Young Writers Society

Something went flying by Peter.

The only reason it didn't hit was because Haru jerked him closer to her. She watched as acid melted the ground into a steaming liquid - could snakes even do something like that?

Whatever the case was, Haru didn't want to give enough time to find out just what the demon looked like.

She grabbed onto Harper with one hand and Peter with the other, dragging both of them after her as she hurried away from the demon.

"Come on!" she said.

Well. Okay. He had been too hopeful that diplomacy would work, as usual. It wouldn't be the first time. He stumbled back as Haru yanked him backward and ran behind her as she yanked his arm. He doubted sticks would be very useful against a snake with acid venom spit, or whatever the hell that was.

He glanced down at Haru's sword for a second.

"Your sword. Do you know how to use that?"

She faltered for the briefest of moments.

"Yes and no," she said. "I know how to use it, but definitely not well enough to defend you two."

They needed to find some kind of shelter. She had the wisteria in her bag, still, but there was no way to stop and get it out right now. They'd have to keep running and hope for the best.

"Well I do. If you need to, hand it to me," James said, keeping it short as they kept running.

Harper yanked her arm away from Ms. Masked Ninja, and glanced back, trying to get a better look at the demon. Her hand squeezed the pendant. She half-considered summoning Annie.

No, it would take too long. But this new demon was not friendly like Annie was. Well, 'friendly' wasn't a good way to describe her. 'Friendly to Harper' maybe.

"Not super sure that's a good way to fight off a demon," Harper said, grinning from ear to ear despite the danger. It was so exciting!

"You don't understand," she said, directing the comment to Peter - and a little bit to Harper. "There's an art to it. You can mess around with it if you're on your own, but you need to do a fancy moveset that you definitely don't have."

Up ahead, she could just barely make out a building. It looked abandoned, but that was alright. They could use it as a base. There were wisteria trees on all sides. If they just got inside, she could spill the wisteria she had near the front door.

She wouldn't be able to get out, but the demon wouldn't be able to get in.

"We need to go there," she said, pointing ahead at the building.

Harper laughed under her breath. A freaky demon was still a demon, and no one from Annie's realm would hurt one of her followers! Harper would be fine.

For reasons that were entirely for the benefit of the two non-followers, Harper sprinted to the building. She folded down her parasol and went inside.

In the brief moment she was alone, Harper grabbed her pendant and slipped it over her head, tucking it into her pocket. With all this running around, she didn't want the chain to break.

Once they were inside the building, Haru emptied her pack out on the ground. The demon - depending on how smart they were - would probably wait for a minute or two before they realized there was a clear opening into the building. Haru's pack didn't really contain anything you'd expect a traveler to have - it had money, but no food or water. What it did have was a collection of trinkets, including the box she kept the bag of wisteria in.

She grabbed it and rushed back over to the entrance.

Keeping her hands wound up in her sleeves, she opened the box and the bag. The wisteria - a mix of powder and petals at this point - was poured behind the closed door.

Now that the deed was done, Haru sunk to the ground a good distance away from the doorway with a sigh of relief.

And, a second later, realized how hungry she was. That was what she got for all that running and using her blood art. She uncorked the gourd at her side and took one big swig of it.

James took a moment to catch his breath while he watched Haru set up what had to be some spiritual rune or something or other around the door. He assumed it was for protection. A spell, or one of those other magical terms he'd already forgotten.

He took a moment to slip his backpack off onto the floor, taking Haru's lead in assuming they could rest for a moment.

"I'm assuming that thing keeps that thing out and us in?"

Harper was too focused on holding back her giddy laughter - irrational, sure, but that didn't make it go away - to notice the sounds of angry hissing outside. It moved back and forth, then became louder, more enraged. Suddenly, it cut off.

A moment passed.

Harper looked up when the sound vanished, her brow furrowing. Maybe the demon realized who she was.

Click.

The door swung open, a figure silhouetted in the doorway. Once Harper was able to make out the features of the person, her face broke into a grin.

She almost went running toward the figure, but as she wandered inside, Harper paused.

The girl, for the figure was a girl, was staring straight ahead at nothing. Her pupils were like eerie red lanterns lost in a yellowish fog, indistinct in their shape and focused on nothing. Her hair was swampy green, just above shoulder length and lacking in any luster or shine. Like brushed out wool pressed and rubbed in mud and cut grass.

She was a gangly girl, too thin with limbs that looked wrong for her body. They moved oddly when she walked, too smooth, almost mechanical.

"Hi," Harper said.

The girl's eyes fixated on her with the intensity of a thousand suns, "Hello."

Haru opened her mouth to give an answer - corking the gourd - but then the girl stepped right over the wisteria.

If it wasn't for the fact that everything about the girl felt wrong, Haru would have been happy to accept that she was a human. After all, the wisteria was supposed to keep demons in and out. As far as she knew, strength didn't have anything to do with its effectiveness.

But something about those eyes and the way she moved just wasn't right. Haru froze and stiffened. From the grin on her face, it seemed like Harper knew the newcomer.

Heart racing in her chest, Haru grabbed the nichirin sword from her side and held its tip out towards the newcomer.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Well, whatever Haru had set up, it didn't seem to work. The unsettling girl walked over the "barrier" and into the building with no problem.

James really hoped he didn't die here. It wasn't that he had qualms with dying, he just didn't want it to be here of all places, with all these strangers.

"You weren't the one hissing at us outside, were you?" he asked with a tired gaze towards the newcomer.

The girl's eyes shifted to Haru. She didn't acknowledge the sword as she stepped forward, right into the end of the blade. She jumped back with a hiss. A red stain spread on her shirt around the puncture, but she didn't move to stop it.

"Annie!" Harper called, rushing over. She scowled at Haru, "She's blind," she barked, "You don't point weapons at blind people!"

Harper had positioned herself between Haru and Annie, her arms crossed, "Put that down," she demanded, referring to the sword.

Annie stood silently, her eyes sweeping over the place as she turned in a slow circle, coming to a halt as she faced James and tilted her head, "No," she said in answer to his question.

"I didn't know she was blind!" Haru said, waving the tip of her sword in frustration. "It's not like one of you announced it! And she was looking right at you! Sure, she could have heard you speak, but it's not like I just assume people are blind-"

She paused and stared at the tip of her sword.

There was blood on it.

The girl was bleeding.

...And Haru wasn't feeling the least bit hungry.

"And I'm not going to put the sword down!" Haru added. "Because she's not human! If she was, her blood would smell like a feast-"

Haru froze.

...She hadn't just admitted she was a demon, had she?