Cue in dark and mysterious noir jazz background music.

All alone, walking late at night…the rough and seedy part of the city isn’t safe to traverse for a girl like me…

Well, I wasn’t exactly alone. There were other people hanging out around here. Many others. I didn’t make eye contact or so much as glance in their direction when I passed them. In the corner of my eye, I saw most had the distinct splash of yellow of the PCM members, be it shirts, masks, bandanas, or arm bands. I really wanted to experiment making a drastically new face to interact with them, but it was perhaps better to avoid any confrontation.

Some other time then.

It also wasn’t that late. Only 8:46 p.m., my phone’s clock told me. If everything was normal, this area would just be starting to stir in this city that never sleeps. Things, however, weren’t normal.

To be fair, this wasn’t a seedy place—although it did look the part now with trash littered everywhere, graffiti of a clenched fist, the symbol of the PCM, on the walls and windows of buildings, among other acts of vandalism. This was supposed to be the exact opposite of seedy since this was fricking downtown. A small side street, okay, but this area was always crawling with people at this hour, all the shops open and full of customers.

Was…before the riots happened.

And while it wasn’t safe for a normal girl to be here now, an Adumbrae girl like me would fare just fine so long as I didn’t attract the attention of the police—who were woefully absent. They must be at the memorial for the people who died, holding back the protesters.

The only thing that was correct in my intro spiel was that it was dark.

Sure, the streetlights were busted and yet to be replaced by the city, but wasn’t there supposed to be a full moon tonight?

I kept track of the sunrise each day with an app, accordingly setting my alarm for it. I always wanted to drink tea while watching the sky light up as the sun popped over the horizon. It wasn’t a Rule, just something I've been accustomed to during law school. When using this app, I sometimes inadvertently also see the scheduled phases of the moon.

The full moon is on Sunday, I realized after checking the app. But shouldn’t this Friday night already have a pretty bright moon?

Could be smog blanketing the city. La Esperanza was an overcrowded metropolis, pollution was unavoidable. The smoke from the Eve explosion probably just made things worse, nasty particles and shit still floating up there in the sky, not to mention the tons of others fires that spread as collateral damage when the shockwave swept over the city.

And Stella also burned a lot of buildings a couple of days ago.

My phone vibrated, its light I used to illuminate my path flickering. A message or a call?

A call.

It’s Mom.

There was no one around me. I darted to the gap between two buildings to hide myself. I looked at the name of my screen again, and then sighed. Might as well get this over with. “Hello, Mom. How are things in…uh…there?” I forgot which country she was supposed to be in right now.

“Hi, Erind sweetie. Wrapping up everything with my current project, just the usual. How about you?”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“Cheryl, my assistant, you remember her, right? She showed me videos on the internet of the riots at La Esperanza, dear me. It might be best if you don’t go to school for now. I’m sure your professors will understand. I can write them a letter—”

“We’re having classes online, Mom, don’t worry. I’m safe here at Deen’s place. We don’t go out anymore because it’s too dangerous. We even have food delivered.”

“Thank the Mother Core you have a friend like Deen. I wanted to tell you to try to find your own place, but it might be better to be with her until everything calms down. Just wait for me and we’ll find you a new condo together. I already asked Cheryl to search the internet for reputable listings in your area.”

“Okay, Mom. I’ll try to search too to add to our options.”

“Have you eaten yet? What are you doing? Is Deen there with you? I haven’t talked to her yet.”

Shit. The ‘Mom questions’ were starting. Evasive maneuvers. “I just had a quick dinner…need lots of time to study. We’re both studying since we have a major test on Monday. She’s inside her room while I’m in mine.”

“Oh, I do hope I wasn’t bothering you, Erind sweetie.”

“You’re not. I can take a break now. I always have time for you, Mom. But I need to return to studying soon, I have a lot of material to cover. Our professor is a really grouchy one. He doesn’t care about what’s going on in the city, just that the test needs to push through next week.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s concerned with your education, and so should you. And yes, don’t forget to take breaks and rest your eyes. Anyway, Erind dear, I called to tell you that I already bought my airplane tickets. I’ll arrive there Sunday night.”

Gears were grinding inside my head. I forgot Mom was going to come visit me! Hmmm, I don’t think there’s going to be any issue, is there? “Really, Mom? That’s great. Did you have a hard time booking a flight?” Just asking daughter things before I attempt to end the call. Mom had mentioned there were more requirements because of the recent Adumbrae attacks—the usual knee-jerk reactions of politicians to come up with not-so-thought-out rules overnight.

“Very hard. Fortunately, I have Cheryl to arrange everything for me. And instead of buying a direct flight over Europe, she bought me a connecting flight via Singapore.”

“Why? Isn’t that way longer?”

“The Madagascar situation is getting out of hand. Can’t say it’s just a Madagascar situation now, since Adumbrae are roaming the fringes of the African mainland. What’s worse is that there are plenty of flying Adumbrae. They haven’t made their way up to Europe yet, and experts say they won’t, especially with the air forces of the Central African Union patrolling their airspace. But if even a single one is sighted over Europe, I fear that flights will be cancelled in a heartbeat.”

“I had no idea the crisis was worsening,” I said with a gasp. “Our news is filled with what’s happening over here in this city, having two Adumbrae attacks and all that. I should watch international news too.”

“I pray every day for the Mother Core to help the people of Africa. And yes, you should keep yourself updated with what’s happening in the world. The Purple Bloom still hasn’t been found. Some experts say it might be deep underwater.”

“Just like the one at the Philippines where…” Dad used to work, was going to be the continuation of my sentence, but I held my tongue. I didn’t want any cheesiness tonight.

Dad was the site director of the UN facility studying the Devlyosian Sinkhole—the result of the fight between High Overseers and one of the largest Purple Blooms to form after the invasion—for possible perpetual energy applications.

If the Madagascar Purple Bloom was as big as that the one that showed up in the Philippines fifty years ago, the Corebrings need to wake up more High Overseers.

Mom may not have heard what I said, or just pretended to ignore it. She said, “This is such an awful year, and we’re only two months in. May the Mother Core protect us. I know you’re not keen on going to church, sweetie, but you should try to attend online masses—”

“Uh, I’ll try, Mom. But I should focus on studying now.”

“Yes, yes, go ace that test!” she said enthusiastically. “I’m not going to disturb you anymore. I’m excited to see you.”

“See you soon, Mom. Take care.” And end. Good thing she didn’t tell me she loved me. All these years and I still wasn’t satisfied with how I responded to it.

I poked my head out the street, checking if the coast was clear.

There were people the next block over, congregating underneath a rare working streetlight. PCM members with their smattering of yellow. One guy, maybe the leader, was pointing this way and that, giving directions to the others. Then their group divided into pairs, turning on their flashlights and going their separate ways.

Were they looking for me? But they didn’t know who I was, or even what I looked like besides the general description of a person wearing a hoodie and a mask. That was basically eighty-percent of the people I had seen while I walked around.

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It was likelier they were closing in on the SVS.

And here I was thinking all these groups were together. Turns out, the SVS was the odd one out—the black sheep of radicals; kinda weird to put it that way. Really dumb for Reginus and her gang to show their faces here. What were they doing around these parts?

A couple of the PCM member were walking in my direction. I sunk back in the shadow, watching them pass by.

Reginus and the SVS…should I help them?

They were technically—a very stretched technically at that—on my side since they fervently believed I was a good Adumbrae. And I liked that image. I really do. Blanchette was my first ‘public’ face, even if unintentionally so—‘public’ as in it was a face for everyone, and not tailored to a specific person or just a small group. Having a taste for the theatrics, I was growing attached to the narrative the SVS was pushing that I…me as Blanchette…was a hero Adumbrae.

And I have to tell them my name is Blanchette, not Red Hood.

In any case, I should learn about the situation.

First things first, I should grab one of these PCM people to get some info. Fortunately, the lead PCM guy was still under the streetlight, reading a paper while talking to someone on the phone, could be his superior. His underlings weren’t there anymore, making my job easier. It was only him that I wanted.

He put his phone and notes back inside his jacket and walked down the street. I followed him, transferring from one hiding spot to another, behind a lamppost, a mailbox, a tree. I bet I really looked funny while doing this.

So…how does this work? Just run up to him and grab him?

And if he didn’t want to answer me…then what?

Like beat him up until he does?

Wasn’t that torture?

Yeah, I guess. I didn’t have any other way of forcing him to reveal to me what he knew about the SVS. I really hoped he wouldn’t play hard ball because I wasn’t sure how the torture part would work out; I had no experience doing it to anyone besides insects when I was a little kid.

Since I got entangled with the PCM-SVS business, I felt like I could justify torture under Rule #4. Furthermore, this was also justifiable under defending self-defense of sorts, because I would be protecting the good name of my Blanchette face.

The two of us soon left the bright umbrella of the streetlight.

Just follow his flashlight, I told myself while doing my utmost to shadow him quietly. I carefully treaded my path because I couldn’t see shit; I didn’t want to risk using my phone because this guy might look behind him and see me.

He turned left into a narrow side alley.

I might lose him! I darted out from behind a parked car that had its windows smashed, and ran as quietly as I could.

A flash of purple light!

Without thinking, I rolled to the side, and hid myself as best I could behind a small shrub which really didn’t provide much cover.

The fuck was that?

I rubbed my eyes. I saw that, right? Something purple or violet, whatever the fuck was different between those two. Definitely not the flashlight of the PCM guy.

Footsteps. Light growing brighter. Someone was coming out of the alley.

The faint footsteps…they sounded different from the PCM guy from earlier, probably from a smaller person One…no, more than one. Multiple shadows were cast on the side of the building beside the mouth of alley. He had others with him? I tensed up, bringing my right hand near my face. But I didn’t summon my mask because that would reveal my location with gold light.

My brows raised as high as they possibly could when out came two children.

The hell did these two brats come from?

A boy and a girl as far as I could tell from their clothes; the boy was holding a flashlight. Were they from one of the buildings along the alley? Maybe they opened the door of their house and they had, I dunno, fucking purple Christmas lights they forgot to take down or something.

I stared at them as they fucked off.

Not my fault if something bad happens to them, I thought with a shrug. I wasn’t their babysitter. If they were living here, they should know it was dangerous to go out at night especially with all the shit going on.

I sprinted to the alley. Maybe I could still find the trail of that PCM guy, then I—

A dead end!

What I thought was a passageway was just a small nook, about ten feet from the sidewalk to the side of the building. I held my phone up, lighting as much of the area as I could.

Three solid walls. No doors.

“Eh? It can’t be…Seriously?”

I knocked on the bricks, going high and low. I pushed them, lightly punched them. How about if I punched a bit harder? Yep, they were pretty solid alright. I stomped around, expecting to find a trapdoor on the floor. Still nothing. This was just a fucking recessed corner on the face of the building, probably some design shit an architect thought of.

How about the PCM guy? He just poofed in the air? And did the ground just spit out those children?

Come on, there had to be a way out of here. A hidden door of some kind. It might even lead me to the PCM hideout. I resumed my search, but I was interrupted by a bright light.

Someone shone a flashlight on me.

I held up my arm to shield my eyes. I squinted at the person blocking my way out of this corner.

“Found you, you cunt!” It was just the twig guy who acted tough back at the bar. Barter or Harper. Most likely Harper because Barter sounded weird to be a name.

I didn’t respond. Just a human, I mentally scoffed. Yeah, yeah, I hadn’t forgotten about his gun. Big deal.

“You gave me trouble looking for your little ass,” he spat at me.

How about I try to get info from this guy? Not sure if he knew anything useful. It would’ve been better if I questioned the guy with the beanie—speak of the devil.

“Harper! You idiot, what are you doing here?” It was Beanie guy, yey. “We already found the SVS. That girl is not one of them. Why are you still chasing her?”

“Look at this shit.” He pointed at his head. It was wrapped in a bloody PCM bandana. “She’s gotta pay for this!”

“Wha—? But she…that’s not her fault,” Beanie guy said, speaking my thoughts. “That was the—”

“I don’t care, man,” Harper snapped. “You cunt! See this, huh? This is on you. Fucking hurts.”

Beanie guy grabbed his arm. “Leave her alone. She has no part in this. We have to go. The others—”

Harper pulled away from Beanie guy. The larger man tried to hold him again, but he pulled out his gun. “Fucking hands off, Radi, my man." Beanie guy, who was apparently called ‘Radi’ took a couple of steps back. “I’ll just finish my business with her and follow you guys,” Harper said, waving his gun. “Go on. Don’t want to hurt you, man. Don’t make this more complicated than it is.”

“Wha-what are you going to do with her?”

“Just going to have a bit of fun with her.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?"

"No police round these parts, perfect time to have some fun while teaching her a lesson."

"You can’t do that!”

“I can and I will. I’ll make her regret messing with me.”

“But she didn’t—”

“Shut the fuck up! Stay and watch if you want, I’m not going to judge you. But don’t dare try to cock block me. You can have her after I’m done. I've been waiting to do this again since I got out.”

“Are you out of your mind? We're not going back in because of this—”

“Hands where I can see them! I don’t want any trouble between us, man. Just walk away. You ain’t seen nothin’ here. Don't want trouble? Don't be here."

"I can't let you do this."

"You should. Don't forget you owe me. You know what you should forget? Forget about me and this girl. Not worth your trouble.” Harper turned his attention back to me. “Now, how about you show me your pretty face. Take off your mask.”

Radi’s expression was conflicted. Guess he wasn’t hero material. “Radi!” I cried out. “Help me!” I couldn’t resist messing with them. Calling him with his name gave him a bit more bravado that he stepped forward. “I don’t have anything you want,” I added for good measure. “Just leave me alone.”

Harper finally pointed his gun at Radi. “Don’t make me do this, man. Such a small thing. Go away, and forget about this. I’ll join you guys later. I just can’t leave this little cunt unpunished. She must learn her lesson.”

“I…I’m going to…the police will arrest you!”

“No police here, little cunt. They gave up on this place. They’re all at the memorial protecting our corrupt mayor. Now take off your mask, then your clothes, and let’s see what you got.”

“Radi, you can’t let him do this to me. Please…”

“Harper, you shouldn’t—”

“I don’t have all night! Someone is going to get fucking shot if everybody keeps on not fucking listening to me!”

I crouched down hugging my body, acting like I was paralyzed by fear. “Please…no…” I couldn’t do a proper sobbing session because I was too excited to try out something. And no, I’m not going to kick his balls, although that did enter my mind. Scrambled eggs....hehehe—Don't laugh!

“Why do I have to do everything myself!” Harper approached me, his hand reaching to grab my head.

Yes! It was the opportunity I was waiting for; the opportunity to test out sweeping legs and putting enemies off-balance. I crouched down to make sweeping easier since I wasn’t sure I could do a proper standing leg sweep. I extended my right leg, aiming for his right ankle just as his stepping foot was about to touch the ground, kicking out as fast and with as much power as I could, sweeping his back leg as well.

“The fuck—!”

Harper did a violent half pinwheel in the air, his feet going high up, his head down, his arms flailing. It was like a comedic sketch of a cartoon character exaggeratedly slipping on a banana peel. His head smashed against the ground, stopping his rotation, followed by a nasty crunch as the rest of his body crumpled in a heap on top of his head.

Me and Radi stared at the unmoving body.

He shone his flashlight on his fellow PCM member. A dark pool of what I assumed to be blood was slowly spreading.

Oops.

I didn’t mean to do that.