My pack is heavy on my shoulders, pulling my body toward the ground. I slide my arms out of the straps on the pack, hearing it land with a thud on the ground. This time, when I'm cut down, I will run with all I've got, leaving my pack behind if I have to. I've still got a few days' worth of food left if I ration it out into smaller portions. My stomach growls loudly at the thought of food. I cringe, watching the young Demon's face change when he hears my stomach growl. He probably thinks I'm weird for thinking of food at a time like this. Or hearing me hungry is making him hungry – oh shit! Is this the savage Demon those other bastards were talking about?! But he can't be, he looks so young!
The young Demon raises a hand, which snaps me back to reality. A shiny silver knife in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the knife flies through the air, severing the rope attached to my leg in an instant. And in the other instant, I fall. Fast.
Except, my landing isn't hard. Warm arms catch my fall, quickly placing me on the ground and flipping me onto my stomach before I even realize what's happening. My hands are grasped firmly and placed behind my back, quickly bound together by a rope. I sigh and bang my head on the dirt underneath me. I'm stupid for thinking I had a chance of escaping.
I gasp as the rope binding my hands is pulled suddenly, the place where my skin meets the rope burns.
"Sorry," the Demon mumbles, his voice soft and unsteady. "This is my first time doing this."
I roll my eyes, sighing as I am lifted off the ground. I'm embarrassed to think I ever thought this Demon to be a savage. He's clearly young and inexperienced. I stifle another laugh. I thought if I were to be eaten and killed by a Demon, it would at least be a strong, powerful one that I had no chance of ever escaping. But this one? The only reason he has me in his arms now is because I foolishly stepped into one of his traps. God, if I hadn't I could have kept on walking, and he would have stayed fast asleep, completely oblivious. I'm such a fucking idiot.
"Are you feeling ok?" The Demon raises a hand to my forehead, resting his palm on my skin. "I noticed your stomach growling before and figured you might be hungry, but it seems you're developing a fever, too."
I blink several times. "What the fuck?"
The Demon tilts his head, a look of hurt crossing his face. His thin, pale lips turn down in a frown. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong with YOU?"
"Hmm?"
"Seriously, you're really getting on my nerves, if you're gonna kill me, just fucking kill me, stop trying to be so nice. It's creeping me out."
"Eat you?" The Demon's hand drops from my forehead. "Why would you think I want to eat you?"
I stare at him for a few moments, my mouth forming a straight line. Is he joking? I turn slightly, just enough for him to see my bound hands. He frowns and avoids my gaze.
"You're a fucking Demon, asshole," I say, through my teeth, "and – in case you aren't aware – I am a human. What else would you do with me?"
"W-well," the Demon squeezes his eyes shut, placing a hand on his forehead. "You're the first human I've seen in a while, and the only one I've tried this on, so I'm a bit nervous. I apologize."
"Huh? 'The only one I've tried this on?' what's that supposed to mean? You've never eaten a human before?" I tilt my head to the side, confused by this young Demon's words. He is so strange.
"What? No I-I've done that before, I … I haven't tried to make a human my Eternal before."
His words hit me like a bullet. This bastard. What's with these Demons wanting to make me an Eternal so bad? Is it really that difficult coming across a human these days? That he's so desperate to make the first human he comes across an Eternal?
My nose crinkles and I want to attack him, to hit him hard in the gut and make a run for it. My heart rate elevates as I plan my escape.
"Ah, but …" the Demon continues, grabbing me by my shoulders abruptly, "I want you to come home with me first, we can always have this discussion later."
"Later," I repeat under my breath, tears filling my eyes. Fuck, why does this shit happen to me? My ego must have grown ten sizes after I was the only survivor in my town after the Demonic Apocalypse. You know what? Who knows, maybe he is the savage Demon roaming around this forest – he's crazy enough to be. Perhaps he'll take me back to his 'home' and then tear me limb from limb, devouring me in the most painful way possible.
The Demon notices the tears in my eyes, wiping them away with his thumb as they roll down my cheeks. Fuck, he's so weird. I'm so terrified, my whole body is shaking and more hot tears run down my face.
"Don't cry," he says, his thumbs busy at work. "If you're scared, don't worry. I'm really not going to hurt you, I wish you'd believe me."
'YOU WANT TO MAKE ME YOUR FUCKING ETERNAL!' I scream into my head, 'And if it doesn't work, I'm fucking dead! How is that 'not hurting me'?'
The Demon sighs, and places a hand on my shoulder, giving me a little shove that signals for me to start walking. We walk together in silence, tears drying up on my cheeks. It's ok. If he kills me, I'll be able to see my family again – if there is an afterlife like that. I haven't been able to commit suicide before, always pulling away at the last second.
Maybe I can grab the knife he threw before and slit my throat? It'd be better than suffering a death at the hand of a Demon. It would be better than being his Eternal.