The night strolls through the streets of the city. News spreads across television screens.
"A series of animal attacks continues to rise. Reports have investigated these serious, gruesome cases, but the police haven't found any leads..."
A young woman passed by the stores, wearing her headphones to block out the noise. She sighed, looking at her phone, scrolling through her texts. "AINA!" A female voice called out. She turned her head to see who had called out to her, smiled, and waved at the person waving back. "I thought you were at practice today, Ruby," Aina said, slipping her headphones off and setting them on her shoulders. "Well, Coach called it off, and we had an early release," Ruby laughed, patting Aina's back.
The two girls chatted as they walked until Aina yelped in surprise, bumping into someone. "Oh! Sorry, sir." She apologized, her eyes shifting up to see the stranger's face. His scarlet eyes stared into her blue ones, his face to his skin pale and greyish. "It's fine," he replied in a deep tone, striding away. Her eyes kept following his direction as he walked past them.
Aina never stopped staring until Ruby patted her shoulder. "Hey, Aina?" She waved her hand in front of her face, blinking out of trance. Aina looked back at the person. 'What a strange man,' Aina thought, then followed her friend. The strange man strode across the crosswalk, turning his gaze towards the two girls. Unnerved, he then followed them without notice.
Aina and Ruby reached a stretch in an isolated space. Aina felt unsettled by the quietness. "Ruby, what are we doing here?" she asked. Ruby looked around at the quiet street as Aina held her hand for comfort. "I think we might be lost, or your house is..." Ruby scratched her head in confusion. Aina was overwhelmed with nervousness.
A thick fog crept through, and she backed away. She turned to see Ruby, but she was nowhere in sight. "Ruby? Ruby? Where are you?" Aina frantically looked around to find her friend, feeling the air leaving her lungs. She started to panic. Suddenly, a shadow swooped past her. Quickly turning her head to see what or who it was, she saw nothing. A hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams as she struggled, then she blacked out.
Groaning, her vision blurred, and opening her eyes the second time, she heard squelching and chewing sounds. She steadily got up, rubbing her head, slowly regaining consciousness, and saw blood on the floor. Aina retracted her hand, looking at her hand stained with blood. Her eyes peeked up, and she saw a person hunched over a lifeless woman.
She covered her mouth in sheer shock. Her friend Ruby, dead, mutilated, and eaten by their captor.
Her body trembled in fear as her captor turned his head and grinned through his blood-stained teeth. Aina backed away until her back was pressed against the wall. She raised her hands to keep the killer away from her. "S-Stay back!" she said helplessly, shaking her head, pleading him not to come near her. Her captor sickly grinned at her as he licked the blood off his fingers and slowly crawled toward her.
All of a sudden, a shadow swooshed, standing protectively in front of Aina. She stared at her savior and realized it was the same man she had met before. "You?" she whispered softly. But he had no time to explain as he charged forward at the monster, pinning him down and breaking his neck, leaving him lifeless. "Your days are over, Devil," he said in a low, intimidating voice.
Aina felt confused by his words, "Devil?"
The pale man turned his attention to her. Slowly approaching her carefully, his red eyes took in her appearance. He could see the fear on her face. He stopped a few feet away, holding his hands up in a non-threatening gesture.
"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now," he said calmly, covering her with his jacket.
"Are you...one of them ?" Aina asked as the stranger raised an eyebrow, remaining calm to ease and not making her uncomfortable. "No, I'm not." He shook his head, extending his hand, offering it to her but seeing the hesitation in her eyes. "Who are you ? If you don't mind telling me your name, mister ?" Aina took his hand, tightened by the strange man's grip.
"My name is Anzai. And you are?" Feeling the slight tremble in her fingers as he helped her up to her feet.