Zaria's day stretches on, dragging behind her like a heavy weight. The fight is always the same pretend. Hide. Survive. She spends the rest of her classes trying to blend in, hiding behind her notebook, pretending to take notes when her thoughts are miles away.
But the moment she walks out the door and steps onto the campus lawn, she feels it. The shift.
Something's off.
Her phone buzzes again. This time, it's Emmanuel someone who's known Zaria longer than most. His messages are always kind, but there's something about him she can't quite place. He's too perfect. Too calm. Too easy to talk to.
"You good? I noticed you looked off this morning. Meet up after class?"
She stares at the message for a long time, fingers hovering over the screen. She doesn't want to meet up. She doesn't want to deal with anyone. But Emmanuel has a way of pulling her out of the dark without even realizing it.
"I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow." She hits send before she can second guess herself.
But even as she walks away, she feels that lingering unease. The demons are waiting for her to crack, to let the cracks show.
Later that evening, Zaria finds herself on her rooftop, staring out at the darkening sky. The city is a wash of neon lights and distant sounds. It should be calming. Instead, it feels like a battleground.
Her hand clenches into a fist as she stares out over the edge. The familiar burn spreads across her palm, a signal that they're near.
The demons are always near.
Her breath hitches as the first shadow flickers on the ground beneath her. It's small, almost unnoticeable. But Zaria knows better than to ignore it. She's been running from them for years, but they always catch up.
They crawl out from the cracks in the world creatures born from her darkest fears. From the things she hides in the deepest corners of her mind.
One of them takes shape a tall, hunched figure with eyes that glow like embers. Its smile is wide, too wide, stretching far beyond what a human face should be capable of. It's here, waiting, watching, feeding off her fear.
"Not tonight," she whispers to herself. But it doesn't matter. The demons never listen. They never leave.
She steps back, her hand reaching inside her jacket pocket, fingers brushing against the cold metal of a talisman she's carried for years. It's small an old, tarnished coin with an inscription she doesn't fully understand. It was a gift from her grandmother, someone who'd seen these things before and taught Zaria how to fight them in silence.
The demon lunges.
Zaria's body reacts before her mind catches up, pulling the talisman from her pocket and holding it out in front of her like a shield. The moment it touches the air, the demon's screech rips through the night, and its body shrinks back, as if burned by the light that radiates from the coin.
She keeps her stance firm, even as the air around her crackles with tension. The demon retreats a few steps, its eyes locked onto hers with a mixture of rage and something darker.
This fight won't be easy. But she's not giving up. Not tonight.
The battle rages on for what feels like an eternity. The air thickens with dark energy, and the ground beneath her trembles. Each time the demon lunges, she parries with the talisman, its light pushing the creature back.
But there's a price for every strike. Zaria's breath comes faster, her body feels like it's being torn apart by invisible hands. She can feel the weight of the fight sinking into her muscles, dragging her down.
She's going to lose. She can feel it. The demons know her weakness.
And then, just as she thinks she can't fight anymore, a new force enters the fray.
"Zaria!"
She looks up, heart racing, only to see Emmanuel running toward her from the edge of the rooftop. His eyes are wide with concern, but there's something else in them too. The same look of determination she's learned to hate.
"Get away!" she yells, panic seizing her chest. Emmanuel doesn't listen. He steps closer, and in the space of a single heartbeat, the air shifts.
The demon screeches, its body twisting and writhing as though it's caught in an invisible net. Emmanuel's presence is a force.
"What are you doing here?" Zaria's voice trembles, too raw for her liking.
"I'm not leaving you to fight this alone," Emmanuel replies, his voice steady. "I told you I'd be here, didn't I?"
She stares at him, the overwhelming feeling of betrayal creeping into her bones. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't see this. He should stay away.
But he doesn't. Instead, he steps closer, and the talisman in Zaria's hand flares to life once more, glowing brighter as he approaches.
The demon screeches one last time, and with a final, terrifying howl, it dissolves into nothingness.
The silence that follows is deafening. Zaria's hands shake, her mind reeling from the fight. Emmanuel stands beside her, breathing heavily but unharmed.
For a moment, neither of them speaks. The weight of what just happened presses down on Zaria's chest.
"You..." She swallows, trying to steady her voice. "You can't be here. You can't see this."
"I'm not going anywhere, Zaria," he says softly. "I told you. I'm here to fight with you."
Zaria doesn't know what to say. Her heart is still racing, but his words, his presence, stir something deep inside her.
For the first time, she doesn't feel so alone.