"One aspect of the story that no one seems to be covering is the lead investigator, Jeremy Ashe. Since the start of the investigation, it's come to light that he had a personal connection with one of the victims of the incident: Jacqueline Nossinger, the sheriff of Rallsburg. Can you tell us a bit more about that?"

  "I was the chief of their precinct at the time they worked together. I assigned Jeremy to be Jackie's partner, actually."

  "Do you believe Agent Ashe could have compromised the investigation due to his personal connections to the case?"

  "Absolutely not. Jeremy's a professional. I don't believe for a second he let personal feelings cloud his judgment."

  "He was removed from the case by his superiors after the standoff in north Tacoma. Most speculation pointed toward incompetency and involving himself in events outside his jurisdiction."

  "Well, given what we've learned, that standoff doesn't seem so unrelated now, does it? When a dozen uniformed officers claim something supernatural occurred, and now we find out that maybe they weren't so crazy, I think it's probably worth looking into. Clearly, Jeremy was onto something."

  "Do you think he should be reinstated as the lead investigator?"

  "Right away. If anything, his old partnership with Jackie gives him the motivation to get this done right. Every detective and every good investigator has it drummed into them from the start. It's the only way we can get cases through the system. Do things right, every time."

  "Let's talk about Jackie for a minute. She was a detective in Homicide, right?"

  "That's right. We covered one of the worst parts of Seattle. I'm pleased to say during that decade, we reduced the crime rate by a significant margin. Murders in particular went down in record numbers."

  "Would you say she was instrumental to this success?"

  "It's hard to say what the specific cause of a reduction is, but I can say that Jackie always did her job well, above and beyond the call of duty. I was very sad to see her go."

  "She requested a transfer herself?"

  "Exactly. Worst day of my career, signing that sheet. She was moved out to state trooper, and eventually after a few patrols through the town, decided she liked it well enough to make it her home. She got elected sheriff in '09, and stayed there right until the end."

  "In one of the released excerpts from the Rallsburg Diaries, she features prominently. Have you read it?"

  "...I have."

  "She seems to be presiding over a town hall about the murder of a child in town. Obviously, we don't have much more context for the moment, but she certainly isn't painted in a good light. She comes off as weak and ineffectual."

  "I'd say the writer is biased. They were clearly being attacked throughout the meeting. We can't know the relationships in that room without more context. Jackie didn't come off great in that, I agree, but we don't know the whole story."

  "Too true. Well, the book won't be available until Tuesday, so until then, we'll be dissecting each of the portions in detail with our special guests. Up next, a profile of Hannah Newman, A.K.A. Ruby, the self-described 'soul mate' of Diaries author Cinza, and her father Ashley Newman."

----------------------------------------

  "I don't want any trouble," he stammered. By now, he felt like he wouldn't have any difficulty with that sentence—but somehow, every time, he felt even more scared than the last.

  "You don't belong here man."

  "Go back to California."

  "I'm sorry, okay? I'll pay for any damages."

  "Nah, man. Just get out of here. Don't ever come back."

  "I don't have anywhere else to go," he pleaded.

  "Should've thought of that first, huh?"

  "Get out of here."

  "You don't belong."

  "Freak."

  "Wetback."

  "Beaner."

  "Spic."

  Hector couldn't tell which of the voices were real, and which were from his memories. It was all just a blur of sound in his ears. His eyes couldn't quite make it up from the pavement, staring at the shoes of the guys surrounding him.

  He backed away, leaving his car where it was—scraped against a beaten up pick-up. It wasn't even his fault. They'd parked next to him, way over the line and up on the curb. When the guy got out of the passenger seat, throwing the door wide in his drunken state, the window went straight into the side mirror of his car, shattering on impact.

  Hector had the misfortune of walking out only a moment later. Just like every other misfortune of his long, unfortunate life. Sometimes he wondered if coming to America was a mistake all along. It wasn't what they said it would be. In so many ways it was better… but even though he'd come there legally, in all the right ways and done all the right things, they still treated him like he didn't belong.

  I'm just like you! he wanted to shout in their faces. Everyone came here at one time or another! That's the whole point! But he knew it didn't matter. They wouldn't listen.

  Of course, this time, he was in the country illegally. He was in hiding, after all, spirited across the border by Jackie months before—snuck away from another home where he'd been run out of town for being different. Not for the color of his skin, for once, but it didn't make much difference in the end. He'd still lost another home.

  Hector started walking away, but one of the guys grabbed him by the shirt collar.

  "Please, don't do this," he whimpered. "I don't want to hurt you."

  They glanced at each other. "Huh?"

  "I'll pay for the car. I have some cash. But I can't leave. I don't have anywhere else to go."

  "You'll go wherever we tell you to go."

  Hector shook his head. Reluctantly, he murmured a spell under his breath as he did, releasing a massive flow of energy into his arms as he did. He'd seen the knife on the belt of the taller guy. Hector hated violence, hated fighting of any kind—but if he had to stop them, he would.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "Please," he said, one last time.

  "Didn't you hear me? Get your ass out of our town," the guy growled.

  His fist went up, and Hector's reflexes kicked in. Hector looked away as he pushed, and he felt the energy burst through his arms and fingertips.

  The guys went flying, straight over their truck and tumbling into the snow beyond.

  "Holy shit," gasped one of their onlooking friends.

  Hector turned and ran. He ran straight down the highway, as fast as his short legs could carry him. He ran without looking to see if anyone was chasing him. Just straight down the highway, along the snow-covered gravel, following the winding roads through the pine forest. He ran until he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

  A car was approaching from far away, and Hector was too winded to even roll himself into the ditch next to the road. He just sat crouched in the shoulder, watching the slowly approaching car, hoping they'd be friendly.

  His eyes drooped. Was there even a car there? Was he just imagining it? He felt so tired, so cold. He tried to use magic to warm himself up, but he'd been awake for so long, and he'd sprinted all the way out of town. He pressed his hands to his face, trying to catch every bit of warm air from his breath, as if he could trap it in.

  As if in slow motion, Hector could feel himself falling over. His head was suddenly surrounded by packed white snow, ears freezing from the ice-cold ground. Everything was cold. So cold.

  I guess this is it…

  "Hector."

  I'm sorry, Leticia. I'm coming to you sooner than I promised.

  "Hector!"

  "...What?"

  Hector spluttered awake. He was in the backseat of a car, with a pile of hand warmers scattered over him, and a familiar face leaning over him. A wrinkled face with sharp brown eyes and messy brown hair perpetually tied back behind her head.

  "Jackie?"

  She grinned. "Takin' a nap in the snow, are ya?"

  His ears felt like they'd fallen off, but he was pleased to find they were still attached to his head—albeit completely numb. Jackie draped a blanket over him, then dumped the pile of hand warmers on top of it, followed by another blanket.

  "The hell were you doin' out here?"

  "Running," he said sadly, trying to get more comfortable. The seat belt connector pressed painfully into his back, but his arms felt too weak to reach underneath and try to push it away. Jackie noticed, of course, and helped him get it squared away.

  "Thought you were working. Night shift at the gas station, right?"

  "I…" He turned his head away, embarrassed. "I couldn't stay there anymore."

  "What happened? Last I checked you were doin' pretty good. You even got yourself a car. Way better off than Preston and Neffie, let me tell ya."

  "What happened to the Bowmans?" he asked, desperate to change the subject—and for an update on Neffie, whom he'd always liked quite a lot.

  "Oh, they're fine. They're living in their little cabin and doin' just great at drivin' each other up the walls. Neffie's bored out of her mind but what can do you? They play cards a lot with their next door neighbor. Next door bein' a half-dozen miles, mind."

  "That doesn't sound so bad."

  "They eat nothin' but fish and plants. No red meat at all." She shuddered exaggeratedly. "I can't live without a good steak every once in a while, y'know?"

  "I guess so."

  "But seriously, man. If I hadn't been drivin' this way, you coulda died."

  "What were you doing out here?"

  "The rounds, of course." She sighed. "There's big news on the way. I got a call from Rachel."

  He perked up at that news. "I thought no one's heard from her since May."

  "Yeah, well, I kinda lied. Sorry, but that girl earned it."

  "I don't blame you. Please, keep going."

  "I'm not sayin' we were regular talkin' buddies, but I checked up on her. Anyway. Yesterday she was visited by the FBI agent. The one that ran into Dan and Boris, remember?"

  "Yes."

  "Yeah, well, they got to talkin'. Apparently he ain't so bad. Rachel thinks he's our ticket into the world for real. It's not gonna be easy, but it's a start."

  He shrugged. Somehow, he doubted even Rachel could find him a proper place to live. Rallsburg had been the closest, but it had also ended up the worst. "What does that mean for us?"

  "Means we get to go home, man!"

  "...But we don't have a home."

  Jackie shrugged. "So we'll make a new home. Don't worry, it ain't so bad. I've moved plenty of times in my life."

  "...So have I."

  She frowned. "Yeah, I getcha. But… well, at least you'll be among friends right? Hey, how about you come with me now?"

  "Huh?"

  "This is gonna be over soon. I'm headed up to meet Neffie and Preston next. You want to ride along?"

  "I… I guess so."

  "Need anything here?"

  He shook his head fervently, then regretted it immediately as a spike of pain shot through. "I don't have anything here I want to keep. Let's just go."

  She hesitated, but nodded. "You got it, Hector."

  As they drove, Hector peppered her with questions, just to keep her busy. Anything to turn the conversation away from himself.

  "How's Natalie doing?" He started with her, the one he missed most of all. She'd been his best friend, more or less, the whole time he'd lived in Rallsburg. From the day she'd arrived, a spunky seven year old missing both her front teeth, with a love for the outdoors and a father who wanted nothing to do with anyone in town.

  She kept running away from their little house across from the apartments he'd inherited, much to Brian's frustration and frequent panic. Hector was almost always the first one to find her. He had a knack for knowing just where she'd run, and he made sure to stay with her until her father showed up again. Over time, he and Brian built up something of a friendship—his second friend in town after Robert. They weren't close by any stretch of the definition, but he was soon one of the few people he could trust Natalie with.

  Natalie ended up at his store after school with Mrs. Nichols almost every day, even if only to have a place away from her dad where she could play games on her phone or watch TV. Hector indulged her, reminded of his old role as the fun uncle to his brother's two little girls. He let her get away with the little things while she was away from home, and they built up a mischievous rapport. When they both found Scraps, quite independently, Hector was the first person she told.

  "I haven't seen her," Jackie sighed. "I just get what the rest of us do from Kendra and Lily online, and the couple of posts she made of course. I figure they aren't tellin' us the whole story, you know? She seems way quieter lately, but I don't want to intrude. I mean, she's at that age right? She's changin'."

  Hector watched the snow-laden trees pass by above him through the rear window, thinking of the forlorn forest surrounding their old town, where Natalie had made her real home in the trees with her pets. "You think they're takin' good care of her though?"

  "I dunno. But Kendra's a teacher. She's got a masters in it, right? I'm sure she knows how to handle a kid."

  "She taught college-age undergrads," Hector pointed out.

  "So maybe she doesn't have a damn clue," Jackie shrugged. "Natalie's a smart kid. I'm sure she's okay."

  "Yeah…" Hector wasn't exactly convinced, but what else could he do? They were so far away, and he was laying on his back in the rear of Jackie's car, thawing out under a couple of blankets.

  "Look on the bright side, Hector," Jackie continued. "If everything's gonna be in the open, we could go see her. Everyone else, too. No more hiding."

  "No more hiding," he muttered. "I dunno about that."

  "What's up?"

  "You know what I can do, right?"

  She shrugged again, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he could see it. "I've heard a few stories. Apparently you kept the peace as much as I did back in the day. Guess I got you to thank for keeping my town intact."

  "For a while."

  "Yeah, for a while."

  "People are always… always gonna want me to do stuff like that," he continued. "I don't think there's ever gonna be more like us, you know?"

  "I guess not."

  "But I don't want to do anything like that. I'm not… I'm just not that kind of guy."

  "I hear ya." She pulled off onto a side road, crunching through a rough patch with practiced ease. "Look, I promise. I'll make sure that you get left alone, if you want that. I'm sure Rachel would too. You did your part back in Rallsburg."

  "Rachel wouldn't," he muttered. "If she felt like she needed me, she'd ask."

  "Yeah, but if she needed you, it's probably the end of the damn world," Jackie pointed out. "Isn't that a good enough reason?"

  Hector didn't answer. He didn't know if he had an answer for that. He'd never asked for the sort of power he'd found himself with, and he didn't like what it meant.

  He wasn't exactly opposed to using magic. He and Natalie had even made a game out of some of the spells they did, and he'd used magic to clean his store more than a few times, scraping surfaces clean to a perfect finish, blowing away dust, shifting temperatures on surfaces to sterilize them, tightening hard to reach screws with his mind.

  But when it came to the magic everyone wanted… Hector hated it. He hated that he was able to make himself stronger than anyone without the tiniest bit of effort, or that he could shatter spells other people projected with barely a thought. It made him a threat, and Hector never wanted to be a threat. He just wanted to find a place to settle down, with good people who appreciated him and the work he did.

  Everywhere he went, the world seemed to tell him otherwise. Go back to where you came from. Go away. Don't ever come back. You don't belong.

  Hector Peraza had long since given up on ever finding a home. The best he could do were the few friends who'd stuck with him—like the kind sheriff driving the car, or the beautiful clever woman he liked and her clumsy well-meaning brother whom they were on the way to meet, or the tall young woman trying to save the world who'd helped keep his business afloat, or the little girl with a harsh father who just wanted a place where she could be herself.

  Having friends was something, at least. Hector pulled the blankets tighter around himself and tried to get some sleep. The car bumped and jerked around on the badly maintained road, while the sun glared at him from every direction—reflected off a world blanketed in harsh, frozen tundra.