I hear my mom yell at me to come for dinner.
In a suburban home, a woman turns on the oven and makes dinner. She hears a child yelling and turns toward the noise.
Near the downtown projects at a children's park, May Nguyen is looking off into space. A policeman comes by and tells the kids leaving, and May sees a tall man in a suit looking at the posters of missing children and saying that they were tasty. He looks at May and flicks out his black tongue. As May stares in horror, a neighbor woman comes by and says that the man is a city man and useless. He quickly dismisses her and walks off, whistling, as May stares at him. He walks past a barrier and when he comes out, now looking like an old woman. He waves to May, who runs off.
May runs to two of her fellow school children playing basketball, and they remember that she just moved in across the hall. One of them, Khalil Williams, introduces himself and Marcus. Khalil's mother Tania comes down and tells him that dinner is in the oven, and she says that the boys will keep an eye on her until her father comes home. Once Tania leaves, Khalil and Marcus say that there's a demon who looks human, but the adults don't believe them. May says that she saw the demon and describes how it changed shape, and they agree to teach her how to fight demons.
The three children exercise and talk about how the demon has always been part of the projects. May doesn't do well, and Marcus suggests that she put her unicorn doll down. May remembers that she had it when her mother was dying, telling her that it was all her father could find. Her mother kissed it, saying that all of her love is in it.
Marcus insists that May has to learn how to fight like every kid in the projects, and Khalil tells him not to give May a hard time because his mother left her. Angry, Marcus says that he's over Khalil and walks off. He goes around the barrier and screams, and by the time Khalil and May run over, Marcus is gone. Marcus has an app on him letting him track Khalil, and he tells May that he has to find his friend. May insists on going with him, and the two of them head out.
Later, Marcus wakes up in the house's basement and finds his glasses on the floor nearby. He realizes that his phone is gone.
The phone sits on the counter upstairs, next to the woman.
Marcus sees light filtering in through a crack and goes to it. He finds a tunnel and crawls into it, and comes out in a room filled with children's clothes. Posters of missing children are taped to the wall, and Marcus hears footsteps on the floor above. He finds a door and discovers that it's lock, and pounds on it and yells. No one responds, and the woman opens the door.
In his apartment, Khalil gives May squirt guns and tells her to fill them up, explaining that they don't know what will hurt it so they have to try everything. Khalil finally admits that they're just kids and he doesn't know if they can stop the demon, but they have to try. He tells her to stay outside and if he doesn't come out with Marcus, she goes for help.
May and Khalil follow the tracker app to the suburban house. They see the woman--the same one that May saw earlier--in the window. Khalil goes in, and May sees a neighbor calling the police saying that she's saw suspicious looking kids.
Marcus is tied up in the kitchen as the demon sharpens her knife. Khalil comes to the door and sees them inside, takes a wooden stake out of his backpack, and sneaks in. He motions to Khalil to be quiet, and the old woman hears Khalil moan. She says that he looks delicious, and Marcus prepares to jam the stake into her back. Before he can, there's a knock at the door and the demon goes to answer it. Once she leaves, Khalil unties Marcus.
The demon arrives at the door and finds May there. May says that the police will be there any second and she'll be in trouble. She asks why the demon hurts kids, and she says that grownups upset her stomach. Khalil comes up and stabs the demon in the back, and then he and Marcus run past her. They ride their bikes down the street, and the neighbor woman comes out and yells that the police are on their way. Sirens sound in the distance as the demon looks down the streets.
Khalil and May climb through the window into Khalil's bedroom. Tania finds them and asks who is in her living room. The demon, looking just like Tania, comes in and Tania attacks the demon when she advances on them. They struggle, and May and Khalil run out. When Khalil tries to help his mother, the demon shoves him back, howls at him, and chokes Tania. May calls to her mother to help her, and shoves the unicorn doll onto the demon's face. It clutches at it, moaning in pain, and Tania goes to the children. The demon chokes on the doll and it goes down its throat. A glowing green light emerges from the body and then the demon's body disappears.
Later at the park, Khalil and May watch Marcus as he does pretend kung fu. They join hands and declare themselves demon deep, and walk off. Behind them, a policeman walks out whistling and smiles, extending his black tongue.
I hear my mom yell at me to come for dinner.
As I head out my door, she grabs my arm, saying, "Don't go in the kitchen, baby, that's not me."
Written by Gadfly on Sep 13, 2019