I wake up staring at the ceiling but I’m still able to picture her face clearly.

"I had the strangest dream, I was in this place--. I had the strangest dream, I was--. You-- you-- you won't believe what happened."

I lift two fingers, concentrating on the turntable on top of my dresser. After a dream like that, I don't need a chorus like that, especially from that scratched vinyl. I stretch my arms and feel cold metal touching my neck. I look at my right arm clad in armor. WHEN did I get in my armor? Wait, did she see me in my armor? Did she see me as the Rogue and still reach out for me? No, she must’ve seen my old armor. Inhale...exhale. I feel the familiar softness of my pajama pants now. I slide to the end of my bed getting up to knock on the door to the adjacent bedroom. Before I knock I put on the t-shirt laying next to my turntable.

"Āna," I called out a little over a whisper. "Hey, you up?"

Maybe it's too early. I look back at my bed, my phone’s still on the pillow. I crawl back onto the bed grabbing my phone to check the time. 8:57am, I actually got over eight hours of sleep. Now that I think about it, a full night’s sleep feels refreshing. I sit up and slide my slippers on. They’re worn but still soft enough. I go to the other door, opening it and walking into the hallway. Harsh sunlight comes in from the right, I look out the backdoor to see the greenhouse door open. Granny’s probably watering her plants right now. What does Āna do at this time if we're not training? I walk down the hall one door down and knock on her other door.

"Āna!," I nearly shouted.

Silence, she must still be sleeping. I close my eyes and focus on her, here's to hoping the telepathy training paid off. If she's awake I should be able to hear her. Wait, she's not even in her room?

'Okay, biscuits are almost done, bacon is good, sausage is…not red! Am I supposed to season these? Hey Jay, am I supposed to season the eggs too?'

I open my eyes, breaking my concentration and our connection, why is she cooking breakfast? I continue down the hall to greet her in the kitchen. I round the corner expecting to see her as a kid again. She's a teen now, maybe a young adult. Her jet black hair is in a loose bun held in with a plastic spoon. She has on a faded black t-shirt, probably mine's, and it looks like she has no bottoms on.

"Do you have something on under my shirt?,” I ask while taking a seat.

"Well yea my underwear," she answered, turning to me. She sprays cooking oil in the skillet she's holding, "the eggs, do I season them?'

"Granny likes salt and pepper."

"Okay," she said, turning around to set the skillet atop the stove. "Is seven eggs enough for us?"

"Sure but-"

"If you want hashbrowns, you'll have to fry them yourself," she said while using her power to send seven eggs gently gliding through the air from carton to bowl. She cracked the eggs and poured the yolk in without ever touching them, she manages to do this effortlessly even though she looks more focused on the sausage at the moment.

“Okay but why are you cookin’ breakfast?”

“What, you don’t think I can?”

“No, I didn’t say-”

“‘Cause I think I’m doing it wrong,” she turns back to me, beating the eggs in a bowl and sending the shells to the trash.

“What, no, it looks like you're doin’ good.”

“Thanks,” she turns back to the stove to flip some sausage patties while continuing to stir the eggs with a levitating fork. “And to answer your question, I’m cookin’ ‘cause Medea told me to.”

“So is there a reason she told you to cook?”

“Um…yeah,” she replied quietly. She pours the beaten eggs into the skillet then turns back to me. “She said that I should look more like a lady if I'm goin' to be staying here, and apparently ladies don’t walk around the house in just their underwear. So I asked about married ladies that live with their husbands then she got upset. I’m guessing ‘cause she doesn’t approve of married women not living with their husbands unless it’s a special circumstance or somethin’. Then she told me to cook breakfast and not to burn it...or she’ll burn me.” When talking about Āna’s current living situation, we kind of don’t. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what happened, one minute she’s living in Hell and only coming topside to train me, then all of a sudden last month Granny insisted she stay here. It’s not completely new, she used to live with us back then but now it feels awkward. Not only is she interacting with me more often, her usual serious tone is becoming more lax and playful. She’s beginning to act like she used to back then, back when Father was still alive. Maybe this is her actual personality and her seriousness was to ensure I respected her during training, or feared her. She gave me a soft smile then turned back around and bent over opening the oven. I was going to look away but noticed a familiar pattern.

“Hey are those my boxers!?”

“Āna!,” Granny shouted.

“Ma’am!,” Āna shot up.

“Mornin’ Jasün,” Granny said while putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Good mornin’ Granny,” I looked up at her. “Did you want me to move for you?”

“No you’re fine sweetie,” Granny said before turning to Āna. “An’ what were you doin young lady?”

“I was just checkin’ on tha' biscuits.”

“While showin’ your lil biscuits huh? An’ what’d I tell ya ‘bout bendin’ over like that?”

“To always get three tens," Āna said, giggling for all of a second before going silent then squatting down to close the oven. "The biscuits are almost done."

" Do you have any clothes to wear around the house?" Granny asked while pulling out a chair.

"Oh yeah."

"Clothes for decent young ladies?"

"Oh, no," Āna answered, returning to beating the eggs.

"I'll go get you some pajamas then." Granny said.

"Well thank you Medea," Āna said while taking the bacon off the stove. "And what about your ensemble? Your dress is meant to be worn around the house?"

Granny is wearing one of her nightgowns. This one is a mix of dark and light browns in what looks like an abstract fall pattern. She usually wears gowns, dresses, or long skirts, along with her walking stick. Her walking stick is like her universal accessory, everybody calls it "Medea's original Beat-em-to-Hell stick". It's cut from the tree that Granny's father was hung from when she was a little girl. After the family found his lifeless body they buried him but Granny didn't move on just yet. Story goes, she cut down that tree when she was only eleven then carved it into multiple clubs. It took a few years but she finally got the perfect one for the job. This is where the story becomes more of an urban legend, one that Granny won't confirm nor deny. Some people say that the ones she beat went to heaven because she gave them Hell. Others say she beat demons back to the Hellscape they came from, making them regret ever leaving Hell. No matter what story is told a few things remain undeniable: most Hellspawn fear her, there is never gang activity around her and Āna undoubtedly respects her. And as for the people that lynched her father, well let’s just say I don’t think I’ll ever see the klan around here.

"This is a nightgown, some women prefer to sleep in them," Granny explains, "but I think you might like some light pajamas instead."

"Light as in they’re brightly colored or they’re short?" Ānanda asked while finally getting the sausage off the fire and returning to the eggs.

My phone vibrates, I take it out and check my notifications. A text from Jorge “txt me wen ur done”. “No trainin 2day, i'll txt u aftr i eat” I reply.

"Light as in a thin material so you don't get too hot while sleeping,” Granny said sternly. “But I guess that's not too much of an issue for you."

"So how thin are nightgowns?"

"Thin enough for me, I'll get ya' some different material pajamas so you can find something comfy for you."

As Granny finished talking there was a sudden splat followed by the sound of food frying that caused Granny and me to look towards.

"Āna did you just flip tha' eggs?" Granny asked, sounding as confused as I am.

"Yeah sorry it's takin' so long, it's seven eggs," Ānanda replied.

"I thought you were scramblin' the eggs Āna?," I asked.

"Yeah, I scrambled the eggs in the bowl then poured them into the skillet to fry. You do fry scrambled eggs right? That's what it said when I looked it up at least."

"Okay, so according to the site you went to, what exactly are you making right now?" I asked as delicately as I could.

"Uh, scrambled eggs. The site said this was, quote on quote, an advanced egg dish. They all seemed simple but this one is often served with various meats, veggies and cheeses. No, it's not usually served with biscuits buuut I know how we all like biscuits, so I made some anyway!," she sounds so proud of this.

"Don't spoil her mood, I'll talk to her about it later," Granny whispered.

"Um.. so what was the name of this 'advanced dish'?" I asked, causing Granny to glare at me with eyes that could freeze fire.

Āna turned around looking happy to share. "It's called an um...oom...uumm. I don't remember but there also weren't any reference pics on the site. " Āna turns back to the stove, "yup, it was ready to flip."

"Āna later we'll can go an' get ya' some house clothes ‘n’ night clothes then when we get back here you can help me make some breakfast fo' dinner," Granny said.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe. I have some night clothes, so I guess all I need is house clothes." Āna took the egg pancake off the skillet carefully so it wouldn't fall apart.

"Āna night clothes are clothes that ya' can sleep in," Granny explained while passing me a fork. "An' those biscuits should be done too."

"Oh," Āna paused for a moment before opening the oven. "I don't have clothes for sleeping but if you say other women sleep while wearin' clothes then I don't mind tryin' it," Āna said while getting the biscuits out of the oven and setting them atop the stove.

"Since we've gotten all that sorted," Granny said, turning her attention to me. "Āna said you were able to induce a nightmare in hopes of stoppin' one, how'd that go?"

"Is that what you came in here to talk to me 'bout Jay?" Āna asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "Despite what you think, I do care." She set a plate of food down in front of Granny and me.

"This looks good Āna, you did a great job," Granny said. Granny seldomly compliments Āna so whenever she does Āna's reactions are usually out of character for her. This time she blushed and smiled.

“Thank you Medea, I hope it tastes good too,” she said happily.

Looking down at my plate, it does actually look good. A few slices of bacon, two sausage patties, my cut of the omelet, and two hearty biscuits. Āna prepares her plate and takes the seat across from me, we then join hands for grace led by Granny. Shortly after we start eating and the food tastes as good as it looks, then Granny breaks the silence.

“So Jasün, nightmare or dream last night?”

“It was actually a contact vision.”

“ACK!” Āna almost choked on her food.

“I take it that’s bad?”

“No, this is just the first time it’s happened to me before, so I guess it’s a big deal.”

“Well why don’t you just d'scribe what happened while Āna adjusts herself. Drink a lil juice dear,” Granny says while rubbing Āna’s back.

“Okay so it started as the same nightmare, the day we lost Father… I got to where I was taken underground and Āna saved me. Then we start searching the cells, now what’s supposed to happen at this point is that all the cells are empty and we go above ground. But, I found someone in the last cell I checked. I’m staring at them for like a minute and it seems like we’re the last people left in a shrinking world. I blurted out the only thing in my head at the moment, ‘Iris’. I didn’t know what it meant but then the person turns around, it’s a girl. She looks at me then asks for help while reaching out to me. She looked so weak but I couldn’t move. When I woke up, I had my armor on, so I don’t know if she saw my Rogue armor and still wanted my help. She looked human but also battered and maybe malnourished. The only thing that looked off about her were her eyes, they were two different colors.”

They sat there quietly processing what I had just told them. I go back to eating, though this still doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve never seen that girl before, I don’t even think I’ve seen someone who looks like her. Now that I think about it, Iris doesn’t even sound like a common name. Jorge would know about that, I check my phone, he still hasn’t texted me back yet.

“Well,” Āna said, ripping through the silence. “I think you seem a lil dramatic about this.”

“What” I exclaimed, looking up from my phone.

“Yeah honey,” Granny added, “that bit about 'being the last two left in a shrinkin’ world', c’mon now.”

“I was just tryin’ to describe the moment accurately.”

“More like tryna’ make me jelly,” Āna retorted, laughing.

“Jelly?” Granny said, confused.

“Jealous,” I answered. I think about it for a moment, no wait, there’s nothing to think about. “Is it possible she saw me in my current armor?”

“Āna,” Granny said, “let’s stop laughing for a minute.”

“Right,” Āna composed herself immediately. “Possibly, do you know how old your body was when she saw you?”

“No, there were no reflections.”

“You said her eyes were two different colors?” Granny added.

“They were amber, and one was half-blue. But they were also cat's eyes.”

“Cat eyes?!” Āna exclaimed.

“And the tips of her hair were the same shade of blue as her eye.”

“Amber?” Granny asked, a little confused.

“No, ocean blue,” I clarified.

“Okay,” Āna jumps in, irritation in her voice. “You think a girl with cat eyes and blue hair is human?”

“Well, the tips were blue, there also wasn’t any proof that she was a hellspawn. Plus, I don’t even know if her cell was in or near Hell so the hair color is kinda useless.”

“He has a good point Āna, girls do dye their hair wild colors now,” Granny said. “What did her cell look like, on the inside?”

I close my eyes and try to think back to the moment. I can remember her face clearly but now I have to look past it. I notice a bit more of the room, but it’s still mostly darkness.

“Jasün,” Āna said with concern in her voice.

“Sorry,” I said, opening my eyes to a different atmosphere. “It’s small, maybe half the size of my bedroom. There were a couple sheets on the left side, on the ground. In the right corner, across from her, there was…” I clear my throat, like it’ll make what I saw any easier to say aloud. “Three buckets, and one of them was full..” I can see the disgust on Granny’s face, while Āna just looks puzzled.

“Are you- were there any other indications of where that room may be located?” Granny asked.

“I was thinking maybe the dream is a clue,” it sounded like I was asking a question rather than giving a suggestion.

“What do you mean?” Āna finally spoke.

“What if she’s in that same prison?” I asked. “I mean it’s not like we destroyed it.”

“That’s only half true,” Āna said after a moment of hesitation.

“Facilities and installations are demolished after being discovered or escaped from,” Granny adds.

“Most of the time, yeah,” Āna reassures Granny. “But if this one's back up after what we did, then it’s definitely more secure… Well I guess I know what I’m doin’ today~!”

“You seem way too excited about this,” I said, masking my fear of what she may do.

“I’m just gonna’ go look at it weird,” Āna said. “And hopefully I won’t be seen. It’d be reeeaaally awkward if a few guards went missing.”

“So we’ll be training tomorrow then?” I ask, a little excited about it this time around.

“You can train together tomorrow after your scripture,” Granny interrupted, she then turns to Āna softly putting her hand on Āna’s. “And you be careful, I want you back before dinner.”

“Well with that decision made, me and Jorge will probably head to the mall or boardwalk,” I announce proudly.

“You know you could at least go to the library to see if that girl’s pretty eyes are humanly possible,” Āna said, bringing up a good point.

“Or you can check various missing persons reports for a match,” Granny adds, another good point but with far more work, and cops.

Well I lost, a loud sigh leaves my mouth almost involuntarily. I guess I don’t need to spend all day at the mall anyway. And it doesn’t open until ten either, I’ll be fine going to the library first. I look down at my phone, my old Hellgate picture as my lockscreen, 9:34am.

“You and...him should be able to do both at the library, I believe in the two of you,” Āna said in a condescending tone.

“C’mon Āna, you know his name is Jorge,” I said, trying to validate my best friend to her yet again.

I’m actually not sure why Āna doesn’t like Jorge. He moved in on the next street down, directly behind us. When we were younger, we’d jump the backyard fence to play together. After what happened to my Father, Jorge and his family were there for me and Granny. Jorge and his family are the only humans that know I’m The Rogue but his parents don't know what Āna is. Well I hope they don’t at least. Most of the neighborhood assumes that I’m at least a Paladin and think my Father is still alive waiting for the right time to reveal himself. Anyway, despite me being The Rogue, Jorge isn’t afraid of me, he is terrified of Āna though but she tries to be intimidating, among other things. The only negative thing about Jorge is that he can be perverted at times, but it’s mostly a facade. I would say maybe that’s why she doesn’t like him, but Āna likes guys like that so that doesn't make sense either. I wish it didn’t matter this much but Jorge is like my only friend.

“So you and JORGE for the library?” Āna said.

“Yeah, I’m going to help him with a school project. So we’ll add this stuff onto the agenda too. But WE,” I say quickly pointing to Āna then back at myself. “Need to help him next weekend."

“I’m assuming both of you have the same project then?” Granny asked.

“Yeah it’s from our Minor Unholy Studies class, simple stuff for me at this point,” I answer as I get up to put my dishes away.

“I still don’t think that should be a class for kids,” Granny said sternly.

“Aww but Medea,” Āna starts. “Grad students with two children are ‘kids’ to you.”

I laugh a little too hard at that one. “I have to do a presentation as well but I’ll be presenting the day after him, I think. Also, I’m almost done with mine already, I only need to add a few little tweaks ‘til it's time to present.”

“That’s good,” Granny said, getting up and grabbing her walking stick. “Āna I guess I’ll show you how to cook breakfast another time.”

“Oh, I’m not gonna take that long,” Ānanda assures her. “Wait, show me how to cook breakfast?"

"I better go get ready," I said, putting my plate in the sink. I weaved by them grabbing my phone then continued down the hall.

I can hear Granny trying to politely explain her way out of what she said. I check my phone again, nothing. It's past nine thirty on a Saturday, I know Jorge didn't go back to sleep. I text him again, 'Bro, we need to hit mtw'. I come around the corner into my bedroom, there's some freshly washed clothes I need to fold on my bed. I pick through the pile for something to wear today then head to the bathroom to bathe.

———————————————————————————————————

I come out fresh and refreshed then head to my room to find clothes folded on my bed along with a letter 'You're Welcome' with a heart stamp and it's signed 'Ā'. I pick up and check my phone, Jorge finally replied, but it looks more like he had a conversation with himself. 'Wut', 'Dude the library?', 'So look, i hope u meant the library cuz im here & its a long way back2 yo house'. I text him back, 'So i see ur up', at least now I don't have to walk. I toss my phone on my bed and get dressed. I walk over to the door me and Āna share. I put my palm on the cool, wooden door. I keep my focus on the feeling of the wood in my palm. Smooth, cold as ice, no matter how many times I do this I always feel like I'm going to leave an imprint. The familiar black flame starts to spread from where my hand is. The flame eats the wood like any other natural encounter of the two, but instead of the flame leaving behind charred wood I begin to see a perfect reflection form where the door once was. I take a couple steps back after fully altering a concealment turning the door into a full size mirror, now I'm looking at my reflection like some conceited guy. I have on a white tee shirt and denim shorts. I should do something about the shirt though. I focus on the reflection of the shirt, maybe a book, or a book with a sword through it. The image ripples onto the shirt, a blue book with the word "ENGLISH" on it impaled by a sword. Wow, I guess I really do hate English class, but the longer I stare at the sword the more it looks like an awkward butter knife. No, I should use something different, the image starts to ripple and morph. The new image is an open book with its pages on fire and above the fire the words "OUR HISTORY". Nice. I turn around and go to my closet and grab my black and red Matimm high tops. I go to my bed and grab my phone to see if Jorge texted back yet, 'I found a ½ alley u can use, txt back wen ur rdy'. I text him back 'Aight get in position', I grab my wallet off the dresser. My phone's notification ping sounds, 'ur a go op2’. I start laughing, I focus on his rosary. I can hear his heartbeat, steady but a little faster than usual, I close my eyes…

“Ayy nice shirt bro,” Jorge said before I opened my eyes.

“Yo chill with the jokes,” I said, opening my eyes. “Why do you have a cat?”

“It’s a stray,” Jorge explains. “Look, it has two ribbons on it, one as a collar and one on its tail. This way I can keep track of it and people in the neighborhood will think it’s someone’s pet.”

“Are you goin’ to at least get it some shots then?” I asked with concern for the small animal. “And if it doesn’t have a name, what gender is it? We don’t need to be callin’ it ‘IT’.”

Jorge lifts the cat above his head checking, meanwhile the cat is staring at me like I did something wrong. “Well ‘it’ is a ‘she’,” Jorge said, finally lowering the cat. “What should we name her?”

Suddenly Iris comes to mind. “Blanca is white right?”

“Sí”

“Azula Blanca,” I say while looking into the cat’s eyes.

“Where’d that come from?” Jorge asked, confused.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I put two fingers on the cat’s head, her grey fur is soft but dry, I make sure not to apply pressure, I can hear a soft purr. I’ll find Iris, I know it. I see a black spark appear on the back of my hand, but before I can move my hand the spark jumps to my fingertips. Suddenly the spark becomes lightning that begins to encircle the cat.

“WHOA!” Jorge exclaimed before practically throwing Azula out of his hands.

The cat landed then immediately leapt back a few feet hissing at us. We can see her full body now, Azula has a pulsating blue lightning bolt on her back. Sparks fly from her tiny eyes as she gives us a rather concerning look, it’s clear that Azula can control electricity. The cat can control electricity.

“Noooope,” I say in protest, getting ready to grab Azula.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Jorge said as he grabbed my shoulder.

Azula lowers herself, hissing at us with electricity flowing from her paws. The electricity forms a circle around the cat then rises like waving strings from the ground. If this wasn’t a serious problem it’d be cool. I focus my armor on quickly. I’m not sure if it’s all there before I turn to face Jorge and cover him. The proceeding shockwave hit me like a strong gust of wind, looking behind Jorge I see the library lights flicker off then on. I quickly turn around to see a unique burn pattern, a circle with a “X” and an additional line going down the middle. Azula vanished.

“Dude, what happened there? Since when could you control electricity?!” Jorge asks just as shocked as I am.

“I don’t know,” I answer while my armor fades.”Last time I remember being able to control electricity was when I was little. And that was a one off.”

“Well,” Jorge said nervously, "now we gotta figure out how ta’ catch a lightning cat."

“Did you lure it the first time?” I asked.

“Oh yeah,” Jorge said excited, “so all I gotta do is keep leavin’ food out at the same time right? Or is that fake?”

“Let’s go find out,” I reply. We both start walking towards the front of the library.

“Hey,” Jorge says suddenly, “what was goin’ on back there? You alright bro?”

I stop, “yeah, we can talk ‘bout it later.” I look up at Jorge, now in front of me. I didn’t notice what he was wearing until now. I start laughing while trying to get out what I want to say. “Wh-why are you? Why do you have on a Hawaiian shirt?”

“Oh my dad let me borrow it,” he answered. “I wanted to wear it a bit before Monday. Ya’ know, Hawaiian day, spirit week, all that stuff.”

“Right, right,” I completely forgot it was spirit week and I’m pretty sure they reminded us yesterday.

“You don’t remember, do you?” Jorge asks.

“Well I do literally have far more important things to think ‘bout, and do.”

“Alright, alright,” Jorge said sarcastically, “did you forget your library card too?”

“Naw, it’s in my wallet.”

“And your wallet is?”

I tap my pocket, “in my pocket, let’s go.” I open the door and Jorge goes in first. I follow behind while taking my phone out to make sure it's on vibrate. Maybe I should check on Āna, or-

“Hey,” Jorge says, “where we goin’ first?”

“Biology, anatomy, mutations,” I answer quickly and quietly as we walk in.

“Hmm, alright, alright,” Jorge cautiously responds. “Excuse me, miss.”

“Miss Papinn, young man,” she corrects him.

Ms. Papinn looks how you’d expect a librarian to look, if a teenager were cosplaying one. She has a flower on her white t-shirt that looks good with her gray cardigan. She takes her glasses off and lets it hang on her beaded glasses chain.

“How may I help you two?” she asked with a soft voice while looking at Jorge.

I look over at Jorge, now paralyzed by this girl’s presence. “Right, umm are you a volunteer?” I ask turning back to Ms. Papinn.

“Not exactly,” she answered with an innocent smile. “Regardless of my current status, I remain confident that I know this library better than the two of you,” she said defensively.

“Of course,” I riposte, “it’s just, we grew accustomed to Mrs. Russell.”

“Ah yes, that’s more understandable, sorry,” she said, her tone now more formal. “But, the two of you did come for a book, yes?”

“YES!” Jorge blurted out suddenly, causing Ms. Papinn to jump. I quickly turned him around.

“Heeey bud, how ‘bout you head on over to the non-fiction section quietly and I’ll meet ya’ over there,” As I nudged him away, I noticed some people turning back around to what they were doing. Jorge must’ve been louder than I realized. As I turned back to Ms. Papin, she had her hand on her chest, trying to steady her breathing. “Sorry about my friend, he gets nervous around...new people. Like I said earlier, we grew accustomed to Mrs. Russell.”

“Riiight,” she said sarcastically.

“Yeah, so we’re lookin’ for a book on anatomical mutations, specifically regarding the eyes.”

“Okay,” she said, switching her attention to her computer. She quickly types for maybe twenty, twenty-five seconds before speaking again. “I’ve found a few options for you, hold on.” She grabs a sticky notepad, a small pencil and begins writing. “Alright,” she said, finishing her strokes, “here you are.” She hands me the note with the book number.

"Thanks," I said without looking at the sticky note.

"If you need any more help I'll be here, but there should also be a volunteer in that section as well."

"Cool," I said before turning away.

I head over to the non-fiction section but don't see Jorge. I walk through an aisle to an open study area. There's a group of what looks like college students at one of the large tables and a middle aged man at a small table with a few books. I spot Jorge at another small table with a book in his hand. I head towards his table and see that he's reading a demonology book. Looks like he decided to start on his project, he even has his notebook out.

"So how's it goin'?," I ask.

"Alright check it out," Jorge said, putting the book down and writing down what looks like an ingredient list. "So I think I figured something out for this bizarre project we got."

"It's different, not bizarre," I said.

The class is Minor Unholy Studies I, focusing mostly on demons and devils but even I wasn't expecting an assignment like this. We have to make up a devil of any kind. We name it, describe its abilities, give it a premise and finally a humane rating. Despite this being the first project of the school year, we're being graded by a guest instead of the teacher. Whoever the guest is, they'll be asking five to ten questions based on our descriptions and we receive a second grade based on our answers. The abilities are easy, the premise and rating are where things get complicated.

A Devil's Premise is a completely degrading concept, it does make sense though because humans see Hellspawn as "lower beings". It's basically describing their behavior in an animalistic way. So if a devil is quick-tempered and is constantly seen angry then they may be labeled as aggressive. While that's technically right, if this personality trait was seen in an average Joe, you may call them hot-headed before calling them aggressive. The premise is usually more complicated as it often depicts a devil's relationship with another individual. For example, a devil linked to a human by blood is defined as Bloodlinked, from there they're most likely characterized as Bloodlinked Defensive, Aggressive, or Neutral. This refers to how they act around their Bloodlink, the human they're linked to, whether they are protective, aggressive or act only when told to or how. I don't get why we describe their behavior like this since they're just as intelligent as we are, some even smarter. Their premise is often influenced by their Humane Rating and is usually grouped together.

Humane Ratings aren't nearly as prejudicial and look at Hellspawn on a more intelligent and psychological level by comparing them to the human psyche. Humane Ratings measure how similar to a human non-human individuals are, or can be. For our project we'll be using Humane Rating V, this rating class is for any devil and is determined by the devil's day-to-day activities. It addresses sleeping patterns, emotional interactions, and diet, if there is one. It also considers behavioral and mood changes related to sleep patterns and diet. While attempting to measure these attributes may seem less demeaning, it still suggests that they are less intelligent than us. I sit next to Jorge, putting the note down on the table.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hol' up," Jorge said looking at the note. "Did you get her number?"

"Wha-dude, no, she's like twenty-something."

"Age is just a number bro."

"And prison is just a room," we both laugh at that one.

"Wait, how do you know how old she is?," Jorge asked, confused.

"Jorge, you need a degree to be a librarian."

"Are you serious? What do you need a degree for?"

"She’s running the entire library, that has to require some extra education."

"I'm not sayin' she's ain't smart, I just don't think you need a degree to be a librarian."

"Riiight," I said condescendingly. "Anyways, what'd you find bro?"

"Yeah, so check it out," Jorge turns to the book. "So I'ma be honest chief, I don't know how to just make up a personality."

"Is that all you're strugglin' wit'? I thought you'd be havin' trouble with appearance and a name."

"Wait, what?!," he's shocked. "Are we makin' a person?"

"Well I think of it as a person, but yeah basically."

"Yeah, then I definitely need this."

"And what exactly is this?"

"Here, check it," Jorge said, pointing to the page.

"Is that a summoner's seal? Are you tryna release a demon?"

"What? Course not, c'mon Jasün."

"Oh good, 'cause those ones-"

"I'm summoning a devil," Jorge actually said with a straight face.

"Hol' up, are you serious?"

"Yeah dude, we can just summon one and ask 'em some questions for the project. Easy."

"Oh easy, mmhm. Okay," I said looking up to avoid eye contact.

"What'cha doin', something on tha' ceilin'?"

"Just askin' tha' Lord for the strength."

"Strength to help in this endeavor? C'mon it won't be that hard bro."

"Nah," I said, turning back to him. "I'm askin' for tha' strength not to backhand you through a few bookcases."

"WOW, so violent."

"Ya' know what, maybe I just don't understand tha' plan," I said calmly. "What are ya' goin' to do after questioning the devil you summon?"

"So you do think it'll work?," Jorge asked surprised.

"No I don't, so I take it ya' don't have a plan then?"

"I do, I do. We summon 'em, ask 'em some questions 'bout themselves. Ya' know, tha' basics."

"Tha basics, uh huh."

"Then I'll go deep-"

"That don't sound right, continue."

"And ask the weird questions about their diet-"

"They’re normal questions, go on."

"Then I'll go even deeper."

"I swear you're doin' this on purpose."

"And we'll talk emotions."

"Okay, maybe that's not one hundred percent a bad idea," I said, genuinely surprised. With Āna around there's a good chance it could work. "Whatcha' gon' do when you're done questioning 'em?"

"I was gonna do one of those contracts or somethin'."

"Oh naw."

"C'mon man, it's just a devil. How much harm could it actually cause?"

"The main problem is we don't even know how strong of a devil we'd be summoning," I said while getting up and grabbing the note. "Walk an' talk bro."

"Ugh, alright," he said, getting up with his book.

I look at the note again then go between the aisles, I turn into the correct aisle glancing at the book numbers as I walk. I look back at the note, 576.50 DO.

"I got it bro," Jorge said, breaking the silence.

"Ya got what?," I asked, turning to him confused and slightly annoyed. "Whatcha' talkin'?"

"This is the book you were lookin' for right?," Jorge asked while holding a biology book. I snatch it from him, "Ow dude, chill."

"My bad bro, but how’d you find it without the number?," I asked, checking the book's spine. It's the right book too.

"Well we came into the aisle and I asked you a question. You didn't answer me so I looked up to find you starin' at that note. Then I noticed a book sticking out from the shelf, then it started creepin' out further. So I called your name but yo stare game was on point. Then I approached that baby cautiously, 'cause ya' never know," he said with a smug look and a casual finger gun like it's socially acceptable for our generation. "Don't give me that look. Anyway I was 'bout to catch that thing like a Super Bowl interception. BUT, you had that thing fallin' in slow-mo bro!"

"What?"

"Bro, you had it on the slow descent."

"Oh please man, you know I don't like that song."

"Alright, alright, but it was still cool to see."

"Oh I bet it was, did anyone else notice?," I asked, trying to mask my worry.

"Still worried 'bout people finding out?"

"You know I am, but forget that, this here's the right book. Check the corners," I said. He nods and turns to check the corner behind him, I turn around and make my way to the end of the aisle. I look both ways down the silent corridor and only see a tall guy heading towards the study area, hopefully he doesn't take our spot. I turn back to see Jorge giving me a thumb's up without facing me. I close my eyes and focus on my room, my dresser, the bottom drawer, my laptop bag. I feel a subtle warmth in my hand.

"Yo chill out with the unholy fire!," I heard Jorge say.

My eyes snap open and go straight to my hand to see a black fireball. I quickly make a fist snuffing out the flame.

"Hey, your eyes are doin' that black as a night in Hell thing, you good?," Jorge asked nervously.

I guess someone with blacked out eyes can have that kind of effect on people. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in, then out. I open my eyes again.

"Okay, we're good," I said calmly.

"No matter how many times I see your fire snot, it'll always be cool."

"C'mon, you know it's not snot," I said. "I think Āna might've moved my bag."

"Ya know everything's not always her fault."

"Yeah, that's why I said 'might've'. Cover me though," I said, taking a knee.

"Shouldn't we go outside?," Jorge asked nervously.

I look up at him, "Naw," I said before looking down and closing my eyes. I open my eyes looking at the library floor, it's carpet. This carpet is thinner and rougher than mine. It's a drab mix of green and red, but mine's a beige or tan color, maybe somewhere between the two. That should be good…

I blink and tense up, I'm surprised by the sound of a vacuum cleaner.

"BOY! What're ya' doin' here?!," Granny exclaimed, startling me.

"Sorry Granny," I said standing up. "I forgot my red bag."

"You mean yo tall girl purse?," she asked with an innocent grin.

"It's a laptop bag Granny."

"Uh-huh, it's on tha' bed," she said pulling at the vacuum cord.

I look over and grab the bag, I don't even feel the weight of my laptop inside. I sling the strap over my head and go back to the spot I came in at, I think.

"You comin' home after ya' done at the library?," Granny asked.

"No," I said, kneeling down. I look up to see her unplugging the vacuum. "Me and Jorge are meetin' Āna at the mall to eat." I get my phone from my pocket and text Jorge, 'We good?'.

"Can you beep Āna for me?," Granny asked. I look down with my hand over my mouth to hide my grin.

"Uh yeah, you want me to tell 'er to stop by before she meets us?," I ask as I get ready to text her.

"Yeah, that works," Granny answered.

I text Āna then put my phone in my pocket. I put my hand on the floor once again focusing on the carpets of both my room and the library. Now that I'm looking more closely at my carpet I think it's actually closer to beige, maybe I just need to look at a color wheel. I close my eyes...

"That was quick, here's the bio book you wanted," Jorge said, holding the book out to me. I grab the book while standing up. "Hey do you know what this means, 'diabolus o-ra-column come sicario'?"

"I have no idea what that means but I'm pretty sure you butchered whatever it's s'pose to say," I answered. I look over and see him in the middle of the book. "Wait," I said, prompting him to look at me. "Why are you in the middle of that book? Isn't that where the advanced stuff is?"

"Well yeah, but this is the first summoning I found that we can actually do." He turns around then starts heading to the table, I follow.

We both sit and set each other's books in front of the opposite person, me with the summoning book and him with the biology book. The book is still open to the summoning he was talking about. 'Diabolus', that should be lesser demon or devil, followed by a colon, then 'Oraculum cum Sicario'. I’ve never seen this combination of words before, it must be the type of demon or devil the summoning is for. "Ok so Diabolus is lesser demon or devil, but I'm thinkin' it's most likely devil. Oraculum is an oracle, or something similar to an oracle," I explain.

"So then it's a summoning for a type of oracle devil?," he asked without looking up from the biology book. "Would that be Hell's version of oracles then?"

"No to both, well maybe yes to the first one. If it's a type of oracle then I don't know what kind of oracle cum Sicario is. Let me check the requirement list first though, hopefully it'll have a clue." I turn the page to look at the ingredients list, which for some reason is multiple paragraphs. Then an ingredient pops out at me, "Bro we're not doin' this," I said, causing him to snap my direction.

"Why? What's up?," he asked, trying to act innocent.

"This requires a HUMAN SOUL, I'm not gonna let you give away your soul!"

"Hey man, remember we're in a library, keep it down. Plus I found a loophole."

"Yeah yeah, you like holes, what's new," I said, as he gives me an annoyed look.

"Right, so you remember my creepy family heirloom?"

"What creepy heirloom?," I asked, holding back laughter. His family history is actually interesting, especially the creepy heirloom.

"The creepy thing that Āna likes to talk to, it follows me around the house now dude!"

"B-bro," I can't even get it out, I'm laughing so hard. I take a minute to quickly compose myself.

"Ya' done?," Jorge asked irritably, "you're disturbing the peace."

"I'm sorry, it's just too funny. Hey, hey," I said, nudging him. "Say it bro"

"I'm not saying it."

"C'mon, say it once."

"Nope, not gonna say it."

"C'mooooon bro, just once."

He sighs in agitation, "the doll."

I immediately feel a burst of energy throughout my body, I exhale from my nose and see my black flames. I don't know why but whenever Jorge mentions his doll by name, or simply as the doll, I get a small surge of power. It's also hilarious to see him minorly irritated by it too. He's tried explaining how the doll got passed down but I get lost at the town massacre part. But, it only goes to the first born child, and Jorge was the first born boy since Texas was called Tejas. The only concerning part of all this is that no one else describes the doll as "paranormal" but Jorge, I'm guessing it's because he's the first boy that the doll got stuck with. It also came with a creepy note.

The note has been slightly edited since the first time it was written, but it does actually make the doll seem alive, or like it'll come to life. Based on the note, Jorge thinks Susanne "acts out" whenever he gets upset with, neglects, or misplaces her. Her "acting out" is usually Susanne appearing in rooms that Jorge is in, and recently in his dreams. It sounds like she's trying to give Jorge a message but he's struggling to decipher it.

"Well, have you had another dream lately?," I asked.

"Actually, I think I've had THE dream," Jorge answered sadly.

"What do you mean the dream?"

"So this time, we were in my mom's old room. Susanne was on the bed, looking at me. I remembered my mom saying that she kept her journal-"

"Diary, but continue," I quickly said.

"...In her nightstand. I go over to the nightstand and Susanne appears on it. I just ignore her and open the top drawer. I see a journal that looks like an old composition book. At first I thought it was my mom's, but this one was labeled Susanne and Rosalina, my mom named her journal Rosa and Sue."

"Whoa," I get the familiar surge of power as he says her name.

"RIGHT! I think it was Sue's writings about her time with my mom."

"What was in it?," I asked, brimming with excitement.

"Oh uhh," Jorge puts his head down. "Given the circumstances, I was unable to obtain the book."

"Were you paralyzed?"

"...No."

"Did you lose control of your body?"

"Well umm…"

"Dude, you gotta give me something. Why didn't you just grab it?"

"Okay okay, look it was in the drawer."

"Ok, and?"

"Well, there was some...concerning contents inside."

"Oh, like some hex stones? I can tell you how to get past 'em."

"Dude, it was an underwear drawer."

"....Your underwear drawer?," I asked jokingly.

"Dude no, it was full of panties man."

"...Hers or your mother's?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

I try to hide my laughter by clearing my throat, "that's, umm, I don't know what to say man."

"That's not funny man! That thing is straight up evil."

"Let me get this straight though, the only reason ya' didn't grab the book is cause it was in an underwear drawer?"

"Look, that's one GOOD reason, another reason is because I can't tell how old my mom was when she had that...drawer."

"Why does that matter?"

Jorge looked at me dumbfounded. "Cause if I met my mother when she was a teenager I wouldn't try 'n hit on her, so I definitely wouldn't want to see what she has on under her clothes."

"That sounds weird...anyway what about the doll though."

"I don't know man, I think she's mad about it."

"What, ya' told your mom?"

"Huh, no dude, Sue."

"How did you manage to piss off a doll?"

"First of all, we both know that's not all she is. Second, after I opened the drawer and saw the book with the underwear I was disgusted and actually said 'eww' aloud."

"Oh noo, why," I said sarcastically. "So do we kill it now?"

"No, no, she's just upset. She followed me around the house all mornin' 'til I left." Jorge actually seemed down about it.

"So you're concerned about her now?"

"Well I suspected she was trying to communicate and now it's clear that she is but instead of listening I said 'ewww'. I don't think of her as a real person but she clearly has feelings and I think I hurt them. I gotta find out what she's tryin' to tell me," he said looking sure of himself.

"Alright then, just add it to the list but for now-"

"Heterochromia iridum, or iridis, this is when one iris is a different color than the other."

"Iris…." As I hear him say her name, she somehow seems more real. It's as if saying her name he's confirming her existence, acknowledging her. I can see her eyes as if they were in front of me once again, her right eye, a light-purple. There's something else, a fear present. I can't tell what I'm afraid of but my heartbeat is going up and I can't calm myself down. This fear is overwhelming, and concerning, I'm sure I'm in a library. This fear, it can't be mine-

"Jay!"

I snap out of my trance as I hear Jorge call my name.

"Check your eyes man," he says.

"Sorry bro, I wasn't expecting to get hit that hard."

"It's good, but I'm guessing this is the thing we needed to talk about right?"

"Yeah," I answered heavily. "I guess it's my turn to share a creepy dream. It actually turned out to be a contact vision, but it started out as the same nightmare."

"Your dad again?," Jorge asked, concerned.

"Yeah, except when me and Āna went underground everything changed. We were supposed to check the cells, they would all be empty, then we go above ground and attack. But when I checked my last cell I found a girl inside. Her clothes were torn and she looked like a teenager or young adult. I involuntarily said her name, 'Iris', and she turned to me when she heard me. She crawled into the light, reaching out to me with blood and tears mixing down her face. I was able to see her eyes at this point, they were cat eyes and one was half-blue. She asked me what her name was and all I wanted to do was knock down the door and save her but I was paralyzed. All I could do was speak so I told her, 'your name is Iris'. I immediately woke up and was in full armor, but I'm not sure if she saw me as the Rogue or as my younger self before the transformation." Jorge looks shocked by the story.

"Damn man," he said, "but what does the armor have to do with tha' dream?"

"Well if she saw all the black flames and hood and still wanted my help she either doesn't know what the Rogue looks like or is in so much pain that she doesn't care who helps her."

"Bro, what if she wanted the Rogue to help her?"

"You mean like a trap?"

"Nah, you said it was a contact vision, those aren't always random. She could be in that same prison complex, or she could've been reaching out to your dad and got you."

"I didn't think about that, if she wants my help specifically there might be something else that I'm missing…. Okay, we'll get you a devil," I said reluctantly.

"For real?," Jorge said, shocked.

"BUT-"

"Oh okay, a catch."

"It has to be someone that can help us find or rescue Iris."

"Ummm, 'or'?," Jorge asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, from what I understand it'll be hard to summon a devil that's willing to help find and rescue Iris as well as cooperate with us. Honestly it'll be easier to find a demon that'll want to help us, in exchange for something obviously," I explained.

"Wow, you learned all that from hangin' out wit' Ānanda?"

"Wha- no! It's in our textbook and the recommended reading for our project."

"Oh yeah," Jorge said as he picked up the biology book. "So then, Iris has heterochromia iridum?"

"I think so, maybe," I answer unsure. "But only partially, if that's a thing. The book says that it's when the eyes are two separate colors, like this picture," I point to a picture of a woman with a green and blue eye. "Iris has cat's eyes and only one of them is half a different color."

"The cat eyes thing sounds pretty cool, but if it's a devil that we're all going to be needing, can I make a list then you an' Ānanda can just choose from it?"

"Uhh...I guess that's okay," I answer hesitantly. "Make the list and I should be able to cross off the major problem ones. I'll be right back though, gonna put this book up." I get up and take the biology book from Jorge then head towards its shelf. As I walk into the aisle I find a volunteer with a book cart. She has the same grey cardigan as Ms. Papinn….wait. "Ms. Papinn?"

She stands up and turns to me, "oh hi. You were the young boy looking for a bio book for mutations right?" Her height caught me off guard, she looks like an eighth grader trying to blend in as an adult. "What's wrong," she asked with a blank expression. "Did I refer you to the wrong book?"

"Oh, no," I said, trying to ignore her height. "It was very helpful, umm. Exactly what I was looking for."

"That's good," she said, turning back to reshelf books. "Then I'm assuming you were taken aback by my appearance."

"Yeah, sorry, you're not a kid though right?," I asked as politely as I could.

"N-no," she answered through laughter. "I'm around you and your friend's age. I'm actually going to start attending the nearby high school for four days a week."

"Northside or Leejay?"

"Leejay magnet, is that where you and your friend attend?" she asked, visibly excited.

"Uh, yeah, but I thought you needed a degree to be a librarian."

"Yes you do, I have a masters in library sciences; however, I also have a degree in psychology and sociology. I will be hosting a social experiment where I will be able to attend high school as a student. Generally these types of experiments are ethical but frowned upon by the scientific community. This will also be my first experience in an educational environment with my peers, peers of age not intellect, no offense."

"So you ended up skipping high school?"

"Well technically no, I was home-schooled so I still learned the base high school curriculum. Although I was in Georgia, I'm sure the curriculum is similar to Louisiana's."

"Oh okay cool, well is it okay if I gave ya' this book to put up?"

"Of course," she grabs the book and places it on the cart. "I'm glad the book was helpful."

"Yeah thanks for that. So when can we expect to see you around school?"

"I'll be picking classes after work Monday, school should be letting out then so maybe we can, um hang out for a bit?"

"Is 'hangin' out' part of your social experiment?"

"Um, perhaps…"

"I'll think 'bout it but I might be helpin' Jorge wit' his project. Oh, Jorge is tha' guy that I came in with."

"Oh okay, education is important so…"

"Yeah, sorry, but hey, now we have another reason to come to tha' library now," I said hoping to cheer her up.

"That's good," she said blushing. "It'll be good to have more youth coming in…"

"Cool, can I get your number to text ya' later?"

"Oh, um, y-yeah, sure."

I head back to the table with Ms. Papinn's number and hopefully a new friendship. I'm confident I didn't hurt her feelings though I could've at least learned her first name. And what classes she'll be taking… And maybe get some details on her social experiment… I definitely should have talked to her more, but at least I'm friends with the librarian. "Wow, that sounds lonely."

"What sounds lonely?" Jorge asked.

"Nothin', let's check out your book and dip."

-ET Lavillis