Sitting on a park bench, a blonde woman waits for her shoes to dry. She recently finished washing them in the nearby pond, scrubbing away at the grime and accumulated filth her activities generated. Humming softly to herself, she plays with a string of flowers that make a circlet as her feet swing on the bench. Her aimless smile and evident happiness create an idyllic picture against the backdrop of the park.
The only thing that mars the scene is the pond itself, the centerpiece of the picturesque suburban green. The pond water should be pure and clear. Instead, it is a viscous slurry dyed crimson by blood. Yet the woman does not seem to mind. Indeed, dear reader, she seems perversely oblivious to the horror of the pond, for all that her still-drying shoes attest to the fact that she played no small role in creating this tumor at the center of town. But then, dear reader, this is Becca.
Suddenly she stops playing with her tiara of flowers and cocks her head to the side. Slowly her humming trails off as her eyes glaze over and then focus intently on something visible only to her. Scooching across the bench to her drying shoes, she grabs the wet converses and puts them on her bare feet. Heedless of the damp and with no apparent haste, she laces them up tightly, taking time to cinch the knots carefully. Then, after carefully arranging the flowers on her head, she pushes off the bench, steps to her feet, and begins to walk around the pond.
Across the water the voice of a young girl rings out, “That’s far enough Becca.”
Frowning, the blonde halts and rocks back on her feet. Then her face lights up with an expression of pure joy. Her brown eyes seem to shine as she quivers with barely concealed excitement. Whispering to the air, she speaks saying, “You’re here, you’ve come back to me.”
On the other end of the pool, Eldritch Maiden grapples with herself. She wants to move forward and engage, but prudence and the firm command of Beacon compel her to stay back. Still, she cannot help but wonder what Becca is saying. She is, at this distance, impossible to hear even if she spoke at a normal volume.
Despite this restriction, the man standing next to her, Beacon, seems acutely aware of her words. In a grim tone, he says, “She’ll come for me. I’ll try to resist, but I will fail. When I do, my life is in your hands.”
Underneath her cowl, a bead of sweat trickles down Eldritch’s face. But externally she demonstrates no sign of her nerves as she steels her voice and replies, “You can count on me.”
With a wry grin, Beacon shoots back, “You’re nervous, right? Don’t worry about it. I’m the one choosing to put my life in the hands of a high schooler.”
Eldritch looks at him askance as she hurriedly says, “I’m not a high scho-”
“Save it,” Beacon cuts her off with a shake of his head, “you arrived way to fast at that Belladonna fight to be anything other than a high schooler, a teacher, or a very lucky bystander.” Then giving her a look that sizes up her small frame, he continues, “You’re too short to be a teacher and I don’t believe you’re a bystander based on the timelines for some of your other fights.” In a sage tone, he finishes his speech with, “Next time think about hanging back a bit more, I covered up the evidence of your fight in the library so everyone would think your first confrontation was later on the roof but that kind of sloppiness catches up to you eventually.”
“Is this really the time,” huffs Eldritch as she watches Becca carefully. For now, the woman is simply observing, but Eldritch’s vigil remains.
“Yes,” answers Beacon in a simple tone, “I might not get the chance to say it later and you’ve got a lot of promise, but you need to stay alive long enough to realize it.” Then his grin is back as he looks over at his short companion and says, “Time for me to show some school pride and go be a martyr huh?”
Hiding her unease at his uncanny knowledge, Eldritch gestures across the pond,” Why isn’t she moving?”
“Give her time, the longer she sits there the closer we are to backup,” Beacon answers. Then he chuckles, “I just realized that you’re a Catholic schoolgirl, I can honestly say that’s a new one. I bet you drive the boys wild,” in a sly tone, he says, “or maybe just one boy?”
Agitated, Eldritch replies, “This is none of your business! And it’s a little creepy that you’re asking so please stop!”
Suddenly serious again, Beacon says, “I ask because it makes you vulnerable to Becca and I’m putting my life in your hands. This would be one of those sloppy mistakes you need to stop making, sooner rather than later if you can help it.”
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Aggrieved and agitated, Eldritch retorts, “First you tell me I’m inexperienced, and then you make a point of how young I am, and now you’re highlighting my mistakes. Why cover all that, especially if you’re still letting me fight?”
Turning to face her, Beacon gives her a weary answer, “Because nobody is ever ready for Becca.” Then he turns back to face Becca as he says, “When this is over, if you’re alive, keep in mind what I’m telling you, mostly so you can forgive yourself and partly so you can become stronger.”
He seems to have more to say, but the movement of the woman on the other end of the pool commands both hero and heroine’s attention. Arms outstretched as if moving to her lover, Becca skips around the pond and toward the pair.
At the sight, Beacon steps up to the air and whirls across the water towards the abandoned bench. Once he arrives, the three form a triangle with a person on every point. Face screwed up in disappointment, Becca looks back at Eldritch and then at Beacon. Indecision wars across her face as she considers which target to hunt. Finally, a beatific smile blooms on her face as she starts humming and begins walking leisurely towards Beacon.
Releasing a breath she hardly remembers taking, the fear generated by Becca’s attention leaves Eldritch’s shoulders. Trying to psych herself up, she murmurs, “All according to plan.”
Waiting as instructed, she watches as Beacon throws boxes upon boxes of his light in Becca’s path. Impossible geometries form between one breath and the next, each one reinforcing another until Beacon is a mass more than a man. Heedless, Becca continues to walk towards Beacon. As she reaches the outer edge of the shape that protects him, her mouth begins to move.
The effect is not instantly obvious, yet the sharp observer would notice the momentary dimming of the walls. That cue is all Eldritch needs as she bursts into motion, forming a set of glowing lines in her hands. Just as the protective shell around Beacon begins to fall apart, Eldritch sends her attack out across the pond. Raking through the soft dirt and leaving sprays of viscera in the pond water the lines seem poised to strike the defenseless woman.
Then a wall of glowing light smashes down in front of her attack, protecting Becca and Beacon both. Cursing, Eldritch asks her companion for help shouting, “Bel! He’s gone, what do we do?”
The calm voice of her mentor provides some measure of stability as she says, “We stick to his plan. If we can distract her, he will be free.”
In anguish as she spots Becca walking closer to the defenseless Beacon, Eldritch says, “How? We can’t get any closer if we stay back like he said to. But I don’t have that many options at this range.”
“Then we get closer,” Belinda replies, “our wards are the strongest I know, layered upon one another to such an extent that nothing I know can break them. It is time to see how this Becca fares against magic.”
Worried, Eldritch says, “But if they fail, what then?”
Belinda’s iron certainty brings a steel to her companion’s spine as she responds, “They will not. Her power is immense, but magic is a different energy, one that can and will counteract her ability and protect us.”
Eldritch closes her eyes and breathes in and out, collecting herself, before stepping out onto the pool, hovering slightly above the water. Then she begins to move forward, pulling out her dagger as she does. Across the water, Becca has her hands wrapped around Beacon’s face as she begins to pulls him down into a close embrace.
An instant later, the barriers fall away and Beacon and Becca are in full view of the teenage superheroine. Before her is Becca, whispering in Beacon’s ear as one hand reaches up to pull his head down to her height. The other carries a rusty pocketknife, unfolded and aimed straight into his gut.
“No!” screams Eldritch as she transforms her blade into a whip and lashes out at the defenseless Becca. As her feet land on the ground once more, finishing her trip across the pool, her weapon seems poised to strike Becca down. Then the barriers of light appear once again, stopping her attack.
As she withdraws her weapon for another attack, Becca turns her gaze on her. Heedless, Eldritch readies another attack, but before she finishes the blow, Theo’s voice rings out!
“Hailey! Stop!” screams Theo from across the park. Stumbling into view, he shouts at the shocked heroine as he races towards her, heedless of the danger.
Startled, Eldritch stammers out, “Th-wh-what are you doing here?”
As he reaches her, he grabs her hand and says, “Hailey, please. I need to tell you-”
Cutting him off, Eldritch frantically asks, “How do you know! How do you know my secret?”
Pulling her tight and wrapping her in a fierce hug, he says, “Ever since Bella and the school. I just didn’t know how to say it. Then Missy told me you ran off when the sirens started and I couldn’t bear the thought of you out here before I had the chance to apologize.” Pulling back but leaving his hands wrapped around her hips while he looks her in the eyes he continues, “I had to tell you,” says Theo, his voice breaking with anguish, “I’m so sorry for the fight we’ve been having.”
Pulling her cowl back, Hailey hurriedly asks him, “But why come out now? Becca could be anywhere, you need to hide!” She looks around as if afraid Becca is in the park with the pair.
Nodding nervously, Theo glances about quickly before replying as he brings her focus back to him, “I was afraid you might die, I needed you to know before anything happened to you.”
Overcome at his earnest expression of care, Hailey smiles and says, “I’m sorry too, I should have told you everything. I’ve just been afraid of how you would react.”
Smoothing her hair back, Theo gazes down into her eyes and smiles before whispering, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore Hailey, I love you.”
Burying herself in his chest, Hailey pulls him into a tight embrace and says, “You do?” her voice seizing up from the emotion of the moment. His pronouncement causes her knees to go weak and her body to feel faint. “I love you too,” she whispers with a dizzy head.
Theo flashes a dazzling smile and Hailey’s heart skips a beat. Then he leans down and places his lips near her ear. Slowly, in a low voice, she asks her, “Who do you see?”
With that, the illusion shatters and Hailey snaps back to reality. Embracing her is Becca, her voice soft and questioning in her ear as she asks once again, “Who?”
Confused, Eldritch murmurs, “Who do I see?” as Becca pushes her back and seizes her by the front of her cowl.
Then Hailey’s eyes tumble downwards as her body demands her attention. Legs beginning to buckle, she spots the jagged cut running along her stomach and the blood running down her body in rivulets. Her eyes turn to the rusty pocketknife in Becca’s hand covered with blood. Then they trace up the woman’s body to her rapt expression. In her eyes is a rapacious hunger.
Shuddering as her strength begins to fade from the blood loss, Eldritch casts her gaze desperately about seeking Beacon. He is, however, nowhere in sight. The only sign of he was ever present is a patch of bloody ground.
Alone with Becca, Eldritch has no escape! Slowly bleeding out in the hands of her enemy without the help of Beacon, can she survive the predations of Becca? Find out next week in… “She Hunts!”