His fingers rapped against the keyboard. The boy wasn't sure what exactly he was writing anymore, but it had to be good. After all, he was smiling like some damn maniac. He saw someone place a mug of coffee on the table. Looking up, he saw a woman with brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing glasses that magnified her curious green eyes and a black apron and pants. The nametag on her apron, the name Vinnie written on it, was crooked, but it always was, so he stopped mentioning it . She smiled. "Hello, David." "Hi." He mumbled back, sipping from the mug. "Whatcha writing about?" "Uhhhh…" he skimmed over the first few lines. "Limes." "Limes?" "Yes, limes." "..." Vinnie looked over the screen. "Well, you start talking about eagles here." "Damnit." David groaned. "Something tells me you haven't been sleeping. New record?" David didn't respond. "I'll take that as a yes." She sighed. "If I may give my opinion, I suggest you take a break and relax?" He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. "You may be right." He said. "I always am." She added, before placing a hand on his shoulder and walking away. Once she was gone, he cleared the doc and stared at the now blank page.

"What now?" He asked himself, sipping from his mug. "Dogs? No. Cats? No. Cannibalism? Well, I'd get a reaction." He chugged his coffee and put the mug down. "Whatever. Later." He packed up his laptop and pushed in his chair. The woman from before waved to him as he opened the door. He waved back, closing the door behind him.

…

The outside air brushed against him with it's autumn chill. The leaves had turned blood red, and most had fallen off the trees. A man was raking the grass, being sure not to miss a single leaf. David stopped, staring at the man with curiosity. "You know, maybe a paper on leaves could work." Suddenly, a light bulb went off in David's head. "Uh, pardon me sir." The man looked up from his pile, his eyes being pulled down by the heavy black bags under them. "I was wondering If I may take some of your leaves for a school project? If it's alright with you, of course. I'd never want to-" the man gave David his rake. "Look from where your standing to the park gate. Rake up every leaf in that area, and I'll be happy to consider your offer." The man patted David's back before running off. "Sigh. Yes sir." He mumbled under his breath before getting to work. In truth, there wasn't all that much left to rake up. A few patches that ultimately succumbed to his rakes teeth with little trouble. As he combined the many small piles of leaves into one, he noticed someone sitting alone in front of the park gates. They seemed to have collected a leave, and were smiling as they twirled it around. David was about to brush it off, when the kid pulled out a lighter. David's body went cold.

"Hey, kid!" He yelled, dropping the rake and running as fast as his legs would allow him. The person, now appearing to be a boy, looked up, smiled, and set the leaf aflame. The leaf began to melt, turning into a thick, red liquid that began travelling up the boys body, over his chin, and into his mouth. David stopped, falling on his backside, looking on as the boy started straining. His skin was turning red, his veins began bulging. "H-help! Demon!" David yelled. The people in the park turned toward the scene, one running toward the gate. The boy got on his arms and legs, screaming, as his head was slowly pulled into his body. Finally, the boy's head came out of his back, attached to a tendril. "Civus, we have a Level E Feral! Repeat, a Level E Feral!" A man spoke into a walkie talkie before it was ripped out of his hand by a mouth of cracked, yellowed teeth. "Back, demon!" The man jumped back, bringing out a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap, mumbled a few words, and threw it at the creature. It screamed, skin sizzling like greasy beef. The thing turned toward the paralyzed David, rushing at him. He rolled out of the way. "Kid, get out of here!" The man yelled, hopping over the gate. The creature grabbed onto him, launching him into a nearby house. "Aw shit." As the beast began to change its trajectory, David pulled a book out of his laptop bag, turning it to the marked page. He watched as the page wrote itself.

'It's gonna charge.'

David looked up and leaned to the right as the thing started it's sprint. At the last second, he jumped to the left, avoiding his death. He turned back to his book.

'It's gonna stretch out and bite you.'

David looked around for something to get him out of here, and an idea popped into his head. "Hey, freak!" The thing growled, charging at him once more. Once it started, he turned around and hopped his way over to the rake, picking it up and turning to face the creature. It stretched out its tendril, opening up it's mouth. "Ahh!" David screamed, jamming the rake into its mouth, pushing as hard as he can. Shocked, it halts, long enough for him to push forward with all his might, sending the rake through the back of its head. It screeched, backing up. It pulled the rake out, panting and whining. "Good work, kid." Someone tapped his shoulder. A man walked past him. He wore a black skinsuit, a tool belt, and had three white holes on his face. "Prepare to feel my Engulfing Darkness!" the man dramatically flung his hand around before clenching his fist. The creature cried out before being engulfed in a dark energy. It exploded, covering David and this man in gore. For a few moments, they were silent.

Then,

"Hahahahahaha! Fear no longer, everyone! It is I, the controller of night, ruler of darkness, your hero in the shadows, Civus!" Cheers echoed from the group of people. "Civus! Civus! Civus! Civus!" David got up, wiping the chunks of flesh off his shirt. As he walked away, he did his best to drown out the incessant praise for this hero. One of the many that call this world home.

A world infested by demons.