A girl with two black horns stands in front of a small group of armed guards. Time seems to stand still as no guards seem sure of what to do. Finally, the guard chief grabs a large horn from his belt and blows loudly into it. The rumble that comes from it quakes loudly through the air.

“Demon at the North Gate, bring everyone!” The guard brandishes his sword—the girl’s head darts around frantically, searching for the source of the commotion.

“A d-demon?!” the girl cries out, still not realizing the situation. She walks forward towards the guard chief.

“Stay back, you monster! Is it fun to mock us like this?” The guard chief extends his sword toward the girl as the other guards fall in around him.

Finally, the girl realizes the situation, and wide-eyed reaches up to her head, her hands settle on a stone-like protrusion. Everything clicks as she realizes what’s going on, and a chill runs up her spine. I’m a demon.

Desperate to defuse the situation, her speech speeds up. “No, this is a misunderstanding. Let’s just talk this out. I’m a peaceful demon; I mean no harm.” The guards hold their ground without acknowledging her statement at all. “Come on. I’m a reasonable person. You’re reasonable people too, right?”

The girl waves her arms in the air, demonstrating her lack of aggression. However, an arrow comes flying from behind the guards; noticing it flying toward her vitals, the girl has just enough time to move her arm in its path. A tearing sound is heard as the sharp arrow rips through her soft flesh. As she stares wide-eyed at the arrow jutting from her hand, she lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

The girl stumbles away, attempting to escape as the swordsmen are closing in on her. Tears fill her eyes. The girl forces out words, trying anything she can to resolve the situation. “Wait, please don’t hurt me! S-see, I mean no harm.”

“As if anyone could trust anything your kind says! You demons have always been manipulative bastards. If we believe you even for a second, all of us will die! NEVER again, this town will be your grave!” The guard chief jeers and then lunges forward into an attack. The sword goes straight through the girl’s overcoat and leaves a bright red gash leaking blood and a new pulse of pain in her side.

They won’t listen to me; I know that. Demons are evil; at least, that’s what everyone thought. They’re not going to change their minds just because of some lip service. As the girl continues to try and improve the situation, an alarm goes off in her head. If I don’t get out of here right now, they will kill me.

The girl, realizing the depth of their bloodlust, turns around as fast as possible and simply runs. Her fight-or-flight response is fully active. She puts every last ounce of strength into her legs and makes a break for it. She runs off away from the town and passes the treeline in a short time, disappearing into the forest.

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“After her!” The guard chief yells at the surrounding guards, who quickly nod and run off into the forest. Next, the guard chief walks back up to the gate where more reinforcements are waiting.

“Lutz! You’re the best with a horse. I need you to get a message to the capital immediately. Have them dispatched a celestial knight; quite frankly, if the demon attacks, we’ll all die.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard called Lutz acknowledges

“We’ve successfully routed its attack today, but I’m sure it will be back. Schmidt, good job hitting it with a holy arrow; you’ve bought us some time. We don’t want to alarm the townsfolk too much. So first thing tomorrow, I’ll have Cyrill and Billiam deliver messages across the town. Please make sure the townspeople are aware of the situation but don’t scare them. If the demon sneaks past us somehow, we need to ensure every civilian is prepared to report it. Finally, Avery, I need you to conscript the people who are on the town emergency list. From this moment forward, the town of Rissel is on lockdown. No one is to come in or out until the celestial knights get here!” The guard chief triumphantly finishes his speech. Most people would say he has a rotten personality and an unhealthy fixation on demons. However, his leadership skills were undeniable within the town.

“Find her! Don’t let that demon escape.” A small group of shouts can be heard from far in the distance. A girl runs through the forest, careful not to lose her balance or fall. Her muscles scream, and the sweat burns her eyes, but she can’t stop. She squeezes every last ounce of energy from her body.

As she continues to run, a deep pain begins to rise in her hand. A burning sensation. She gazes at the wound and notices a white light spreading from the arrow into her surrounding veins. Just what is this arrow they shot me with? Her head spins as she continues pushing forward.

Her run drops into a walk and, after a few more minutes, drops into a stumble. She begins to lose stability as her consciousness begins to blur. She stumbles down a small bank to a creek. I can’t pass out here. I have to survive—The girl crash lands face first onto the gravel shore bank.

I’m done. I can’t go any further. The girl crawls towards the creek and cups a small amount of water in her hands. She brings it up to her mouth and takes a short drink. I need to get this arrow out, at least. Taking her short-sword out of its sheath, she carefully cuts the arrow into two pieces.

The girl’s cheeks are covered in a wet liquid that’s not from the rain. She slides the arrow out of her hand, clenching her teeth. A slight squeak rises from her vocal cords as she deals with the pain. Gazing down at the creek, she catches her reflection for the first time. Red eyes, horns, the hallmarks of a demon — she is not a human despite what she wants so badly to believe. Am I a monster?

“I didn’t ask for this! I’m a human; this isn’t fair!” The girl’s inner thoughts break to the surface as she screams out, punching the ground with her remaining strength. She lies on all fours in the cold rain as her consciousness begins to leave her, and she collapses.

As the cold grip of darkness reaches for her, a new thought screams into existence. At least I get to die while I’m still a human at heart. That thought fills her head as she attempts to hold on to herself for just a little longer.

I don’t want to die.

The girl’s body lies still after taking wounds that, if left untreated, could potentially be fatal — for a human, that is.