[Good morning to our viewers, Cruiser here. Another beautiful morning in our calm county of Colton!]

  "Nghhn..."

  The groans of a man could be heard as he was being shaken by something or someone. Their hands gently squeezing the man's arms as he continuously groaned, seemingly annoyed his sleep was interrupted.

  [Hah. That was a funny one wasn't it? Ease in the viewers before we announce more deaths-- Cruiser, we're live.-- I know, I know.]

  The morning news man cleared his throat, he appeared to be in his late 30s with a thick mustache. There was an awkward pause on TV as the eerie discussions could be heard in the background. A common occurrence here on TV, at least for the local channel of the county of Colton.

  "We're gonna be fricking late, if mom was alive, she'd kill us both!"

  A woman paced around the living room as her phone suddenly rang—A timer had finished. She rushed over to the pan and grabbed two plates, sliding eggs and bacon onto each of the plates.

  [As you may have expected, more deaths have been recorded in between the state road and Willow's creek. To avoid more unnecessary casualties, state troopers have advice anyone in the county to stay within the town's range. Care packages will be delivered every Friday as per usual to refill our supermarkets.]

  "Shelly, get up. We'll be late."

  [In. . .Less gloomy news! I've got a date tonight! --Oh please, you? You look 50 and 20 at the same time.-- I'll take that as a compliment, camera girl! Haha. This morning's a little boring for most watching this broadcast, school reopened and students are allowed back in, and it seems like everything has went back to normal.]

  The woman sighed and walked over to Shelly, before looking at him occupying most of the blanket. He had been the reason she was FREEZING all night, taking a few steps back the woman air KO'd Shely into waking him up.

  [Can't stress this enough but, may God be on your side. I know everyone's scared and perhaps even grieving in times like these. But, if you can]

  "Skye what the fuck! Argh...You fat little pig!" Shelly groaned opening his eyes, pushing her off him.

  "Fat little pig? You're the reason I've been FREEZING all night, what if I got a cold? Ugh. What a brother you are."

  Shelly sighed and sat up, glaring at Skye whom slowly got up. Skye seemed to be in her early to mid 20s, wearing a green tank-top and matching shorts. She wore a pendant around her neck, Shelly could recognize this pendant from miles away; It was what their mother wore before she died.

  "Come eat, I made your favorites."

  [Try to find happiness in small moments, there's not much you can do about our situation besides persevere and smile. -- Woah! Kind words there boss! -- . . . Onto the sports segment.]

  The giggles of a girl behind a camera could be heard before the not-so-professional broadcast would switch to a summary of last night's football game. Shelly would look at the TV briefly before getting up, cleaning their makeshift bed in the middle of the living room. Shelly and Skye weren't very fortunate, their apartment was a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen. They'd have to sleep on the floor, the couch was an option, but never that comfortable. Somehow the floor seemed like a more comfortable option.

  "Thanks...I want apple Juice today, by the way."

  "OK. Gotcha."

  After tidying up the living room, Shelly lazily walked over to the bathroom. Similar to his sister, Shelly wore a shirt and shorts, however his were Spongebob themed. The whole entire set. Patrick star shorts and a shirt with Spongebob smiling on it. Getting in the bathroom, he'd switch on the tap placing his hands under the tap as he let the water run onto his tan skin. Taking a deep breath before he brought up a handful of water and washed his face.

  Skye would be busy cleaning the dishes, whilst Shelly had told her multiple times she could eat without him...She preferred to eat with him, she just liked it that way. To eat together as a family, and knowing how stubborn she was, Shelly just let her do whatever. Exiting the bathroom and walking over the kitchen he'd sit down on the stool at the counter. Skye would throw him an apple juice carton, to which he nodded to her as he poured himself a glass.

  "Excited for school?"

  "Should I be? I'm no longer twelve, sis."

  Skye would sigh, grabbing a piece of bacon and biting on it, her warm coffee sitting next to her plate as she quietly chewed, the awkward silence filling the room.

  "They said sinners from Cain would come to Colton yesterday on the radio."

  The woman who was eating focused her gaze on Shelly, suddenly stopping eating with a surprised look on her face.

  "Are you...Sure? Do you think dad could be the one to come?"

  Shelly shook his head as he dug his fork into the eggs, the sounds of sirens echoing in the distance. It was hard to tell why those sirens rang sometimes. But, at this point people almost hoped it'd be for a robbery or a kidnapping. At least those crimes are normal, everything else that's been happening is far from normal.

  "I only have one remaining living family member and that's my big sister, that bastard can go die in a hole for all I care. If he decides to contact you if he even is here, then don't bother telling me."

  "...Shelly, come on, you can't say that."

  Having eaten his breakfast in record time, Shelly thanked his sister for breakfast and got up to wash his hands. The next time she'd see him is ten minutes later with his uniform on. He'd wave before opening the door and leaving without saying a word. The topic of "fathers" having severely affected his mood in the morning. Shelly knew of this, and could only frown as she got ready herself.

  ---

  [ Diablo -- Duivel -- Demonio -- Diabo -- Akuma -- Chotgor -- Devils. Deadlier than the plague and every illness of the past 100 years combined are dangerous creatures that seem to attack our world without reason. ]

  Our world is fucked. It took otherworldly creatures for us to stop killing one another, and yet it was already too late. People used to call me a pessimist for thinking like this, but have they seen our world?

  [ In 2047, the estimated population of earth was of 13 billion. At the brink of overpopulation, it seemed like mother nature had decided to retaliate. In only six months the population was reduced to two billion, with most major infrastructures and countries falling. ]

  To think humans had invented means to travel to mars, to perhaps colonize it to send the surplus of humans to live a better life. So many people who had bright ideas and dreams had to stop living, and people want to act like everything is OK.

  [ In 2048, the world decided to merge all of their governments into a larger force nicknamed "the human coalition," an effort to stop all wars to attempt to survive this crisis. ]

  No man, no matter their wealth and power could be prepared for something like this. After all, this wasn't a country attacking another with guns or bombs...But literal demons. With powers coming straight from a comic book.

  [ A subsidiary of the human coalition had been created in 2049 to combat devils. The company called themselves "cain," they claimed to know how to fight and effectively kill devils by using their own powers. ]

  Its been more than a decade. And you're telling me those bastards are still working on 'finding a way to prevent devils to plague our world'? Bullshit. They're all siphoning money, or some evil shit evil people would do.

  [ Cain operatives work towards peace and security, and that's why you must trust us. Cain Incorporated. ]

  Shelly walked through the early morning streets of Colton, the school bus had very specific stops students had to gather at considering the academy was quite far. His warm breath created fog as it collided with the cold air around him. He grabbed onto his walkman and headphones before a man passed by on his car, to which he quickly put it in his back.

  "Ay, if it isn't S. Let me holler at ya real quick?"

  The tan-skinned teen chuckled, turning over to the car as the music playing would be turned down a little. Shelly walked over and hugged two adults at the front, handshaking another woman in the back.

  "Ay. Biggie, Mista Tower. And...Miss Johnsons of course."

  The woman smiled at Shelly, waving at him. The two others however got out of their car, the tall Mexican one was called Mista Tower, it used to be his underground rap name back in his teenage years. Everybody thought it was silly, so it stuck as his name. The other one, was a fat black gentleman, surprisingly biggie wasn't nicknamed that for his weight, but for his big heart. He was a man that loved food, but people even more. At the back, was Biggie's sister Latisha. She was a teacher at Shelly's school.

  "Fancy uniform ehh? Our county got some moola now don't they?"

  "Sure do. Looking real fresh though." Biggie said chuckling as they roughened up Shelly's hair.

  "Mijo, you need us to drop you off? We goin' to school, but I suppose you gotta take the bus no matter what eh?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Tower asked, offering to take Shelly on a ride. The teenager looked over to the sidewalk and given how much more he had to walk had a counter offer.

  "I do, but maybe you guys can take me to my stop? It's on the way anyways."

  "For sure lil man. Get in, we got good tunes for your mood."

  Biggie said, turning around and walking back to the car, Tower patted his back. Somehow, these two knew that Shelly wasn't in the right mood. Part of him appreciated it, these guys were like the 'big brothers' to a lot of the people Shelly's age. Always managing to make the day a bit better. Entering the old convertible, Tower would smile as he would begin driving. Biggie would slide in a cassette in the car as a song would start to play.

  "Can't do no wrong with a few tunes, ain't I right?"

  [Uh uh, check it out, uh, Junior Mafia uh]

  The two at the front would begin bopping their heads as Tower began to drive, Shelly gazed out the car, his arm leaning on the door as he enjoyed the cold air hitting his face. There was something about the breeze from being in a car with open windows. Well, the windows weren't really open...This was a convertible, there were none to begin with!

  [To all the ladies in the place with style and grace]

  Colton was your average northern state town surrounded by thick forests and national parks. Known for its love for music, it was a quiet and recluse town. Much safer than the giant cities down south or to the west. But, that didn't mean that they were safe. Devils were scarce, but much stronger. They seemed to take the shape of local American folklore. But, everything still was fine in this town. Everybody knew everybody, so there were never really any problems.

  [The back of the club, sippin' moet, is where you'll find me]

  "Work had at school eh Shelly? Make sure Mya doesn't hang around boys too much. Alright?"

  "Haaah. Overprotective aren't you?" Biggie laughed at Tower's request.

  "Nah. Just boys nowadays--No offense Shelly."

  Shelly nodded quietly, as he looked at them speak, surprisingly Latisha spoke up pointing at tower.

  "Actin' like you weren't a playboy yourself! Takes one to know the risks for a young girl."

  "Hey hey hey hey! Can we chill? Can we chill!"

  Laughter would fill the car as the group arrived to the bus stop, Shelly would get out and wave at the three as they drove out. Standing at the bus stop he'd put on his headphones, clicking the play button as music would start to play from his walkman. He was alone at the bus station, which was surprising but he didn't mind. He'd enjoy the music, leaning on the pole as he'd hear faint noises. At first, Shelly ignored them but it had gotten progressively bothersome, so he lifted his headphones a little looking behind him.

  Argh. Argh! Aaargh!

  Groaning and gasping, Shelly rested his headphones on his shoulders as he walked over to the source of the noise, in between the bushes was an alleyway. Considering it was a bar and a restaurant, he assumed it was just a couple drunkards complaining or something. But as he walked deeper into the alleyway he'd stumble onto a scene straight out of his nightmare.

  "What the...Fuck?"

  A man choking on his own blood as his torso was opened, intestines spilling out of his stomach as a dark silhouette seemed to be eating his flesh. Frozen by fear, he took a step forward which made just enough noise to alert whatever was eating the man. And--

  "Going somewhere?"

  He'd bump into someone immediately turning around in defensive stance.

  "What the fuck...You were- You...You can speak?"

  "...Is that so surprising? Do I gotta e-"

  Shelly may appear as a quiet pessimistic student at first glance, because that's what he was. But he wasn't just a simple quiet pessimistic student. It would be all to convenient for the six foot quarterback built teenager to be an easy target. Cocking his arms back, he'd deliver a punch straight into the bloodied person's face.

  Shelly, was a literal delinquent.

  "What the fu-" SMACK.

  Or at least, that's how the student council described him. Violent, direct and unable to think before his actions. He wasn't necessarily a bad person, and would never hurt someone without his own 'reason,' but...He was still very violent. Shelly could barely see within the alleyway, but he was sure of one thing; As humanoid as this thing looked, it was definitely a devil.

  "...Timeout- Timeout!"

  Shelly would stomp his foot forwards and slam his fist onto the devil's solar plexus, following with an uppercut to its chin.

  "Timeout? For you bastards there ain't no such a thing as a timeout!" The teenager groaned in desperation, he was terrified.

  Despite how terrified he was, he was the one delivering the punches, he was the one absolutely beating this otherworldly creature. Grabbing onto one of its arms, it'd lift the devil up and slam it onto the floor, stomping its head multiple times.

  "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

  Shelly was in genuine distress, and whilst most people would choose "flight" in a fight or flight decision, Shelly instinctively chose fight. However, his flurry of attacks would soon be interrupted by the loud sound of a gun firing. Hitting the devil straight in its chest as it began disappearing.

  "Woah! You're fuckin' bold!"

  The teenager hyperventilated, looking back to see a woman that looked around his age wearing a long coat. Her red eyes shined in the darkness as Shelly got back in his defensive stance.

  "I got a gun, and you still think you got a chance?"

  The girl smirked, shrugging as he did that. The brief moment her gun wasn't aimed at him was enough for Shelly to move in grabbing her wrist and attempting to punch her. But of course, he wouldn't be as lucky as the first time as his fist was stopped.

  "How could you tell? I even had the Cain coat..."

  "You all smell horrid." Shelly groaned out, that woman was also a devil.

  The blonde woman would only laugh as she tightened her grip on his fist, attempting to hurt Shelly. But the already in shock teenager would only do the same. Tightening his grip on her wrist as much as he could.

  (He's got some serious strength...Too bad I have to kill him.)

  "You wanna know something about devils?"

  Shelly would let go of the wrist that held the gun as he slammed it against the hand that held his fist, grabbing onto her collar and pushing her onto the wall. The moment of surprise made the girl drop her gun.

  "What the...?"

  "Bastards like you always underestimate me."

  His grip only tightened as he'd lift her even higher, slamming the girl onto the floor. Now on his knees above her, he held her wrists to the floor. Only a wicked smile was painted on her face, this was fun for her.

  "Always? You've done this before?"

  "Doesn't matter. Surely someone heard the gun fire, and someone will come soon enough."

  The girl laughed loudly, as if what Shelly had said was silly.

  "I'm Sable, you? Mhm. Let me guess! Uhhh. I don't want to guess anymore." She snickered, completely uncaring of the situation.

  "Doesn't matter what I'm called, you just sit still whilst the authorities come around. You're probably a weak one without super strength...Or somethin'..."

  Shelly was a little more confident, the lack of retaliation coming from the girl meant she was probably a scavenger. A type of devil so weak they relied on killing weak demons to sustain themselves. However, the sharp pain he felt on his side would prove him otherwise. As something would pull out a student card from his pocket to bring it up in front of Sable's face.

  "Shelly...What a weird name!"

  The teenager groaned as he let go of one of her wrists to grab his card, a mistake that would cost him domination over this fight. Twisting her body, she would be the one on top of him as he held his arms to his sides.

  "How the turn tabled! ...Is that how you say it?"

  "What are you, stupid?"

  Shelly spat venom out towards the girl, his words clearly meant to hurt her in the moment. The man whom had been bleeding out was already dead, and the overbearing smell of blood filled the alleyway. And despite the noise, no one was around.

  "Rude. Rude Rude Rude Shelly! But I like you. You didn't hesitate hitting me."

  No response would come from him as he was busy trying to lift his arms or kick her, but she had him completely restrained. Sable kept this smile up as she quietly mocked him.

  "Are you some kind of unemployed friendless devil? If you aren't going to kill me, then get the fuck off me."

  Shelly's words were sudden and uncharacteristic of a normal person. Sable tilted her head and leaned forwards, her lips inching closer to his ears as she whispered,

  "Or what?"

  Another giggle, but Sable probably should've expected that the wild dog she restrained didn't care much about pain as she was headbutted. She groaned as Sable was pushed off from Shelly.

  "Well, that happens."

  Now he was being sarcastic. He'd get up and take a few steps from her, looking for his bag as he prepared himself to run. But it only took one moment looking away from the girl that she had already vanished. He'd once more bump into her, his back colliding with her and she chuckled. Yet, Shelly did nothing about this.

  "I thought you'd attack me, why are you...Doing nothing?"

  "If you were going to be aggressive, I would've already known."

  (I wasn't planning to shoot him though, so why attack?)

  Shelly picked got ready to pick up his bag-- Swoosh.

  In mere moments, the teenager dodged a punch that ripped through the air, if that collided with him, he would've for sure been dead. He took a step back as he stared at her.

  "How'd you dodge that? Anticipated it or?"

  Sable genuinely questioned him, excited by this new stranger she met. Shelly stretched his arms and sighed. Gesturing for the girl that still had his student card in position to flip it.

  Shelly

  — Age: Eighteen

  Occupation: Student at the academy —

  "A magician never reveals his secret, and you're seriously starting to piss me off dead in the morning."

  Sable's smile only widened. She could feel it, he was much more interesting than she anticipated him to be. Yet, would only be met with disappointment when he grabbed his bag for good and walked away.

  "Do me a favor and get the fuck out of here, I have school and don't want to be associated with this devil attack."

  "Actin' like forensics won't find your dna lyin' around here!"

  Shelly glared at Sable for a few moments. "How the fuck do you know Forensics and not the proper way to say how the tables have turned?"

  This was the world they lived in, death was so common that it phased nobody. Shelly hated it, but had grown accustomed to it. Devils who walked amongst humans wasn't unheard of, but never seen. A mere myth, yet Shelly was one of the few who knew of their existence. Sable was nothing of a moron to him who would probably get killed by Cain soon. The girl removed her coat and threw it to the side as she followed Shelly.

  "Fuck are you, my do-" Stopping himself before insulting Sable, his eyes would widen in shock.

  Sable

  — Age: ???

  Occupation: Student at the academy. —

  "You're...?"

  Sable, being the giggle-shitter she was, could only snicker in response, nodding intently.

  "You would be correct, Shelly. A devil attends at your school."

  :ABEL — End of prologue 1.