“Bran!”

I shift around into a more comfortable position.

“Brannny!”

A hand gently rouses me from my slumber. I raise my head violently, a trail of drool dripping from my mouth.

Ah, crap.

“Come on, Branny. I know it makes my job easier and all, but I’d prefer it if you paid attention to my classes.”

My biology teacher, Mrs. Kuksal, glares disapprovingly over me. A small, middle-aged and chubby woman, she’s been calling me ‘Branny’ ever since I ended up in her class. She tends to pick on me quite often – if I didn’t know better, I’d swear she just enjoyed saying my name.

“Sorry, Miss.”

“See me after class. I want to have a little chat with you.”

I meekly nod as she goes back to explaining the steps of the practical.

“You reckon you’re going to get a detention?” Dennis whispers from out of the corner of his mouth.

I massage my eyelids, slowly regaining my senses. I didn’t get much sleep after taking care of those demons this morning, so I’m still a little tired. “Maybe. She hasn’t given me one yet, but there’s a first time for everything I suppose.”

We continue to listen as she describes the parts of the frog we’ll need to pay special attention to, and the specific parts we’ll need to cut. There’s a trolley with rows of frozen frog corpses, ready for us to dissect. I can already see some of the weak-hearted girls cringing at the thought of cutting into flesh.

“Alright, everyone. I want one person from each pair to now come up and take a sample. Don’t push, there’s enough for everyone. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

There’s a mass rustling of stools being dragged from their desks and people leaving them. Dennis nods at me and heads towards the equipment cabinet – I guess I’ll be in charge of picking up the specimen and the scalpels.

Instead of forming an orderly line everyone crowds around the trolley, eager to be the first to receive a dead frog. I find myself at the back alongside the slower and more reluctant people, waiting my turn. I end up picking up a scalpel and some of the other tools first while I wait.

When my turn finally arrives and I’ve gotten my frozen frog-on-a-plate, someone nudges my elbow from the side. The dead creature goes falling onto the floor, landing with a splat.

“Oops,” Leo says. “My bad. It was an accident.”

Before I can respond, he bends down and picks up the frog with a gloved hand. In the process, he makes a long gash along its belly with his other hand, which holds a scalpel.

That bastard.

“Sorry about that,” he apologizes, plopping the ruined frog on my plate.

You’re not sorry at all.

He returns to a few of his friends, who begin sniggering. I sigh and head back to Dennis with the corpse.

“What happened here?” he asks.

“Dropped it,” I reply. There’s no point getting him involved. Dennis seems to catch on, and dismisses the issue.

“Let’s get started then.”

***

Almost an hour later, we finish up and throw out the remains of the bodies. I’ve seen plenty of blood and gore, but not everyone is like me. One boy fainted and had to be taken to the nurse’s office.

“I want everyone to write up this practical and hand it in tomorrow,” Kuksal’s voice rings out across the classroom.

“Yes Miss,” we respond in a monotonous chorus.

I finish rinsing the equipment we used and place it back on the trolley. The bin is already filling up with the bloodied corpses of frog bits and pieces. Some are still recognizable; others not so much. There’s always a few who get trigger-happy – or in this case, scalpel-happy and end up just stabbing randomly for fun.

The bell for the end of school rings, and we are dismissed. My classmates begin streaming out of the lab group by group. I wait patiently for everyone to leave.

“You can go,” I say to Dennis. “Don’t worry about me. You don’t want to be late for club activities, do you?”

Dennis nods. “Alright then. Good luck.”

With that, he leaves the lab, closing the door behind him. Only Mrs. Kuksal and I are left.

“You wanted to see me?” I ask, standing before her desk.

Kuksal finishes tidying up her folders and looks up. Her piggy eyes bore deep into me, but I hold her gaze. “Is everything alright, Branny?”

“What do you mean? I was just tired, that’s all. Sorry.”

She shakes her head. “You should sleep better then. Is there anything going on at home? Anything that I can help with? Is there a reason you’re not getting enough sleep?”

A silence drifts between us. For a moment, I’m tempted to tell her, if only for the comedic value.

Yeah, I’m actually out placing my life on the line every night to hunt demons. I’m forced to get what little sleep I can in the afternoon and the few hours before school.

“I’m fine,” I say instead, holding my tongue. “It’s just been a little hard at home lately. I’m working to try and help my Mum out with the bills.”

Mrs. Kuksal adjusts her reading glasses. I can almost see her thought process. She detects some of it as the truth – which it is – but she knows there’s something more I’m not telling her. It must be women’s intuition.

“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to talk to me,” she says. “Or any of the teachers, for that matter. We have a counsellor too, don’t forget about her. I’m just concerned for you, okay?”

“Yep. No problem.”

I nod and try a reassuring smile. It probably looks like I choked on something foul instead.

“Honestly… it’s not like your grades are bad or anything; I just think you have so much potential. If you weren’t always nodding off or spacing out, I think you could do quite well.”

‘Spacing out’… I guess she hasn’t completely seen through me yet then. Most of the times I ‘space out’ I’m actually half-asleep, with my eyes open too.

“Thanks,” I reply.

“Alright then. Please try not to lose focus again. I might have to have a chat with your mother if this keeps up.”

Good luck with that, I think. She doesn’t even have time to spend talking with her family, let alone you.

I bow my head before leaving the classroom. Before I do, I acknowledge all those poor frog souls who sacrificed their lives in the name of science to educate us.

***

By the time I arrive at the school gates ready to leave, most people have either gone home or immersed themselves in their circle and club activities. Before I can step past the threshold, a voice calls out to me from the side.

“Bran! Did you get in trouble? You’re later than usual.”

A black ponytail blurs before my vision, shortly before something latches onto my arm. Something that’s too tall and well-developed to be Judith.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, gently shaking her off. I will never understand why this person insists on pursuing me.

“Are you heading home? Let’s go together!”

No matter how hard I try and turn her down, she doesn’t – or refuses to – take the hint. I don’t have the heart to tell her I’m not interested, either.

“Sorry, I’m going somewhere else. I have to take care of some personal business.”

A downcast look takes over her face.

“Maybe some other time,” I mutter. As usual, I just can’t force myself to be too cold.

“Aww… just when I was given a day off too…”

It’s not that she’s not attractive or anything; quite the contrary in fact. I just have too much going on to try and juggle a relationship – plus, I’m not quite sure how long I’d be able to keep my ‘part-time job’ a secret for. I wouldn’t want to drag her into the world of ANGEL for no good reason.

I awkwardly look around, trying to think of what to say next when I’m saved by the person I least expected.

“Ashley!”

I immediately try and turn away, but judging from the sharp intake of breath I know it’s too late.

Leo’s furious face has appeared in the distance, coming to a halt a few metres away from us.

“What are you doing here? You should be practicing; the tournament is in a little less than a week!”

He’s dressed in a white uniform – the uniform of the karate club. He sees me and his eyes immediately harden.

Another reason why I’d prefer not to get involved with Ashley – she’s Leo’s kid sister. They’re in the same grade, but were born on opposite ends of the year. Probably another reason why he always picks on me.

“I got a day off,” she complains. “I hate practicing all the time, sometimes I just want to have fun or relax. I’m not a machine, you know.”

Leo scowls. “Come on, Ashley. You have a bright future ahead of you, especially if you help us win this upcoming tournament. Don’t hang out with people like him; they’ll just drag you down with them.”

I hold myself back from launching a fist into his face. He doesn’t know it, but I’m probably just as capable, if not more, in a fight. I’d rather it stayed that way.

“He’s right,” I say. “Not about the dragging down part, but you should really get as much training in as possible. Give it your all, that way you won’t have any regrets at the end.”

Ashley looks between us before finally sighing. “All right, Leo. Let’s go.”

She reluctantly looks at the space beside me, as if she wanted to be there. Not that I’ve ever walked home or gone on a date with her, of course. I suppose she and Leo aren’t that different in that sense. If they want something, they’ll try their hardest to get it.

“You’d better make it up to me,” she mutters. “I swear you’re never available on the weekends… and I never see you at school either.”

Huh. Since when was I obliged to spend time with her? But before I can mention this, she’s already begun stalking back to the main building. Leo stares at me for a while longer, an unseen message passing between us.

“Alright, alright,” I say.

“You’re lucky she likes you, or I’d make your life even worse than it already is.”

That... would be troublesome.

“You’d better make sure she’s happy, or you’ll have me to deal with,” he continues, before turning to follow his sister back into the school.

I suppose if you look at it this way, Leo and I aren’t all that different either. It seems like we’re both similarly over-protective of our family.

***

The previous diversion aside, I’m finally able to reach my destination without further trouble. The old apartment block towers above me, practically trembling in the wind. I climb the cracked steps to the fifth floor and stride down the corridor to a battered old door, the number ‘Five’ screwed above it. The other number fell off long ago, but the numbers ‘Fifty-Four’ and ‘Fifty-Six’ on the doors on either side of it mean it could only have been another five.

Knock, Knock.

I’m a little tentative with my knocking. Despite my common sense, it feels like simply tapping the door could bring it, along with the apartment, down on me.

“Come in.”

She’s home, as usual.

I gently push the door open and step inside, bracing myself for the wave of hot smoke that hits me. If I ever get lung cancer, I’m going to sue this woman for being the most likely cause behind it.

She sits in the middle of the room before her desk, poring over documents. A cigarette sticks out from her lips, almost like an extension of her body. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without a cigarette to her lips; or even outside of this room for that matter. Sometimes I wonder if this woman ever leaves it. Does she have a family? Friends? Things she enjoys outside of work?

“Come here for your payment, have you?” she mutters without looking up.

“To the point as usual, Shizuka.”

The woman’s name is Hirano Shizuka, ANGEL’s Director of District Fifteen. A buxom Asian beauty of twenty-nine years, she handles all affairs that go on within Ashbrook and its surrounding cities – i.e. District Fifteen.

“Five lesser imps. Not bad, but not particularly spectacular either. At ANGEL’s standard rate, that warrants you a hundred dollars.”

I nod. That’s reasonable - ANGEL isn’t known for being particularly generous, even if it’s funded by the government. Shizuka quickly signs off a check and hands it to me, taking another long puff.

“You should stop smoking,” I say as I accept the slip of paper. “You’ll never find a decent guy if you smoke.”

Shizuka narrows her eyes. “What makes you think I haven’t found one already?”

I shrug. “Just a hunch.”

Judging by the furious look on her face, I’ve hit the bullseye. She quickly recomposes herself and clasps her hands together. “Stay out of adults’ business kid.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Despite the way she speaks and acts sometimes, she was actually quite a prestigious name back in the day. They still teach ANGEL recruits using some examples of situations she’s been in.

“So what’s the latest news on the block?”

“I’m pretty sure you already know, but there’s something out there killing people. From the limited information we have, our bets are on a feral demon that’s recently found its way to civilization.”

I nod. I’d already suspected as much, with the rather amateur way it had killed that man last night.

“How many has that been?” I ask.

Shizuka blows a puff of smoke to the side. “Three. It won’t be long before it makes the news. We’ve raised the bounty of this particular demon to ten thousand dollars.”

I nearly choke on my tongue. “Ten thousand? That’s a hundred times more than what I earned today!”

“It’s proven itself to be incredibly dangerous,” she says. “And we have to exterminate it before the general public gets wind of it. We’re lucky enough that we’ve reached most of these incidents before they have, but it’s only a matter of time. The Minister of Defense won’t be pleased if we cause a panic.”

“Ten thousand,” I mutter, her words falling on deaf ears.

“Hey, Bran. Don’t be rash, make sure you’re fully prepared before you try taking it on. The first rule we teach ANGEL recruits is that you never engage unless you have a ninety percent chance of survival. I know you don’t tend to follow our rules since you were an outsider and all, but please be careful.”

Even the government knows that asking for a hundred percent is too much. Fighting demons can be a dangerous task.

“Got it,” I say. That ten thousand is as good as mine.

“I’ve notified hunters in charge of the other regions of Fifteen, but the killer’s been turning up mostly around here. If you ever need backup, don’t hesitate to ask.”

I’m already standing up, getting ready to leave. I’ll finally be able to take a break if I kill this thing.

“Ten thousand,” I mutter again. I feel Shizuka’s eyes on me as I leave the room, already thinking of how I’ll spend the money.