Apocalypse Files: Akuma

Akuma-

“Hey, new girl, when are you gonna grow up and stop talking to yourself?” one boy asked, passing the quiet girl that was sitting on a swing reading.

“Yeah! You’re so lame, sitting and reading and not talking to anyone!” another shouted. “C’mon, grow up already!”

The girl didn’t look up from her book.

“Hey, listen to me!” the first boy said, knocking the book out of her hands.

The girl kept looking down at her now empty hands.

Pulling on her pigtail, the second boy said, “Grow up and learn how to reply to people stronger than you!”

The girl let out a scream. “Stop it! That hurts! Stop!”

“Or what? You’ll hit us with your book?” The boy pulled harder while his friend took the other pigtail and pulled.

“Stop it! I’ll do whatever you want! Just stop!” She was crying now.

“Whatever we want?” the first boy asked. “What an interesting offer. Well, then. We’re gonna beat the shit out of you.”

“But, of course,” the second boy added, “we’re gonna let you have the opportunity to beat us up.” He turns to a third boy. “Get everyone over by the End Court, okay?”

The third boy nodded, running off to tell everyone to go to the obstacle course on the other side of the playground.

The two other boys dragged the girl by her hair to the obstacle course. It had gotten the name ‘End Court’ after some groups started using it for passage ceremonies. Those ‘End Games’ would leave only one to win, while any other competitors were left with bruises and scratches. It was a kid’s game after all; nobody was about to kill anyone.

The three made it to the Court, the girl crying and screaming still whenever one of the boys pulled too hard. Somebody handed each of them a badminton racket before announcing that this was going to be a sparring match. The boy from before came back with his own racket, suddenly appearing terribly strong compared to the other two.

The girl stared at the racket in her hands, not knowing what to do with it when something slammed against her head. She fell to the ground and looked up at the faces of three laughing boys.

“I didn’t think this could be so easy!”

“C’mon, let’s finish her off!” The boy raised his racket above his head and brought it down.

Thud

The girl was gone.

All of a sudden, the boy was laying on the ground, the back of his head bleeding from a large gash just above his neck. The girl was standing behind him, loose strands of hair covering her eyes.

“Holy crap!”

“Is she some sort of monster?!”

“Run for it!”

The two other boys turned to face her. One said, “That was a lucky shot, but you’re not getting away with this!”

Gripping the racket with both hands, the boy charged at her, holding the mock weapon in front of him. A pain like electricity lit up in his wrist, and when he looked down, his hand was covered in blood. “What the hell are you?!” he asked, terrified of the girl.

She didn’t look up. All she did was raise the racket like a bat and swing it until it connected with the boy’s neck and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Siren’s could be heard approaching the school. This little peaceful community was no longer the safe place it used to be. People were rushing into the school grounds to retrieve their children before the freak child could harm them as well.

The last boy stood frozen in front of the girl. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move, and he most definitely couldn’t escape any of the girl’s attacks. He felt something wet on his shirt. Looking down for a moment, he saw the racket shoved between his ribs. He didn’t even scream. He just stared at the thing sticking out of his chest.

The police got to the girl just after that. She didn’t look like the person that would do anything bad. Skinny and lanky, hair pulled into low pigtails, wearing pink and grey. But when they saw her face, they knew she had done it.

Her lips were twisted into some sort of maniac grin: stretched tight with all her teeth showing. Her eyes were glazed over with indifference and they sparkled with insane energy. Her hair had gone loose in random places, only to make her look even more insane.

“Is this the devil?!”

“What kind of sick joke is this?”

“She’s some sort of demon!”

The girls thoughts were racing as she heard that word. Demon. Monster. Devil. Demon. Satan. Freak. Beast. Animal. Demon…

“What’s your name?” one officer asked.

After a minute, the girl mumbled something that was actually comprehensible. “A…kuma…”

“Akuma? So she really is the devil!”

“What sort of parents would give a child that sort of name?!”

“No wonder she’s so messed up!”

The girl smirked. I really am a devil.

“Akuma. Akuma! Earth to Akuma!”

The girl snapped out of it. “Whaa? What happened?!”

Another girl laughed. “Looks like you were back in time again. That’s been happening a lot, hasn’t it?”

Akuma nodded. “I guess I was just spacing out.” It was just a memory. That was four years ago. There was more important stuff to worry about.