Authors Note: I really hope you enjoy reading this story! Just a disclaimer that this is my first ever time writing something aside from school papers, etc., so feedback on my writing would be greatly appreciated! Again, thanks so much and enjoy!
A life filled with peace and stability was a distant memory, one that she dearly missed. Images of people who once filled her soul with warmth faded and disappeared like water cascading down an endless drain, no way of ever being dredged up to remember what living truly felt like.
The life she had now was a dark abyss shrouded in thick fog. An abyss filled with irrationality and insanity. Fear of death was latched onto her like a tick on a deer, sucking away at any remaining shreds of happiness that were held deep within.
On this night, devoid of moon and stars, however, one thing seemed to be going her way. As she sprinted through the narrow alleyways of the city, feet splashing against the murky puddles scattered across the dark, crackling pavement beneath her. She chased someone who could give her some information that she had desperately tried to attain for many years. Information that could possibly shed light on this foggy and dark life of hers.
5 years earlier
May had just finished her last day of school before summer vacation and looked forward to the exciting days before her. She had just celebrated her fifteenth birthday and was mostly excited because her age meant that her parents would finally allow her to visit the city by herself. She had always been fascinated by everything in the city; the architecture, people, everything was bustling with life and color.
As she was thinking about her newfound freedom and the adventures she could take with it, she looked up and saw one of her friends dashing towards her from the front entrance of the school, a large grin being the focal point of her thin face,
"May! May! I have something to tell you! You're never gonna believe it!" Her friend shouted in delight with a sing-song voice, placing both her hands atop Mays' shoulders.
"Yeah? What is it?" May asked shyly as she scratched her cheek, curiosity getting the better of her.
"I heard from one of my friends in class-B that Daisuke has a big crush on you!~" her friend sang, "And he wants to hang out with you this weekend!"
Upon hearing her friends' news, May's excitement was accompanied by a slight feeling of anxiety. She was never one to know what to do in new social situations and hated feeling awkward in them. She was at a loss for how exactly she should respond.
"Oh…really? That's nice but-" May tried to say but was cut off by her friends' overpowering voice.
"Yeah it is!" Her thin-faced friend squealed, "And guess what? I already talked to him about it for you and he said he'd go to the movies with you on Saturday!"
"Oh. Uh…sure, I'll go. I mean if you've already gone to all the trouble to set it up for me then…why not?" May said, slightly reluctant. Her friend then released her grip on Mays' shoulders as May took a step backward onto the sidewalk in front of the schools' entrance gate.
"Awesome!" Her friend stated as she clapped her hands together and began to turn around, completely oblivious to Mays' reluctance, "I'll go tell him your answer, call me later?"
May gave a nod as her friend completely turned around on her heels and happily skipped away toward the gym where she knew Daisuke would be, ponytail swishing back and forth across her shoulder blades.
May watched for a few seconds before turning around herself and making her way to the small apartment she and her parents called home.
While on her way, she observed as other students and pedestrians made their way to their respective dwellings, talking of the days' activities or what they planned to do over the summer or what they were having for dinner that night. Most conversations she heard were no more than small talk.
Watching others always calmed May, she had found an interest in learning how people communicated ever since she was a small child. She could never truly feel like a part of a group in most situations, always staying on the sidelines and keeping to herself, there was always an air that she didn't fit in, always observing others instead of actually being with them. It always surprised her when she thought about the fact that she actually had friends with her aura of being shy and unfriendly.
Saturday evening soon rolled around and May had felt excitement and anxiety welling up inside of her.
The date was to start at around 6pm that night. May had found some simple joy in finding an outfit to wear and getting dressed up for the occasion. After some thought, she decided on wearing a lavender sundress that had thin straps and flowed down to just above her knees with plain white sandals. She did her light blonde hair in a french braid that ended at the back of her head and tied into a ponytail. She applied a light amount of mascara that made her green eyes pop out from beneath her bangs that were always in need of a trim.
At about quarter to 6, May decided to head out. She grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and her backpack from the floor, only containing her subway pass and a pair of sunglasses; which she wouldn't need, and dashed down the stairs.
"I'm heading out now, Mom!" She called from the front door, unsure as to if her mother had actually heard her or not. She decided it would be okay since her mother knew she would be leaving around this time anyway.
And with that she shut the thin, white door of her apartment and walked toward the subway station, excitement bubbling up as she saw the city skyline off in the distance.
The walk to the station was short, only taking a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of the large building. Throngs of people walked in and out as it was rush-hour. May stopped off to the side and rummaged through her backpack to grab her subway pass.
After a few seconds she took out her pass and made her way into the stream of people, hearing the drabble of everyday conversations and sounds of the screeching trains flow through her ears. She quickly walked up to the gate and slid the pass through the scanner, making her way through the gate as it beeped.
A few short minutes later she was on the platform headed for downtown, where the cinema was located. She suddenly felt even more excitement and anxiety as she realized her date would be starting very soon. As she was collecting her emotions, she looked up across the platform and noticed a man staring at her. She couldn't make out much of his appearance except that he wore a dark green hoodie and a worn out pair of blue jeans, on his feet were a muddy pair of sneakers.
The man gave her a bad feeling in her gut, her subconscious was telling her to forget the whole affair and just go home, but May disregarded it for pre-date jitters because maybe that man was trying to look at something behind her, maybe he needed to see a sign on the wall and she just happened to be standing in front of it. She didn't go see if there really was a sign, she honestly didn't want to know.
A few moments later, the platform was filled with the screeching sounds of the train as it made its way through the dark, concrete tunnel. Upon hearing the loud noises, she made her way closer to the edge, impatience filling her mind as she wanted to get out of the station as soon as possible.
About fifteen minutes later, May stood up from the uncomfortable, plastic seats of the train as it screeched to a stop. A monotonous voice signaled that the stop was for Downtown. Along with a few other people, May glided out of the train and made her way to the escalator just a few feet away.
Her feelings of fear had resided during the time on the train, and completely disappeared as she watched the city rise up in front of her and was lifted into the hustle and bustle of a Saturday night on the town.
The sky was painted with copious amounts of pinks and oranges, a fading blue was coated along the edges of the skyline. May stared in awe at the sight of it. Silhouettes of skyscrapers were plastered in front of the beautiful setting sun, as some lights were beginning to turn on for the night, the city floor was suddenly bathed in a faint yellow glow.
As she snapped out of her daze, May realized that she was a few minutes late and began to sprint towards the cinema only a couple of blocks away.
After a few minutes of running she noticed the lights had grown more distant and only the faint glow of dim streetlights was her guide. She was lost.
I must have missed a turn or something. She thought to herself, gradually slowing to a stop in front of a small, dank alleyway. She realized the place she had now found herself definitely did not look very friendly.
She decided to take out her phone and search the location of the cinema, she obviously could not rely on her own sense of direction.
As she was rummaging through her backpack for a second time that evening, two large hands reached from the dark recesses of the alley and covered her eyes and mouth, only allowing her to let out a muffled scream, too quiet for anyone to hear but her assailant.
Before she could do anything to react, the attacker threw her against the hard and concrete wall of the alley like a rag doll. The impact left her lying on the rough ground while trying to catch her breath, the crash had knocked the wind out of her lungs. After a few moments she felt a surge of adrenaline pump through her veins as she tried to stand up and run away, but as soon as she tried she tumbled back onto the hard pavement. The surge of impact against the wall had broken her leg.
Waves of shock bounced around her head as she looked up into the dim lighting and realized that her attacker was the man from the subway platform. A plain black mask covering only the upper half of his gruesome face as a horrific smile contorted his mouth.
A strange mass began to form from the assailants' shoulder, twisting and turning around itself until it formed a sharp, pulsating blade. May's eyes widened in terror as she made the grave realization that this person was no ordinary attacker, it was a ghoul.
Laughter erupted from the ghouls' mouth as he took a few steps closer to May, who had tried to back away but was constricted by the decrepit crates and concrete walls surrounding her on either side, there was no escape. She was alone, she could see death creeping around the corners of her eyes as she stared up at the man.
As she took what she thought was her last look at the world and her short life, two bright lights swung out from around the alleyway and filled the small space with orange light. The light blinded May and the ghoul, who covered his eyes behind the mask with both hands and crouched to the pavement below.
After her eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of light, May realized that the two lights had come from car headlights.
The car skidded to a stop just a few inches away from her attacker, who had sidestepped quickly just in time before getting hit by the large mass of metal and plastic.
The car was of higher end quality and was pitch black in color, with bright orange headlights shining out in two thick rays. May heard the click sound of the passenger side door as it opened abruptly, revealing a tall man in a gray suit and black leather loafers. An emotionless expression fixed upon his face.
The man walked toward May, he looked and carried himself as though he was the type to be feared. This thought being correct as the ghoul who had previously been seconds away from killing her, sunk back in admission at the sight of the well-dressed man, who looked at him like he was nothing, just a stray piece of trash blown around by the wind.
Her body trembled as the tall man made his way towards her, closer and closer, until he was just a few inches from her small figure that was huddled against the side of the dingy concrete wall. His cheap cologne bombarding her nasal passages and burning her throat.
"A pleasure it is, May Saito. It's such a happy coincidence you stumbled into this part of town. Now our fun can start even sooner." The man sneered, shoving one hand into his suit pocket. A twisted smile had plastered itself onto his face.
May didn't even have enough time to wonder how and why this man knew her full name, something gnawed at the base of her skull, something was even more wrong than she could have ever imagined.
Slowly removing his hand from his coat pocket, the man opened his palm for a mere second to reveal what lied upon it. A small but sharp medicinal needle rested between his thumb and index finger.
The needle disappeared in the mans' rough hands before reappearing at the base of her inner elbow. The man grabbed hold of her arm before she could even react and shoved the small needle into her skin, releasing the contents into her bloodstream. The effects were nearly instantaneous.
May let out a small shriek before slumping to the dark pavement beneath her. The scene in front of her became engulfed in darkness, a darkness she had never experienced before.
A darkness she now wished was death.