"LUISSS!!!" My mom screams to me from upstairs, a couple of hours into my gaming session.
"What, ma?!" I yell back. No answer. "WHAT?!" I yell back again, louder this time. Still no response. "Oh, for the love of-" I grumble to myself as I roll off the couch. "What is i-" I can barely get a sentence in before my mom interrupts me.
"I NEED YOU TO RUN TO THE STORE FOR ME!" She yells down.
"For what?" I call back. No answer.
"For-"
"SOMETHING FOR DINNER!"
"LIKE WHAT?!" No answer. "Oh screw it, I'll just get whatever the Hell I want," I grumble to myself as I shuffle out of the house, Mr. Kittles hot on my heels.
"Ah…it sure is bright…" I mutter under my breath as I turn up to the blazing summer sky, shielding my eyes from the golden sun that I'm not all too used to due to me staying inside as much as I can.
I refuse to go outside all too often because I really would rather avoid getting eaten by a demon. I mean, demon attacks are usually pretty rare these days compared to years ago, although this year is said to be the highest in terms of demon activity since millions of years ago. Finally, our tax money being sent to these Pro Slayers is finally going to good use. Though I'd much rather I get eaten over Gabby or my mom. Unfortunately, if I get eaten then Mr. Kittles would as well. Do demons like the taste of cats? I know they eat humans, but do they eat animals? I guess they do. They like fresh meat and blood, afterall. So I've heard from those Pro-Slayer-lecture-seminars in school.
It's oddly empty outside for such a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. "Eh, whatever. Makes my job a whole lot easier."
I cautiously creep up the block, careful not to alert any of the demons that certainly aren't around (I am seriously going to kill my past self!!!!!).
My trek up the block towards the grocery store with Mr. Kittles is going pretty smoothly, that is, until a giant ass tremble coming from the ground causes me to lose balance and fall flat on my ass. Mr. Kittles leaps from off of my shoulder, landing safely on the ground, as graceful as, well…a cat.
"Ow!" I yelp. "Jesus, what the Hell was that, an earthquake?! In New york?!"
Following that…targeted earthquake, or whatever, I then hear a scream come from around the corner up ahead. A terrified, absolutely blood curdling scream. A scream that had more passion in its voice than that one annoying-ass theater girl in the school plays. Following the scream, is a second scream. A scream that sounded …much more demonic and less human than the first. If the first scream was a scream of terror…then this scream is the feral cry of a predator catching its prey.
I can hear yet another scream come from up ahead, a scream that sounds like the first, this time, another human scream, followed by a large crashing sound that sounded like a fricken' car being frisbeed into the side of a building. The sound of shattering glass and a car alarm really gave it away. I hear one final scream, and then…I hear one more sound. The sound of two racks of mighty fangs clashing against one another in the form of a mighty chomp.
"Hah hah…what could that be?" I sarcastically ask myself with a dopey smile on my face. My voice is trembling, my entire body is drenched in sweat. I ignore both of those as I push myself off of the ground and dust off my jeans.
"Huh? Mr. Kittles, where did you go?" I ask, my voice still trembling as I look from side to side for my cat. After a brief moment, I spotted Mr. Kittles -the cat who never leaves my side- dozens of feet down the block, back the way we came. Mr Kittles is staring straight at me, hissing, each and every last blade of fur on his fluffy body raised in pure terror and anxious self defense.
"Mr. Kittles, you silly cat!" I say with my ever-shaking voice, managing to stifle out a laugh as I tremble back down the block towards Mr. Kittles. As I do so, the ground beneath me begins to shake yet again. Like the mighty footsteps of a giant stomping the ground behind me.
"You're going the wrong way, we want to go to the supermarket!" I don't think I could be any more sweatier. I'm shaking like an arthritis patient who was giving gallons of coffee after holding a plank for two straight minutes. I ignore both those things.
The shaking ground grows shakier.
The footsteps grow louder.
"Come on, let's keep walking!" As I kneel down in front of Mr. Kittles (who is still poised with his fur raised, hissing at whatever is behind me), I feel one final, mighty footstep fall to the ground behind me. My eyes widen and my hand sinks to the ground as I feel a presence behind me. A supernatural, inhuman, demonic presence. The presence of a killer. Right now…I know how it feels being a rabbit when a hungry lion is stalking its prey. Or a field mouse under the swooping talons of a hawk.
"MRRROWWWRRRR!!!!!" Mr. Kittles hisses.
I've never seen the cat so worked up in my life.
"Oh..hah hah. So that's how it is?" A small, sad smile spreads across my lips as I wipe my sweaty bro with my sweaty arm, just serving to make everything stickier and even more uncomfortable. Slowly, I stand up. Although standing up is a strong word. My legs are shaking so bad that it's more like I wiggled upwards more so than anything. My entire body was screaming at me to just sit back down. To just curl up into a ball and die.
I've never seen a demon before. I mentioned that before, didn't I? When I would picture what I thought a demon would look like, I always imagined a stereotypical Satan figure. Four arms, red skin, goat legs, hooves, ram horns, claws, four eyes. So when I turned around and was faced with a giant, scaly, black creature, dozens of feet tall, with horns, claws, eyes, legs, and limbs sticking out each and every which direction, like a sleep paralysis demon boned a biblical accurate angel, it was safe to say that this demon wasn't quite what I had in mind.
The demon peaks its head from around the corner of the house in front of me. The demon blinks, and when it opens its eyes, I feel hundreds of 'em staring at me. This demon had glowing red eyes where eyes shouldn't be. And for some reason, they were leaking a green puss.
It is the grossest damn thing that I've ever seen
"Whaaaa..whaaa…?!" I stammer as I slowly shuffle backwards, before falling on my butt again. I hear another bloodcurdling scream, and then another, and it takes me a second to realize that the screams are coming from me.
The demon fully emerges from behind the house in front of me, giving me the full view of its ginormous and grotesque figure. Slits begin appearing on the demon's flesh, which then open up into hundreds of mouths with rows and rows of fangs and floppy purple tongues.
And then, the demon screams. A horrifying, terrifying scream. A scream that matched the one I heard earlier, followed by the chomping sound.
Oh.
It's going to eat me.
Without another warning, the demon charges me. In response, Mr. Kittles leaps out from behind me and hisses at the demon, putting some ground between the demon and I.
"No, Mr. Kittles, don't! Don't be a hero!" I cry. "Run, save yourself!" Mr. Kittles turns and looks over his…shoulder at me, giving me a small mrowr.
The demon keeps charging, and when it's close enough, reaches out to grab me, me who is too damn pathetic and scared to move my feet. No, that's not it. The demon isn't reaching towards me. Remember earlier when I said that if I were to get eaten by a demon, that Mr. Kittles would too, since he's always with me? And that I wondered if demons even ate cats or not?
Well the damn thing was reaching for my fucking cat.
Alright, that's it.
"You can eat me for all I care, I don't give a damn!" I shout as I slowly push myself off the ground. Still trembling, yet I manage to stand. "But don't you dare…" I begin to growl as I tilt my head up, locking eyes with one of the multiple eyes of the demons, staring deeply into it. "KILL MY DAMN CAT IN FRONT OF ME!"
The demon roars, and reaches its hand out towards Mr. Kittles, who hisses in response. I roar back, before reaching out and scooping up Mr. Kittles. And then, just before the two of us were skewered by the demon's claws, I roll to the side, dodging the demon's attack. The demon looks stunned for a brief moment, if unintelligible monsters such as that could look confused, before letting out another scream, and launching its claws towards me and Mr. Kittles again. Again, I duck down and roll out of the way of the demon's attack again. I don't know how I'm doing this. Adrenaline, I guess.
Frustrated, the demon slams one of its many clawed hands against the wall of the house beside it, sending chunks of concrete and wood splintering every which direction. For a brief moment, my head is filled with pain, causing me to stammar backwards and lose my balance. I then feel an odd warm stickiness running down the side of my scalp. I touch my non-Mr. Kittles-holding-hand to the side of my head, and when I hold my hand up to my face, I see that it's covered in my crimson red blood.
"Oh. That's new."
I then feel another wave of disness, causing my eyes to flicker downwards, where they lock onto a hunk of concrete that looks to be painted red.
"Wait, but that house wasn't re- oh."
I was bashed in the skull by one of those concrete chunks.
Maybe my sudden realization is what caused this, but out of the blue, I feel too weak to stand, and have no choice but to crumble to my knees.
Sensing my weakness, the demon lets out a final roar and charges me again, once and for all. Mr. Kittles hisses at the demon before turning back to face me, nuzzling my hand before letting out a yelp of distress.
"I'm sorry…buddy…" I groan as I weakly reach a bloody hand out, stroking Mr. Kittles' fur, leaving it dyed red in the process. "This is as far as I go."
"What the Hell…is that?" I weakly ask myself as my eyes slowly flicker shut. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, or maybe I see God or an Angel, or whatever… but before I lose consciousness for good, a streak of black and yellow flies towards the demon, coupled with the buzz of electricity ringing through the air, causing the hair on my head and arms to stand up.
The last thing I hear before my mind goes blank is a man yell out: "BUMBLE BEE STING!"
***
Slap slap. "Hey, kid, wake up, hey, hey." Slap slap slap.
"Oh…just five more minutes…" I groan as I roll ever on bed. But instead of my fluffy bed…I'm met with the rock-hard pavement of the filthy street. And when I remember where I am, my eyes instantly flicker open.
"WHERE'S THE DEMON?! AM I DEAD?!" I cry as I shoot straight up, hearing a yelp as I do so.
I take a quick peak around, before my eyes focus on a man stumbling away from me and holding his forehead in pain. I guess he was slapping me awake and I accidentally headbutted him when I did so.
"Oh, thank God, you're not dead." The man breathes a sigh of relief as he clutches his heart.
The man is a tall ass dude, maybe 6'2, 6'3, looking in his early thirties, with dark, tanned skin and slicked back black hair, that has pale yellow streaks going through it. The man sports a standard black suit and white undershirt, shy from the abnormal looking pale yellow tie with a black lighting bolt going down it, and a matching belt that's too long to be properly tied around his waist, with a couple of feet of extra belt flapping behind me in the breeze. The man is skinny, well…skinny buff. Like he has the body of a track champion. I can see the traces of highly toned muscles rippling underneath his heavy suit.
"Hey, uh, sorry about" that the man says as he rubs the back of his neck. "I hope that wasn't your house." The man sheepishly jams his finger over his shoulder, and I look to where he's pointing, seeing the house that the demon emerged behind absolutely decimated. In the ruins of the house, is the mangled corpse of that very same demon. Except now, in the center of the demon's chest is a giant crater that's leaking a blue substance that I assume to be its blood.
Did…this man do that?
"What the Hell man!" I said. "Don't go around destroying my neighborhood!" I cry as I pop back up to my feet. Use a weaker attack next time!"
The man peers back at me, absolutely flabbergasted. "How about a thank you for saving your life! I know, I know I didn't need to use the strength of one of my signatures to take out such a low ranking demon but I needed speed, speed! A few seconds later and you would have been a demon chow!" The man explains, causing me to groan in response.
"Who the Hell are you, anyways?" I snap.
"Ah, right! Here we go…" the man mutters to himself as he reaches his hand into one side of his suit jacket, pulling out a brown leather wallet and flipping it open, removing a car from the front pockets and handing it to me. "Here you go," he says,
I snatch the plastic card out of the man's hand and read it. "Nicholas Boras, codename…Slayer Hachi?" I read. A Pro Slayer. I've never met one before
"Yup! That's me! The Bumblebee!" The man proudly explains as he places his hands on his hips.
"The Bumblebee?" Dorky nickname.
"Yup! The Bumblebee. But you can just call me Nick."
"Well, I guess that explains the attack name, Nick," I say, causing the man in front of me to sulk.
"I was expecting a "Slayer Hachi" or at the very least a "Mr Boras." At least a "Nicholas". Most kids these days can't help but to cheer for their favorite hero, "The Bumblebee," when they see me…" Nick complains under his breath.
"Then why the Hell did you tell me to call you Nick?!" I shout.
Nick turns back to face me and smiles. "I don't like formalities! Leaves a bad taste in my mouth," he answers, causing me to sigh again.
"Anyways, so what's your name, kid?" Nick asks me.
"Me? Well I'm-" I begin to say, but my introduction is interrupted when I spot my mom frantically running up the block towards me.
"Luis, Luis honey!" My mom calls too me. My mom stops before me, placing her hands on my shoulders and gasping for breath. "Are you hurt are you alright?! I just got an alert on my citizens app that there was a demon in the neighborhood, I never should have sent you out there, I should have gone instead, I'm so so-oh my God!" My mom's ramblings are interrupted when she lays eyes on the giant corpse of the demon which flattened our neighbor's house.
"Wha…wha…wha…" my mom stammars, her mouth ajar and her eyes wide as she frantically looks back and forth between me and the slain demon.
"I'm alright, mom, I only have a scratch, see!" I answer as I hold my arm up, displaying the bloody scratch that I got from one of my multiple tumbles.
"The back of your head's bleeding pretty badly too!" Nick chimes in.
"Not helping!" I mutter through clenched teeth to Nick, who unapologetically shrugs in response.
"And who are you?" My mom asks Nick.
"Nicholas Boras, Slayer Hachi!" Nick chipperly answers. "But you can just call me Nick!"
"You know…when you said that to me it just sounded friendly, but to my mom it sounds more like a pick-up line," I grumble.
"Luis, I told you that I don't want you hanging around Pro Slayers!" My mom snaps, causing me to recoil.
"Hanging around?! He's like fifty, mom!" I reply, and this time, it's Nick's turn to recoil.
"I'm only thirty-two!" He snaps.
"Either way-" my mom continues as she turns back to face Nick, glaring straight up into his eyes. Nick gulps in response. It's funny, seeing such a tall-ass guy cowering under my short mom.
Without hesitation, my mom then drops to her knees and begins sobbing into her hands. "Thank you, Mr. Boras, thank you," she sobs, causing both Nick and I to flinch. "Thank you so much for saving my son, I don't know what I'd do if I lost him!"
Up until now, if I had to describe this Nick guy in one word, it would be dorky. But I can't deny it, when he knelt down on one knee and placed a hand on my mom's shoulder, causing my mom's wet eyes to flicker up to Nick's, as he gave her reassuring thumbs up…I can't help but to deny that Nick is a little cool at times.
"Don't worry, ma'am, I get paid to do this!" Nick replies, and every last coolness point he earned floods out of his body. Nick then stands up and turns away from my mom, his eyes glossing over with a sad seriousness to them. "I know what it's like. I make it a policy to save every child that I can," he says.
My mom then turns back to me and begins examining me again, looking me up and down, checking out each part of me to make sure that I'm alright.
"Mom, I'm good, I promise," I say, but as my mom turns my head to the side and lays eyes on the bloody gash on the back of my scalp, her face goes pale. And I guess that was the final straw of stress for my mom, because without another word, my mom falls straight backwards, hitting her head on the ground and forming a gash similar to my own.
"Ah, mom!" Frantically, I reach down and struggle to pick my mom up. Nick strolls over to me and hoist my mom by the feet, and with me cradling my mom under her arms, the two of us pick her up.
"Where are we bringing her?" Nick asks.
"Hospital. There's one right down the block, my mom works there," I grunt. Not saying that my mom is heavy or anything, I'm just not the strongest guy around. Contrary to Nick, who looks to be having an easy time carrying my mom.
Our walk continues in silence for a brief moment, before Nick disrupts that silence. "Hey, kid," he says.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Your mother is a very nice lady. Take care of her," Nick answers, causing me to smile.
"Yeah," I reply. "I will!"
"She's pretty, too, she single?" Nick asks.
"HEY!" I snap.
"Oh, and one more thing," Nick continues. "I sense a huge, latent well of Cursed Power inside of you. You have potential…"
"Why haven't you tried becoming a Pro Slayer yet?"
What?
"Me? Potential? You're joking, right?" I ask. Nick replies with a perfectly blank face, which makes it seem as if he's not joking. "There's no way I have any gifted natural talent, I'm just some kid," I continue.
"You normies aren't able to sense Cursed Power, not even the power you have inside you. But for someone like me who has been training for years, I can tell, you're a strong one," Nick replies. "And besides, it's because you're a kid that you have so much potential, that's why us Pro Slayers like to recruit them. You're much more malleable to change and more open to the supernatural and super powers compared to more cynical adults. Plus, I saw how you saved your cat despite being afraid, and despite all the odds, you're a hero!"
"But, but, but…" I stammar. "I don't want to be a Slayer!" I whimper, causing Nick to recoil. "And what the Hell is Cursed Power?!"
"You don't?!" He asks. "Well…that's a first. I just assumed that when your mom said that she doesn't want you hanging around Pro Slayers, she meant that-" Nick continues, but I cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just don't want to die, alright?" I snap.
Nick pauses.
"What gives, I can't carry her alone?" I grumble.
"You don't become a Pro Slayer to die. You become a Pro Slayer so that you don't," Nick says, causing my eyes to widen.
"What…do you mean?" I ask.
"What do you think would have happened if I didn't show up? You would have died. Your cat would have died," Nick explains, while motioning towards Mr. Kittles who is still following us down to the hospital. "And what, do you think that after you and that measly cat, the demon would have been full? No, it would have continued its rampage through your neighborhood, searching for the next fresh blood. Your mom would have died too? Your dad, got any siblings, any more pets? They all would have died."
Now, it's my turn to pause. Sensing my tightening body and the bloodlust in my eyes, Nick smirks. "Now, have I gotten through to you?" He asks.
I pause, standing in silence for a brief moment.
"Teach me…" I softly say to Nick.
"TEACH ME TO BECOME A PRO SLAYER!"
"SEPTEMBER 10TH, AT 9:00 A.M, A LITTLE OVER A WEEK FROM TODAY!" Nick proudly booms. "New York City, 23rd street, at the International Professional Slayer Organization Headquarters, an entrance exam will be held for the new and upcoming to test their metal and see if they have the chops to enter into our ranks. If you can survive the exam, then you're in, and I'll teach you everything that you need to know about Cursed Power, the aura within Pro Slayers that gives us our strength."
My chest tightens and my hands grow clammy. I take a deep breath in…then out. And when I'm finished, I peer up and stare Nick dead in the eyes.
"I accept your challenge, Nick!" I boom back.
Without missing a beat and all while still carrying my mom, Nick slips a hand into his suit jacket and pulls out a business card, handing it to me. "I'm not supposed to do much more than this. All that I'm allowed to do is tell you to meet with the man whose name appears on this business card. After you do so, he'll give you the next steps from there," Nick explains. I take the business card out of his hand, and slip it into my hoodie pocket.
"I'll be waiting for you at the exam site, Luis!"