I'm a Soldier in a War Against Demons

I used to think I was just a regular kid. The kind who worried about high school exams, avoided the popular crowd, and spent too much time alone in my room. That was before I was drafted into a war I never knew existed. A war not fought in the open, but in the shadows, hidden from the eyes of the unsuspecting.

The night everything changed started like any other. I was walking home from my part-time job at the corner gas station. The streets were unusually quiet, the air heavy with the kind of stillness that makes your skin crawl. I remember hearing a strange hum, like static crackling in the air. Then, out of nowhere, they appeared.

Demons.

Their forms were jagged and unnatural, like shadows stitched together with nightmares. Red eyes glowed in the dark, their mouths dripping with black ichor that sizzled against the pavement. They surrounded me, their guttural growls vibrating in my chest. I was sure I was going to die.

But then something inside me snapped.

The world slowed down. I could feel heat coursing through my veins, my skin glowing faintly in the dim light. Before I could process what was happening, my hands ignited in flames—not ordinary flames, but something brighter, purer, almost... alive. I moved without thinking, instinct taking over as I launched a ball of fire at the nearest demon. It screamed, its body disintegrating into ash.

The others lunged at me, but I was faster. I twisted and dodged, fire swirling around me like a living shield. In moments, it was over. The demons were gone, and I was left standing in the middle of the street, trembling and alone.

That’s when he appeared.

A man stepped out of the shadows, tall and clad in a long black coat. His face was weathered, eyes sharp as knives. "You’ve been chosen," he said, his voice low and steady.

"Chosen for what?" I asked, still shaking.

"To fight," he replied. "You’re not the only one with powers. There’s a war going on, and we need soldiers."

The next few days were a blur. The man, who introduced himself as Colonel Graves, brought me to a hidden base deep in the mountains. There, I met others like me—teenagers with abilities they didn’t understand. One could manipulate shadows, another could freeze anything with a touch, and there was even a girl who could summon spectral wolves. We were all recruits in this secret war against the demons.

Training was brutal. The demons weren’t just mindless monsters; they were cunning, relentless, and terrifyingly organized. They came from a place called the Veil, a dimension that existed parallel to ours. Their goal? To break through and turn our world into a living hell.

For months, we trained in combat, strategy, and how to harness our powers. I learned that my fire wasn’t just a weapon—it was a force that could purify the corruption the demons spread. But every time I used it, I felt a part of me burn away, like my humanity was being scorched little by little.

The battles were worse than anything I could have imagined. The first time I faced a demon in the field, I froze. It was massive, its body a twisted mass of limbs and faces, each one screaming in agony. My team yelled at me to move, but I couldn’t. I only snapped out of it when one of my friends, Kyle, got impaled right in front of me. His blood sprayed across my face, hot and sticky. That’s when the fire took over.

I don’t remember much of what happened next, only that when it was over, the demon was gone, and the battlefield was scorched black.

The war changed me. Each battle took a piece of my soul, leaving something darker in its place. I started to hear whispers at night, voices calling from the Veil. They promised power, begged me to join them, to embrace the fire fully.

One night, I almost gave in.

We were on a mission to close a rift that had opened in the city. Demons poured through, overwhelming us. My team was falling one by one, their screams echoing in my ears. Desperate, I reached for the fire inside me, but it wasn’t enough. The voices grew louder, offering me a way out.

"Let us in," they whispered. "We can make you stronger."

For a moment, I hesitated. The thought of losing everyone I cared about was unbearable. But then I saw her—Emily, the girl who could summon wolves, standing her ground despite the terror in her eyes. She believed in me.

I clenched my fists, forcing the voices back. The fire roared to life, brighter and hotter than ever before. I unleashed everything I had, burning the rift closed and obliterating the demons in one final blast.

When the smoke cleared, I collapsed.

Now, as I write this, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep fighting. The fire is consuming me, and the whispers are getting louder. But I can’t stop. If I give up, the demons win. And I can’t let that happen.

Because I’m not just a teenager anymore. I’m a soldier in a war against demons. And I’ll fight until there’s nothing left of me.