Shadow Slave: Rainy Days

A slender and malnourished young woman with pale skin and long, dark hair sat on a rusty bench across from a police station. She was holding a piece of high quality meat in her hands - not the cheap kind that consisted off mushed liver and kidneys but the top tier stuff. Something like this was pretty much unavailable for a slum rat like her but since this would be her last day, she just decided to spend all the money she could somehow scrape together to buy meat.

She raised her hands, moving the piece of meat to her mouth, and took a bite. First a small one and then a larger one. After a second of chewing on it, she spat it out and threw the piece of meat into the bin.

"Disgusting ! But what did I expect from raw meat anyways ? Who knew high quality meat still tastes bad when raw. I should have bought coffee or something !"

The girl then leaned back on the bench and sighed, feeling the rain pour down on her pretty but dirty face.

'I feel dizzy. It's probably about time ... for my death.'

Shaking her head to stay awake, Rain stood up from the bench and dashed towards the police station with a determined scream.

'Just because I'm about to experience my first nightmare, it doesn't mean that I will give up ! I never do, after all.'

As she stepped inside, she was met with a tired looking officer, who gave her a quick glance before frowning.

"What are you doing here, little girl ?"

Rain looked around the room with curiosity, completing ignoring the middle-aged man. She noticed reinforced armor plates on the wall and even turrets hanging from the ceiling. Seems like police stations all had the same equipment.

"Are you gonna ignore me any longer or will you finally start to talk ?", asked the police officer with annoyance in his voice.

Rain giggled slightly, having completly forgotten that she still needed to explain her situation.

"Of course, sir. As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."

The police officers mouth hung low for a moment, his expression changing from one of annoyance to seriousness.

"Are you sure that you are infected ? When did you start feeling sleepy ? And how old are you ?"

Rain scratched her cheek.

"I think about 6 days ago ? And I'm 16 years old, by the way. So the perfect age for a bearer of the Spell."

"That's just perfect.", said the officer sarcastically.

Then, with a shaky finger, he pressed a button behind the counter and yelled:

"Attention ! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!"

***

A bit later, while multiple policemen were restraining her, Rain thought about the Nightmare Spell. It had appeared a few decades ago, right at the time where the world was recovering from harsh wars and natural disasters.

It was like the world had changed from one to another day. Many people suddenly started to fall asleep, with no way to make them up.

At that point it had also already been to late. When the people died in their sleep, their bodies transformed into one of a monster, creating havoc and death..

But there were also those who had survived in their sleep and conquered what they called the first nightmare. They were the ones who fought against the monsters -with the powers they had obtained by awakening.

The Nightmare Spell had never really interested Rain, since the only thing on her mind was surviving in this shithole she lived in. But since she had now been affected by it, her death was pretty much guaranteed, especially since she had not undergone any formal training.

People like her, poor and alone had no chance at surviving their first Nightmare. Their bodies were weak after all.

***

By now Rain was already deep in the police station's basement, her body attached to a mix of a hospital bed and a torture device. There were the same armored walls that were also in the entrance, this time just thicker and with a stronger material.

Soon, the vault door that was to her side opened and the policeman from before stepped inside, having a grim expression on his scared face.

"What's your name, girl ?"

Rain yawned, the spells effect increasing every second

"It's Rain."

"What a weird name. Has a cool knack to it tho.".

The policeman trailed off for a few seconds before continuing.

"By your attire and body I'm guessing that you have no family, am I right ?"

"Yes, that's correct."

He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Alright, miss Rain. How long can you keep your conscious up ?"

"Two minute at most."

"That's... not a lot. Let's be quick then. How much do you know about the First Nightmare ?"

"Don't I just get send into the Dream Realm, kill a few monster and come out with superpowers ?"

"Well, yes .. but theres also more. Listen, the Nightmare is not an execution but a trial. It will be challenging but not impossible. You will meet monster and humans. I'd recommend seeing the humans as illusions, by the way, so your mind won't hold you back from killing them if it comes down to it. Kid, you'll start of with a few abilities right at the start of the Nightmare. The most common ones are combat related. They are also the most useful one when it comes to the first Nightmare. But if you don't get one, you shouldn't be discouraged, since you can still fight your way through with a different kind."

After his explanation, Rains head was already wobbly, her mind trying it's best to stay awake.

"Rain, you're from the outskirts. You somehow survived all that time alone. You'll survive this too, okay ? At least survive for a few hours, since a awakened will take a little while till they arrive to kill you if you transform into a monster."

'Wait what ? What a bastard !'

With her last slur, Rains mind had turned black, as she fell into her Nightmare.

And then, she suddenly heard a voice ringing in her head.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]