I was essentially back to nothing. Just as I start to make progress, and maybe even make a friend, I am set back so far that I know less about this place than I did before I got here.

They already know who I am. I’d love to know how they found that one out. I have kept my alter ego very well hidden. This might be the first time I was found out. Despite the warnings, I needed to dig deeper.

I was allured by Katrina, but I had to stay objective. I should have known better than to start being friendly before I knew too much about her. I can’t let my wants get in the way of helping people.

Costume on and blades ready, I jump off my balcony at midnight. I decided to scan around the church again first, because I still don’t trust the people there. It was just a little too off.

The street lights were on, all but one that flickered in the parking lot. It was hollow compared to the previous morning. I could sense that I was not alone. I did something I didn’t do before; I knocked on the door. There was no answer. There was no answer from the church, but I heard a tap from behind me mimicking the knock.

I turned to see a girl I hadn’t seen before. She was platinum blond in all white. She tapped on the edge of the water fountain. With a silky, grating voice, she spoke to me.

“Well, aren’t you so cute. Love the costume, did you make it yourself?”

“Who are you?” I ask.

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”

“Cut the bullshit. I’m not here for anyone’s games. Tell me who you are and why you are here, or I’ll kick your teeth in.”

She giggled and walked slightly closer, keeping her hand on the fountain. I drew my knives and rushed forward. She leaned back and gave a fake pout, “Aww is the big bad superhero going to hurt little old me?” I can’t say I’m proud of myself, but I threw that bitch almost against the church doors and I got what I needed. Hands off the fountain, she started panting and sweating, racing to find her footing and get back to it. I blocked her path.

“Why do you need to be on the fountain? What are you?” I press again. She hissed, with her mouth splitting across her face as her eyes shrunk into two yellow dimes. Her finger became long and very pointed, as if the bones themselves were

peaking through.

“That fountain marks the line between church and world. Those who cross the line face the wrath of being on holy ground,” she growled, in a voice now sounding like that of an old woman.

“So, you're something that can go near a church. Are you a resident of this town?”

She cackled. “You think I’m one of those petty children? They’ll be lucky to ever be like me.” She smacked my face with her talons. As I reeled back, she ran and she grabbed the fountain. She stopped sweating, but kept her gross form. “I’m an attractor. I get help for those who ask me for it.”

“So you lure the girls to the woods?”

“No, I only work on men, like him.” She points behind me, and I quickly turn just fast enough to see the deformed sandbag man bring down a very large arm onto my head. I’m knocked down and quickly picked up the legs. I slash with a blade, only to be met with being dropped on my head. I blacked out.

It was cold and almost completely black, but in my delirium I could make out some shapes. I was in a chair. I wasn’t tied to it, I was just sitting. I could hear footsteps on the stone floor. They sounded far away, but I could feel the closeness of eyes on me. Light crept in suddenly, then burst in as a door was opened and then shut quickly. It was too sudden for my eyes to handle. I didn’t know who was in the room with me. I could stand, but something in me said I knew better than to try to escape that easily.

There was no breathing or steps. It felt like a week went by as this thing just stood in front of me. I had never seen it before, but I had heard it. I knew better than to look at it. I waited, wondering what he was waiting for. I wanted to know almost as much as I didn’t want to know.

“So, the little one didn’t listen? Shocking. Children never want to listen to their teachers, no matter what the intent of the lesson is. That being said, I still see this as quite the betrayal of trust. I come to you, on my own and with no prompting, to warn you, and you turn around and decide to ignore my words. Such a sad, sad thing, when children have to be punished.” I heard a slight pacing. “Luckily, I know just the appropriate send off for you,” he cooed. I was terrified. I couldn’t even move my legs to escape. How would I be able to defend myself? I should have never tried to do this alone.

Any move I make at this point would just make it worse, I just have to suffer through. I got myself into this mess, so I should just stay here and deal with it. I didn’t even know who he was or what he could do, so attacking could get me killed.

“What, no questions?” he scoffed. “How polite. Glad to see you learned something from being around me. Now, don’t worry child, just a few lucid moments and you’ll be out of the dark.” With that, I felt something come over me. Not like fabric, it had no thread pattern. It was cold; it formed around my eyes and mouth and overcame me, as if someone had dunked me in water but I could still breathe.

It seemed like as soon as it overcame me, it pulled itself back. Suddenly, I was on my back, staring to my left at the soft, dirt ground in low candle light. One final echo of his voice rang out, “Out of the dark, and into the darkness.” It was blurry, but I could see two legs walk away from me. They were red and moved like nice trousers. I lay there for several minutes, thinking it was best not to move and disturb my captors before coming to a strong realization that I was, in fact, going to need to disturb my captors to escape. That’s how escaping works, and escaping is a good idea.

Sitting up showed me that I was still in the woods, but that also meant I could be just about anywhere. I was in a circle of torches and seemed to be completely alone. The ground had no symbol, there was no parofinalial and nothing to even stop me from leaving. I stood undisrupted and looked around before hearing a shrieking cackle from the woods. Hyenas. I’m going to be killed in rural America by hyenas. Or at least, hyena-like people.

I see the first man coming from my left. He had a cartoonishly stretched smile and eyes pushed wide open. He was joined by other people with the same cartoonish faces. “I like this one, she has some real depth,” one hissed. Their voices all sounded like a snake impression. They started coming out of the woods in droves now.

“Is that a joke about my costume?” I ask. I will admit, my dark green suit with joint and side cutouts to keep the high speed fluctuation from ripping it was probably incredibly confusing. I have also found that a sense of humor really helps in these places.

“Yes, some real depth,” they breathed out to each other. I guess they were going to pretend not to hear me. Fair; I’ll turn and go. I sprint out, only to meet a wall of these same-faced human beings in a circle with linked arms. They stared in, arms outreached while still linked with one another. Their arms started coming closer together as they started approaching me in unison, large smiles seeming more and more unearthly, all while muttering phrases about real depth. I remember something, I've heard that phrase before.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I was fifteen. It was one of my first solo missions since meeting Orphan and Paradox. I had a huge argument with Paradox that ended with him saying I couldn’t do anything on my own and I wanted to say I could. I came across this cult, big faces with big mouths just like these, and they were cannibals. Paradox’s dad had to get me out and I had to eat my words to keep from being eaten. I can say I learned a lot since then, but not enough. I remember their lines were impossible to break. As they came within a yard of me, I started feeling like I would have prefered hyenas. No one’s dad was here to help me now.

And as quick as they approached, they cleared. They were knocked on their backs, running and preparing to fight. No one's dad had come to save me, but someone’s daughter did.

I wouldn’t have recognized her if I hadn’t seen the covered left eye and red hair. She looked incredibly strong, landing a few steps in front of me and impacting the ground enough to make it tremor. She wore a hood and short cape, and her weapon of choice seemed to be a forearm guard with extendable blades, which she jolted out as she rose to stand.

“Leave, or be left to be found by the next unfortunate passerby,” her voice seemed to boom in the open forest. As to be expected, they scrambled, and then somehow popped out of existence in puffs of smoke. She turned to me, where I could see her sides, back, and hands were covered in the black tattoos. She was confident, and a little threatening.

“Well, this is awkward,” I said. “You know those guys?”

“They are gluttony demons. They come and go out of existence when summoned,” she said, adjusting her weapon. “So I guess just not telling you everything isn’t going to keep you out of it.”

“No, not in the slightest.”

“I would really love it if you would stop nearly getting yourself killed though.”

“Well, then you should talk to your boss or whatever he is.”

She became quiet and stern. “I am here to take you home, Athena. Just be happy there's only one piece of you to take back.”

“How do you know who I am?”

“It was kind of easy. You know, a masked teenage superhero is on the news busting the cult of a weird magician, and then a teenager shows up in town asking about strange, collaborative religious behavior. A cowl can’t hide everything.”

“I was never on the news.”

She stopped.

“I didn’t take credit for that. How did you know?” Silence. “How did you know it was me?”

“ I… Let me take you home. I owe you a lot of explanations,” She said. I nodded and she took off flying beside me.

Her flight speed was close to my running speed. It was more of an extended glide, every once in a while she would push off from a tree to keep up her momentum. We scaled my balcony. I entered my room and turned back to her. She had turned back into her normal looking self in her normal looking clothes. I took my mask off.

“Where do you want me to start?” she asked, in a less confident tone.

“My identity,” I said. I was stern.

“I was there that night. You may have noticed some covering on your wounds that seemed unnatural.”

“What was that? And why were you there?”

“I was there in a similar sense. The man in red, the man you have seen once or twice, is my boss in a way. He wanted me to find the source of Chaz’s magic and bring it to him if I could. I wanted to stop what he was doing, and figured I could do that as part of taking his magic. By the time I got there, the victims were freed and you were off to your car. I could sound sultry and say I recognized your unforgettable green eyes, but the truth is I recognized your license plate when I saw your car at the church.”

“You didn’t answer my first question.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I’m just not sure exactly what to call it. Essentially, it was a magic band-aid. It won’t affect you in any way, I just thought you might need help. It’s this energy I and few others can control. It’s like a solidified shadow.”

I relaxed a little. She did save my life, so she does deserve some trust. “I guess it kind of did, but why help me? Aren’t I going against whatever this red guy’s plan is?”

She sighed. “I have to. I was his first victim, as I’m sure you have heard. He treated me differently because the girls he collects are followers. I don’t know what they are following, but that is what he calls them. He wanted me to be a weapon instead. He carved me all these black markings. They came with a lot of powers and perks, as well as a new eye. I don’t know why he chose me, but now that I have it, I can’t give it back and I can’t stop him. He has his hold on me now.”

“Because you know better?” I asked

“So you felt it too. I don’t understand it either, but yes, everytime I am around him I lose all faith in my ability to do anything. I listen to him cause I’m too afraid to do things for myself.”

“Who is he?”

“He isn’t someone with a name, he is someone with a purpose. I call him Red. It’s not creative, but it works.”

“Well, what’s his purpose then?”

“To have a following that will always listen to him, as far as I can tell. He’s very secretive, but he wants young women under his command, the more controlled the better.”

“And once he has collected as many as he can?”

“I’m not sure what comes next.”

“How do you know he’s not gonna end up using you, and then killing you? You have to have some mental defence against knowing that might be the outcome.”

She sighed and sat on my bed. I walked behind her to change into pj’s. I could tell it was going to be a long night. “I’d like to say so but,” she said. “You’ve heard of Dave. He’s about as caring and understanding as any deadbeat step dad, the kind that’s strict in how he doesn’t set rules. He doesn’t tell you what to do, and mostly doesn’t give a shit, but when you break the rules he has, he will let you know. Man, will he let you know. And the one friend I have only seems to like to hang out with me for the controversy and Dave’s alcohol, plus whatever makes her want to protect him so much.”

“What are you saying?”

“At this point Dave’s the only thing between me and a state home. Seeing how close I am to graduating high school and leaving on my own terms, it’s not worth it to fight him. I can’t have a job because he rages if I don’t do all the chores around the house after school, so even when I do graduate I won’t have anything to use to leave. It kind of already feels like I am marching towards my demise.”

“Well, you have more than one friend now. And I will do my best to keep you from getting killed,” I say, putting my arm around her. “Also, not all state homes are totally bad. There are some good foster parents out there.”

“Wait, are you an orphan?”

“I am. I was 8 when I lost my mom and dad.”

“I’m really sorry I-”

“Don’t worry about it. I had some bad times, I can understand the fear.”

“Did you lose them to a cult?”

“How’d you guess?”

“Just a hunch,” she chuckled. “Is that how you got your speed?”

“Yeah.” I showed her the scar on my arm. “I fell in a caldron of some sort of blessed or cursed blood and I guess it worked into my veins. Now I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

“That’s good. Red told me I always had powers, he just had the keys to unlock them. I don’t know exactly what that means, but it’s mostly distressing.”

“I can imagine.”

“It makes me think that my powers were from my parents, and they aren’t here to ask. They could have been demons, or angels, or just the actual devil. I have no idea, and I might never.”

“I don’t think you have to worry. You don’t seem too Satan-y.” I gave her a nudge, trying to cheer her up. With the nudge, I saw her smile, and it was one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten. I was so glad to have her to tell my life story to. She looked up and met my eyes.

“Well, you don’t seem too Satan-y either. I’m glad you came here. I could use some help.” She laughed. “Not to change the subject, but what exactly are you and Jess?”

I chuckled. “I think we are dating, but she hasn’t told me yet.”

“That sounds like Jess. She’s never been the best with the idea of relationships being two ways. When the time comes to talk to her about it, just take it easy on her. She’s not good with not getting what she wants.”

“No kidding. Did she ever do that to you?”

“Oh, no, I have somehow avoided that fate.”

We joked like this for a while, talking about Jess, her dad, the weird kid from the church, and a variety of other characters until we both crashed and got woken up by the sound of Lula coming back from some morning community college courses. It ended up being 1 o’clock before either of us moved, which is probably the best thing that happened to me in this town so far. Seriously, I don’t know the last time I actually slept like that.