Serra Salvator knew that she was trapped.

Trapped in a body, a town, and a world where she didn't belong.

Always alone, an outsider. On the cusp of mediocrity. And most of all ashamed to be herself.

The only thing keeping her engine running was her belief that somewhere in the vast universe was a person or a higher being that knew she was so much more than who she was now. She didn't know where these thoughts came from or why but she wholeheartedly believed that she was much more than a nobody from a small town in Ohio.

Although always having these feelings, they have been more intense recently and she even felt a calling in her dreams.

......…

Serra slowly opened her eyes, but what she saw wasn't her guns n' roses poster or her drumset. But instead desolation.

Everything around her was either burnt from for or currently on fire.

She began to wander when she heard a small cry from the ruins of a building close by. As she approached the building the crying only intensified.

Serra frantically started to pull away at the rubble. Soon she saw a tiny hand looking to belong to an infant. This made her increase her pulling twofold. As she pulled the last rock away from the child what she saw was not a human face. It was the face of a demon. With elongated teeth and two small horns protruding from its head.

"Gotcha."

The demon suddenly grew a thousand times larger.

"This is the so called 'Shepherd of Fallen'? What a joke. You will never survive to defeat me let alone him."

The demon roared with laughter, then suddenly reached down and grabbed her arm. He lifted her to his mouth.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Bon appetit."

Serra could feel the stench radiating from the demons mouth and just as he dropped her into his gullet.

...….

Serra awoke to a blood curdling scream. Only shorty realize that her voice hurt and that she was the one screaming.

'What a wicked dream' Serra thought to herself.

'I can still smell his breath… So vividly.'

As Serra slowly got out of bed she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. As she got changed she saw something in the mirror.

On her arm was a huge bruise in the shape of a hand.

'There is no way in hell… I must have done that subconsciously during my sleep.'

Nodding as if she convinced herself, she conveniently put on her shirt quickly before she tried to put her hand on the bruise to see if they match.

"Serra, hurry downstairs you'll be late for school. I am not driving you again because you are too lazy to get up on your own."

Serra rolls her eyes as she picks up her bag and heads to her door. "I'm coming. Yelling won't make me go any faster."

As Serra goes downstairs she is greeted by a mirror image of herself. Pretty but not beautiful, not short but not tall, plain brown hair. But the one thing that made them stand out was their deep green eyes.

"I heard a scream earlier, is everything ok?" Inquired Serras mother.

"Everything is fine, just a bad dream."

"Ok if you say so. Toast is in the toaster, I have to go in to work. You better not be late, got it? I mean it this time."

"Yes Mom, I got it."

Serra pulls her toast out, smothers some butter on top and rushes out the door.

As she stands at her bus stop she starts remembering more and more of her dream.

'Could it have been real? What is the 'Shepherd of the Fallen'? Maybe I've just gone completely insane, yeah that's probably it.'

A loud grinding noise pulls her back to reality where she sees a large yellow bus stopping in front of her. The bus makes a sound like a balloon being deflated and the doors swing open.

'Well here goes another day of nothing's Serra sighs as she climbs the bus stairs.

The first half of her day is filled with all her least favorite classes, English and math and science. Then came her favorite class…. Lunch. Today was a good day because they served her favorite. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. After savoring every moment of the deliciousness of her lunch she headed to her second favorite class, history. She especially liked this class because currently they we're learning about mythological heroes, people born from mediocrity that arose to greatness with the help of gods and goddesses until they too could walk amongst the immortals. Even though knowing these stories were fictional she still felt a small seedling of Hope in the depths of her soul that maybe just maybe she was meant to rise above as well.