"Come back here, you little thief!"
A woman in a stained apron yells at me from her storefront, waving a butcher knife.
"I paid you!"
I yell back as I run down the street with a chicken leg in my hand.
"Rocks don't count as money! Damn caveman kid!"
The lady throws her broom at me, and it's sure to hit me on the head. I dodge it by ducking as I keep running without stopping.
If you're wondering, the stones were pretty. They're probably worth some money.
I turn the corner and run away with my precious chicken leg. My stomach growls because I'm even hungrier since last night's battle.
At that moment, I pass a house with the window wide open. From there, I can see inside where there is a large television currently showing the morning news.
I stop there, intrigued, and watch the news from the window.
It makes me look like a stalker right now.
A young reporter in a suit is talking to a person dressed as a scientist. The scientist is an older man in a white coat and thick glasses. He looks very serious and concerned.
"Mr. Yamamoto, can you explain these ghouls to our viewers?"
The scientist nods gravely and adjusts his glasses before speaking.
"We must accept the existence of ghouls as a fact. The authorities and the government have officially classified ghouls as a dangerous species that feeds exclusively on human flesh. They are predators of our species."
'Ghouls, huh...'
Well, for a few years now, rumors of the existence of ghouls had been circulating among the population.
Investigators often find people who have been dismembered and appear to have been devoured by something.
But people really think it's not real and that it's just the government trying to instill fear in them to manipulate them or some conspiracy theory like that.
Humans being humans, denying what they don't want to believe.
I bite into the chicken leg and swallow it. As time goes by, even raw meat starts to taste bad. It's worrying because my body is rejecting it more and more, but I have no other choice for food.
I swallow another bite with a look of disgust and see the reporter laughing nervously, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.
"Ha... ha ha... Mr. Yamamoto, surely you have evidence for these alarming claims, right?"
The scientist doesn't smile. He takes out a remote control and points it at a screen behind him.
"Of course. We have video evidence."
He shows a blurry video from a security camera. The quality is terrible.
A young girl wearing a school uniform walks down an empty street at night. Suddenly, her body is violently torn apart. A blurry figure emerges from the shadows with strange things protruding from its back.
That thing on its back resembles a long, thick, pulsating spear. It crouches over the convulsing body and begins to eat with frantic movements.
It's grotesque even with the pixels covering the victim and censoring the bloodiest parts.
I stop chewing because I recognize that place immediately.
"The victim was found in the commercial district."
The scientist says in a somber voice as he points to the frozen video.
In Tokyo... this commercial district.
That's the place Rei usually passes through to go to school every day.
Shit.
The reporter swallows hard and looks pale. He probably regrets agreeing to this interview. Then he asks the scientist in a trembling voice.
"I-Is there any way to distinguish them from normal humans?"
The scientist shakes his head.
"So far, we haven't found anything that physically distinguishes them from humans. Except that sometimes their eyes temporarily transform with black sclera and bright red irises. But normally they seem to live their lives among people using completely human forms. They could be your neighbor, your co-worker, even someone in your family."
"Scary..."
The reporter mutters as he wipes the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
Then the reporter seems to remember something and asks.
"Mr. Yamamoto, what do you think about what happened last night at the Takagi Estate? The incident where the patriarch of the family apparently attacked his own wife and daughter. Is it the fault of a ghoul?"
The scientist nods seriously.
"It is highly likely that this is another case of a ghoul. According to Mrs. Takagi's testimony, Souichiro Takagi violently attacked his family and guards using what appeared to be biological weapons coming out of his head. However, there is something interesting."
"What is it?"
"According to witnesses, another ghoul interrupted the scene. It apparently fought the first ghoul, and both disappeared. In the end, only Souichiro Takagi's lifeless body was found. It's a pity that we won't be able to obtain the body for study this time."
Oh! They mentioned me! I'm in the news!
Although they mistook me for a ghoul. Well, they can't know that I'm something completely different.
I can't keep listening because an older man with a newspaper in his hand is scolding me from inside the house.
"Hey! What are you doing sitting on my window sill, you brat?"
Ah, without realizing it, I was already sitting on the window, swinging my legs with amusement.
I give him a friendly smile and thank him with a nod.
"Thank you for letting me watch your TV, sir!"
Then I run away before he can yell at me anymore.
I eat the whole chicken thigh as I run to yesterday's river. I need to bathe because I'm dirty from what happened last night.
I reach the crystal-clear stream and quickly undress. I get into the cold water and rub my body, washing away all the dirt.
After catching some fish from the water with my hands, I walk home barefoot through the grass. I put the fish in a plastic bag I found lying around.
"Fufu... I already have dinner for tonight."
I change into new clothes that I keep in the old closet. A white T-shirt and blue shorts.
If you're wondering where I found the clothes, I would answer that I didn't steal them. That's true! I'm not lying this time!
There's a kind lady who distributes clothes to street children near here. She's a beautiful woman with a warm smile who never looks at me with fear like the others. She often gives me clean clothes in good condition, saying they're secondhand, so I'm very grateful to that woman. Someday I'll return the favor somehow.
I look at myself in the broken mirror. My long gray hair is wet and messy. My blue contact lenses are in place, covering my cloudy eyes. My pale skin looks a little pinker after last night's exercise.
Today is Sunday.
The three of us had planned to meet at the park as we always do on Sundays. Me, Rei, and Saya.
But because of what happened to Saya last night with her father being possessed by a parasite and almost killing her, it's very likely that she won't be able to come today.
She must be traumatized and probably won't even leave her house for a while.
Anyway, I'm going to the square because Rei can still come. And I don't want to leave her waiting alone.
In the empty square with playground equipment, I sit on the swing and start swinging while I wait.
The morning sun warms my skin pleasantly.
A few minutes later, I see a figure running towards me from the street.
It's Rei with her orange-brown hair shining in the sun. She's wearing a yellow dress and sandals. She looks cute as always.
When she sees me sitting on the swing, her face lights up with a big smile. She runs faster and jumps to hug me. Hey! Careful!
Not for me, but for you.
"Arata! Good morning!"
"Good morning, Rei."
I return her greeting while trying not to put too much force into my hand as I pat her on the back.
We separate and she sits down on the swing next to mine. We swing our feet in silence for a moment.
Then Rei breaks the silence with a soft, worried voice.
"Arata... did you hear what happened to Saya-chan?"
I nod slowly, pretending not to know the details.
"A little in the news. What exactly happened?"
Rei sighs sadly.
"My father told me last night when he got home. He said that Saya-chan's father turned into a ghoul. He attacked his family. There were many deaths. The guards tried to stop him, but..."
I know it wasn't a ghoul but an alien parasite. But I can't tell Rei that because she wouldn't understand, and it wouldn't do any good to worry her more.
It's normal that they don't know the difference between ghouls and parasites yet. The existence of ghouls only came to light a few years ago, when I was 6 years old.
And humans still don't want to fully accept their existence. It's too scary for them.
Another kind of monster invaded Earth last night when those green spores fell from the sky. And it may be that no one knows about it yet except me.
But sooner or later, they'll discover that parasites and ghouls are completely different. When more people become possessed and start acting strangely.
Rei looks at me, and I see myself reflected in her big red eyes.
"Arata... do you think ghouls really exist? The ones that eat humans... I mean, we've never seen them with our own eyes, right?"
I've killed one myself, though. I even ate its disgusting wing.
I smile.
"They exist, Rei. Hehehe... you have to be very careful."
"Don't laugh like that again, it's creepy!"
She scolds me, but I continue talking.
"Today I saw on the news that in the comercial district you pass through on your way to school, they filmed a ghoul devouring a girl. You should avoid that route for now."
Rei is startled. Her eyes widen in surprise. Then she pouts and gently hits me on the chest with her small fists.
"Don't try to scare me, Arata! That's mean!"
"Heh!"
"Even so, we're already on vacation for now. I won't be going there until next year."
Ah, that's right. It's almost Christmas and New Year's.
Shortly after, she looks down and shows a sad expression as her shoulders slump.
"Saya-chan must be very sad right now... She lost her father. And apparently even she and her mother almost died too if it weren't for another ghoul intervening and fighting the first one."
I nod as I recall the scene from last night. Yuriko hugging Saya, trying to protect her, and the parasite about to kill them before I arrived just in time.
"Yeah. She must be having a really hard time."
Rei looks up and stares at me with determination.
"We should visit her to cheer her up, don't you think? She needs to know that her friends are here for her."
I smile. Rei is so kind and thoughtful. She's one of the reasons I want to protect her.
"Yes. We should do that."
But internally, I worry. How will Saya react when she sees me? Will she suspect something? Did she see my face last night when I saved her?
I hope not.
Because if she finds out what I really am...
I'm nervous.
That said, I can't abandon my friend when she needs me most. So I'll go anyway. And I'll pray that everything turns out okay.
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pá treon.
pá treon.com/OlwinMoriarty