PROLOGUE
A/N: Hello, readers! My name is AProudMalaysian. This is my first fanfiction yet so yeah, there will be some...errors in my writing. That's why I need a feedback from you guys. I want to improve this story and make sure that I will stay interested in this story. Enjoy!
Chapter 0
Run
He looked back, and sees nothing, so he continued to run. Sweat dropping from his head, his breath panting weak. But he cannot stop there. He just can't.
He reached his car, and opened the door in panic. He starts the engine multiple time until it works and pushed the fuel handle as hard as possible and drive away. The thing that made him scared still resonates in him, giving him a sense of extreme terror.
He looked back. With nothing to be there, he kept driving and never turned back. He thought he is safe, but a moment of joy blinded him from the figure that leaped in front of his car. He screamed like a madman and steers his car to throw it away before the car hit the sidebar and crashed. By a flicker of a second, the scream that follows disappeared and replaced by the silence of the night.
It's a quiet night for District 0, the furthest district in the city of Mitakihara. At a dark alley of the gloomy area, a purple-haired girl makes way her on the street,carrying a bag while talking to someone on the phone.
" Yes, yes. I am at the area. Don't be that surprised." she said, confirming something to someone on the other side of the line.
" What?! Are you deaf?! Haven't I told you not to go there again?!" shouted the other side, making her distant her phone away from her ears.
" Oh come on, Yuuki. It'll be a short walk, okay? I promise." she excused herself.
" No. " she said. " Even if it's a short walk, I won't allow it! Didn't I told you they're coming here tonight? We're waiting for you! "
" Well, the fact is, the class ended later than expected…" she scratched her head, trying to explain her excuse, " The teacher is sick, so I have to take over class. I'm pretty exhausted right now. Besides, I already have an appointment with a certain friend, and I thought it will take a long time, sooooo….."
" So you're not coming? "
" At this point, yeah." she said.
Yuuki is having none of it and sighed, " You don't need to lie for that." She continued, " That's not an excuse, sis. Please, I've heard some very bad rumors around the the area recently. I don't want anything bad happen to you."
She can sense her worriness. " I know. " she said, now becoming more serious, " The dissappearance cases. But don't worry. I can protect myself and you know that. Black belt in judo, remember? Can you atleast have a little faith in your big sister, please? " she begged, assuring Yuuki of her safety.
" But...but…." her frustration started to bottle up before letting out a resigned nod, " I don't want to watch Kaiyumi's picks." Sis laughed at the insistence. Yuuki then said, " Fine. But come home quickly, okay? I'll sleep first."
" Now that's the good sister I know."
" Can please shut up about that? " Yuuki asked, her voice deepens. " Nope. " She cheerily declined. " Whatever, bye. " and with that, she closed her phone.
Chihiro releases a small sigh of relief as she slips back her phone onto her pocket. Sorry, she thought, I can't tell you yet. Not now. She shook her head in dissappointment and resumed her walk around the district.
She took her breath deeply and looked around, appreciating the dark atmosphere of the surroundings. For her it's a nice place for her to relax her mind. Sure, it looks totally weird for a teen to like this place, she enjoys being alone here. Apart from the occasional violence and some shady business on some corners, the puzzling streets and creepy vibes of this failed development area always gives her an adrenaline rush, like one of the American horror movies she used to watch. A masked serial killer would've made it more interesting. At last, she liked 's why she took a longer route than the shortcut to her house.
Ahhh….let's see this one will turn out next..
" Whatever, bye. "
Yuuki Asabe closes her phone clearly disappointed with her sister. She turned to the living room at the sofa. " She isn't coming ". she announced. Three figures raised from the sofa.
" Great! So we don't have to wait for her then? " the first figure, Kaiyumi Takahashi, asked in anticipation. Yuuki nodded. " Yes! " she extended her hands upwards, excited. " Hey, since she isn't here, can we all agree on Armageddon? " suggested Shinji Hanekawa, sitting bored in the middle. Yuuki, now adjusting the TV set, looks back at him with interested eyes, " Armageddon? Woah, that sure is a good idea, man. Satoru, what do you think? "
Satoru Togashi, who has since arrived reading a novel, lowers her book and looked at Yuuki. She said, " I wouldn't bother some movies. I'll enjoy anything you choose." " Wonderful. ", Yuuki muttered. She moves towards the sofa, with the remote on her hand. Once she sat with her friends, she pressed the button and the movie starts.
" Yuuki ?"
" Hmmmm? " Yuuki responded, eyes still on the screen. Kaiyumi felt a little curious, so she asked, " Do you ask her why she'll be late? " Yuuki doesn't immediately answer, which attracts Shinji, " Chihiro always here for the weekly stay. Where is she? "
" Oh, yeah. Of course. She said she wants to meet a friend. "
" Who?
" Ummm…..aha! " she remembers back her talk with her sister. " Akemi Homura!.. I guess.. ". In an instant of the name, all three was shocked into asking.
It was a pretty long night after that.
She has talked to her about the secret thing they shared. It ends in the same way over the past month : a standstill. She didn't want to agree to anything she offers, and in the same way, she didn't accept anything she said. It hurts her brain just by thinking about it.
After a while, as she walked down the streets, she noticed something unusual with the lights. It starts to flicker violently before it returned to normal.
The hell is that? She wandered, nervous and curious with the phenomenon. The lights around here has never been fully maintained so it is normal to have some problems. But to have it flickers like some kid is playing with the switches…..it's not normal. She continued walking with a profound sense of worrieness until she reaches a junction. She hesitated, and peeks left and right to sense anything suspicious, then decided to take left. At a faster pace, she moved as she cancelled her daily walk and went head straight to the train station, instead.
SWOOOSSHHH!
She stopped on her track and turn back quickly, scared and shouted, " Who's there?! ". In the glint of an eye, she can see something very fast passed behind her. She looks back for whatever that is, but there's nothing. She now has become more scared than she has ever been before. She starts moving fast and watch out the surroundings for spotting whoever or whatever watching her. She took a deep breath and thought. This is no good. The lights can't be a coincidence. There's no miasma here so I'm not hallucinating. What is that? And why is it on me?, she thought deeply, confused and thoroughly scared.
Just when her instinct screams danger at her, the lights starts to flicker like mad, terrifying her to the guts. She decided to curse it, and ran, escaping the street. She don't understand why, she ever felt this before. A loud screech stopped her movement. Looking at her front, that's when she saw it.
Stood menacingly in front, a silhouette of a being. Its pale, skinny body with its long, thin limbs with sharp fingers made her believe it is an alien. What terrified her at this thing are its growling and its unseeable face.
She retracted a few steps back, gasping in horror of that thing. For a few moments, as it coming forward, she only stood there, covered in dread that's pulverized her thought. Its face opened, revealing five petal-shaped skin with many sharp teeth inside it. And then, it let out an unholy shriek.
GGGRRRAAAAHHH!
The intensity of the noise snapped her back. Oh God. She dashed away from the street as fast as possible as the monster chased her at an incredible speed. She took advantage over the puzzling road of the area and took multiple turns. But when she looked back, she saw the monster is nearing. She frantically cursed and picked something from her trousers. It's a gun. She turned back, aimed it at its center, and fired three shots at it.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Despite the shots hit right at it, it didn't gave a single effect to the monster. Instead, it felt like it makes it even more angrier.
GRRRAAAAAHHHH!
She continued running and and started to feel tired from the chase. But she knows she couldn't stop. She tried to think anymore ideas before she saw a dumpster at the back alley at her front.
By instinct, she took a sharp turn, making her last sprint, and jumped straight into the dumpster, closing its lid. She holds her breath and doesn't make any movement until it loses her. She could hear the monster's step nearing her and prayed to God for her safety.
Its growl can be heard passing through her and suddenly, the sound disappeared. Even then, she stayed there, terrified to come out and waited for it to lose her completely.
After a while, she opened the lid a bit, allowing her to perk outside to see if there's any sign of the monster around. She's very relieved to know it's gone.
But, she shouldn't take a risk climbing out. Maybe the monster is still nearby, waiting her. So, she called the police, begging for help. She dialled their number and waited for them. Unfortunately, the only response she gets is static. Dumbfounded, she called them again and again, but nothing comes in.
No way...could it be…., she decided to call her sister. It didn't work. She then called anyone the numbers off. When none of them work, she came to conclusion. The monster did it. It could lock off electronic devices so that nobody can communicate here. Which means…..
It's still here.
She shivered at the thought. If the monster's finding her, then she stood no chance against it. She began to think every single way of escaping it without being noticed. She then opted to risk her life b climbing out of the dumpster and moves quietly to the train station. Before that, she wrote a note and left it with her bag. With extreme precaution, she holds her pistol and take her steps carefully as to not alert the monster lurking around.
She continued her steps until she finally catch a glimpse of the train station. However, she's still on her quiet place, doesn't expecting it to lose her easily. She was just a few streets away from a higher chance of safety when…..
RIIIIINNNNGGGG! RIIIIINNNNGGGG!
WHAT THE…!
" Tch...she still didn't answer."
Yuuki tries to call her sister many times but to no avail. The group has finished watching the movie and heading home for tomorrow's school. Yuuki, who has been pressed to answer questions about Homura, are deeply frustrated by each unanswered calls.
" Relax. Maybe she's still discussing with her. " Kaiyumi assured her, which doesn't helps her anxiety. " It's not that…..I can feel something bad is happening. A feeling. "
" It's good to have that feeling, but I think your sister is fine. " Satoru spoke up. " I know her for a long time, she rarely went into trouble as chaotic as she is. "
Kaiyumi slapped her back, " Oh, don't you worry. Your sister's strong. I'll bet she's any problems with gangsters. ", she said, encouraging her. " Besides, can we continue to talk just how awesome the explosion is?! ", Shinji followed, " Yeah! Just like that. Everything just goes BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! And everything explode! "
" That's what's great about Michael Bay. He was born to be a director. ", Kaiyumi and Shinji said their goodbyes, leaving Yuuki and Satoru. Before she leaves, she said, " Oh, and one thing. Don't doubt her. Always have faith. Always. ", she simply shrugged it off and returned home.
Why wouldn't I ? she smiled to herself.
RIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG! RIIIINNNNGGGG!
SHUT UP! SHUT UPP!
She picked up her phone and realized she set the phone sound on high. Yuuki, incoming call, it read. She quickly turned it down. Knowing it may notices her, she turned her head in anticipation and dread, ready to run in a second. The light starts to flicker and the shriek...it's coming.
Fuck, she last said, ditching her plan and make a run to the station in terror. She's too near to safety. Come on! Come on! , she mentally screamed. However, the screeching is getting close to her by every second.
No!No!NO!NO!...
THOMP!
Something trampled her leg, tumbling her down to the street in the direst moment in her life. " No! Shit! Stand uppppp! ", she cursed repeatedly, panicked as the monster is approaching. She tries to regain her composure, but the sight of the thing directly in front of her ends it all. She gawked in horror by the shadow of it shading the brightening lights.
In stuttered words, she asked, " What the hell are you? "
In a couple of moments, followed by a silenced scream, the light blinked. And in the same place, none of the figures were seen there. Chihiro Asabe, has disappeared into thin air.
A/N : So yeah, this is the end of the first chapter. This is not perfect, but sufficiently enough to make a suspenseful prologue. For those who wants to know the tone of the story, it will be PMMM with Stranger Things undertone. There will be not much action, and most attention will go to the OCs and less pandering on the original characters of Puella Magi. But it's alright. I'll make sure that this story won't bore you out. Until then, assalamualaikum!
