Iwashiro Naya
Naya played on a swing, each drop swooshing hair over her face before her pitch-black locks swooshed back. He was late and she needed to go sooner rather than later.
She sighed, shutting her eyes to listen a city that wasn't her home. It was the quietest she'd ever heard it. Only the river water splashing against rock, and the clank, squeak and cry of the swing's chain touching her ears.
A smile crept up, what would Futaro think?
What was there to think about? There wasn't a reason to talk to Drake last month.
She hadn't tried, not with that asshole as his bestie. But she needed someone who wouldn't be believed. Plus he understood, that mattered.
'Understand' meant stare and nod when she spoke of her dreams, the alternative Nayas who haunted her with memories that weren't hers. There were times, as such, where the question of whether his 'understanding' was the real reason. If it wasn't something… more… obvious. Afterall, if he wanted to prove himself as good enough for her time, he could just tell Futaro. And like two beefy cavemen, they could… a part of her mind activating shut down before baby oil came up, her nuclear reactor's fail safe turning off for the good of the core.
How stupid.
He was late, she had to be home. In fact, why hadn't her driver called? Naya sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten before tapping out. At least she'd been smart taking her backpack. A school uniform so late was… frowned on.
She swung lazily, staring at black and white sneakers in the sand. The only patch of brown in a sea of perfect green. Looking up, it dawned on her how dark it was.
It was midnight black.
The sun set only a second ago. But it wasn't just that.
There'd been a gaggle of giggling teens a minute ago...
Her phone said past six. There should've been something. Panic hit but disappeared. Dismissed as a waste of resources, banished to same toxic waste site in the depths of the universe.
It's only darkness Naya, grow up.
She'd taken too long; her driver would get an earful from her mother if she didn't call. Thinking about it, he'd get an earful anyway.
Looking for loiterers, she hurried for the exit.
Has the park always been this big?
It was endless.
It wasn't safe to be alone in the dark, especially foe a girl. The last few months had produced too many stories, all more horrific than the last. Halfway down the path she stopped.
From within oppressive darkness between the trees was a white horse. It was huge, and, one didn't need to be a horse whisperer to know it was beautiful.
Curiosity beat instinct.
She could hear it eating, tearing neat clumps before chewing, as though, at any moment, it'd stop and clomp out a review.
Instinct warned that upsetting the beast would be bad for her life span. Which was silly, it wasn't a tiger! She watched from afar, its head angled to her. On it, a beautiful white horn.
"Great, mean kids must have stuck that to you." She whispered.
She edged closer. Red flags flashed, her reactor went critical, there was running and screaming.
The beast turned. Their eyes locked.
Naya had to bite her lip to hold back a scream, behind it was a beast, its head black and disfigured. It kept eating. Its fangs tore deep, eating soil and greenery alike. Vicious would've been an understatement.
Instinct told her to run, no, demanded.
Carefully Naya backed up. The white horse, which had yet to blink, growled.
Its lips receded and revealed fangs designed to rend flesh, hers.
Horrific and impossible, its head grew wide. Bone cracked and spread right before her eyes. Like dirt becoming a mall it… became. Its face more vicious than the beast.
It was, ridiculous! It couldn't be happening. The supernatural didn't exist, those who thought it did were stupid! Stupid was going to kill her. The other looked up, grumbling. The white head, twisted.
She could hear her unbreakable walls of common-sense crashing. The resulting nuclear shockwave so impressive there was crashing in her ears. She turned and ran, ready to throw everything she had into it, screaming her heart out.
Next Up
Yamamoto Jin