“Hi, I'm Koda and I killed God”

“Hi Koda”

I can hear the chorus of Main Characters in my mind as I dodge another swipe of claws… or is it fangs? Whatever they are, I don't want to get hit by the Eldritch Deity I've pissed off.

I might be ahead of myself. Let's go back, before all the Deity shit and before I even knew magic was real. I'm Koda Mays, just a regular, self-deprecating non-guy human from good ol’ Earth. I grew up in Texas, moving around the DFW Metroplex and going to various schools throughout my 22 years of life.

I was a retail worker at Bestwoods, a home renovation store. I also fenced and was part of my local chapter of the SCA. 

Yes, I am a theater kid, how did you know?

Anyway, it was January and business was pretty dead. I remember talking to my boss…

“Kathy, do I need to stack this display again? You've changed the layout like 3 times already and I don't think a single customer even saw the last 2,” I said from the top of a stack of power drills.

“I know, but it's just not sitting well with me. Tell you what, you go get the others and clean the front, then y'all can leave. I don't expect we will get anyone else this late anyway.” She says.

She looks at her phone and shakes her head, moving through the aisles to the main office. I climbed down carefully off the precarious pyramid of power tools, making sure I didn't crush a box or start an avalanche.

One of my coworkers rounds the corner. I glare at them suspiciously.

“You were waiting for her to say that, weren't you?” I can hear the accusation in my voice.

They grin at me, “Laziness pays much more than a hard day's work. Besides, you clamber over everything like a mountain goat. Don't look at me to get up on things.”

We headed for the front to get the cleaning supplies, making quick work of an already clean store.

I said my goodbyes as Kathy locked the stores behind us. Walking briskly through the frigid air, I slid my way through the scant patches of ice to my hand-me-down Hyundai.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As I got in the car, something moved in the rear view mirror that made me whip my head around.

Just my back seat and the eight weeks of Starbucks and junk food wrappers piled on the floor.

I swear I saw a patch of shadow move in the mirror, a shadow with eyes.

The cold made me shiver as I quickly blocked the memory and started my car.

Driving down the highway this late at night sucks with glasses, the lights forming streaky stars that half blind me. It's even worse with the slushy ice on the road from salt trucks and several hours of traffic.

I reminisce as I drive, remembering the road trips with my family, the weekends at the mall or with my school theater troupe.

I remember learning how to fence when I was 14, getting ready for my role in the Scottish play. I sigh, getting lost in the memories.

I'm almost at my turn-off when I see the shadow thing again. This time it's in my peripheral vision and I hear my neck pop as I turn my head to look for it.

Still… nothing.

Then I hear the truck horn.

And lights getting brighter.

I swerve the car, hitting a patch of ice and spinning out.

I'm dizzy as the vehicle spins, before coming to an abrupt stop against a concrete barrier in the center of the highway.

I'm dazed and I can smell freon from my engine. The chemical smells are heady and sweet. My ears are ringing.

I distantly hear tires squealing. Lights on my face again.

I groggily turn my head to the sound, and see the truck jack-knifed and skidding towards me. My last thought is the word painted in bright blue letters on the trailer.

Magus.

And the many-eyed shadow in the trailer's undercarriage, each eye looking at me.

[[NEW SYSTEM MESSAGE]]

[[INITIALIZING NEW SAPIENT]]

[[ERROR]]

[[F̸͎̠͎̯̙͖̤̲͔̮͓̩̝̫̝̎̒ ̵̛̻͈̳̙̀̾̀̉͋͑̃͋̒̈́̏̀1̸͉̟̙̳̋̉́̓̓͋̔͆̈́́̀̚͜͝͝ ̵̟̠͚͈͔̠̇̇́͐̇̉Ṋ̴͖̒ ̶̠̙̳̯̦̫̻̘̭̲͇̖̯̇̊̋̇̚͜͝͝|̸̧̫̼͋̀͘ͅ]̷̡̢̨̧̱̭͙͎̥̙̹͕͔́̀̌̓̊ ̵̩̟͇̥̥͙͉͕͎̫̹͈̤̲͊̅̎͂̒͆̈ͅ¥̶̛̜͓̑̔͋̊̔̇̓̐́̉̎͘ ̴̧̛͎̩̬͖̲͔̹̣̮̺̙̟̞͎͆̈̎͆̇͐̈́̎͘͘̕͠7̸̧̡͔͈͍̳̦͙͍̪̘͚̯̎͂̑̅̎̾̇͗̉̾̚͠͠ ̷̡̢̛͔̻̠͙̠̤̺̭̩̗͉̖͌̍͛̐̌̋̅̕͜͝H̸̢̨̩̜̲͕̱̃ ̴̛̥̬́́̍́́̈́͌͒͗͑͝0̸͍̦̝̈͋̉̆̃͌̍͐̿̀̇͋̕ ̷̡̨̛̲̞͕̺̣̬͆̉̀̓̂́̂͐̓͛̍͊͂|̴̧̧̛̗͌͊͋̄͛͗͂̂̃́͋͘\̵͈̙̦̹̖̬̦̖̱̣̌̊̈́̉̒̓̈̀ͅ|̸̧̦̤̈́̀͂̃̉̽͘͝]]

[[ERROR RESOLVED]]

[[INITIALIZE ANIMA]]

[[...]]

[[SOUL FOUND]]

[[INITIALIZE AKASHIA]]

[[...]]

[[..?]]

[[...]]

[[MIND RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETE]]

[[INITIALIZE CORPOREA]]

[[...]]

[[BODY COMPLETE]]

[[FULL SYSTEM INTEGRATION]]

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