• Chapter 2: New World, New Rules

    Far off in another land, lay the continent that was first settled by the humans, just for humans. Now, demons had settled everywhere and were shunned by humans for most of the time. They came from the mother land that was taken over by humans many years ago, when their next heir had gone missing, and the king mysteriously died.
    A small town lay on the edge of a white sand beach that spans as far as the eye could see. Some seaweed lined the shore, but other than that the beach was well kept. The town was made of very few homes, only about enough to hold six families. Between the houses were dirt roads that connected the few shops and trading posts. To the south was another road that looked well traveled. It led to various other towns. Other than that, the houses were made of gray brick and mud, to insulate in the winter.
    The sea drifted with gentle care up and down the shore as a boy walked down the edge of the water, getting the bottom of his pants wet. His hair went to about shoulder length and was as white as a dove. He had eyes that shone a silvery-grey, almost similar to the metal blade of a scythe. A black shirt with the sleeves torn away, under a black vest with a mysterious emblem, covered his chest. As he walked in the sand with bare feet, he chewed on a small sliver of wood. He had circled around the beach three times already and was probably going to continue, but from the corner of his eye he noticed a patch of red in the sand. Interested, he ran up to where it was.
    In the sand laid a woman with red blood stained hair and black roots. She seemed to be unconscious, or dead, so he squatted down and poked her with his foot. She didn’t respond. Getting closer, he leaned down to examine a mark on her neck. He reached out to touch the red indentations around her throat.
    As his hand touched her neck a hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, so tightly it hurt. He tried to pull away, and as he did he noticed that the woman’s eyes had opened, and it was she who held his hand. “Mind letting go of my ******** hand, please?” He asked, wincing a little.
    The woman ignored his plead to be free from her grip and gripped even tighter. “God damn it! LET GO!!”
    As he struggled to get her hand off, he pulled backwards and ended up dragging the woman with him. Half way up the beach, the woman released her grip quickly. He was sent flying backwards into a puddle of water that was trapped on the land. “What the ********? Why’d you do that?” He questioned the mysterious woman after he had regained his composure.
    She didn’t answer him, but instead sat up and placed her hand on her forehead. The boy grew angry at her not answering any of his questions. He got up wanting to teach her a lesson. As he walked up the woman, she turned around in the sand to look at him. Her eyes grew large as she got a good look at the boy. “Father?” she said under her breath without realizing it.
    The boy paused for a second before he balled his fist and hit her, leaving a red mark on her cheek. Her head turned to the side and her eyes grew dark. He looked for some sign of pain in the woman’s face but there was nothing. It was as if she didn’t feel it. “He is no better than any of them,” she thought.
    The boy didn’t feel like going anywhere else so he sat in the sand next to the woman and relaxed. Looking at the sky he asked the woman, “You got a name, psycho?”
    In a weak voice she replied with hesitation, “Yeah,”
    The boy turned his head and stared at her for a second before saying, “Well, what the hell is it?”
    The woman looked into his eyes as she thought if she should tell him. “Why should I tell you… Kario?”
    He was taken by surprise. “How-” he thought before she finished his question.
    “How did I know your name?”
    Kairo was even more curious now, about whom this woman was and why did it seemed like she knew him.
    After a bit of thinking she answered, “I just knew it… that’s really all there is,”
    “Yeah, right. Psychic psycho. Come on. Spill it,”
    “There’s not a reason as to why now shut up.”
    “Uh-huh…”
    Kairo looked back up to the sky to watch a black winged bird with a red body fly across the never ending sky.
    “Kiena,” the woman said out of nowhere.
    “What now?”
    “My name…”
    “Oh… Kay…”
    When they both didn’t say anything Kairo reach into his pocket and took out a black lighter. As he began to flick it on and off, Kiena looked at it and watched the light blue flame dance. Then her eyes fell on to a burn mark on Kairo’s arm. It was a little above his right elbow and circled around his whole arm. When he noticed what she was looking at, he remarked, “You’re a far ways from home, kid,”
    “So are you, boy,” she said back, tuning her head to the ground.
    “It’s a tattoo,” he replied sarcastically, then added, “I, personally, like my mark,”
    Kiena looked up over the ocean trying to think, when she asked him something, “How long have you been here?”
    “Too long… want to sit someplace more comfortable? My butt’s goin’ numb.”
    Kiena nodded and got up off the lumpy sand. Kairo got up as well and started off for a nice patch of grass just a bit from the town. She followed after him until she got to a spot she liked, and laid down in the soft grass. As Kairo sat down next to her, she closed her eyes to rest. Kairo sat there watching her breath in and out.