THE WORLD OF RUINS

Njabulo must have mistaken my yelling for primal fear of the monster. His eyes hardened with misplaced heroic resolve. He made a stance and ripped his katana from its sheath. “I don’t care if you’re a complete idiot, I’m not letting a comrade get eaten.” And right on cue, something enormous peeled itself from the darkness. The demon waddled forward with a stretching sound. It was obese with six massive arms that were dragged across the ground. Its head was small compared to its body with beady yellow eyes that glowed. Njabulo inhaled sharply and immediately shot forward. The demon roared and one of the massive forearms shot out aimed at Njabulo but he jumped, performing a backflip and the demon’s blow slammed into the concrete, sending dust exploding outward and leaving a crater. ​Njabulo landed cleanly on the demon’s offending arm which was still partially embedded in the floor and started sprinting along its surface toward the thing’s head.Three other hands shot out, two coming

I couldn’t really sleep, I kept turning again and again. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the white skin and black markings of that demon. The exhaustion there and so heavy but I just couldn’t fall asleep. So I simply waited, counting the seconds until the darkness outside was completely replaced by sunlight. ​When the sun was finally up, I didn’t waste any time. I pushed myself off the bed, walked to the chipped wooden dresser and opened the top drawer. I grabbed the sealed pack I kept hidden for emergencies. I pulled one out, lit it and inhaled deeply. Then I went and stood by the window, watching the traffic below begin its daily crawl and smoked the cigarette down to the filter. Once the smoke was gone, the immediate edge was taken off the morning. ​I stripped off my blood-stained clothes, stepped into the bathroom and let the shower run hot until the apartment filled with steam, washing away all the bad energy. Twenty minutes later, I was me again. Dressed in a black suit a

The next morning I woke up with a headache that felt like I was hit by a truck. I sat up, rubbing the knot on my forehead and the room spun for a dizzying second. – That bastard. ​I then went to shower and it did its best to cleanse my exhaustion but not the headache. I got into my attire and walked to the door afterwards but paused there for some while, my mind feeling hazy. – Am I forgetting something? ​I frowned, running a mental checklist. Everything was present and accounted for, so I went out and drove toward the precinct. When I finally staggered into the station, I looked exactly how I felt. I ignored the stares, bypassed my desk and went straight for the water cooler, pouring an entire cup of ice water down my throat. ​“Qwabe! About time you showed up.” Detective Miller called out, walking by. “The Captain’s been asking for you.” ​ “Argh, again?” I muttered, setting the cup down and already turning toward the Captain’s office. I opened the door and sauntered in. “Hey,

I woke up with a shout caught in my throat and kicking out. My shoe slammed hard into the front seat of the car. The suddenness of it jarred me instantly. ​“Hey baby, are you alright?” ​My mother’s voice was soft. I looked up and she turned around in the driver’s seat, her face framed by soft brown hair and her eyes wide. ​Huh… was that a dream or a vision of how my life will be after my mom dies? No. In that chaotic dream, I didn’t even recognize her face. ​“Yeah. I just had a bad dream.” I replied. ​She smiled at me. “Wanna tell me about it?” ​I quickly shook my head. “No, it’s good. I already forgot most of it anyway.” ​She straightened, putting the car into park as we arrived at our house. “Okay, then. Tell me about school, is that boy Njabulo bothering you again?” ​Njabulo? He was in the dream too but he died. ​I tried to keep the shock out of my voice. “No, Mom. Today he didn’t do anything to me.” ​“I’m glad.” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Because I was

Man, this is such a pain. – I stood at the entrance to the service hallway, facing an entire lobby full of possessed civilians. They were all armed with whatever they’d grabbed from the immediate surroundings and spaced out just enough to make passing impossible without a fight. I walked a few steps away then stopped, rubbing the bridge of my nose in frustration. – Why did I even agree to come here? – I checked my pockets, my fingers brushing against a crumpled tissue paper and nothing else. Then I remembered that I left my cigarettes home and my irritation turned into a furious boil. I stomped my foot on the floor once rapidly, trying to stomp away the fury that the demon had ignited. When I stopped, I stared at the crowd again and sighed deeply. – I can’t fight them all. My body still hasn’t recovered it’s full stamina after the explosion and if start fighting them, I’ll only be depleting myself before I even reached the demon. I need an opening. ​I worked the scenario in my h