sight of these eyes alone would cause a full-grown man to run in terror, yet Kai could not move. He was frozen in place by fear.
Despite the hair colour, teeth and eyes, the man looked just like Kai. He has the same face, the same hair length, the same body build and he is even wearing the same clothes. It was like Kai was looking into a mirror, and the reflection showed something that was both the same, and completely opposite of what Kai was.
“Who…” Kai tried to form a sentence, but the fear he felt was almost too great for him to move even his lips. “…Who are you?”
The man gave him a bone-chilling smile, showing him all of his razor-sharp teeth. The look in the man’s face was something one would see from a murderous psychopath.
“Mutt!”
The voice tore Kai from his fear struck state and caused him to look over his shoulder. Three men stood a few feet away. One of them held a shovel in his hands. When Kai looked back to the evil man he was gone, as if he had vanished into thin air.
Kai pulled himself up to his feet and faced the new men. “We’ve been lookin’ for ya.”
“Why are you looking for me?” Kai asked.
The men began to approach. The one with the shovel seemed to be the leader. “We’re tired of seein’ ya walk round our city. A demon child like you doesn’t belong here!”
Kai slowly backed away as the men got closer. “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. If it’ll make you feel better, I’m going home right now to talk to my mother about leaving this Kuri City.”
“Yer lies are worthless to us, demon. There’s only one way we can make sure ya won’t be walkin these streets anymore.” The other two men began to crack their knuckles. Knowing what they intended to do Kai ran as fast as he could down the alley to try and get away. The three men chased after him.
Kai went through the alley at a dead run, turning a corner here and there to try and lose his pursuers. Because of his demon lineage Kai can easily run twice as fast as any human being, but little good it did him when he ran into a dead end. The three men caught up in no time. They had him cornered with nowhere to run.
Kai kept his back against the wall. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you, but I will defend myself if I have to.”
One of the men ran up to him. “Shut up, Mutt!” He closed his fist to punch Kai in the face. Kai moved his head out of the way, causing the man to hit the stonewall. He grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it, not to break it but just to put pressure on it. The man yelped in pain. The other man came in to try and help his friend. Kai lightly tossed the first man into the other.
Something made of metal slapped him hard in the face. The man with the shovel had snuck up when Kai wasn’t looking. The impact caused Kai to momentarily lose his senses and fall to the ground.
The other two men grabbed each of Kai’s arms and pinned him against the wall. They each took turns punching him and hitting him with the shovel. For two straight minutes they beat Kai. They didn’t stop even when blood began to gush from his nose and mouth. Kai begged them to stop but the men didn’t listen.
Darkness began to take his vision as the world around him slowly disappeared. The last strike was made as the men released Kai’s arms. He fell to the ground and rolled on his back. The man with the shovel loomed over his body, readying himself for the killing blow.
Kai’s heart was cold. It was a coldness that couldn’t chill the body, but instead freezes the soul. The men’s mouths were moving, but no words came out. Time seemed to stop as the voice from before spoke to him once more.
“You are such a pathetic child. You have much power yet you’re afraid to use it on these weak humans. Maybe a half demon like you does deserve to die.”
“…Help…me…” Each word caused his throat to burn with pain.
“What was that?”
“Please… help me…”
“Why should I help you? What do I get in return?”
Kai coughed to clear his throat of blood. “What… what is it…you want?”
“…Power.”
“I will give you…power. Please… help me.” Kai pleaded.
“You must swear it!”
“…I…swear…” Evil laughter filled every corner of his mind once he spoke the words.
“I will hold you to your word.”
The man brought the shovel done on Kai’s head for the killing strike. It stopped before it hit its target. The man gasped in fear. “What the…?” Kai had grabbed the shovel before it hit his face.
Kai slowly sat up and got to his feet. His head hung loosely on his shoulders, making his hair hide his eyes. He kept a firm grip on the shovel as the man tried to jerk it away. Kai lifted his head. The man gasped when he met Kai’s eyes, outright terror showed in his own.
A dark power coursed through his veins. It was something he had never felt before, and it felt… good. His temperature rose with the desire of one thing, and one thing only.
“…Blood…”
Kai increased the pressure of his grip and easily crushed the shovel. Terrified, the man tried to punch him out of desperation. Kai grabbed the man’s fist and did the same thing he did with the shovel. He screamed as the bones in his hand were crushed to dust. With on strong movement Kai flung the man into a nearby wall. The man smashed into the wall with great force, turning it into rubble. Blood stained the edges of the rock where the wall caved in.
One of the men screamed in pure horror and tried to make a run for it. Kai grabbed the broken shovel and threw it at the man with all his might. The broken wooden edge of the shovel ripped through the man’s back and came out the other side, skewering him to death. He dropped to his knees and fell to the ground, motionless.
Kai turned to the last of his prey. He was cowering against the wall, tears of fear poured from his eyes like small waterfalls. As Kai approached he pleaded, “Please, have mercy!”
Kai grabbed him by the neck and lifted him several feet off the ground. “Sorry, all out of mercy.” Razor sharp claws shot out of the fingertips of his free hand. The claws broke the skin when they came out, causing his fingertips to bleed. He lifted his arm and pointed it to the man’s chest. The man let out one final plea for life before Kai drove his hand into his chest and pulled out his heart.
Kai released the man’s neck causing him to limply fall to the ground. He then dropped the heart and looked at the blood that stain his hand. He happily started licking it clean. The blood was delicious.
“Now you know what it’s like to be a true demon. A true monster.”
Kai’s senses began to come back to normal. It was now that he felt the aching pain in his body from the beating. He also noticed the sharp stinging in his fingertips where the claws had come out. He looked at his blood-drenched hand in horror.
And it began to rain…
