She walked her way through the haze. Her beat up converse the focus point of Kevin’s vision. He rolled over to face the sky. Its burning light adding to the pain of his shattered body. Her face pasty white as she looked down at him with concern. “I told you to listen to me.” she scolded. Kevin chuckled through the blood in his mouth.

“You trust me right? I have an idea” she bought herself down close to him now. Her icy hands held his face as she used her thumb to wipe away a tear from his cheek. “You will be ok. I'll help you not to hurt anymore” Kevin was surprised at this caring side of her. She had never shown affection like this.

Todd stood triumphant whooping and yelling at his victory. The friend who had stayed out of the fight was helping up and checking the one that had crashed into the truck. He now sported a gash on his forehead that dripped down into his eyes. Todd cared not for the wound of his cohort.

Behind him the broken boy's body rose up from the ground. And turned to face him. “Hey shitass!” The words left Kevins lips but they were not his. “I didnt hear a fuckin bell!” his eyes opened to reveal they were now deep obsidian. He ran at Todd full speed. In his surprise Todd was barely able to swing his right fist towards him.

Kevin’s hands pushed the fist down as he rolled over Todd's back, catching his head with his right hand and slamming it down into the concrete. Kevin's mouth smiled widely and his tongue licked the blood from his lips. Todd stood back up unable to contain the blood from his sundered nose with his hand.

He threw a right fist towards Kevin. This was caught and his arm locked in place. Kevin’s free fist made contact with Todd’s stomach. A surprised yelp emerged from Todd’s lips as Kevin’s fist connected again and again until Todd was finally allowed to fall to the ground. Lying on his back Todd looked into the cold black eyes of his once victim.

Todd felt incredibly small as Kevin's legs bent to allow him to grab his shirt. With unnatural strength Kevins arms pulled him up and slammed him into the hard brick of the wall of the community centre. Blow after blow the assault from Kevin’s fists were unrelenting. Todd's face was reduced to a mess of blood and tears.

“Urg finally i got to let loose a little” the voice sounded tired as Todd slumped down into a heap on the ground. By this point his friends had fled in their cowardice.Kevin looked down at his skinned and scraped knuckles as his hands shook uncontrollably. He reached out a hand to Todd who cowered in fear hiding in his jacket.

The pain that had been numbed by adrenaline returned to Kevin's chest and he almost collapsed alongside him. “Woah woah woah. Easy. you’re still injured. You need to get home.” the voice pleaded with Kevin. “Wha……. What happened?” Kevin held his ribs and began to limp away. “I…. didn't?” the confusion addled his mind.

“Look, I took the wheel cus you couldn't drive. We need to leave. I'll explain later” through gritted teeth Kevin limped his way through the woods directly to the cabin. He didn't want to be seen heading to the dirt path in his state. He pondered to himself an alibi or lie that would explain his injuries and exonerate his guilt.

“Stop worrying about it. You will be fine, trust me. Remember what I'm here for.” She continued to make her case for the duration of the long journey home. Whilst Kevin held regret for what he had done. A part of him smiled at the thought of Todd beaten and whimpering. Todd had more than earned a lot worse.

“What did you do?” Kevin spat the last of the blood from his mouth and questioned her. He looked down into a dirty puddle and saw his bloodied face and throbbing nose. She appeared behind him in the reflection. She ran her hand down the side of his bruised face. “I asked you to listen to me. You didn't.” she spoke with a venom akin to a viper’s.

“You didn't listen and you got your ass beat. So as it's my job to protect you I took over.” she stared into Kevin’s soul as she ran a finger through the blood on his cheek. Her long drawn line appeared on his face despite her not being present in any space but the reflection. “So…. you made me stronger?” he traced the now clear line with his finger.

She skipped back into her usual jovial tone. “Nah. I just pulled the strings. The strength was your own. Don't tell me you hadn't noticed?” she chuckled lightly after her words. Kevin looked down to his bloodied hands. He couldn't let Officer Williams see him like this. He plunged his hands into the murky water of the puddle.

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Scrubbing his hands in the filthy liquid he felt a movement in his chest followed by a loud crack. He doubled over in pain collapsing into the cold abyss that lay before him. Another loud crack came from his nose as he clutched his chest. Pangs of crippling pain ran through Kevin’s body like a virus.

Breathing heavy and slow he pulled himself out of the deceptively deep water. Now shivering he made haste for home. “Hey asshole if you catch a cold. I catch a cold. Get home.” her perturbed voice dragged Kevin to his feet. He leaned forward into a run, his feet moving swiftly through the fallen leaves and dirt.

The trees were a blur as he passed by. His focus entirely maintained on getting home he took no notice of the newfound speed that caused him to glide gracefully through the forest. His footfalls barely making a sound. His breaths were calm as he came across the dirt road to his home.

His battered and muddy converse sneakers threw up a cloud of dust and dirt as he turned to make for the cabin. In mere moments a light beckoned through the trees in the low evening shade. Kevin's eyes focused as he screeched to a halt. Dust flying up in front of his face.

As it settled he saw Officer Williams sat in the living room of the cabin. The glow of the television lighting his face in the dim closed off space. He couldn't face him. Not like this. Too many questions would lead to his guilt being confirmed. “Its a little cliché but climb in your bedroom window” her advice was sound. The trees were thick enough on that side that Officer Williams wouldn't see him approach.

Kevin lifted the old wooden frame of the aged window. It threatened to expose him with its creaks and dragging sounds as it rose. He lifted a leg and climbed into the room. Officer Williams had always lectured him about leaving it unlocked but this time his lazy habit had aided him. He lifted the other foot in and gently set the window down.

He slowly tip-toed towards his en suite bathroom. The sound of a loud Jeff Dunham show covered his movements as the ageing Officer laughed heartily at the ventriloquist's rogues gallery of casually racist puppet characters. Various threats of death from a puppet reverberated through the cabin walls.

“Hey, after we are done here I wanna watch whatever that is. Sounds funny” her voice sounded excited as Kevin began to wash the blood and dirt from his fingers. The more and more of his hands he uncovered the more he realised there was not so much as a scratch on his knuckles.

He tore off what was left of his shirt. It had become a tangled mess of threads both from the fight and the branches of the trees as he ran through. He removed the rest of his clothes and climbed into the tub careful not to slip on the mud and blood he had left in his wake. “I kinda like you covered in all that.” he ignored her words as he turned the dials on the rusty old shower.

The frigid waters hit his pale white skin like a rain of daggers. It meandered its way through his thick brown hair and down his well chiselled frame. The voice had not lied, in the months prior Kevin's form had become that of a well maintained young man. Shedding his old gaunt and skeletal body for one that would not look out of place in a high class gym.

He ran his hands over himself as the sludge and slag ran off of him and down the awaiting drain. He found not so much as a cut nor bruise. He recalled that he had definitely heard his ribs crack as Todd’s steel capped boot met his chest. One by one he checked each of them and found no break and felt no pain from the touch.

Not understanding he tore open the shower curtain and looked to himself in the medicine cabinet mirror. It was deeply fogged and obscured. He stepped out of the tub and took a large step towards it. With a shaking hand he wiped away the haze. Expecting to see the remnants of his shattered nose.

It was untouched. He knew for a fact that the first punch had sundered his nose. He had bled profusely from it all over the side-walk next to the community centre. He had even seen it not an hour ago in his reflection. He reached up to touch it and felt no pain. “See. I told you it would be ok. Hehe. you nakey” she appeared behind him in his reflection and was pointing directly at his behind.

“Kevin? Is that you in there?” Officer Williams pounded on the door thrice as he called. “You got five seconds and I'm taking this door down. You better be Kevin.” In the shock of his sudden wellness he had not heard the Officer turn off the TV and get up. He had heard someone using Kevin’s shower.

“Imma count. 1…..2…..3!” Kevin ripped a towel from its rail and opened the door. Officer Williams had taken a step back ready to kick the door. Gripped in his right hand his service weapon glistened in the light of the bathroom. His angry expression changed to relief upon seeing Kevin’s face though it was obscured by thick brown strands of wet hair.

“Jesus H Christ boy. What i tell you about sneaking in through your window? You’re supposed to keep that shit locked. It aint even past curfew why you sneakin around?” The Officer's concerned voice was paired with eyes darting up and down Kevin’s body. He had not seen Kevin’s new found form since it had displayed itself. “When did you get……?”

“I've been secretly going to the gym. I wanted it to be a surprise. I was inspired by you. You’ve always been in great shape so i wanted to be like you” Kevin’s flattering lie sat well with the Officer. In reality Kevin had been sneaking out to talk with the voice in the woods where he couldn't be heard. The Officer had caught him climbing back in the window in the early hours before.

“Damn you didn't have to hide that from me. I could have helped. You got Mrs Mckenzie to cover for you at the town hall too?” The Officer sounded disappointed yet proud that Kevin had improved his physique. For so long he had tried to get him back into some sort of exercise after he had quit baseball.

“Well. no sneakin around anymore about it ok?” The Officer's words were wrapped in a stern tone that barely let slip his joy. Sooner or later Todd would implicate him and this lie would be exposed. But for now Kevin Breathed a sigh of relief as the Officer closed the door to his room.

“Well look at you. Becoming quite the silver tongue aren't you?” the voice jeered at him from the reflection of the medicine cabinet mirror. Its door swung open and the smiling face of the voice pierced him with her cold obsidian black eyes. Kevin slammed the door shut. Its shockwave shattered the mirror sending shards tumbling to the ground. In the fragments her grin still shined.