Consuming Darkness, Arising Light

Chapter 32: A Mother And Her 'Son'

(A/n: Trigger Warning: mentions of child abuse)

Faint lights peek through the clouds fouled by darkness. Morning has come. The air is crisp, despite the dreary environment. The grass is black and dry, the raindrops the clouds would sometimes produce did not saturate them properly, and the lack of sunlight further deteriorated their health. Unlike the buildings, the streets aren't badly damaged. The last remaining residents here have been doing their best to keep the whole place stable enough for them to continue to reside in, fending off any monsters that dared to cause any calamity. The few survivors and the moderately good conditions of the area and beyond are proof of their hard-earned success.

On top of a rundown convenience store that only has its doors and windows busted is a nest, a big nest. It was made from a multitude of dead tree branches. Sleeping within it is a crow monster and its six babies that look a bit bigger than the average chick.

The mother's eyes snap open, then it sits up, waking its children. They let out distorted high-pitched cries, but get immediately silenced by their mother's loud caw. The winged monster stands up, hops out of the nest, then takes off into the air, the gust triggered by its big wings rustling its roost.

It searches for some breakfast. No other crow monsters are up at the moment, so it has to be quick. It isn't in the mood to fight nor share its prey with the others.

There aren't any more animals to feast on, not in this area, at least. Most of them were eaten or were turned into monsters by the Dark Master's magic. Now the humans are the creatures' only source for food. Coincidentally, the mother crow monster spots two of them below: a woman with long, black hair holding a little boy's hand, whose blonde hair is short and a bit disheveled. It decides to be stealthy instead of raucously conspicuous this time. It starts flapping its wings as lightly as it can so as to not create any sounds as it approaches the oblivious pair.

"Mom, I'm hungry," says the boy, his royal blue eyes looking pleadingly up at the woman. He's dressed in a brown shirt with white long-sleeves coming out of the short-sleeves and faded blue jeans, on his feet are a pair of brown leather ankle boots. His mother remains quiet as she continues to stare nowhere else but forward, her light blue eyes deprived of their natural shine. She's wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, black baggy pants, and dirty white sneakers. The boy pouts at her lack of care, but then widens his eyes. "Oh! Can I eat that?!" He asks excitedly, pointing behind him.

Aware that it has been spotted, the large crow monster picks up speed as it lets out a deafening caw.

The child's mother responds by letting go of his hand. She doesn't stop to see what he will do, she's seen his way of eating often enough times to make her sick to her stomach. She ignores the sickeningly loud crunch, and the crow monster's anguished screeching, preventing her mind from imagining the disgusting scene that's happening behind her.

Five minutes later, there are no more sounds, until she hears footsteps approaching, hurrying to catch up. The boy giggles happily as he grabs her hand.

"That was reeeally juicy~"

The woman's face contorts into a slight grimace of disgust. "Wipe your mouth."

"Oh right." The boy does as told, cleaning his mouth with his shirt, though his whole face needs to be cleaned as well.

"Quite the appetite he has."

The woman and child stop, then slowly turn around. They see a man dressed as if he used to work in an office, his eyes barely perceivable behind the lens of his glasses.

The boy casts his nervous eyes to his mother. "M-mom...-"

"Who are you?" The woman asks, emotionless yet stern. She didn't hear any additional footsteps, nor felt a third presence nearby. For this man to suddenly be here, he cannot be normal.