CALAMITY (#1) - The Lamb

Chapter Eight - Short-Lived Smiles

Mia hesitantly entered the cafeteria. Various groups of humans and demons sat at the plentiful tables, eating food and making conversation. Some of the demons gave her strange looks. It wasn't the look she usually got. She realized they were looking at her scars.

They had pity and empathy for her.

Mia couldn't understand those concepts. She proceeded, keeping her expression blank as she approached the counter. A demon stood there, eyeing her up and down. She took a step back. He won't let her eat.

"Hey kiddo, where are ya goin'? You look starved... Let me get you something to eat."

...What? What did he just say?

"Hey... can you hear me?"

She heard whispers. "Poor girl... Who knows what she's been through...? I hope she gets that burn treated properly..."

What was this? What was happening? Her fight-or-flight responses were kicking in. This was unfamiliar. This was dangerous, right? New things always hurt her. New things overwhelm her. She wanted to run, she wanted to-!

A hand touched her shoulder, making her yelp. It was the man at the counter. She was hyperventilating. She needed to calm down. She needed to run.

Her stomach growled. Above all... she needed to eat.

She took the bag from the man. He gave her a warm smile, returning to his place behind the counter. She stood there, feeling countless pairs of eyes staring at her. They were probably sizing up their prey...

"Yo, kid! Wanna sit at our table?" a voice yelled. She turned to the direction of the voice, locking eyes with a scarred human, about her age. He gave her a genuine smile. One of the other humans scolded him. "Micah, you can't just yell at someone when they're going through stuff!" Micah frowned. "Hey kid, are you going through stuff!?"

Mia smiled. After a few seconds, she just... laughed. It was a high, giddy little giggle. That question... It was so dumb. It was hilariously dumb.

...Her smile was apparent by now.

She made her way to the table, sensing a collective sigh of relief from the cafeteria. She slowly sat between two of the humans. She looked around at the group. Both humans and demons were talking to each other, as if nothing was wrong.

"E-Excuse me for prying too much..." she began, "but..." She didn't know how to finish that thought, just staring at the demon sitting by Micah. He looked back at her, tilting his head. "Take your time, kid." She let her mind speak freely. "But how are you... well, eating with humans?"

The table went silent, seemingly in disbelief. The demon let out a loud chuckle. "Let me guess. Lottery candidate?" She gave him a sheepish nod. "You won't have to worry about us eating you, kid. We're friendly." She couldn't wrap her mind around that. The demon's expression fell a bit. "Listen... Whatever they did to you... Whatever happened before you came here... You shouldn't blame every single demon for that. It's the pricks in charge who made those awful choices."

"I don't... I don't get it..."

The demon looked at her sadly. "Think about it this way. This whole compound is run by demons. Now, take a look at the humans. What do you see?" Mia looked around at the humans. They were... smiling. They were happy.

Mia looked down at her food. She pushed away the side of her mind that was screaming for her to run, and gave in to her weakness.

"My name is Mia... what's yours?"

. . .

Mia left the cafeteria, saying goodbye to her new friends. She learned a lot about them.

The demon was named Remi. He was a redblood, leaving him at the lowest class of demonic society. His family was always poor, and they split up and left him because they didn't have the Cryo to keep going. He lived on the streets until Casey found him, inviting him to her extended family.

Micah was a Lottery candidate like her. His family tried to flee from the Ward, but they were all killed. He was left alive by the Sins, becoming a Lottery candidate as punishment. He adopted a positive mentality, deciding that he would do whatever it took to live on for his family. He was picked up by Remi later on, and here he is today.

The angry human girl sitting by Micah was named Dina. She didn't reveal much, but Micah told her that she was from Zone 12. She lived a relatively peaceful life in the woods until the Sins released the Abyss in the zone. She and her father split up, and the last thing he told her was to never stop fighting. She has been looking for him to this day.

And finally, the two humans sitting by her. They were twins, Stephen on the left and Richter on the right. They were frequent troublemakers, and near-masters of pyrotechnics. After speaking out against the Warden himself, their tongues were cut out. They found Casey by themselves, demanding to join.

All of these people... They had troubled pasts. They were so different, but their tragedies brought them together. It was oddly comforting. They were patient with her, choosing not to pry when Mia told them she wasn't ready to talk about her past yet.

They were her friends. Her new family.

Her new blood.

. . .

"Mia... Mia..."

Ah. She must have dozed off.

"Yo."

"Are you... safe...?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I made friends today."

"Friends...? I'm... so proud..."

"Cool, the shadow demon in my head is proud of me."

...

"Kidding."

"Where are you...?"

"Same place as before, bub."

"I'm coming... I will come to you soon..."

"...What?"

"I will save you..."

"...It's just a dream... I'm just not used to this. That's what they said."

"Keep your window unlocked."

...

Mia had to wake up. Now.

She pinched herself. She thrashed around in her chair. She screamed at the top of her lungs. "LET ME OUT! WAKE ME UP!"

"You are safe here... stay..."

"LET ME THE FUCK OUT!"

"..."

"You trust them...?"

"..."

"They will betray you..."

Mia stopped fighting.

"You are safe with me..."

She looked up at him.

"I'm safe... with you..."

"Good... Your safety lies in me..."

"Yes..."

The shadowy figure moved closer.

"I will keep you safe... Forever..."

The figure unhinged its jaw, and Mia was consumed by darkness.