Chapter 8 - The Demon Within

ris quickly jumped to defend himself. “No! Wait! I’m one of the good guys!” he said. The girl started to back up. “Why are you so afraid of me? It not like I’m gonna-” Before he finished the sentence, she quickly swiped him with the claws on her fingertips in the face. The poor boy yelped and took a few steps backwards covering his face with his hands. She started to creep towards him with a different expression on her face; an almost apologetic expression.“Oh! I’m sorry. I thought you where someone else.” She said while reaching out to pull his hands from his face. “Let me see how bad it is.” She pulled his hands away to see the damage.Only three of her fingers did any damage. The two outer marks where very shallow like a paper cut while the middle strike was still not too deep but deep enough to draw blood and cause a little panic. “How does it feel?” She asked.“It kinda stings like a burn.” Chris replied. “Who did you think I was? The boogey man?” She thought for a moment, then for some reason, sniffed the air around him.“Croc.” She said. “Croc the Hybrid.” Chris was somewhat confused.“Isn’t he that wolf that has piercings everywhere and drinks too much?” He asked. She nodded.“A bit of a harsh way to put it but yes.” She answered.“Why are you so afraid of him?” He asked. She gave him a grim look.“Why are you NOT afraid of him is more like the question.” She said. “Croc is one of the scariest guys in town. He can be a good guy most of the time but like every other person who gets carried away with their drinking, they start acting crazy.”  She explained.“Of course.” Chris interrupted.“Anyways Croc is different. When someone gets drunk, they have mood swings.” She started.“Yet again, of course” Chris interrupted again.“Anyways when Croc get depressed, he turns into a dragon. That isn’t anything to worry about.” The girl explained. She paused, and then continued again. “But when he gets mad, he turns into his demon form. It’s where his wolf DNA and dragon DNA collide into each other and creates a whole new monster we call the hybrid form.”“Half dragon, half wolf, all bad, eh?” Chris asked. “Yup.” She said. “Well how can I avoid this demon Croc?” Chris asked.“Don’t get him angry.” The girl told him. She suddenly looked surprised. “We never really introduced ourselves have we? My name is Ayane.” She said.“Ayane.” Chris mirrored. “That’s a pretty name. Are you from Japan?” He asked. Ayane looked puzzled.“Japan…? Where’s that?” She asked.“Oh. Right. I’m not at home on Earth.” He mumbled. She laughed.“Earth?” She giggled. She sat  next to him with a smile on her face. “Your on it silly!”The words struck Chris like a freight train. “I’m…..I’m already here?” He asked. She nodded and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “That’s not possible….”“You look like you’ve been through a lot. You fell that way too.” She pointed out. “You also look like you haven’t had a good rest in a long time.”
She was right. Back home, Chris was really stressed about schoolwork and often stayed up late to finish it. He hasn’t slept very well in at least a month.Ayane gently shifted Chris into an almost hugging pose. “Rest. You deserve it.”And just like that. He passed out. That night he dreamed about this, “Zero Earth”. “Where am I really? How am I going to get back? Even if I do get back, can I visit this place when I want? Who is this girl and why is she so nice to me for cryin’ out loud?!”  There’s an old question saying that some questions will never be answered.                                     But which one?

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