Shudders

Chapter 32 - The Mall

Violence warning and blood warning ⚠️
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"So, your real name is Tuca?" (Y/N) asked, sitting on a counter while she watched the little demon jump from table to table.

    He stopped on one table and turned to her, nodding. "My dad gave me it! He said that I reminded him of a close friend, that's why he named me Tuca!"

    It was currently the afternoon the next day. The two were sitting inside of a deli shop while Ki and Akai did a once over of the area. They decided to leave the apartment building and head off to another location that Ki suggested. They didn't tell her where they were going but she didn't care, she wasn't in the mood to talk with them after last night.

    But during last night, (Y/N) got the chance to learn about what happened to Tuca and how he just magically showed up here.

    He explained that when the alarms started going off, Mr. Khan went to check and see what's wrong. When he opened the door, a lady with red hair was standing there. When (Y/N) heard this, she gulped, knowing that Tuca was describing I9. The more he explained, the more harder it was to fight back tears. Even the boy had frozen up and his child-like persona almost dropped.

    I9 had killed Mr. Khan because he didn't know where (Y/N) was...

    She's never felt so at fault in her life. Learning about the old man's death crushed her heart. Not only did she lose her best friend to that demon, but the Keeper she looked up to for advice. Deep down, she knows that she isn't to blame for this, he couldn't have possibly known where she was. But the fact that I9 sought out one of her peers for her location... how would it have known to do that?

    (Y/N) did her best to hold back tears as she comforted the boy. He knew Mr. Khan for years, she couldn't imagine how he was feeling about this.

    When he snapped away from his lost trance, he told her how he ended up with her. I9 went after him next but Tuca managed to run away and hide. He saw (Y/N) run by and followed her until she was confronted by the murderous demon. He was going to help her but he noticed that the guards were coming, so he quickly shifted into a snake and slid inside her backpack. He stayed there until things got quiet and fell asleep after a while. So when he got out, they were already above ground and in the apartment.

    How could she have not noticed a snake inside her backpack? Maybe she was too distracted by all the chaos that was happening. So much happened in one day...

    Still, she was relieved that Tuca made it out safe. She didn't want to learn about anyone else getting hurt or worse from what happened yesterday.

    Watching the little boy so excited to see the world again helped distract her from the situation she was in. He spent over 25 years locked away in an underground cell, she couldn't blame him for being thrilled to be out. Since this morning, all that he's been talking about was seeing this 'family' of his. He hasn't spoken about the members of it except for his 'father'.

"What's he like?" She asked, curiously.

"He's BIG! He's almost as tall as a tree! My dad may seem scary but he's really nice. He likes to help people and he's very protective of us. I can't wait to see him again!" Tuca bragged with obvious excitement.

    His father helps others? This caught her interest. If I9 escaped, it would be after her right now. It was really demanding when she was confronted by it and she has a feeling it won't give up until it gets what it wants. Just having Ki and Akai to protect her from it and possibly other demons didn't seem like enough. She was above ground now, she wants to survive for as long as she can.