Capítulo 3: Monster Snakeskin

There was a loud shriek nearby made Devin snap from his thoughts. His eyes widened, realizing that he was outside and the stained souls that were near him were free to enjoy his guts as their snack.

"What is happening?!" Devin screamed as he entered his apartment complex. "Hello?"

The whole building was void of people. Silence engulfed the halls and the thick fog coated everything. It was getting harder to see that Devin almost tripped a couple of times.

The boy could only run and scream for help. He knew that it was hopeless. Everyone turned to tombstones. There was no other one in the complex except for him and his cat.

"Baxter," Devin whispered and ran to his neighbor's unit. The door was unlocked so he went inside and saw the large Labrador beside the sofa. The tip of the tombstone was on the seat of the sofa.

"Baxter?" Devin called out. The dog growled, his canines were showing in his anger. Devin knew his neighbor's dog doesn't like him. But since Revelation can see him, he thought Baxter could too.

And his hypothesis was right. The angry dog walked towards him. As his fangs showed, his growl grew louder. Baxter barked at Devin continuously. It was as if he saw a burglar inside his fur-parent's home.

After leaving Baxter, Devin walked out of his neighbor's apartment and went to the lobby. What is happening to him? First, he sees stained souls even before the sirens, and now this? What more bad luck would come his way?

Devin opened his phone and could only chuckle sarcastically when he saw that it was on static. How could a mobile phone display a static screen? Just the thought of it was ridiculous in Devin's mind.

"What utter nonsense is this?!" he yelled. His voice echoed throughout the whole empty building. He was ready to give up when he heard a clank on the second floor. "Is someone there?"

As he ran towards the direction of the sound, his instincts told him to stop. There was something sketchy about the clanking. It was as if someone was dragging a metal object and taps it on the floor a few times before dragging it again.

He peeked over the wall and saw a humanoid figure that carried a large bat. Its size was over four times the size of a regular bat. The bat looked heavy, yet the man dragged it like it was nothing.

Devin squinted his eyes and held his breath at the terrifying sight. The man who was dragging the giant bat had scales in his skin. Like his whole body was made of a snake's skin.

The blonde boy walked backwards in fear. What in the hell is happening to him? Just this morning everything was normal for him. The small stained souls that littered on the streets that only he could see, the sirens before the darkness falls onto his side of the planet did not mean anything else. Everything was normal.

His leg tripped on something that made a clanking sound. It was the tin garbage can Mr. De Vera always put outside his condo. The sound snapped the monster's head and stared at Devin.

His legs were stiff, his whole body couldn't move. He couldn't even utter a single word. The terror of the sight in front of him was too much for his heart.

The monster looked at Devin, turning his body and showing his large, bulky scale-covered chest. He was wearing nothing but a ripped denim pants and a single piece of a tattered shoe.

"P-Please don't kill me," was all Devin could say. He tumbled backwards when he tried to walk away. His position is even worse now. His small chance of running away was taken from him the moment he fell.

Is this my end? Devin asked himself.

His body trembled, his vision became blurry, his mind went hazy. He closed his eyes to accept his fate. If this is really what is meant to happen, he will greet it with a smile.

The bat was lifted in the air, the monster growled in anger, and Devin's lips curled into a smile.

Just when he was about to let Fate have its way with him, he felt his body being pulled down. It was as if he was falling. He couldn't open his eyes. Maybe because of the fear of death.

The one thing he wanted to avoid most in the world.

A few moments of silence had passed, and Devin felt himself getting pulled back up. He opened his eyes to see a headless monster in front of him. Its body faded into thin air like it was scorched without any flame.

In his hand was a glowing sword. The sword was long but not too thick. If it wasn't for the bright light the sword was emitting, he wouldn't spot it. It was weightless that it missed his attention.

Devin gripped the sword when it faded into thin air. But unlike the now flameless burning monster, the white glowing sword slowly turned transparent before it fully faded.

After witnessing everything, Devin stood up and went to his bed. He's tired from all the stress the night brought him. He needed to close his eyes and relax. Maybe in the morning, everything will be alright.

Maybe.

"You look like crap," was Alex greeting to Devin when the latter got to school. He woke up in the morning, his face was red and there were circles under his eyes. Dark as night circles.

The events of the night before felt like a bad dream – no – it was a nightmare. The moment Devin closed his eyes, the first siren of the morning rang. He did his best to forget about all that happened, despite having clear memory of the events.

"I'm… tired," was all Devin said. Alex was about to talk when the bell rang. "See you in Class, Al."

"See 'ya," Alex replied. For the two years that they shared, Devin never saw his best friend went to class. He looked back and saw his friend, sitting on the desk and looking at him.

He gave his friend a smile and ran inside their school. Devin knew he shouldn't do it, but curiosity got the best of him. He stopped midway to his classroom and hid behind the backdoor. His petite figure helped him to hide since his height can't reach the glass pane of the door.

Devin took a peek and found Alex sitting up and walking away. Alex looked suspicious. Like he was going somewhere he shouldn't be at.

Where are you going, Alex? The frail boy asked himself and secretly followed his raven-haired friend.

Alex was look until he reached the wall of the school. Going outside the school premises while classes are ongoing was not allowed. They both knew that. Alex looked around and crawled under the bush in front of the cement wall.

"So, there's hole behind that huh?" Devin asked himself and followed his friend.

Alex walked towards downtown and into a narrow alley. It was weird considering it was daytime and Alex wasn't being discreet about wearing his school uniform and being on the streets in daylight.

People were stealing glances from Devin. St. Luke's Academy was a famous school. Devin was lucky he had got a scholarship to pay for the tuition. But the popularity of his school did not help him in this situation.

Devin followed his best friend throughout the alley. He was creeping on the dark side of the alley while watching his friend walk towards a group of people.

There were six people with Alex. Two girls, a large man, one smaller man and two boys who looked like they were in Alex's age. One of the girls passed him a jar of pills. As she reached her hand, her olive skin shined under the sun. Like it was made of porcelain.

Just like Devin.

Alex took the pill and flinched. His body shook like he was having a seizure. Devin was about to go in and help but Alex stopped shaking. With stretch, his skin radiated under the sunlight. Like it was made of porcelain too.

Shocked, Devin backed away and ran towards the direction of his school. The guard was baffled when he saw the same blonde boy enter the school twice today, but Devin didn't even spare him a glance.

Alex was hiding something from him. And one way or another, he's gonna know what his friend is hiding. The thought saddened Devin that his only friend has a secret. Maybe Alex wasn't someone he really knew too well.

He shook the thoughts off and walked inside his class. It didn't bother him that people were glaring at him at all. His mind was too preoccupied with the ide of his friend's secret.

Devin didn't want to think badly of his friend but maybe his friend was in a gang. Not stereotyping, but the people Alex met with had tattoos all over their bodies. They were wearing dark clothes that screamed gang.

While he was drifting away in his calculus class, Devin remembered his dream. The morning he woke up, he was in his bed, everyone wasn't tombstones and the large monster was gone. Maybe it was one of those silly dreams he always had as a kid.

Then again, he could see stained souls before the sirens call. The thought of it being real did not leave his mind.

But it didn't stop him from hoping that it wasn't.