The girl sighed silently as the professor talked about some chemical equation that would be on the next exam. The equation itself wasn't that bad except the professor neglected to explain on how to DO the equation because she canceled the class the week before so now the class is behind. 'As if being here at 7:45 till 9:45 in the morning isn't bad enough' the girl mused as she stifled a yawn while readjusting yet again in hopes of staying awake. Morning classes work better since she was more attentive and motivated in the morning but this professor was just not making the chemistry class exciting at all. On the bright side at least she knew what she was talking about. She quickly glanced up at the clock. '5 more minutes to go' she thought, silently praying the class will be out early. "Alright everybody. Don't forget to do the homework it's already posted online. I'll see you all next week." The professor said. After quickly grabbing her stuff the girl made a bee line for the door as the rest of the class gathered their items for the next class. Since her next class wasn't for another hour she decided to kill some time in the computer lab. 'But bathroom first' She thought as she walked down the hall passing some classrooms in session. Walking into the bathroom, the girl quickly did her business and went to wash her hands. Glancing up, she took a look at herself. Her shoulder length brown hair was up in a ponytail. Not cause it went with her sage green tank top (which was her favorite shirt with the laces tying the low valley between her chest) or the flood pants she was wearing; it was just easier to put it up and out of the way. After drying her hands she quickly went down the stairs to the computer lab. 'It always gets busy after a certain time' She mused as she got out her id card with her picture on it. She was pretty proud of it since for once she actually looked good for a picture. When she finally reached the lab she took a peek in and saw all the computers were being used. 'Damn. Good thing I brought one of my books.' She mused yet again.
Now that the lab was full her new task was to find a place to sit. The couches were always full between 10 and 12 and the stairways were a little cold and dirty. She thought for a few minutes before deciding she'll just take a short walk instead. The building she was in wasn't that big so she decided to walk around the block instead. The block itself wasn't that big but if she walked the next block over along with it that could kill at least 40 minutes.
'Hope the bag doesn't kill my shoulders too much. Argh! This is what happens when I schedule 4 classes on the same day! Argh! I should of brought my gym cloths I could have killed some time there!' Normally when she has free time she usually goes to the gym when she's not studying (which to be honest she doesn't do that much of) or reading (which she does too much of). The wind was lightly blowing as she walked through the doors. 'On second thought I'll just read out here. No sense in getting all sweaty and smelly for class.' She thought as she took a seat on the cement wall. After digging around a bit in her bag she somehow managed to find her much worn copy of her favorite book. It wasn't one of the popular books that were circulating around but she liked it well enough not to mention she loved this particular author as well. Every time a new book came out by this one she bought it on the spot. Soft cover though not hard cover. Hard covers are so expensive and almost all of her money went to school for classes and books. She cringed a bit thinking how much the prices have gone up since she first started and the job she had at the moment didn't really pay that much. Too bad she didn't get that other one that paid 9 dollars an hour. That would have been nice to have along with this one. After all, college doesn't pay for itself. 'Or books for that matter' She thought with a cringe as she remembered how much she paid for just 3 books. '600 bucks for books and used ones at that. That's enough to pay for another class. Argh. And to think that once I'm done here I have to transfer to another one just to finish my degree.' She mused with annoyance as she settled in to read. After picking up where she left off she only got to read a few pages before hearing her lovely yet annoying phone. The phone itself wasn't bad; only 50 bucks but the only thing she hated most were those stupid ring tones it had and none were easy on the ears and to make matters worse she can't download any new ones onto it.
Digging the phone out of her purse she took a quick look and saw that it was her friend Cheryl. 'Haven't heard from her in a while. Wonder what's up' Quickly answering on the third ring she went. "Hey Cheryl! What's up?" "Hey Andrea. Are you busy tonight?" Replied an older woman's voice. She met Cheryl a few years ago when she first started going here and discovered that there was an anime club. After going the first time she met her and the two hit it off right away. They hit it off even more when they discovered their love for cats. Andrea had to laugh a bit when she was first brought to her house and saw that she was indeed a crazy cat lady. 'At least she's sane. To a degree.' She thought with an inward laugh. "Yea I have a 2 hour class in about an hour, an hour long lab, maybe some free time and last but not least a 4 hour class at 4 after that." Andrea replied back, trying to remember what time her last class for the day ended. "Ok what time do you get out cause there's a thing tonight at 6 and goes on till 9." "I don't know what a thing is Cheryl." She said with amusement in her voice. "It's a fashion show for that one club." Cheryl replied, from the sounds of it she was trying to remember the name of the club. "All I can remember is that it's a bunch of guys in drag along with some girls." Andrea blinked a bit before laughing a bit. She heard and saw a posters of the fashion but she can't remember the name of the club either. All she could remember was that it was big for gay rights. "I know what you're talking but no. Sadly I don't get out till 8 or 9. Maybe 10 if there's no bull crap from the professor but if I get out early I can maybe catch a bit." She heard a soft sad sigh on the other end of the phone. "Damn. Ah well if you get the chance you should come. " She heard a crash in the background. "I gotta go. One of the cats just knocked over my shelves dang it. Later." "Later Cheryl. Talk to you later." She said as she hung up the phone. When she did she saw that it was almost 10:45. "Crap! I'm gotta be late!" She exclaimed as she scrambled to make a run for it. Sadly it was on the fourth floor and maybe 5 or 6 minutes to get there. Hope the elevator is working today.
Hours Later
'Finally! Freedom!' Andrea exclaimed mentally as she quickly rushed out of the ivy covered music building. It wasn't that big only two or three stories. Of course she's just assuming its three she didn't have the time to look around. Taking a deep breath of the cool evening air she checked her phone and saw that the fashion show is practically over. 'Sorry Cheryl. I'll give you a call tomorrow. Won't have time any more tonight. If I hurry I can just catch the bus and be into work early enough to actually go home and get a decent night sleep. At least I don't have an early class tomorrow.' As she made her way to the bus stop she winced a bit as she adjusted her heavy bag. 'Gosh darn heavy books. REALLY sick of them. Can't wait to unload them at the end of the year. Except maybe the music note one. Could probably use that to practice more.' Of course it also didn't help with the added weight of her precious violin and its case.
Suddenly without warning she saw the bus go right past her. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed aloud and tried to make a break for the stop but the bus just flying by it. Chances are quite good the driver saw her making a break for it but just kept going. She cursed again, not caring about the stares she got from the passerby's. Now she had to walk in the freaken dark by freaken dark alleys and such JUST to get to the damn bus station. Doesn't help she's downtown to boot. LUCKY her. Sighing deeply she briskly walked as fast as she could with 100 pounds of books but the walk was quite slowed by the weight. If luck was with her she'd make it in time for the bus she needed. Hopefully she can make it in time cause it was the only one that went directly by her work. On days like this she just LOVED being a janitor, working late and such. Her back was already killing her. Sighing deeply she proceeded to walk past an alley by an old abandoned. God she hated walking down the streets after dark and that right there was the very reason. Well, two if one included the darken alley with its many places to hide and such. Worst of all she hated to see such a beautiful building go used. This one in particular was three stories high with detail on the top. If she had to take a guess she'd have to say maybe the 1930's? The buildings from around that time period were always nice looking. Much better than some of the so-called modern ones, those were just so ugly. Well, maybe not all of them but some of the newer ones lacked this one's grace and beauty.
A muffled scream brought her out of her musings. 'What the..?' she started to think when it came again only this time louder and with it came the faint sounds of a fight. Quickly looking around for the source she happened to look just in time to see four figures wrestling in the alley. 'Is it a kidnapping or something?' She thought, trying to get a better look at them. From what she could tell in the gloom three of the four figures were dressed in some cloaks. The fourth one was quite smaller than the others but had what appeared to be some sort of bag over their head. 'Shit. Its worse than I thought. I better call the police!' She thought as she quickly dug into her purse trying to find it. The ONE time she didn't have the damn thing in her pants pocket OR bothered to clean the stupid purse. After feeling around at what seemed like a snail's pace she quickly turned the lock off and was in the process of calling 911 when the struggling figures vanished into the empty building. "911 What's your emergency?" came the dispatcher's voice. "There's someone being taken against their will! There's three cloaked guys and they have a kid! They just took them into the building! Hurry!" Andrea replied as she quickly hung up on the dispatcher. Much as she hated to do that but by the time the cops got here the poor kid could be dead or worse. Quickly putting her stuff down in a safe place she quickly but quietly followed the path the figures took. 'Watch.' She thought grimly, 'By the time the cops get here it'll be too late for the kid! Argh! Sad part is the station's two blocks over.'
As she entered she noticed that there were two doorways; door number one appeared to be leading down into the basement and door number two appeared to be leading into more of the building's many rooms. The question now was this: which way did they go and why the hell did she come after them alone instead of waiting for the police like a normal person? Just as she was about to play pick-a-door a noise was faintly heard echoing from door number one. 'Guess to the basement it is' She thought grimly as the girl made her way to the door. Taking a quick look Andrea took the first tentative step onto an old wooden flight of stairs. 'Haven't seen stairs like these in a while' She mused as she slowly made her way down. Walking down a bunch of old rickety stairs was definitely NOT her idea of fun but what was the alternative? Do nothing and let an innocent die, being killed by a bunch of idiots in cloaks? Speaking of cloaks who the hell wears cloaks these days? Last time she checked it was 2013 and the only cloaks she's ever seen were at the anime conventions and maybe at some goth stores like Hot Topics or Spencers.
Although she wasn't soft and squishy (terms she used for the truly innocent) she wasn't evil enough to turn a blind eye to this situation. C'mon, how many people would stop long enough to call the cops let alone attempt a daring rescue? As she neared the bottom she sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening that she'd make it in time. Upon reaching the crumbling doorway she reached into her back pocket and took out a small taser. It may look small but after letting a friend tweak it a bit it packed 10 times the normal amount. 'Enough to put a grown man on his back for quite a while. I hope.' Pressing herself flat against the wall by the door she listened hard and was rewarded with the sound of soft chanting drifting in from the next room. 'Oh jeez its even more worse than I originally thought.' She growled silently to herself. Instead of worrying about two people she more than likely had to worry about ten or more.
'Just hope the police get here so they can nail this stupid cult. The kid better be ok or else the police will have bodies to worry about instead.' She thought darkly, angered by the thought that these disgusting people would go through with hurting someone who couldn't fight back. Vowing not to let even ONE member to get unpunished she quietly entered the room, noting the many boxes and a few foundation pillars. Luck must be with her tonight because all of the members had their backs to her, noting that the group was quite lager, maybe 15 or more people wearing cloaks (seriously, what is with cults and cloaks?) kneeling before some sort of alter while continuing the strange soft chant. It was too soft to hear the words but loud enough to know what was going on. Silently making her way into the room she stealthily made her way to some of the boxes and pillars. Andrea was grateful for the hiding place because without them she'd be in deep trouble.
Suddenly she heard yelling and screaming coming from the doorway and quickly ducked down further into the shadows. Just as she did the two figures from before (at least she thinks its them. The heights are about the same) but instead of just the kid who's struggling to get away from the one that was holding him the person's partner appeared to be dragging someone who appeared to be knocked out cold behind him. 'Shit.' Andrea thought grimly. Getting a kid out of here will be difficult enough but to get two? This really became more of a challenge.
"Is everything going according to plan?" a soft voice came floating out, seeming to be coming from somewhere behind the strange alter. The only problem was that there was no space behind it and the wall was solid concrete. Maybe there was a hole behind it or something? Suddenly a figure appeared out of thin air. 'The hell?! How the hell did they appear?! No one can just appear out of nowhere!' As the new figure straighten themselves out the men holding the hostages came forward and tossed them in front of the strange new person. "Here are the sacrifices our Master." Said one of the hooded figures as they held the struggling child down as three new figures rose from the kneeling position and proceeded to tie the child. The mysterious figure reached out, making the long sleeve reveal a delicate arm and hand. 'A woman?' The hand gently took off the older prisoner's hood, revealing a young man. "He's perfect. Is the child at the maturity level? I would be extremely displeased if we miss it again." The soft voice said. For some reason the voice sent shivers up her spine. Why the hell would someone care if a kid reached puberty? Then one of the kidnappers pulled his head back, revealing a very disheveled older guy with an ugly looking scar running across the bridge of his nose and appeared to be in his late thirties. "Of course our Master. In ten minutes the child will be at the peak of ripeness." He replied, dragging up the unconscious man. "Even more perfect. If we missed this time we would have to wait for another 1000 years for another brat to mature. Honestly, such trouble it causes trying to capture one at this stage let alone fighting the parents off. Even more trouble to FIND one so close to being ripe. Now tell me; what is this delightful looking man here for?"
"He's this world's sacrifice our Master. We went through a lot of trouble of finding the perfect one for you." He replied, reaching down and yanking the man up. The female figure pulled him towards her, getting a better look. Without warning she shoved her hand threw his heart and yanked it out. Andrea quickly covered her mouth to keep from gasping out loud. What the hell is going on?! "Our Master isn't pleased with the sacrifice?!" The man asked, stunned at his Master's reaction. The woman took her hand back out of the dead man, heart and all, and brought the bloody gift to under her hood. 'Oh my god is she eating it?!' She thought with horror. What did she just get herself into? The female coughed a bit and dropped the bitten heart. "Not the one. Can't you fools do anything right?! Ah well. I guess one of you will make do in a pinch." At that remark the group of people, who had been praying and watching the event, shifted nervously. 'Ok! I think its time to end this event.' Andrea thought, looking around to see what she could do to distract this bunch. Noticing a candle nearby gave her an idea. That could work: the building is mostly rotted and ripe for a fire but if she used that method she'll have to quickly grab the kid and run like hell.
"How can you fools screw up a simple task?! All you had to do was find a stupid human who could eat the damn fruit!" The woman howled at them. The sound was quite inhuman and sent a cold shiver threw her. "He was quite compatible with the fruit our Master." was the reply from one of the men. 'alright. I can do this.' The girl thought as she grabbed the nearest candle. Luck must be with her given how easy it was to snatch the candle. Now then, if the distraction was great enough she can feet the kid and get out of here. Probably. Another sign of luck was that there was plenty of trash and boxes thrown about ready to be burned. 'if worse comes to worst I can always sent one of these sickos on fire.' She thought grimly as she carefully lit some nearby trash on fire. Actually that wasn't a bad idea. These freaks already killed one person already so they can't complain if they get killed themselves. After checking to see the people upfront weren't looking her way she quickly crawled to the nearest person and gently lowered the candle long enough for the cloak to catch fire. Maybe she'd better have two on fire, just to be safe. Slowly reaching out she repeated the step to them when someone finally noticed the small blaze. Perfect. "Someone put tat fire out before thus whole place burns around us!" The woman shrieked, causing the group to jump to their feet and tried to put it out. She stifled a laugh as the two she set on fire finally noticed their dilemma and proceeded to run like chickens without heads. 'haven't they heard of stop, drop and roll? Ah well."
Thanks to them running around the fools had made the small fire even bigger. Works for her cause they just made it easier to get the kid, who has by now stopped struggling. Hope they didn't pass out. As Andrea made her way over, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her over. "You! You've made this mess you little...!" The woman started but got stopped in mid sentence due to getting tased in the stomach. "Hmph! Serves you right! I hope that hurts!" Andrea growled a bit at the twitching woman and gently bent over and picked up the kid. "Let's get you out of here little one. Hold on tight!" She told them as she somehow got the kid onto her back. With the kid firmly on her back she ran like the wind towards the door, barely dodging the screaming people. It seemed like forever but she finally reached the stairways and rushed up them, uncaring on how old they were. Hopefully there were people outside. They have to be, not after hearing the screams from below. Bursting into the alley she rushed to the road, never more glad to see such a fa mailer sight. Breathing hard she gently set her cargo onto the ground. Where the heck are the police?! They should of been here by now!" She growled aloud as she looked up and down the street. It suddenly dawned on her that she never crave the address for the place let alone a road name. Cursing loudly she quickly rushed to get her purse when a police car pulled up. "Yes!" She quickly rushed over to the car as the officer got out. "I'm so glad your here! There's an injured child over there and there's a fire in the basement of that building!" "Calm down ma'am. What child? What fire? Are you the one who called earlier?" Andrea nodded quickly, making her ponytail bob fast. "Yes! The kid's over there!" She replied as she quickly went back to help the kid but stopped fast. "What...?"
Later the next day
She grumbled as she moped the floor. Somehow the child she went threw so much trouble to try and save was not only gone but the fire and the people had somehow vanished. No trace of fire nor activity was found down in the basement. How the heck could that be?! She'd seen everything for herself! Even starting the fire! After trying to explain what had occurred to police lice officer he went down and checked everything himself and came back with nothing. All Andrea got for her trouble was a trip to the station and a warning about false alarms. At least that was all she got. "Could of been worse. At least work was kind enough to let me work on some other building." She mused to herself, stifling a yawn. Being up almost 20 hours didn't help cause and not to mention she had to bring all her school stuff with her. "I so can't wait to get home and sleep. Hm?" A noise from the lunchroom got her attention. No one was here today. Maybe her stuff fell over and spilled out. Great. Just what she didn't need. Putting the mop back into the bucket she quickly rushed to the back just in time to see a small child looking at beer books. "How in the world did you get in here?" She asked the child, looking at them closely.
From what she could see it appeared to be a girl no older then 9 with long black hair and the palest skin she has ever seen. Looking up at her she saw that her eyes were the darkest green she has ever seen when suddenly the girl vanished. "!?" "All who were at the ceremony must be punished." A voice said from behind her, causing her to jump half a foot into the air. Whipping around she turned just in time to see the little girl open her mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. This can't be happening! She quickly backed away from her. "W...w...what c..ceremony?" She asked, trying to think of what the heck was happening and how it was. Suddenly the girl was right in front of her. "No more talk." Was the reply and the girl pushed Andrea backwards. All she had time to do was let out a shriek of surprise and the sensation of falling threw something. She fall forward and backwards, tumbling in whatever that nothing pushed her into whatever the hell this was. Everything was moving too fast for her to get a good look. Without warning the world suddenly opened up and she saw what appeared to be a jungle before. 'A jungle?' was all she had time to think when she was suddenly spit out into the jungle. "Eeeeeeeee!" She yelped as she landed on a soft hard wall.
"Whoa there! I got ya!" came a deep rumbling voice. Looking up she saw that she had landed on a very large man with navy blue hair, deep brown eyes and what appears to be three large scars right under his left eye. The man had to be at least over seven feet, making her measly 5'6 look even tinier. She quickly jumped off him like something better, quickly looking around trying to get her bearings. "Is she alright Toriko-san?" A soft timid voice said, coming from her left and she quickly turned to face the new person. Which turned out to be a boy. Or at least appeared to be a boy due to his height which was quite short a compared to her. He was wearing what to be military style cloths, a hard hat and was pointing a shotgun at her. Her eyes widen and backed up fast, hitting yet again the huge man. "Easy Komatsu! Just a girl!" The big man told the little guy, who quickly dropped the gun in a panic. "I'm so sorry miss! I thought you were another huge animal!" The little guy, Komatsu was it?, told her as she quickly moved away from the men. Trying to sound more calm then what she was feeling she asked in a shaky voice, "W..where a..am I? What is this place? How did I get here?"