Ding Dong...
The quiet sound of the bell above the door chimed loud across the store.
"Welcome to Your Convenience, only the best corner store in the world..." A monotonous voice rang from behind the counter with the same tone as someone who wanted nothing more than to drop dead on the spot.
There was no response from the customer, the old man wearing an old blue shirt paid the routine no mind.
Behind the counter stood a medium-height man, with matted black hair and glasses. He was hunched over a thick notebook filled to the brim with random sketches and details of superpowers and character ideas.
"This will be the one... They'll like this one!"
Muttered the man, finishing the description of a superhero in a bug costume.
He was Arata Kurosawa, a Japanese immigrant who had dreams of being the best comic book writer in America. Unfortunately, the world wasn't so forgiving. He's brought over 20 story ideas to an editor at his local publishing company, but none of them have been approved.
After a couple more moments of scribbling, he sighed, and wiped a bead of sweat off his face before turning his head to look out the window.
"They better like this one..."
But as he muttered to himself, he furrowed his brow in confusion. Outside, no one moved, they all stopped in their tracks. Teenagers who were glued to their phones turned to look at the sky. People who were in the middle of their shifts had left their buildings to gaze up. Everyone outside stared blankly at something Arata couldn't see.
"What the hell?"
Arata stepped out from behind the counter, letting the pen and paper drop from his hand. As he stepped outside, he felt warm. He began to sweat and redden almost immediately.
Arata followed their gaze, tracing it upward to the sky, and he too could not look away.
In the sky was a large, crimson gash, as if someone had stabbed the sky open.
A deep red mist began to ooze out from the small opening, infecting the calm blue air around it.
At this point, people had already begun to scream. To run.
The red mist continued to spread, but then suddenly, the large rip started to open. A faint orange glow seeped through.
"W-What on Earth is this?"
Arata was frozen, no one had seen anything like this before. What do you even do in such a situation?
But the rip kept pulsating, stretching and widening with every beat. It flashed with such a bright orange that Arata had to cover his eyes, and when he opened them again, it was… raining?
Arata could see small beads of liquid begin to fall from the sky, and his eyes immediately widened.
He was hit with an instant and putrid stench: iron. He had thought it just appeared red because of the sky, but no. It was unmistakable— this was a blood rain.
Slowly, more and more people around him came to the same conclusion, and more people began to scream.
"AAHHHH! It's raining blood!" A young woman shouted, sprinting away with a carriage.
However, she couldn't get far, after a few steps, the ground beneath her shattered, and her foot fell into the cracked asphalt, stopping her.
She shrieked in pain, reaching down to try and free herself. As she lifted the first piece of asphalt, a hand, an unsettling pink color with small patches of bone piercing through broke through the ground, and its angular fingers wrapped around her thigh.
With horrified eyes, the woman watched as the hand grasped tightly, instantly shatteting her femur. Before she could do anything except scream in agony, the hand pulled, dropping her to the ground instantly.
The side of her head collides hard with the pavement and she doesn't move anymore. And she was just the first.
All around, strange, semi-humanoid members break through the ground and push themselves to the surface.
Slowly, grotesque creatures emerge from the cracks. People scream, they run. Not many get far.
Arata stares in horror before dashing back into his store and locking the door behind him.
"This can't be real!"
He jumps behind the counter, pressing the red button under the top that calls the police, but it doesn't buzz like it usually does. Though he doesn't realize.
"The cops will come… they'll handle this! I-I'll be safe!"
Says Arata, covering his face and crouching behind the counter.
He looks up for a moment to see the commotion outside, only to be faced with the horror of watching a young teenage boy trying to run for safety inside his store.
"Hey! Open up! Please!"
The boy begs, banging on the door as a hunched over creature approached him on all fours, its burnt purple skin was covered with burns, cuts, and blisters. As it neared, it opened its large, gaping maw to reveal dozens of rings of teeth covering its mouth and throat.
Arata stared, paralyzed, unable to will himself the courage to help the boy.
"Hey! I know you can see me! Please open up!"
The boy locked eyes with Arata, who was cowering behind the counter. The boy's eyes widened in fright as the creatures mouth descended upon him, dripping hot saliva down ontop of his head.
"N-No!"
The creature's low growl trembled in the silence.
Then it lunged.
That last word carved itself into Arata's bones as he watched the toothed gullet consume the boys entire upper torso with a wet squelch, the arms flailing as blood sprayed across the glass. His ribs fracture under the weight, caving inward as his organs start falling out the cavity. His intestines hit the floor with a heavy slap, as the force of the creatures attack started to shatter the weak glass and aluminum of the door, busting the lock completely.
With one final crack, the creature closes its mouth, the blood, bones, and organs blend together in its throat as it lets out a low, guttural growl.
The boy's body, now devoid of a soul, falls limply down the shattered glass, the bloody hands smearing down its surface as it slumps forward into the store.
Ding Dong…