Chapter 8 (Demons - Imagine Dragons)
Some may find this an odd situation, but here I am sitting outside a classroom window, listening to the lesson. I've always loved to learn and Mama Chiru says I'm really smart for my age. I've been doing this for the past year because I don't have the money to go to school. I'm only able to catch bits and pieces of what the lady up front is saying but it's okay. When Mama Chiru comes back, maybe she'll read from one of her books. Sometimes, she'll leave the book with me so I can decipher its many mysteries. The older kids think I should sell the books so I'll have money to eat but there's no way I could do that. My stomach growls. Well, I guess all this thinking has made me hungry. I slip out of the school grounds quietly and skip to the black market. Once I get there, I slow down to a walk and try to blend in with the crowd as I look at all the ingredients.
"How about an electric banana this time?" I mumbled to myself. I quickly grab the ingredient and dash into the alley. I grin at my new accomplishment: stealing. I trot on home to my little tent, eating the electric banana along the way. Ever since the puffer whale incident, I've been able to eat all sorts of black market ingredients, while others die with just one bite. I never really understood this ability. Why is the reaction different with me? What am I? I ponder this until I finally reach my little home. If you can call it that. My joyful face changed to that of utter shock and horror. The tent was completely destroyed. I ran to it and rummaged around, looking for my most valuable possession: Mama Chiru's book. It was nowhere to be found. Then, a couple of kids holding poison potatoes walked by.
"That girl is a fool! Just look at how much we got for that stupid book of hers!" they laughed. I don't know what possessed me to run towards them. I was furious. How could they sell Mama Chiru's book like that?! Here I am standing right in front of them. They seemed to be getting nervous.
"O-Oh. Hi, Hana. W-Wanna eat some of this poison potato we got?" One of them asked.
"Where is the book?" I asked, glaring at them. The oldest of the kids stepped forward, towering over me. He was at least 12.
"We sold it and there's nothing you can do about it," he grinned sinisterly. He took the poison potato and handed it to me. I gave him a questioning look.
"Taste it for me, will you? I want to make sure it's safe to eat," he said. I looked at the potato for a second and hesitantly took a bite. The boy watched me as I swallowed it with no side effects. He snatched it out of my hands and hungrily scarfed it down without giving any to the others. After a couple seconds, he collapsed to the ground, dead. I inched back in fear.
"You freak! How come you're still alive when he just died on the spot?! Stay away from us, you monster!" The others said as they ran away. I inched back in fear, looking at the dead body. Why must we go so far just to get food? I thought. People started to gather around me.
"What have you done?! You monster!" The boy's mother screamed.
"W-Wait! It isn't what it looks like! I promise!" I said, scared by what they'll do to me. All of a sudden, my body began to feel warm and my eyes started to sting.
"You will pay for what you've done, you demon!" Another person yelled. I closed my eyes tight, wishing that someone would save me.
"Did someone say 'demon'? I'll show you a real demon," a voice inside of me scoffed. I opened my eyes and they felt like they were burning. When I finally realized what had happened, I was horrified. Everyone had turned to stone! I ran from the scene back to my ruined tent and huddled underneath it.
"So this is the brat I get? What a wimp!" The voice said. I looked around me.
"Who are you? And where are you?" I asked.
"I'm right next to you," it said. I turned my head to see a strange being. From the waist down, it had the body of a serpent. It had sharp claws and its hair was that of snakes. I felt as though I couldn't move.
"I am known as Medusa," it said, "and I am your Gourmet demon."
"I don't like you," I said plainly.
"Too bad. We're stuck together," she said. I thought for a minute.
"How did those people turn to stone?" I asked.
"It's one of my abilities as your demon. My eyes can turn people to stone. I can also adapt to the poison in your body," she said.
"Poison? What do you mean?" I asked.
"I recall that you ate a poisoned puffer whale, thus summoning me. The poison is still in your system and has changed your insides drastically," she explained. I looked down at my hands. They started to change to a dark purple-and-white splotched color. My eyes widened in surprise.
"W-What's happening to me?" I asked shakily. The demon grinned.
"It seems that the poison has finally reached your skin cells. You are now a poisonous human," she said. I ran out of the tent into the dark streets.
"You can't run away from me. I'm a part of you now," she said. She's right. I know it, but I don't want to accept it. Why? Why did this happen to me? Does this mean I can never be near people? Will I never see Mama Chiru again? I punched the wall in frustration.
"Curse you, world!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then I started to cry. It started to rain. I leaned against the wall, slid down it weakly, and pulled my legs close to my body. Even though my body is full of lethal poison, why do I feel so empty? Is this what it feels like to truly be alone? I continued to cry until at some point, I fell asleep.