Alejandra took Spanish from one of the most popular teachers in school, Señora Florez. She was short, blonde-haired and blue eyed, born in Phoenix, and deeply in love with her husband, José Florez. They met while they were in college, and had been in love ever since. Alejandra could tell. She had first row seats to the complete deterioration of a marriage from two people of different cultures in her own house, and she could truthfully say the Florez’s marriage was thriving. José worked at his restaurant, and Señora Florez worked at the school teaching math, Spanish, and was the teacher in charge of the CCNC after-school club. She had rarely seen them together, but she knew they still loved each other, two little girls later.

Alejandra took Spanish from her the semester after her parent’s divorce. Even though Mariana’s family was all Mexican, Jack refused to let her or Rafael learn Spanish. They didn’t dare disobey. Once he was gone, Alejandra signed up for Spanish so she could learn more than the occasional cuss words Mariana would mutter under her breath.

After two years of Spanish, she could understand more about what Mariana said on the phone. She could talk a bit, as long as the person listening was patient enough for her to form her grammar and conjugation in her mind. It was easier to listen than it was to talk, but she was getting better. But more than anything, Alejandra learned from Señora Florez that relationships from completely different cultures could actually work. Señora Florez’s marriage was a thriving thing that Alejandra felt honored to watch from the sidelines. A reminder that not every interracial relationship ended in utter disaster.

Alejandra was first introduced to Señora Florez when she was a freshman. She joined the CCNC after-school club at Derek’s suggestion. It was strange. It was magical. Señora Florez was shorter than some of the high school students, but Alejandra loved that about her. Alejandra wasn’t big into role play, which was why all her characters were the quiet, brooding type. Hraktar was her first quiet, thoughtful fighter, but she’d also been playing a quiet, thoughtful sorcerer in the after-school club.

When Señora Florez was hired almost seven years ago, she lobbied for a CCNC after-school club based purely on the math factor alone. Math was already a terrifying thing for most high schoolers, so they did anything they could to make it fun. And thus, the first CCNC club was born.

Alejandra was sad Nick couldn’t attend, but she heard about how strict Walt could be to him. Nick had work three times a week, anyway.

But Derek was there with her. They were finishing up the shorter session. Señora Florez was a great game master, and she’d often shake her head at Derek’s dice superstition. She often talked about statistics. Yes, Alejandra attended an after-school club for the game, but she gained a whole new fascination with math. She spent an hour down a rabbit hole looking up the law of averages and the gambler’s fallacy.

Derek was talking to his friends after, so Alejandra used the opportunity to head toward the door, grabbing her backpack.

“See you tomorrow, Alejandra!” Señora Florez said.

“See you, Señora Florez.” Alejandra walked down the empty hallway, checking her phone. She heard the football team practicing, which meant Rafael wouldn’t be home until late. He had always been avoiding her, but she had questions ever since the revelation this morning that he was dating Hazel.

Rafael had sent a quick text that he had a ride so she could take the car home. Alejandra was tempted to ask if it was Hazel who was giving him a ride, but she didn’t want to. She wanted talk to him about it, but not over text. Though talking in person was proving to be more difficult these days. How could her own brother keep his dating life from her? Hazel was such a sweet girl. And incredibly popular.

Alejandra sighed, but was happy to have the car. Rafael was often finding rides with friends, so she had the car most of the time, anyway.

She got her keys from her purse before she felt it. She couldn’t explain it. All she knew was it felt wrong. It was deep in her gut, one that warned her to be careful. Alejandra glanced around, confused. There was no one here, yet the feeling persisted. Like she was being watched.

No, wait. Hunted.

Her eyes darted toward the parking lot before she found their old clunker of a car. She tried to take it slow and steady, but the feeling in her gut intensified. Her feet stumbled along when a thing appeared out of the bushes. She gasped, freezing in place. It had the look of a wolf, except it was walking on two legs. There were claw marks on it, making it look as though it was attacked recently, but it wasn’t dripping blood. It was lava. The lips curled over teeth, and the fiery saliva trickled from its snout. This had to be some sort of hell hound. It was real, and it was looking straight at her. She saw intellect behind those black flame eyes.

It snarled, and Alejandra jumped back into herself. She sprinted, trying not to scream. Trying not to be afraid. It couldn’t hurt her, but that didn’t stop her imagination from conjuring up what it would feel like if it could.

Alejandra scrambled inside the car, feeling wet tears on her cheeks. She jammed her key into the car, and it sputtered to life.

The hell hound landed on the hood of the car, and Alejandra screamed. The hound barked and snarled, beating the window with its claws.

It couldn’t crack it. She was safe. She was going to be just fine. It couldn’t hurt her. She was fine. She needed to be fine.

Fighting through the fear, she tried once again to get the car to start. It sputtered again, and she watched in horror as the hound’s paw glowed with a reddish light before ramming it against the car. The sputtering engine died, and Alejandra felt a jolt of panic.

“No, no, no.” They couldn’t touch the real world. They couldn’t affect it in any way. There was no way this hell hound magicked her car to stop working. Because if they could touch the real world, then they could get at her. Not only that, she needed the air conditioning, or she would die. It was way too hot in here.

The hell hound howled, and she covered her ears, the primal fear completely taking over her. She couldn’t call the police. She wasn’t even sure if they’d see it.

Her hands trembled as she grabbed her phone, hitting Rafael’s name and waiting, terrified. He wouldn’t answer. He was at practice and wouldn’t have his phone on him. The hell hound continued to claw at the windshield. The fact that it wasn’t splintering was the only thing that gave Alejandra the strength to wait until Rafael’s voicemail appeared.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

She started calling Evelyn, but didn’t even bother waiting for the voicemail. She’d be at practice, too.

Derek was next on her list of people to call. He was here at school. But what could he do? As she waited for him to pick up, her stomach pulled itself into knots. The actual help she needed was Hraktar and the other characters. She needed to get Rafael’s attention so he could get Ezekiel and Hraktar.

But this was a hell hound. A much stronger creature than anyone on level one. They needed everyone here if they had a hope of taking it down. Sweat formed on her face as the heat turned dangerous. She had to get out of the car.

New Side Quest. Figure out how to teleport Hraktar to you.

Alejandra let out a strangled gasped. That was possible?

The hell hound, furious it couldn’t break the glass, made another large bound and landed on the top of the car. Alejandra whimpered, relieved the vehicle was still holding. She tried once again to get the car started, but it refused to work.

Out of desperation, she called Nick. Of everyone, Nick couldn’t do anything at all. He was at work right now, and there was no way he could leave his job to get her.

“Alejandra?”

“Nick,” she said, knowing it was too late. There was obvious terror in her voice, and she was going to have to explain herself.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

The hell hound leapt again, and the car held against the weight, but there was a dull thump that made her whimper. “There’s a hell hound.” She said it quietly, so quietly she doubted Nick could hear. “On my car. I can’t start my car. I can’t… I can’t…”

“You’re alright. Okay? You’re going to be alright. It can’t hurt you.” Despite his words of comfort, Alejandra heard his instant unease.

“I…” She heard another dull thud, and she tried not to think about how it sounded louder this time. “I…”

“Where are you?” Nick asked.

“You… you can’t leave work. Your dad-”

“That’s a problem I’ll figure out later. Where are you?”

“The parking lot across from the school.” She didn’t want to tell him, because if he got in trouble because of her…

“Are you still in your car?” There was no denying the fear in his voice this time.

The hell hound jumped off, running at an impossibly fast distance before sprinting back toward the car. Alejandra again tried to start it, but it was dead.

“Alejandra! Are you still in your car?” Nick asked again, louder.

“I can’t. I can’t leave.”

Through her phone, she heard Nick start his own car. At the same moment, the hell hound hit the side of hers. “Get out of your car. Now. Do you understand? The hell hound can’t get you, but the heat will.” Alejandra whimpered as the hound stumbled. It must have taken damage from such an endeavor, so it wasn’t about to do that again. “I’m coming for you, but you’ve got to get out.”

“No, no. Please, stay away.”

“It can’t hurt you. It won’t hurt me.”

The car was getting so hot. “It might. It stopped my car, it might—”

“It’s another problem we’ll solve when I get there.”

“It could kill you!” Alejandra said, her voice rising in fear.

“I doubt it.”

“You shouldn’t be doubting. You should be certain it won’t kill you! Nick, do not come get me! I never should have called!”

“Listen to me, Alejandra.” Despite the panic she heard in his voice earlier, he had gotten calm. “Do exactly what I say. Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Close your eyes.” That wasn’t hard to do. “Open your car door.” Alejandra whimpered as she did so. The snarling became louder somehow. “Get out of the car. Get on the sidewalk. Kneel and cover your ears. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

Alejandra slipped out of the car. Nick had hung up, and she did her best to follow his instructions. The heat of the afternoon wasn’t nearly as oppressive as the heat in the car. Her body trembled as she covered her ears, curling into herself.

“You can’t hurt me.” She tried to will the courage inside her, tried to say it with confidence, but even if she kept her eyes closed, the memory of what it looked like played dangerously in her eyes. Those black flame eyes, that fire saliva, the glowing lava dripping from inflamed, infected wounds. She didn’t want to be around this thing, let alone having it look right at her with a deep, guttural growl.

The hell hound barked all around her, but she kept her eyes shut. She felt nothing, but she heard everything. The snarling, the vicious screams. If there was a heat coming off the hell hound, she couldn’t feel it. But she didn’t dare open her eyes.

Hraktar. She needed Hraktar. It said she could portal him to her. Why wasn’t it working?

A car sailed down the street, one she knew was Nick, and her heart plummeted. She never should have called. It was pointless. She just needed to stand up and pretend everything was fine as she got help for obvious car troubles. All the while pretending there wasn’t a hell hound following her. Most likely attacking her. Just the thought of calmly calling someone for car trouble while the hound was snarling was laughable.

Alejandra opened her eyes and regretted it immediately. The hell hound swiped at her, claws like black obsidian. She should be nothing more than a pulp. Nick pulled up at the spot close to her and threw himself out of his car. “Hey! Over here, ugly!”

“Nick, don’t!”

With a snarl, the hell hound spun to face Nick. Her friend stood, completely frozen at the sight, and she understood the feeling all too well. It was one thing to listen to Tyler’s description of a hell hound, but another thing all together to actually see one.

With a hellish bark, the hound leapt away from her, sprinting toward Nick.

“No!” Alejandra knew Nick would be fine. But a small part—that was growing bigger every day—that said a demon dog would maul him. Nick had little time to react, and the only thing he did was to strengthen his stance before turning his face to the side, bracing himself. “NICK!”

She felt the pull as the millions of emotions flooded toward her. She didn’t feel calm. A calm emotion tried to tell her that if she was fine, he would be too, but the primal fear kept her from feeling that comfort. Instead, her imagination sent her on a journey of what it would feel like to witness Nick being mauled in front of her.

I need Hraktar!

The hell hound leapt right through Nick, a surprised yelp erupted as he smacked the ground. Alejandra covered her mouth, tears in her eyes when something thumped on the other side of her. She turned and saw the green, muscled legs of her fighter.

Side Quest complete.

Ten experience points filled Hraktar’s bar that she hardly gave notice to. Alejandra looked up, breathing deeply as she watched Hraktar looking around the parking lot in surprise before his eyes landed on the hell hound. Nick opened his eyes, giving a tiny exhale of relief before he noticed Hraktar. He didn’t bother glancing over his shoulder. He just ran straight for Alejandra.

She grabbed his hand as he yanked her to her feet. “In my car. Hurry! It’s too hot out here.” He kept his hand tightly over hers as they rushed past the hellhound and Hraktar before she made it into the back of Nick’s car. The fresh relief of air conditioning made her aware of how drenched in sweat she was. He followed in after her, slamming the door closed.

“Are you alright?” Alejandra and Nick both said together.

There wasn’t time to answer. Hraktar stomped toward the hound, then pulled out his great sword. The hell hound snarled at Hraktar, and in response he roared back. Her heart sank. She and Nick couldn’t get hurt. But Hraktar could. Time froze, and she felt Nick’s hand frozen in hers. She realized, then, that he never let go of her hand.

Roll for intimidation.

Alejandra let out a breath as her dice appeared in front of her. She grabbed the d20 with her right hand, as she could still feel her fingers tightly over Nick’s, and shook it. The dice landed on an invisible plate. It was weird how that worked. It was a seventeen. That had to be good, right? So many of her rolls for intimidations usually just sputtered out.

Time resumed. The hound was obviously scared, stopping his snarling at once.

Successfully intimidated. Enemy will roll at a disadvantage for next three turns.

“How is Hraktar here?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know. I summoned him somehow. Try to summon Grizzizzik. If I remember right, a hell hound is way more powerful than anyone at level one. It’s too much for Hraktar right now.”

Nick stared at her. “You summoned him?”

“I can’t explain it. A side quest appeared, and I tried it,” Alejandra said.

The hell hound barred his teeth, ready to attack. Time once again stood still.

Roll for initiative.