I sigh as I throw the last generic invite paper into the trash pile spilling over the edges of the can. First I sorted the crap pile into two smaller piles, actual mail and spam mail. Spam mail consisted of stuff like companies offering stuff or services, generalized hey we’re recruiting crap, and other miscellaneous stuff. Actual mail was important stuff, or stuff that seemed to be at least directed at me. The spam pile immediately went into the garbage. The real mail I decided to read over. Most of it was also generic crap, just with the added flavor of naming me. There were quite a few power leveling services offered, must be a big industry after all. All but two of the letters went in the trash.
The first was a personalized offer from a small guild called Free Birds based here in Virginia. They actually took some time to do their research, I know this because part of their offer is possibly paying for part of my college tuition. I don't need the assistance, but it would still be nice. And they are probably more willing to negotiate on terms and some big group with a take it or leave it mentality. I do need to do some research on them though, from the letter they mentioned they mainly do tournaments with community outreach, demon hunting, and frontline service as secondary activities. Might be interesting, I wouldn't mind participating in some community outreach and service.
The other letter was from the healers union. It wasn't directed specifically at me per se. But it mentions joining what is effectively an intern program for people who are pre-class selection. Basically you attend some online lessons and if you do get and select a healer class you get fast tracked in. Of course, I've already got my class so I need to sign up the normal way.
I look over at my phone, the time is eight forty two. Damn, I probably missed breakfast. I check my mana. Finding the level satisfactory I put my wings away, wrap my tail around my waist under my shirt, throw on a hat, and head downstairs. I walk into the kitchen as my mom is finishing up putting away something.
Mana: 3439/7084
“Lucy, you missed breakfast, and no hats in the house. And what is that floating around you?” She says as she gives me a slight glare before going back to cleaning up. I just transform my horns away and take off my hat, not worth the argument.
“Sorry, I'll get my own food, don't worry. I was sorting through all the mail from the last week.” I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
“Oh, did you find any groups that you like?” she asks, her tone suddenly becoming sweet and almost endearing. I just roll my eyes since she's looking the other way.
“No, all of it was generic garbage so I threw it away.” I state flatly. I have two letters saved but I sure as hell ain't gonna tell her that.
“Oh, well maybe something good will come eventually. You have more mail on the table by the front door by the way.” She says, sounding a mix of dejected and annoyed.
“Thanks” is all I say in return before going into the fridge and pilfering some leftover scrambled eggs and ham. No bacon or pancakes, those always get demolished. Not that I'm complaining about the pancakes, but bacon is always good damnit!
I walk over to the dining room table and sit down to enjoy my food. But before I can start my phone starts ringing with a call from an unknown number. I debate for a moment if I want to risk answering it. Probably a scammer, but given how Anna’s purse and phone got cooked yesterday she may have gotten a new one. I decide to take the risk and accept the call.
“Hello?” I ask, bringing the phone up to my ear.
“Hello, my name is Marcy ‘beep’.” I didn't even let the woman finish her sentence before I hung up. Fucking scammers, pricks are everywhere.
I go back to eating my breakfast, only to receive a text message from the same number a moment later. Only the first part was visible in the notification bubble, but it was her introducing herself again. Damn, persistent one. I opt to just ignore the message for now. Instead I scarf down my breakfast before putting my plate away and skedaddling back upstairs to my room.
Once in the safety of its confines I sat down, but debated on if I should undo the transformations. And that's when Charles decided to call on discord.
“Hey Lucy! Holy crap yesterday was wild!” Charles opens.
“No shit it was wild, we got chased up a tree. The car got half melted and half cooked. How's that going by the way? I bet your mom is pissed.”
“Yea, might be an understatement. Dad was not happy I yoinked a bunch of his workout stuff for our teenage tomfoolery, as he put it. Mom was pissed that the car got destroyed. They said they are so happy I'm alive and unhurt…. Then they grounded me for a month.”
The last statement had me laughing so hard I had to mute my microphone for a bit. It's just the way Charles said it. When I finally got my laughter under control I replied.
“Damn that sucks! Didn't your parents have insurance?”
“Yes, they even got the stuff that covers your shit being destroyed by demons so the car is covered. But they are still pissed at me. Dad says I instigated it with the scanner, I mean he's not wrong but….”
“Whoa whoa whoa, that's bullshit. Yea you pissed it off a little but god knows what that fucker was going to do if you didn't. Hell, I'd say the scanner actually scared it off. Once it realized people who could actually fight were about to drop in on its head it fucked off and ran.”
“You think so?”
“That's my take on it. I know I wouldn't stick around if the thing had put a positive ping on me.”
“Heh, fair enough. So the major difference is I've got a curfew at nine every night and any plans need to be approved by both my parents before I'm allowed to do anything.”
“Damn, not what I was thinking when you said grounded but that still sucks.”
“Tell me about it. Oh, did you by chance hear from Anna? I know her phone got destroyed but she hasn't messaged on discord yet which is weird for her. Normally she’s way more hyperactive. I also haven't gotten a reply from James even though I messaged him yesterday. I know he doesn't hang out with us all the time but normally he's pretty good about responding.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Yea, that is weird. Well I can walk over to Anna's place to check up on her in a bit. I need to give her something anyway. It will probably cheer her up.”
“Yea, yesterday could have gone better. But we are all on the same page now at least.”
“Yea, I really didn't want to freak her out like that but I guess I rushed it too much.”
“I was talking about the demons running business up the tree but I guess that counts too.”
“Right, totally on the same page.” I reply.
“Very funny. So you check on Anna, I'll try to get into contact with James. Sound like a plan?”
“Yep, I'll catch ya later.”
“Cya.”
And with that Charles ended the call. I quickly throw on my coat, zip the blue little crystal floating around me into a pocket, and head down stairs. Yelling to my mom I was going to hang out with Anna. Not like she'd care but at least now she can't bitch at me later.
I made my way to the older part of town. Taking the general route I use to get to the bus stop for school. Except for the final turn, I got right instead of left, cutting through another alley and ending up on a battered street. About a block later I reach my destination. Five fifty three four shit hole lane, not the literal name but probably should be given the state of everything around here. Anna’s ‘home’ is one of the small apartments on the third floor of this place.
I walk up the exterior stairs, the elevator still broken and covered in graffiti and caution tape, same as it has been for the last god knows how many years. Reaching the third landing I'm greeted by three doors, one on the center, left, and right sides. I walk up to the center door, apartment thirty two, and knock. I’m greeted by silence. Not at all surprising, Anna's dad is usually blacked out, her mother is working, and her youngest brother is as useless a piece of work as her father. Normally she would answer the door, but she's crippled and her crutches got destroyed. I wouldn't be surprised if she's bed ridden right now.
After a minute I knock again, this time slightly harder, hoping to get the attention of someone inside. Again I'm met with silence, which is odd. I've been turned away before, sometimes her dad would be in a bad mood and tell me to go away after a knock or two. After another minute I put my ear up to the door, curious if they are just ignoring me or if no one is actually home.
“Said you're going to pay for those crutches one way or another! Now keep scrubbing! This kitchen better be spotless by ten or I'm gonna belt your ungrateful ass you….”
Her father's tyrade is interrupted by me banging on the door, hard, multiple times.
“Mr. Smith, open this damn door right now or I'm calling the cops!” I yell, probably loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
It takes a few moments, but her youngest brother, a boy about fourteen years old and as tall as me, finally comes to the door and opens it a crack. Just enough I can see his face, and hear Anna's sobs from inside.
“What do you want skank, my father aint…” he says to me in a snarky attitude, only for me to cut him off.
“First off, call me that again and you will need more than just new teeth. Second, I heard him yelling at your sister. Let me see Anna or I'll call the cops.”
“Fuck off.” The mouthy little shit says as he slams the door in my face. Fucking hell, I knew her little brother was a piece of work but I didn't think he was as bad as the father.
“Fine then, we'll play that game.” I say as I pull my phone out and start back down the stairs.
The nine one one call connected instantly, and the operator started by asking where the emergency was. I gave them the address and apartment number. Which caused her tone to audibly shift.
“You said you heard screaming coming from inside?” She asks in a dour voice.
“Yes, they stopped after I banged on the door but I'm concerned they're abusing my friend.”
“Alright, you're not in any immediate danger, correct?”
“No, I’m fine. But please hurry, I think they are going to take it out on her.”
“Alright, just stay on the line. We have officers on the way.”
After that it's just a bunch of awkward waiting in front of the complex. It only takes a few minutes for the police to arrive. I hear their sirens closing in in the distance, before going silent as they pull into the complex’s parking lot. Two officers jump out of the futuristic looking Ford cruiser and rush past me to start climbing the stairs of the complex. As they rush by I inform the operator then listen to their conversation instead.
“This guy again! I’m getting sick of getting called here!” The lead officer says.
“Just chill, he’s on parole remember? We catch even a hint that something is off and we cuff him.”
“Right, then this wife beating asshole gets locked up for good. I’m getting sick of his second chances.”
“Yea, get ready. ‘Thump’ ‘Thump’ ‘Thump’ Shimerview Police! Wellness check, open the door!”
It takes a minute, but I hear Anna’s little shit of a brother answer the door. I can't make out the specifics, but it sounds like he’s getting mouthy with them. It only takes a few moments for the mouthing off to devolve into an argument, with the officers demanding to be let in and the idiot refusing them. Moments later more cops show up and rush up the stairs, the operator asking for updates all the while.
Something tells me these guys have dealt with Anna’s dad before. Despite knowing Anna since middle school I haven't met her father all that much. Probably because she tries to keep everyone away from him since he’s an angry drunk…. Who is never sober. So I’m not surprised he’s in trouble with the law. I knew Anna was having home troubles, but I didn't know it was this bad. I would have walked her home and kicked her father’s ass! Well, luckily for him it seems like the cops want him first.
It sounds like the son just got taken down for trying to keep the cops out of the apartment. As I listen to the struggle unfolding upstairs two more cars pull up and the officers driving them jump out and rush up. At this point I figure the situation is handled, so I thank the operator and hang up. Then it's back to waiting as the struggle continues to unfold upstairs. Now it sounds like multiple fights going on, and a bit more yelling. Something about it being his house.
After a few minutes of struggling, the cops finally have it under control. The two sentient piles of garbage are practically dragged down the staircase kicking and screaming profanities. When the younger one spots me upon getting to the bottom, he absolutely let's loose.
“You fucking bitch, whore, cunt! I'm going to beat you within an inch of it then…!”
“That's enough! You keep resisting, you're gonna get tased.” One of the cops dragging him along barks at him.
“Do it fucker I dare ‘ugk’!” He didn't even get to finish his sentence before the cop in question pulled his taser from its holster, stuck it to his back, and gave him a nice shot of the compliance juice.
Damn, if someone had told me I'd be watching an idiot get tased and arrested I wouldn't have believed them but here we are. My lifes starting to feel like a soap opera at this point. The father isn't much better, but seems to be more concerned with cussing out the cops then pointing his attention to me. Works for me, I simply slip past the fiasco and start making my way back up towards Anna's apartment. By the second floor I can hear Anna's sobbing over the screaming from below.
When I get to the third floor landing I find the door to Anna's apartment open. I can hear one officer inside trying to comfort her, while another walking around checking the place out.
“Yep, alcohol, right here. Violation of his probation and then some.” The officer walking around says.
I get to the door and finally get to see inside. To call this place bad would be an understatement. Dirty clothes litter the living room and connected open kitchen. It smells like three week old gym socks and old food going bad. The old food smell probably coming from the wide open fridge that clearly hasn't been running in a while.
The one officer is in the kitchen looking through an open cabinet above the stove. While the other is trying to talk to Anna, who is sitting on a dilapidated stool near the kitchen, bawling her eyes out. She looks like shit, only wearing a tank top and underwear, but covered in bruises on her arms and legs. I'm going to kill those two downstairs if I ever get my hands on them again. It's a good thing I didn't kick in the door, because I would definitely be up on murder charges.
I walk in, over the piles of old clothes littering the floor and straight to Anna. They don't notice me until I'm right next to them. Anna’s eyes go wide and a look of fear strikes her, like I have just caught her in the wrong. I ignore the officer trying to talk to me and go straight to hugging Anna before she can say anything.
“shhhh, it's OK. It's gonna be OK.” I tell her.
I do all I can to comfort her as she continues to cry into my shoulder.