The Dark Within Us - "Prologue"
Anastasia stepped onto the bus as it slowed to a stop in front of Sinful Temptations, the gentlemen's club where she worked late nights. She had just finished her nine hour shift, having danced across the stage and tending to the dozens of men who showered her with money and promises of giving a life that they assured her she desired. She entertained them, allowing them to believe that she'd call them as soon as she was off work. Anastasia scoffed at the thought as she took a seat in the back of the bus, clutching her bag closely to her side. What she desired the most was a night where she could sleep soundly beside someone who truly loved her.
Anastasia's boyfriend still hadn't called her to apologize after he trashed her apartment and left in a drunken fit. She knew how he got when he went on his routine benders, and she yearned for the quiet moments when he or any man wasn't degrading her, or threatening her. After all, her White Knight was waiting for her at home; a tiny Shih Tzu named Lando. She couldn't wait to get home and shower so she could cuddle her dog.
Suddenly, a loud and sickly cough awoke Anastasia from her thoughts. She looked up and noticed the old homeless man sleeping in the seat in front of her. She covered her mouth subtly as his coughs became more severe, as though the poor man was hacking up a lung. Anastasia did her best to not be rude, but once saliva began to spill from the old man's lips, she stood up and moved a few rows away from the hermit, closer to the driver. As she passed the homeless man, she noticed a can of beer knocked over at his feet, spilling across the floor of the bus. Anastasia sighed nervously as she made her way to the driver and tapped his shoulder.
"Um, excuse me," Anastasia said softly, "but there's a man in the back of the bus. He was asleep, but he's starting to look a little sick." The driver glanced back at Anastasia with an arched eyebrow. "I think he's been drinking on the bus, too."
The driver nodded and slowed the bus to a stop. He glanced back at the homeless man, then reached for a radio device beside his seat. "Sit tight, ma'am," he grunted.
Anastasia took a seat in the front of the bus as the driver made his way towards the back. She watched as the driver stood over the old homeless man, calling out to him. When the old man didn't respond the first time, the driver slammed his hand against the seat, raising his voice at him. Anastasia jumped at the sound of the driver's voice booming across the bus. She noticed another bus rider, a young blonde teenager with dark punk streetwear, resting his head against the window at his seat. The blonde teen rolled his eyes as the driver threatened to call the police if the drunk homeless man didn't exit the bus immediately. The old man grunted in his sleep as saliva dripped from his lips.
Anastasia watched as the driver raised his radio. Before the driver could call for assistance, the old man suddenly awoke. He let out a screeching howl, attacking the driver with a claw-like slash. Anastasia screamed as the driver hollered in pain, reaching for the bloody cut across his face. Anastasia scrambled for her phone in her bag, but dropped it when she trembled at the sound of a terrifying crunch, followed by a splatter. She turned slowly to find the driver impaled by the homeless man's fist, heaving at the sight of the driver's chest torn wide open, with dark blood and guts dripping from the old man's hand.
Anastasia screeched as she stumbled to reach for her phone. Suddenly, the driver lay limp and lifeless on the floor of the bus, and the old man was inches from Anastasia, reaching out to grab her with his bloody hand. Anastasia let out another scream in terror as his face got close to hers, revealing his dirty skin with bloody hives. His mouth oozed with saliva and thick blood, and his eyes were wide like a madman, but redder than a drunk's bloodshot eyes. Anastasia shuddered in fear as the homeless man wrapped his hands around her neck. "Young and tender," the old man hissed.
Anastasia shut her eyes, afraid of dying at the hands of a homeless monster from the streets. She ran her hand through the inside of her bag, reaching through her sequin costumes from the club and envelopes of cash, and gripped the small canister of pepper spray. Anastasia whipped the spray out quickly, pressing the cap on it tightly. She sprayed the pepper spray directly into the hermit's eyes, but began to loosen her grip as the old man let out a maniacal laugh.
Suddenly, the old man was jerked backwards, losing his grasp on Anastasia's neck. She fell back onto the seat as she saw the blonde teen slamming the old man against the backrest of a bus seat. The blonde slammed his boot into the old man's gut repeatedly, keeping the ghoulish menace down. Anastasia's eyes widened as she spotted the blonde remove a black blade from the back of his waistband. The blonde swung the blade high and brought it down quickly, stabbing the homeless man in the chest.
A misty smoke-like energy began to rise out of the old man's wound. It rose upwards, curling around the blade, swirling through the blonde's grip. As he twisted the blade deep in the old man's chest, Anastasia noticed how dry the blade was. The old man didn't bleed. It was strange and unnatural.
Just as the blonde began to remove the blade from the wound, the old man lashed up at him with his claw-like hands. The blonde blocked the attack, cutting his forearm in the process. The blonde leapt back, hissing in pain, then turned to Anastasia. "This is about to get ugly!" he called out to her.
He turned back to the old man, who now stood before the blonde, with veins growing darker against his now pale skin. His eyes grew darker, almost soulless, and his chest began to heal from the stab wound. The blonde stood between Anastasia and the monstrous hermit, defending her from the threat. Suddenly, the same smokey mist that emerged from the old man's wound began to manifest around the blonde's hand, slowly taking form. It solidified within his hand, and the smokey mist energy became a dark, matte revolver. The blonde wrapped his finger around the trigger, and aimed it at the old man.
The hermit charged at the blonde, and just as he bared vicious fangs, the blonde pulled the trigger. The revolver's barrel shot an explosive flash, and the shot pierced the old man's head. Blood blasted from the shattered skull, splattering across the windows and the blonde. Anastasia ducked, covering her face from the sudden rain of blood. She felt herself gag at the stench of the corpses throughout the bus, and crawled her way to the bus door. She struggled to open the door, and began to panic as the door refused to open. She felt her breathing grow rapidly, as if her lungs were being deprived of air by fear itself. After she was convinced that she would die on that bus, the doors slid open. Anastasia turned to see the blonde at the driver's seat of the bus, with his hand on the door switch. "Sorry about all of that," he said softly.
Anastasia grabbed her phone and followed the blonde as he began to exit the bus, wiping blood from his face. Anastasia stumbled after him, struggling to keep up. "Hey, wait up!"
The blonde shook his head as Anastasia made her way to his side. "Go home, girl. It's late."
Anastasia scoffed at the blonde as they walked side by side. "Are you kidding me? What the hell was that back there?"
The blonde wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, only to groan at his sleeve smearing more blood across his face. "I hear this part of Los Angeles has a problem with too many homeless people. That's all it is."
Anastasia shook her head. "No," she said, "that was something else. Him, and you, that magic gun...was that the Devil?"
The blonde smiled. "That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Maybe if we just shot the Devil in the head, and all evil is eradicated, right?"
Anastasia rolled her eyes at the blonde. "Okay, fine, stupid question. Can I at least get your name?" The blonde stared straight ahead as the two walked. Anastasia cleared her throat. "I'm Ana," she said, with her policy being to never give her full name upon first meeting anybody.
The blonde glanced over at Anastasia as he stopped at a crosswalk. He sighed as cars passed through the intersection. "Matt," he said softly.
Anastasia smiled. "Okay, Matt," she said. "So what was on that bus back there? The thing that killed the driver?" Anastasia looked back at the bus, arching a worried eyebrow. "Shouldn't we call the police? Or anybody?"
Matt groaned. "Oh, jeez, again with the stupid questions!" Matt turned to Anastasia, gesturing towards the stopped bus. "That back there is nothing a police officer could have handled. The driver was a minor casualty, and to be honest, we're lucky that it was just him. It confirmed that the hobo wasn't human, and made it easy to determine how to kill him. Aside from that, there's nothing else I should be concerned about."
Anastasia frowned as the streetlights turned red, allowing for Matt to cross the street. Anastasia followed. She wanted to understand what had happened, and despite Matt's lack of consideration for anyone's safety, he did save her life. She needed to understand. "That man...wasn't human?"
Matt shook his head. "Not even in the slightest," he admitted. "Looks can be convincing, but there are monsters like that all over the world." He turned to Anastasia and smiled softly. "You're lucky I was on that bus. There aren't many of us who can fight them left."
Anastasia let the truth sink in. As awful as the world around her was, the idea of monsters like that, the kind that could tear into her body and rip her apart, terrified her. She already lived with fear for her safety constantly dictating every aspect about her life, but to throw in the element of surprise by revealing the existence of monsters...she already had enough of them in her life. This was too much.
Matt sighed, turning to Anastasia as they reached the other end of the street. "Look, Ana, I understand this is a lot for you to understand right now. Quite frankly, I could go on and on about all of this. About my world, about my life, my purpose, and more about this evil and how to look out for them. But, if I'm being perfectly honest here, I really don't want to. I don't really have time to, because I'm actually on my way to stop this from becoming a bigger problem for our world than it already is."
Anastasia opened her mouth to speak, but Matt cut her off. "I promise you, after tonight, everything will be just fine. All I need is for you to tell me where to find Heavenfall Academy."
