I had to think fast. Lucas scurried to put his clothes back on as I acted on a whim to take off my outside attire and change into my night shirt. There was no time to throw on my sweatpants.

“What the hell are you doing?” he mumbled, growing more nervous from the sound of my mom repeatedly turning the locked doorknob.

“Pretending I was here the whole time. Just hurry up and go. I’ll call you later.”

I waited until he climbed out of the window before opening the room door to see my mother with an angry look on her face.

“Hey, Mom.” I greeted her with a fake smile. “What’s up?”

“Don’t try to act innocent, Aliyah. Why was the door locked? Was Lucas in here? And when did you come back in the house in the first place?”

I pretended to yawn before saying, “I got back in earlier and fell asleep. No, Lucas was not in here. My door was locked ‘cause I have a thief for a little sister who likes to steal my makeup when I’m not looking. I don’t wanna see my products on her face when we’re leaving out for school tomorrow.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion until she saw the bruises on my brown skin. “Where did those marks come from? Is Lucas putting his hands on you, Aliyah?”

“Whoa, chill with the accusations, Mom. The school started a girl’s wrestling team recently and I tried out for it. I ended up getting my ass beat, though.”

Lying was never my thing, but wow did I get good at it over the last few months. She scrutinized me before inspecting the room and asking, “Why is the window open when you barely have any clothes on? You know the neighbors across the street have a son that’s a year younger than you.”

“Okay? He shouldn’t be looking in here like some creep. Why do I gotta be uncomfortable in my own room?”

She walked over to the window and closed it. Thank God she didn’t peek her head out and spot Lucas’s car parked a block away. “Aliyah, I'm telling you right now: either you keep this window closed, cover up, or you turn off the lights. Goodnight.”

She walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving me to get ready for bed. I put on my sweatpants before opening the window and looking outside to check if Lucas’s car was still there. Though I didn’t see his vehicle, the view of something disturbing made the hairs on my body stand on end.

“What the… Who is that?”

I stared with apprehension at a pale-skinned girl with red highlights in her jet-black hair. She stood under the streetlight across from my house wearing a black denim jacket and boots, appearing to be around my age. Looking up at my window with a blank expression, her gray eyes only added to her mystique.

What frightened me more was that I couldn’t see the girl’s aura or sense her negative emotions like I could with anyone else. If she didn’t have cruel intentions, why did her presence cause such an unsettling feeling in my stomach?

Creeped out, I shut the window and pulled the curtains together before backing away and getting into my bed. Tonight, I had fought demons and a possessed man ready to take my life, but the alarming image of the girl outside terrified me the most.

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***

Walking through the maize brick halls of Ravenvale High School the next morning was unnerving with thoughts of the strange chick still lingering in my mind. I did my best to shake them off and maneuver past a group of students to reach my locker, where I grabbed a textbook for my second class of the day. What I didn’t expect to see after turning around was my childhood friend towering over me.

“What the hell, Tyler?” I exclaimed. “Don’t be a weirdo.”

He half-smiled, combing through his box fade. “Damn, you get scared too easily to be a superhero. How was the date last night?”

“Normal,” I said as we sauntered in the direction of my classroom. “What happened in my room afterward was hot, though. Until my mom ruined it.”

“Yeah, like I need that image in my head first thing in the morning.” He gave me a look of disgust. “Anyway, I heard a ton of money was returned to the bank last night. I’m guessing that was your doing?”

“Of course, but I feel a little bad about it. Some of the cash was gonna go to a kid’s operation. The stuff I deal with can be hard, but I’m the only one who can do it.”

“Well, someone’s cocky. You might wanna check out something I saw online, though. Maybe it’ll bring you back down to reality.”

He removed his cell phone from his pocket, causing me to snort at the sight of it. “Uh, I think you’re the one out of touch with reality if you’re still using that old thing.”

“Just read the damn article. Not everyone’s obsessed with the latest tech.”

I rolled my eyes and took the phone, peering at the words on the screen. The article stated that a trio of drug lords were found dead last night after evading police custody. No word yet on who tipped off officials, or if the person played a pivotal role in the murders.

My brows creased in confusion after reading. “Uh, what does this have to do with me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked with a mocking grin. “Someone’s out there doing your job, but better.”

I shoved the phone against his chest for him to take. “It’s just a coincidence, and I’m saving people from their sins, not killing them for their crimes.”

“Either way, it’s still strange. You mind explaining how the whole magic show works again?”

Did he really ask that? I had explained it to him a thousand times already.

“You can’t be serious. It’s like everything I’ve told you and Lucas for the past few months went poof. Gone. Zero. Like, it’s simple: after I use my light on someone influenced by a demon, their sins are reversed, and the person forgets everything that happened while they were under its control. It’s clean and effective.”

“Yeah, and super convenient for you. Don’t you ever feel like you’re stripping away a person’s free will? I mean, think about it. People have reasons for wanting what they want and doing what they do. If you take away someone’s desire, good or bad, wouldn’t that be robbing them of their freedom?”

We stopped outside of my classroom before I answered. “It’s not that deep, Ty. My Enlightenment only works on those being manipulated by demons. I’m not some crusader spewing woke agendas at people while flashing them…” I paused, the two of us giving each other questionable looks. “Okay, that last part didn’t sound right.”

“It really didn’t,” he laughed out before I punched his arm. He shrugged after and said, “But I guess you’re right. Man, I wish I had superpowers. I’d make you my sidekick.”

“Whatever. I wish Lucas could be this enthusiastic. I promised him last night that I wouldn’t do anything crazy, but it’s hard for me to fight the feeling I get whenever I sense someone’s in trouble. Maybe this is my way of changing society for the better, you know? And I don’t wanna stop now, especially after I’ve gotten used to it. Sending demons back to hell these days is almost as easy as beating you in Call of Duty.”

“And there’s that conceitedness again,” he mumbled with his brown eyes looking everywhere but at me. They landed on my disapproving face when he was ready to ask a question. “By the way, have you seen or spoken to Val today?”

“No. I forgot to call her back last night, but I hit her up this morning and didn’t get a text back. Why, what’s up?”

“It could be nothing, but I’m a little worried. Her foster parents have been treating her worse these past couple of days. Since you two tell each other everything, I figured she’d talk to you about what’s going on more than she would with me.”

Before I could voice my concerns, the late bell rang. “I’ll find her after class,” I told him.

After a quick nod, he turned to walk away as I stepped into the classroom. I took my seat in the front row and tried to concentrate on the lesson, but thoughts of Valeria clouded my focus. With time slowly passing, I knew it would be quite a while before I could run to my best friend’s aid.