It was late in the evening. A woman in her mid to late 20s stood near a bus stop. She looked left then right. There was no one around. It would be another hour before the next bus came. She took a seat while huddling in her winter coat. She wrapped the scarf tighter around her neck as she waited for her meeting. She checked her phone. 8:13 PM, it read. She considered making a call though she knew nobody would answer. Araña never answered the phone more than once. She'd gotten a call earlier today, requesting that she meet him here. Araña would be here or they wouldn’t. She wasn't sure what he had for her. Maybe he'd be gracious enough to point out how she could get more funds. Her bar-tending job was starting to interfere in her real work.

After sitting in the cold for a while, Amicia Braddock wondered if this was all worth it. The traveling, the danger. She could have chosen a simpler life if she had really wanted to. Her brother's last wishes were important to her, but was this really what he wanted for her or had he'd been confused in those final moments. She didn't know. She started thinking about the life she could've had. Maybe she would've gone back to school. She might've gone after a master's degree in something boring. It would've been difficult. A different kind of struggle in her life, but still everybody struggles. Nonetheless it would’ve been a simpler life. She woke from the haze of thoughts when someone sat next to her.

She looked up to see a woman in her late 50s approaching. She was African American. She had curly hair tied in a tight bun with silver streaks. The woman gave her a slight smile as she sat down. She wore a puffy green coat with nurse scrubs beneath. The woman sat down with an audible sigh. The scene of the bus stop returned to a silence, now permeated with the awkwardness of two strangers. Amicia noticed that the woman seemed to be struggling to say something. It wasn't long before she did.

“Araña isn’t coming, Amicia.” the nurse said. Amicia turned to her in shock. This woman knew her name as well as her mentor's nickname. Who was she? Was this woman dangerous? Did she do something to Araña? She should've figured something was up when this was set as the meeting spot. Araña, or whoever was posing as him, had requested that they meet in a remote town away from the city. Before this, they had always met in different spots within Serenity itself. It was a break in the pattern. A break that should've let Amicia know something was wrong.

“Who are you? How did you know my name?” Amicia demanded. She reached down to the knife strapped to her jeans. With her other hand, she reached for the bag of powdered silver.

“No need for that. I’m very sorry to say that Araña has passed.” the woman said.

Amicia was shocked. Araña dead? It was. It was impossible. He couldn't be dead. He was a veteran in this line of work. He'd taken her under his wing and taught her everything she knew. Araña was too good at this to die. That was proven a hundred times over.

“What got him?” Amicia asked with suspicion.

“Heart Attack. The man was lucky enough to die from natural causes. An astounding achievement in his profession.” the nurse said. The woman chuckled sadly to herself. Did she really believe that? Natural causes?

“If he’s dead, how did he call me out here? Who was that on the phone?”

“A recording I think. At least that's what I believe. The man known as Araña died in my ward 32 hours ago. The doctors tried their best, but nothing could be done. They called me in to take his body down to the morgue. I nearly fainted in shock when I recognized him laying there. They had his name as Joseph Stinger.”

“Joseph Stinger. Was that his real name?” Amicia asked. Her voice quivered as she started to believe he was actually gone.

“As far as I can tell, yes. I received multiple boxes of packets and a will from his estate. His lawyer, Mallard something handed me an binder with instructions. I’m supposed to give you this.” the nurse said. She grabbed a sealed envelope from the inside of her coat. She passed it to Amicia who grabbed it gingerly.

“I’ve handed out 3 of those you know. I had more. Some didn’t show. Araña told me to destroy them if they didn’t show. I hope they’re still alive, but I just don’t know. I don’t know what Araña left for you. Whatever it is, I hope it gives you a measure of peace.” she said kindly. The nurse got up from her seat. She walked back towards the direction she came from. Amicia didn’t stop her as the woman walked off, disappearing into the night.

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The bus arrived 40 minutes later. Amicia hopped on it. The seats were unsurprisingly empty around her. She pondered the sealed envelope as the bus chugged along. Taking the plunge, she opened it. Inside, there were a bevy of documents in a plastic bag. Aside from that, there was a hand written letter addressed to her. In the corner, there was some kind of odd forming symbol fitted into a square.. Amicia began to parse the letter.

My dear Amicia, If you’re reading this. I am indeed dead. I know you require proof of this. On August 20th 2013, your brother died. He disappeared a week prior to his death, showing up on your doorstep. He begged for your help. To your horror, he held a heart in his hand. A beating heart that pulsed despite not being attached to a body. Together you traveled to a cemetery where the both of you dug up the grave of a child. You and your brother left the heart in the coffin. You had no idea why you had done what you'd done, but you trusted him. I’ve always admired that part of you Amicia. You put so much faith in those you love. The day after your trip, your brother Avery started to waste away. You brought him to the hospital in hopes that something could be done, but it couldn’t. You were taught a harsh lesson that day. You can't save a man who chose to sacrifice himself.

Amicia stopped. The memories of those days churned in her head. She closed her eyes, trying to will them away. She cleared the tears from her eyes and took deep breaths. After she steadied herself, she continued reading the letter.

I have been working on something. It is the modern era, but each of my compatriots have never been more isolated than today. Something about the communities we'd built has fractured. We no longer come together as a community. We no longer congregate as one to fight the darkness. I wanted to fix that. I wanted to heal this divide of ours. So I endeavored to put my talents into building a network to bring us into the modern age. A program that would allow us to share our experiences and to warn us of the monsters lurking in the dark. I have spent much of my fortune to build this network. I wanted to bring it to you after I finished it, but if you have received this letter then I have run out of time. I leave you with what I have finished. It may not work as I had intended. Still I believe it will bring invaluable aid in the days to come. It will lead you and inform you of what it knows. The symbol above will let you access my work. The network will be a compass, always pointing towards the darkest corners so that you may bring your light to them.

In addition to this, I have left you certain documents. The papers include a bevy of information. Some have locations to supply caches I’ve set up. Some have details of accounts. Others have information on the darker creatures in the world. Things that refused to be put on the network no matter how I tried. Dear god, I truly tried. Yet with every letter I typed I could feel my heart beating faster and more painfully. I've told you of this before. There are darker monsters that don't wish to be known. I’ve written what I could about them. Pen and ink proved less painful. Yet I fear they may come for me soon. I wish you well Amicia. If you see our brothers and sisters, I ask you to show them compassion. I hope they will show you theirs. We pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. Remember this as you chart the dark roads ahead.

She didn’t know what to think. Araña said he wanted to build something to heal the divide in his community. He dreamed of his people banded together against the monsters. Yet he died alone, with none of us at his side. He was taken by powers because he wanted to spread his knowledge and experiences. To light the smallest candle and act as a guiding light. He died for people like Amicia. Maybe he believed that martyring himself would band his wayward children together. Maybe he really thought they would all come as one and maybe they would one day, but right now? Amicia had never felt more alone.

Amicia looked at the letter again. She took out her phone and aimed the camera at the odd code. An app started to download itself on her phone. There were no prompts asking for her permission. She'd be nervous about this if she hadn't been so emotionally numb to the world. She waited patiently in her bus seat as it set up. When it finished, there was a new app with the symbol of a compass on her phone. She tapped it open.

It was then that the face of Araña presented itself on her phone. He was an old man in his late 80s. His eyes were hard and filled with melancholy. His hair was short and white. Amicia didn’t know what she expected but it wasn’t this. It felt too soon. She had hardly even begun to process his death and now he was here again. The image on her phone seemed so lifelike. It started speaking to her.

“3 Weeks ago. Multiple people disappeared from Pocatello, Idaho. 3 locals and a tourist. Emily Jacobson, Sam Jacobson, Blythe Dannelly, and Frederick Mondat. All of their bodies were discovered recently. They are all believed to have died by drowning. At first, local police believed that the three locals had gotten drunk and drowned while swimming. Then the body of Mondat appeared the following week. It hasn’t been reported to the news yet, but the police have found more bodies. The condition of the bodies were far worse than the 4 found. It is believed that they were tourists due to no missing persons being reported in the town. One anomaly has been consistent for all of the remains. Marks shaped like children’s hands were spread all throughout their remains. Go to Pocatello, Amicia. Find out what’s happening and stop it.”