The moon illuminated the hazy night sky of Aurora City and its windowed lights of tall buildings.

  A cool, fall night. Silent and still, save for the hum of street lights and an occasional car. A breeze blew in the quiet, picking up some trash from an alleyway and blowing it into the damp street from a storm that had just passed.

  The sprawling metropolis with its various shapes and sizes of towering buildings that cut into the sky was like a cry to the gods that human beings could indeed reach the stars.

  One of the taller buildings had a figure atop it. A woman with short black hair cut in an asymmetrical bob style, little lines of blue here and there highlighting the black. She stepped to the edge, scanning the city streets below, her resolute royal blue eyes like little lamps in the night as they panned over the city. Watching, waiting, listening.

  Demi gripped a spear in her hand, her toned arms flexing with the motion as she leaned over the ledge like a panther in the bush, waiting for unsuspecting prey to walk in its path.

  A sound snapped her to attention, her eyes narrowing on the empty streets below as she heard the desperate cry whoosh in her direction, taking it into her body. She focused her eyes, settling on what appeared to be a man scrambling down the street below.

  A small smirk crossed her tanned face, her grip tightening on her spear, and she stepped forward and off the roof, falling. The wind whisked by her, fluttering her flowing purple halter-top dress. Her large hoop earrings jingled, and her hair whipped about as she dropped, the city street rapidly meeting her form.

  . . .

  Jerry had no idea that this night may be one of his last.

  His day had been rough, which wasn’t anything new. He had tried to figure out the best deals, selling stocks that were losing, buying up ones that were winning, getting all the gains while avoiding all the losses. It was very much soul-sucking. He wasn’t even paid that well as he was a middle man. Plus, there were plenty of up-and-coming newbies that were below him, hungry for his position. Little did they know that the stress wasn’t worth it. Being in the middle was its own plight. Unnoticed and underappreciated, but at least not on the verge of being fired like the low-ranking workers.

  Still, he had done his best and drained every ounce he had. He had made enough gains to keep his position. But today he had bought some rough ones, taking some huge loses. Even if he had won some, he had lost big today, and it would show on his monthly metrics. He sighed as his gamble had not paid off. Curse that Kevin and his tips. He should have gone with his gut, not what Kevin, one of the top traders, had insisted he buy. Granted, many of his tips had paid off in the past, but this one, this one had done him in, and his boss, Ben, had let him have it. Told him if he got another loss from this day forward, he was done—fired.

  So while he walked down the street after a late night of trying to crunch numbers and reading up on the opinions of expert traders, he had burnt the midnight oil, and his eyes, and body, felt heavy. While he had thought he had gotten through the worst, there was worse still to come.

  He hoofed his way home, shivering slightly as he hugged his body, cursing that he hadn’t grabbed his jacket as he was too tired to have gone back up to get it. The day and night had been a blur and, he was terrified he was going to lose his job. And yet he had no idea he was about to lose his life.

  The sound came quick and sudden, and the feeling of unease as something screeched above. He glanced up to see a large shadow swoop over that he thought was some sort of low hanging cloud—no, maybe it was something else… Like an animal, maybe a bat? But bats didn’t fly around Aurora City, did they? He must have been hallucinating, so he blinked and rubbed his eyes, and the shape was gone, yet the feeling of unease remained. While he shook that thought off, he felt as if he was being watched, followed.

  When he scanned the sky and turned the other way, he saw it again—the swooping shadow. The massive thing came down on him, and he fell back just in time, his butt bouncing against the pavement in a hard thud, his suitcase tumbling between two cars as it slipped from his hands.

  “Dammit!”

  The large shape soared over him, a whoosh of wind blowing his hair about, and he just sat there, slacked-jawed, eyes wide.

  “W-what the hell was that?”

  He scrambled and reached for his suitcase, snatching it up and looking around, searching for the thing. His eyes stopped on something that had landed just outside some lamplight. A hard thump as it skidded across the ground, claw-like noises scrapping against asphalt. A low breathing and snarling as the looming shape lumbered forward into the light. Jerry’s eyes went wide at the sight of it, sweat forming on his forehead, his heart leaping into frightening action as he froze on the spot.

  A massive bat-like creature loomed into the light, at least that is what it looked like. A gigantic bat straight out of a horror movie. He hated bats, and this thing was a monstrosity. It couldn’t be real. He had to be hallucinating because of lack of sleep.

  The thing watched him with red, glowing eyes, saliva dripping from its snout, and then it screeched a horrible cry, revealing sharp fangs and large teeth, saliva spitting from its mouth.

  While Jerry had been frozen in fear, that scream had spurred him into motion, and he dove out of instinct as it lunged at him, barely bypassing claws and fangs. Jerry scrambled up, leaving his suitcase behind, and pumped his legs with furious fright, his eyes wide with terror as he sprinted as hard and fast as his squat and round body could take him.

  The bat monster corrected itself, its eyes squinting as it tilted its head, curious at the escaping prey. It let out another screech and kicked off the ground, beating its massive wings as it took flight with loud swooping motions. It slowly rose into the air, then dove toward Jerry with claws extended.

  . . .

  Demi landed with a reverberating thud, the impact whipping dust and debris around her as she kneeled with one palm pressed to the ground. Slowly pushing herself to her feet, she narrowed her gaze on the man in the distance as he sprinted in her direction, his eyes wide. Her sight continued past the man, to the shape that was swooping down on its victim in a rapid motion, one that was sure to meet its mark, decimating it into a pulpy, bloody mass to devour.

  “Found you,” she said, her voice low and resonant.

  Demi twirled her silver spear expertly in one hand, then brought it around and slammed the butt end against the ground with a heavy crack. A burst of red energy, only seen by her, spread in all directions like a giant, transparent box.

  . . .

  The man ran as hard as he could, having no clue where the creature was or that it was diving on him. He tripped, tumbling against the ground, the creature’s extended claws barely missing him, and it crashed in a heap of awkwardness.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Jerry rubbed his side where he had fallen, one eye closed as he corrected himself and shook off blurry vision. His eyes went wide as he saw the thing scramble up and kick off the ground, soaring into the air again, flapping its bat wings as it narrowed its eyes upon him.

  “Shit!” He jumped to his feet and ran like hell, blinking sweat that stung his eyes from his exhausted effort.

  He wasn’t thinking right, so maybe he could run into an alleyway, perhaps hide under a car, or maybe even make his way to one of the many residences, pounding on the door, screaming to be let in. But he didn’t. He just ran for his life. Prayed to God or whoever would listen to save him from this.

  And as he glanced back at where the thing was, seeing its hungry eyes of red squint at him, he gasped and, curse it all, tripped again. This time he was done for, as he saw the thing’s claws come upon him, its hulking shape looming, and he raised his arms defensively, crying out like a little boy as he felt his bladder burst and he pissed himself, closing his eyes and tensing his body.

  A gust of air blew over him and nothing happened, as if an apparition had been chasing him and just whisked by. No impact, no cutting and ripping, no death. He lowered his hands, blinked, then looked from left to right in frantic movements, his heart thudding rapidly, perspiration across his forehead. He gulped, his breaths shaky. Then after a few moments, he realized that… perhaps he really was hallucinating.

  “Yeah,” he said, chuckling to himself, shaking it off, looking down at his wet pants where he had pissed himself. Cursing, he messed with his tie in an awkward movement as if it would help him cope with what had just happened. “You’re working yourself too hard, Jerry. Time to get home and take it easy.” Still, he didn’t waste a moment, and got to his feet and scurried his way home, hightailing it out of there.

  . . .

  Demi watched the red energy move over the man, making him disappear with no effect on the Corrupted as it swooped down on nothing, crashing and tearing into the ground where it thought the man had been. The red energy barrier had changed everything to a dark, decrepit, and derelict place. Broken structures, cracked streets and sidewalks, and abandoned buildings with smashed windows. Foliage and vines of all sorts flourishing up the walls of the buildings. Trees with long and twisty branches, some of them extending into the buildings, fallen leaves of all sort strew about, and uncut grass of different lengths and weeds and flowers all about.

  Everything had changed, except for Demi and the Corrupted. It was like the whole area had shifted to another dimension, which it had. Demi was ready to fight the Corrupted, free from distraction of other human beings on the streets, knowing the man was safe, even if he had been traumatized. She’d have to deal with that after she finished this thing off, absorbing its energy into her Switch. It was just her and the Corrupted now, which was what she wanted.

  The Corrupted shook itself free of the confusion, lifting its head to the noise of a loud whistle which wasn’t far from where it had impacted. It narrowed its demonic eyes on a form that stood before it.

  “Hey, ugly,” she said, twirling her spear in one hand till she slapped it into her other hand with a tight grip. “You want something to devour?” Her blue-handled, silver-tipped spear Switch shifted to a red energy much like her Limit Barrier. It jumped in her hand, a crimson, pulsating spear of electricity that she held with relative ease as it reverberated like a bolt of red lightning in her palm. Her Switch had been activated. She leaned forward and smiled. “Then come and get it.”

  She burst forward, meeting the thing and slashing her spear in an expert movement, cutting through the creature in a clean slice. The Corrupted bellowed in pain as the red spear of lightning and energy cut it in two, sizzling and burning as it did. The beast stood rigid for a moment, then slowly slid apart in two pieces, black blood spurting in spots between burnt flesh. The two chunks that were once the monster plopped to the ground in a husk of blood and guts and burned parts.

  Demi slid to a stop, turning on her heal and bringing the spear around in a twirling motion, pointing pulsating spearhead at the thing as if it may come back for another round.

  The Corrupted lay in a heap of bloody pieces, smoke rising from the burnt body that began to dissolve to a black energy. Demi stepped to the thing, holding the quivering spear of red forward, and the black energy was sucked into its tip like a vacuum. Once the energy was consumed, the body dissipated to nothingness, floating up in a dark mist. Her red spear jolted and jumped with quivering energy like the deep, resonating beat of her heart but louder and all around her.

  Then it hit her—the memories of the Corrupted before it became what it was. Its life, its exploits, its turn to darkness, its corruption. All of it filling her, exposing her, taking her, hurting her, and then, as she clenched up and tensed her body through the pulsing pressure, it was over and had been absorbed into her.

  She gripped the spear in hand as it turned back to its normal, silvery shape with its long, blue handle, the red box of energy she had unleashed before revealing itself and shattering like a huge, transparent box of glass. And then she was back to the damp street where the man had frantically run for his life from a creature he had no idea existed. The smell of rain coming off asphalt filled her nostrils.

  She stood, straight and tall, letting out a little breath of exhaustion, then narrowed her eyes in the direction the man had run.

  . . .

  Jerry rushed down the street, his condo only a few blocks away. He was so close. He’d get inside, lock the door behind him, take a shower, and then wind down for bed. He’d forget what happened, chalk it up to his insanely long workdays. He’d keep his job, get his numbers up, and everything would be fine.

  Right!? Right… “Right.”

  He wiped the sweat from his brow as he hobbled his way back to his apartment, cursing that he had left his suitcase behind.

  “Looking for this?” came a voice from the shadows, his suitcase sliding to his feet from the darkness. His jaw dropped and he fell back in a jerk. He looked around frantically, worried that something crazy was happening again, arms lifted as if they could defend him from that… that thing.

  “Who’s there,” he said, scrambling to get his suitcase, hugging it as if it was some sort of protectant or shield, not caring that his suit was all dirty and damp at this point. “I’m warning you, I’ve got a gun in here, and…” He moved to unlock the suitcase, flicking through the numbers to find the right combination, his hands fumbling and slipping. “Cursed thing.”

  “Oh, really?” came the voice of a woman, low and masculine but still with an air of femininity. She stepped into the light. Her short hair bobbed with her movements. Her arms were toned, and was that a smirk? Who was this woman? Why did she look as if she had a secret as dark as the shadows she had come from? Was she that creature’s master?

  The suitcase unlocked, and he smirked himself, a little chuckle escaping his lips as he opened it and reached for something. “Yeah, I do, and now you’re done, lady.”

  When he looked up, she was on him, spear swinging forward in a slashing movement, and he raised his hands defensively.

  “Gah!” He fell back, screaming out as a blast of red blinded him with brightness, his suitcase flying in the air as he fell back.

  Jerry blinked blurriness from his eyes. He was on the ground, staring up at the dark sky that revealed itself increasingly with each blink. He groaned, feeling as if he had just woken from a deep slumber.

  What happened? And where was he? Had he blacked out from being drunk? He rubbed the side of his head as he sat up with a grunt. His suitcase lay next to him. He licked his lips and stared down at it for a long moment. How had he gotten here? He was at the office, struggling to do what he could to get his numbers up, staying there way past the end of his shift, pounding Red Bulls like they were going out of style, and… He remembered the foolish decision to add rum to a Red Bull… or two. He let out another groan, realizing how stupid that was. His breaths heavy, he realized he must have passed out while trying to stumble home. Yet, why in the middle of the street? He sighed. It didn’t matter. That’s what he got for drinking on the job. Stupid, very stupid. This was all caused from his poor attitude and lack of numbers at work. It’d all be fine. He’d fix it all.

  He picked himself up and brushed himself off, wiping some drool from the side of his mouth as he leaned over to grab the suitcase, a little shiver moving through him as if he was supposed to remember something… something terrifying, but just chalked it up to the cool breeze because it had been storming not fifteen minutes earlier, right? How did he remember that?

  He rubbed his head and chuckled. “Note to self, don’t drink at work anymore.” And then he sauntered his way home, chuckling and shaking his head at his idiocy.

  Demi stood in the shadow of an alleyway, her luminescent eyes watching him leave. She glanced at her spear as it did something that was troubling. Something rare, something she knew of but had never experienced.

  It pulsated with a resounding sound much like a heartbeat, thumping twice, and reverberating up and down her body. Her vision blurred, her body splitting into three. She stumbled and steadied herself against the wall. A final heartbeat hit her, like a warning bell from ancient villages, clanging a final gong of death. Her vision returned to normal, and she gulped, feeling as if she had just exerted her body through an extreme workout regimen. None of it was normal, but it was something that she knew of, was expecting yet wasn’t ready for.

  Not yet, at least.

  She flicked her wrist slightly, and the spear dissolved to red energy much like the translucent box she had formed earlier that was her Limit Barrier. The red energy particles floated and vanished to nothingness. She flexed her hand to a solid fist, then extended the fingers, letting out a long sigh and looking up at the large, illuminated moon.

  “It’s time.”

  . . .