Run

It isn’t easy surviving in a world infested with monsters. It especially isn’t easy when you seem to attract monsters wherever you go.

I can’t say how long it’s been since the initial outbreak. As the world deteriorated, humans started to lose track of time. Based on the state of the world and the decimated history books I sometimes come across, I would guess that it’s been several centuries.

Buildings from human civilization and remains of the old humanity litter the world. They used to scare me at first; they’re a constant reminder of what happened to the human race and what happened to the world. Now I’ve gotten used to them.

Sometimes, when I investigated the old ruins, I would find what would appear to be old books. Most of them weren’t helpful to me, being of things that died off when humanity fell. Some of the time I would find history books or the remains of a storybook. I would read those books like my life depended on it. There’s something both interesting and sad about learning what happened to those that came before you, in what must’ve been their golden age.

Not that it matters all that much anymore.

Most days, I just try to survive and avoid any monsters. But, like I said, it isn’t easy. I tend to attract monsters wherever I go. I think it has something to do with the demon mark on my wrist.

I should probably start at the beginning.

When I was young, I was raised by a couple of demons. They’d taken on the forms of humans; why, I can’t tell you. Not important. The demons took me in and raised me along with their son, Luca.
Luca’s parents, Selena and Felix, attempted to make me into a demon by dropping some of Luca’s blood into an open wound on my wrist. It didn’t work, obviously. The blood just stained my skin and created the mark on my wrist. I guess it isn’t a complete loss; even though the mark attracts monsters, it also alerts me when the monsters get close.

The mark on my wrist matches the pattern of my veins and burns when a monster gets too close to me. I don’t understand why it happens, but without it, I most likely would’ve died multiple times. It’s one of the few things that I’m thankful those demons did for me.

Looking back, I’m actually surprised that Selena and Felix didn’t abandon me. I thought for so long that they just wanted to turn me into a demon, and when it didn’t work, they’d just give up on me.

That’s something I’ll never understand; why they continued to raise me. But once again, I guess it wasn’t completely bad. Eventually I escaped and began to survive on my own. I learned to cover my tracks so they wouldn’t come looking for me. That was about seven years ago now and I haven’t seen Luca or his parents since.

I made my way just outside of an old village. It appears to be a safe haven, and it’s pretty resilient, too. Monsters have attacked several times since I set up camp on the outskirts and every time it’s managed to rebuild itself.

I made my new home in a small cabin on the outside of the village. It’s far enough into the forest that I have some privacy, but still close to the village. It’s in the middle of a cozy little forest clearing and there’s a stream not too far away. If the world hadn’t gone to shit so long ago, it would be a beautiful, peaceful place.

In the small camp, it almost feels like a place removed from the tragedy of life; like everything awful and that causes pain can’t reach me here. In this place, I don’t have to be afraid.

It’s winter now. Snowflakes fall delicately from the sky and litter the forest floor with snow. Given how early it is in the season, it seems like it’ll be a real cold winter. As long as I stay close to the village, I should be fine.

It’s snowing, but there’s another chill in the air that I feel deep in my bones. I can already tell something’s coming, and I need to be ready to hide or to flee. I walked into the village and stocked up on what supplies I needed.

A burning sensation shot through my wrist. A monster’s nearby.

I need to leave.

And then the sensation left.

I look at my wrist, but nothing’s out of the ordinary. Then Adrian appears at my side.

“You’re early. You don’t usually come into town for another few days.”

I roll my eyes and brush him off.

“The schedule has nothing to do with it. You just wanted to see me again.”

He smiles.

“I can’t deny that.”

I smile back and grab my bag. His face falls and he grabs my wrist.

“You’re heading back already? But I just got here, and I haven’t seen you in days.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but there’s something coming. I don’t know what it is, and I know I sound paranoid, but I just...I want to be safe, and that means I need to head back.”

Adrian nods. The concern in his eyes is obvious and I know he’s worried about me.

“I should walk you home—”

“It’s fine, I got it. You don’t need to worry.”

“But—”

“Hey, Adrian, I’ll be fine. I always end up okay, don’t I?”

He smiles a little and nods.

“And so do you. I don’t know when it’ll be, but I’ll see you once whatever’s going on passes.”

Adrian nods again. Then he does something I didn’t expect: he kisses my cheek.

“Just—stay safe.”

I nod and turn to head back. My cheek tingles, the memory of his lips on my skin still present. I do my best not to think about it and I rush back to the cabin. The snow crunches satisfyingly beneath my feet as I approach the small building, shutting the door as I walk inside.

I throw my bag to the side and barricade the door, and once I’m satisfied, I lay back on my bed. I look out the window and my thoughts trail back to Adrian, and how I hope he’ll be alright.

Since we met, we’ve had each other’s backs and we’ve become pretty close. Maybe something other than friendship had developed; I don’t know. I’m not good with emotions. Never have been. But whatever’s between us now, I know that I just want him to stay safe.

In this world, real friends are hard to come by. I don’t want to lose the only person I can actually count on.