Seth should be happy with what he had. He lives in an apartment in a reasonably nice area for a decent price and attends the local college. For a college student in the 2020s, he had it made. If only he felt as fortunate as he was. Maybe then Seth would not have stitched up a half-dead stranger he found in an alley. He blames his dangerous childhood and poor reasoning skills for his current predicament. Who in their right mind would walk into an alley to follow a blood trail? Then, to find the source, a bleeding and barely conscious woman slumped against a brick wall, and took her into his home. The woman had a choppy wedge haircut with straight white hair. She wore a white cloth wrapping her chest, black leggings, and black leather boots.

Why did he bring her to his home? He should have taken her to a hospital, but he now has to deal with his decisions. She was in horrible shape. There was one nasty stab wound to her side and what looked like a weird animal bite to her leg. She didn’t even react to the stitches, but she did respond to the rubbing alcohol he used to clean the wounds. She had woken up enough to grab his wrist in a bruising grip as she stared hazily past Seth. Muttering something in a strange language, Seth realized she had fallen back unconscious. Seth was not taking any chances after that. Taking his barely used neckties, he tied her hands to his headboard and her feet together.

Now, she is asleep on his bed, and he is making breakfast. He picked out a pan to scramble some eggs and make some toast for himself. He honestly enjoyed this simple breakfast. It got the job done and was fast to make. Perfect for a busy college student. It was done in no time, and soon, he was pouring some orange juice while scrolling on his social media. Sitting at the little table and chair that came with the apartment, he half-mindedly ate his meal while watching funny cat videos. He saw a post from his ex and frowned as he scrolled past. Seth didn’t know why he didn’t just unfollow her. Whenever one of her posts comes up, his heart sinks, but he is more worried about what people would do once he unfollows her, what she would post. They have too many shared friends, and it was not like they had a messy breakup. They both realized it would not work between them, but it hurt when he found out that she started dating an even older ex of his. At least they both looked happy together.

Once done eating, he cleaned his plates up and started to check on the stranger in his bedroom. He almost picked up a knife from the kitchen but decided against it. The chance of her disarming him and then stabbing him was too high. He opened the door to his room and saw the woman starting to pull against the neckties. Silently, he thanked his ability to tie a firm knot. Seeing him enter, she struggled more and started to pull against the bindings.

“Hey, you are going to pull out your stitches. Stop moving!” Seth cried out as she arched in an attempt to free herself. He rushed over to try and stop her, but she pulled harder. The necktie started showing a rip near the knot on the headboard. Seth reached for the knot instinctively, and the woman leaned over and sunk her teeth into his arm.

“Ow! You bit me,” the look of pure shock seemed to get to the woman on the bed. She stopped thrashing and just stared. “What the fuck, man. This is no way to treat someone who saved your life,” Seth seethed.

“You what?” She spoke with a harsh edge in her voice. “You are not trying to take me back?”

“Back where? I found you half dead in an alley and stitched your wounds up. You’re welcome, by the way.” He was gripping his heavily bleeding arm to his chest. The blood was starting to drip down his arm and between his fingers.

“Untie me then.” She was still looking at his arm as she talked. A look of almost concern started to flicker in her eyes.

“Yeah, no thanks. You first tried to crush my wrist, and now you nearly took a chunk out of my arm.” She looked apologetic when he mentioned the arm but glared at Seth as he stepped back.

“You took me from an ally and tied me to a bed. I thank you for the dressing of my wounds, though.” At the acknowledgment of the good deed Seth did, he relaxed a bit. “However, I have no reason to trust you. For all I know, you are just lying and will still take me back.”

“I have no idea what you are even talking about. This is the first time I have ever seen you, and I have no idea where this place you are so worried about is. Why would someone who is going to take you away heal you in their home?” She sat and thought. Looking from Seth to the floor, she stopped at her wounds and bindings before concluding he meant no harm, or at least she could take him down quickly. The sound of dripping broke the silence. Seth staggered back a bit at the sight of his blood starting to collect on his floor.

“You need to stop that bleeding.” The woman watched coolly as she looked Seth up and down. Seth started to feel uncomfortable at the sudden analytical stare directed at himself.

“Thanks, I couldn’t tell.” He rolled his eyes but walked over to the dresser near the bed. He had left his first-aid kit in the top drawer. Grabbing it, he set the kit on the bed and pulled out some bandages and alcohol wipes. He cleaned the wound and started to wrap it, but he couldn’t get the correct tension from his non-dominant hand. The bandage slipped in his hand and fell onto the bed, rolling into the woman’s leg. “Fuck.” Seth gritted out.

“Untie me. I can help.” She looked openly concerned at what she was watching. “I promise not to run, but you must bandage your arm.”

“Like hell. How can I trust you? You haven’t given me any reason to trust that you will not hurt me as you try to run.” She rolled her eyes and, with two motions, both ties snapped, freeing her hands. Seth just looked dumbfounded at the display of strength.

“Now, will you give me your arm?” She grabbed his arm and the fallen bandage as she asked. Gripping his arm firmly but carefully, she started to wrap the wound she had inflicted. “There, that should hold.” She grinned as she snapped the ties around her ankles.

She got up and looked at the state of her blood-soaked clothes. All she had on was a pair of shorts, a bandage-looking rapping across her chest, and a very beat-up looking eye-patch on her left eye under her long bangs. All were soaked in blood. She strolled over to Seth’s dresser and started to rummage in his clothes. This snapped Seth out of his stupor.

“Hey, what are you doing?” She continued to look through his drawers. Pulling out a pair of jeans and a gray shirt, she turned to him.

“Grabbing new clothes. However, with how tall you are, your pants will be too big.”

“Because they are my pants. If you need clothes so badly, go shopping or something. Don’t take my clothes.” Seth tried to grab his clothes back, but she dodged him easily.

“I don’t have time. You may not want to drag me back to that awful place, but some people do. Hopefully, I can slip out before they get here. I don’t want you to have to explain why there are a bunch of dead people in your apartment.” Seth stopped trying to catch her and froze, becoming several shades lighter.

“The people who did that,” he gestured to the wounds on the woman’s body, “are coming here? How can they even find you? I was careful not to leave a trace as I brought you here.” She looked proudly at Seth.

“That was very smart, but the people after me are better trackers than you can handle. Your efforts probably gave me the time I needed to heal. Thank you.” She started to undress in front of Seth. He turned several shades of pink before shoving her into the bathroom.

“Change in there. I’ll see if I can pack you some extra bandages or something.” He didn’t wait for a response before quickly heading to the living room with his kit in hand. He had a drawer full of plastic bags. Picking one out, he started to select some of his supplies and pack the bag. His phone went off with a delivered text. His landlord informed him that he would drop by to fix the broken outlet he had placed a work order for a few weeks ago. Sighing, he continued to pack the little bag with some extra snacks as an added touch when his doorbell rang.

Getting up to open the door for his landlord, he reached for the door and was about to pull the door open when the woman shouted.

“No, wait!” But Seth didn’t have a chance to tell her it was just his landlord when the door slammed open, smashing into his face. Seth staggered back with a now bleeding nose as he took in the person who forced their way into his apartment. There were two young men standing there, one was tall and bald, and the other was short and had braided long black hair. What looked like a dagger was tied into his hair at the end of his long braid. Both wore the same outfit, a navy blue uniform. It looked like a skirt over baggy pants with a vest. One had a leash leading to what Seth could call a monster. It had the head of a crocodile, but it had the mane and front half of a lion. The back half looked like that baby hippo Seth had seen playing with a rubber ducky online. Overall, he was baffled at how this animal could even exist.

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The two laughed at his look of fear and shock before shoving him back hard enough for him to stumble into the wall. The creature seemed to be leading them towards the woman standing in his living room with her hands on her hips.

“Look at that. Gerald here did have the right scent,” The creature snapped his mouth and almost glowed in the praise the man holding its leash had given it, and the short man laughed. “What is the great Reaper doing hiding in a human’s,” He looked around disapprovingly, “house?”

“She has no standards. She is a criminal, after all,” the taller man sneered. “Maybe she was going to kill him once she had what she wanted, ” He looked around. “Though it does have a good view.”

“I see you guys haven’t changed,” She looked at Gerald warily as she continued. “We all know that you can’t catch me.”

“Why do you think we brought Gerald? And, if you haven’t noticed, you are surrounded. There is nowhere you can go,” the tall one proclaimed haughtily.

Seth had to agree. Unfortunately, there is only one way in and out of his apartment, and the two men blocked it. Seth always felt like some fire code was broken, but he liked the price of this apartment too much to complain.

Looking at the Reaper, he noticed she didn’t seem as worried about the exit as the creature pulling at the leash. His observation was reinforced as the creature snapped at him, causing him to stumble away from the doorway and almost trip over the Reaper. She held her hand out to steady him.

“Aw, look at that. She does have a heart. Too bad she only cares for humans she can use and not her own kind,” The shorter one chuckled to his partner. Seth could see the humor didn’t reach his eyes, which were cold and murderous. Algea laughed.

“It is just like you to hate on what you find inferior. That is the sign of a person compensating for a lack,” She paused and looked them both up and down, “of something vital.” Both men went bright pink, and Gerald snapped at the uneasy air that had formed in the room.

“Why you!” The rest of the sentence the taller man had started was lost as he let go of the leash holding the snapping crocodile jaws back. Gerald lunged straight at Algea, but she was faster. She grabbed Seth and ran as fast as she could through the largest window in the room. Seth lived on the highest floor of the apartment complex. So, once through the window, Seth saw a six-story plummet to concrete and garbage bins. Algea pulled him close and wrapped around him. A small flash of light in Algea’s open palm nearly blinded Seth. The light had summoned a small vial of what looked like blood. She brought the vial up towards her mouth and used her teeth to uncork it. She spilled the blood all over her hand and smeared it onto Seth’s face. Another flash came, and she was holding an ankh with a black ribbon tied to it.

Then the world went white and tipped. After what felt like an age of tumbling through a white void, Seth and Algea stopped on a mossy forest floor. Algea gracefully landed and dusted herself off before looking at Seth. Seth had not been as graceful. He had sprawled out with small sticks and dead leaves in his hair. He was also covered in small cuts all over his bare arms. Luckily, only his pants had been slightly ripped up, but the skin underneath was still intact.

Algea realized only too late that Seth looked like he was going to puke right before he did so. She had forgotten that blood travel was disorienting the first few times you go through it. This also did not help Seth’s situation, as they fell from a building right before landing.

Once Seth had emptied everything he had, Algea helped him up and steadied him. Once he could lift his head without feeling his head spin or his stomach turn, Seth finally saw where Algea had taken him. It was a clearing in a forest with a small pond to his right and a fairly large Cabin to his left. It looked quite serene.

“Okay, let’s get you to the cabin. I must talk to an old friend to ensure all the arrangements remain in order.” Seth only nodded in agreement but soon regretted that action. He started to turn green again, but Algea was done waiting for his nausea to pass. She scooped Seth up and started carrying him to the cabin. This was an interesting sight if anyone was around to see it. Seth was significantly taller than Algea, so his feet touched the ground as Algea had decided to carry him bridal style.

Seth silently thanked the universe for his luck in that no one was around to witness him being carried, but a rational part was thankful that Algea had not asked him to walk to the cabin. He was sure his legs would not have made it.

Even as Algea put him down inside, his legs shook as he walked to the couch. The living room was medium-sized, with a stone fireplace at the back. The chairs had simple-looking wooden frames, and leather covered only the seat and back. The couch was entirely covered with the same type of leather. It was surprisingly comfortable and looked well cared for.

Seth’s eyes were then drawn to Algea, who had approached him with some supplies. She was carrying a glass of water alongside some first aid supplies. She handed the glass of water and sat in a chair near Seth’s couch.

“I do not believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Algea. What is your name?” Seth looked at her dumbfounded. He waited a bit before replying to ensure she was serious. Once he realized she was being very serious, he responded.

“My name’s Seth.”

She grinned at that before continuing. “Well, Seth, have you hurt anything besides your arms?” Algea inquired further as she sat back, crossing her legs. Seth only shook his head slightly in response. “Very well,” she said, getting up and heading to the door. “I will be back shortly. Feel free to roam around, but do not go into my room,” Algea was gone, leaving Seth alone.

On the way to her destination, Algea’s thoughts wandered as to what to do about this boy she now had with her. Her first instinct was to leave him at the closest gas station with a wad of cash so he could return. She quickly turned that idea down. The people after her would find this place, and she would not lose it as one of the only places on earth where she could relax.

Another option was just to kill him, but Algea did not favor that option either. It didn’t sit well with her that she would have kidnapped and killed somebody who had helped her. Also, disposing of a human body is a lot harder than those of her kind. Heaven forbid he would turn into one of her kind afterward and come back with a vengeance. He would be easily killed then, but it would not be good for Algea’s already heavy conscience. No, she will not kill him, and he cannot just stay at the cabin for the rest of his life. That would just be a waste of a good life. No, no, no, she will have to come up with something else.

Algea continued to ponder options as she arrived at her destination. It was the landowner’s cabin. Most of these cabins are for rent. Except for Algea’s personal cabin, she made a deal with the current owner’s grandfather in the early fifties. Back then, he hadn’t had much business and was willing to make a deal that as long as Algea kept paying and would be available to help his family, she could have the cabin all to herself without interruption as long as she lived. His family was only one of very few who knew what Algea was. Back then, she had to divulge that information so the other party would know the gravity of the deal they were making.

Being a demigod meant limited immortality. She will not die of old age or sickness. However, she could easily die if someone were to stab or poison her. Making the deal meant generations of owners would grow and die while she stayed, so she was forced to tell his family her secret.

The current owner shared his business with his wife. She was informed of her deal when she went into business with her husband. She did not enjoy keeping this secret from the rest of her family and had been hostile the first few times Algea came around.

Algea politely knocked on the front office door before entering when she heard a reply. The office was small but had everything any future resident could need. Behind the front desk, a new secretary typed away at the computer.

“Welcome, what is the registration name?”

“I am here to see the owner; it is a personal matter. Is he in?” She didn’t look up as she pointed, so Algea took that as her cue to go right in.

Walking into the room, she was greeted by the owner and his wife, who seemed to be having lunch together. As she entered, they looked up with varying disgust and surprise. Those looks quickly changed to a look of worry and disgust. It was the owner who spoke first, standing up to greet her.

“Algea, are you okay? You are covered in blood!” His voice sounded worried and frantic as he motioned for her to sit. By the look on her face, Algea had clearly forgotten she was covered in now-dried blood.

“Oh, no need to fret. I’m well enough now,” she stopped herself before remembering Seth. For now, the less people knew about him, the better.

“Honestly, as long as you don’t get blood on our chairs, I don’t care where it is from.” Tom’s wife seemed still angry about having to deal with Algea again. She looked more concerned than angry and unconsciously touched her stomach.

Algea realized the issue, but Tom pulled her to the side before she could ask about the baby.

“Algea, to what do I owe the pleasure?” He looked tense as he tried not to touch any of the blood. “Is the cabin still to your satisfaction?”

“Oh yes, completely. In fact, that is why I am here. I just wanted to ensure our deal was still in full effect. Is there anything you need?” Algea glanced between the two with an expecting glance.

“Oh no, we are fine at the moment. Business has been especially good lately—nothing to worry about,” Algea nodded in response.

“Well, that’s good. I will get out of your hair then, but first, I want to give you this.” A flash, and Algea was holding a small piece of paper. She handed the paper over with a small smile. “I just got a phone. It is nothing fancy, but it will suffice. Please do not hesitate to call me if you find yourself in need of my services,” Algea nodded to each and then left without another word.

It was a short hike back, but it took longer than necessary because Algea checked the old wards she had placed. The woods were quiet and peaceful as she walked up to the cabin. Like outside, the cabin was quiet and peaceful—too peaceful to be housing a person.

Algea first checked the couch to see if Seth was still there. Confirming he wasn’t just asleep, she continued to check the basement and the surrounding forest before heading upstairs. The only room unlocked upstairs was her room, and she had specifically asked Seth not to go in there. The only other room besides the bathroom was the guest room. It was currently serving as her office and personal storage. If Seth were to stay here, she would have to clean it up first.

When her room and bathroom were proven empty, she finally tested the door to the guest room, which was unlocked. Seth stood in the middle of the room, looking at her corkboard. It was filled with tiny pictures and pieces of paper with different-colored strings leading from one to another.

Seth jumped when he heard the door close. Whipping around, he looked at Algea in stunned horror.