Crossroads by Wesley Massey
The roaring and chugging of the steam engine echoes through my head, never fleeting or failing to remind me of my mistakes along this road I’ve taken. The noise. The endless, overblown, piercing noise, is taunting me, laughing at me for how foolish I’ve been. I’m not going to say it any other way, I deserve it, I asked for this, I made my bed and now I get to lie in it, with discomfort and regret. Why is it only now, that I see every mistake I made to lead me to where I am? I suppose hindsight is 20/20. I understand why I thought I had to make those choices at the time, perhaps it is because I’ve had so much time to reflect or maybe it’s because I really was as obvious as the nose on my face. Whatever the reason, maybe looking back will help me put some demons to rest.
“Are trains always this loud?” I shouted over the noise, making my best attempt to make small talk under pressure. “Sure they are,” yelled Jamie “when you’re in the engine room” Jamie gave his best attempt to humour me, completed with a sarcastic smile, attempting to ease my tension. But nothing was going to calm me, no stories from when we were kids or reminders that we’re in this together and we always go each other's backs. Not this time.
Jamie pulled out a rusty barely-functioning pocket watch, that look like it was thrown in with the burning coals of the steam engine and set ablaze. “It’s time for you to go, someone’s probably going to come and check up on me soon.” Jamie barely looked at me when he spoke, instead focusing on the engine as he shuffled over to shovel more coal. “Right.” I murmured quickly with my best attempt to seem confident, however between the shakiness of my voice and the trembled quivers in my body, it definitely didn’t come across that way. Opening the door, I was met with the cold and violent embrace of wind seemingly hurdling it’s way onto my face. Stepping out into the vicious gust, was like being hit with a canon, a feeling I felt hit too close to home. Before I could slam the door behind me, I looked back at Jamie one last time. He was checking his watch, not unusual but he was anxiously tapping his foot against the floor, something I haven’t seen him do since the war. Shutting the door behind me, I was immediately enveloped in a sense of dread, which I made my best attempt to bury.
Opening the door to the next car, I was instantly greeted with wealth, power and fancy pastries. The upper class were dispersed all across the car in the fanciest chairs and tables I’d ever had the pleasure of witnessing. I didn’t realize there’d be so many of them, so much luxury and important people all in one place. Instantly I froze, forgetting what I was supposed to do. What was the plan? Why was I here? I reached back for the handle to the door, I need to tell Jamie I wanted out, there had to another way we could pay off our debts to the bank, anything but this. Suddenly, I caught the eye of someone familiar, where did I know that person. It was a lean man with well groomed black hair, in fact, everything from his fancy coat to his shiny boots were black. He was thin enough to appear as a skelington who had promptly jumped out of it’s skin and put on a fancy coat. Staring at him I realized something almost unnatural about him. Maybe it was just the way the train car was lit, but I swore his eyes were pure black too, the type of eyes that had seen the depths of hell and felt nothing. Coming to my senses I recalled who this mysterious stranger was and I started over and sat down next to him. He turned away from me which only made me try to get a better look at him, which sounds kinda dumb, but being in such an internal panic will make you do such things.
“Look away from me.” the stranger uttered with such distaste you could smell it in the air. I instantaneously turned my head away and said with somewhere between embarrassment and nervousness “Sorry, my mistake.”
“You shouldn’t have sat so close to me.” He added. His voice felt a harsh as the sound of bullets cracking, yet as controlled as a still pond. “Why?” After I questioned him I could almost feel the anger at my insolence.
“Do you want to be associated together by the Sheriff?” If he could face me I’m sure he’d give me a glare of sorts. “Do you even remember what to do?” He questioned. I paused for a moment trying to recall what Jamie, the man and I had discussed the previous night. He sighed in a way that somehow managed to be aggressive, “Once your friend’s boss has left to check up on him, you’ll go and scout out how many servers and passenger there are in each car. When you’re done, report back to me. I’ll handle the rest. If anyone ask you what you’re doing, tell them you’re looking for your friend and lead them to where I’ll be.”
“...And where will you be?” As I finished saying that I could really feel him becoming frustrated with me.
“I’ll be waiting between this car and the next.” Taking a deep breath I assessed what little of the situation I had a part in, maybe leaving the majority of the work to Jamie and this guy wasn’t so bad. They probably know more about what they’re doing than I do. “Is there anything else you want to know.” He asked for what probably was the last time. “No. No, I don’t think so.”
“Good. Then when the train comes to the crossroads you’ll know when to put your mask on and take your revolver out?” Although I had heard this plan before, hearing it again so close to when we need to put it into action, terrified me beyond the capacity for rational thought.
Despite not looking at me, the man seemed to interpret my nervousness. “Do not do anything that we have not discussed. Do we understand each other?” swallowing my fear, I muttered with what little confidence I had left, “Yes.”
“Good.” He said with finality, not intending to continue the conversation any further. I considered getting up and moving to another seat, but for some reason that for the life of me I can not recall, stayed sitting next to him. I wonder how different my life would’ve been if I had acted within so little as an inch of common sense that day and decided to quit the plan and alert the passengers. But this isn’t a story of clever heroes, to my dismay.
“So,” I pondered as a futile attempt to make small talk. “ what made you wanna take up this business? You look wealthy enough not to need any more money.” I thought it was a fair question, having him in a fancy black coat and all. He groaned as if talking to me was bringing him more pain than being hit by the train. “That’s none of your business.” He asserted
“ Oh come on, you’re not going to tell me how you got that dapper suit” I thought a compliment like this would kill the tension. “I’m sure the people in this car are wondering how you got a fancy suit all covered in soot.”
I looked down at my suit, I had almost forgotten that he gave one to me the night before to blend in. A nice suit completely ruined by soot, probably from the engine room. I took a napkin on the table, attempting to wipe the powder off. “You never answered my question.” I proclaimed while trying to dust the soot off my clothes.
He looked down, as if explaining why someone who appeared wealthy would ever want to rob anyone similar stature. Running his hand through his hair, he lifted his bony head and delivered his reasoning. “They deserve to know what it feels like to lose something dear to them.” I thought he’d have more to say, but instead he just stopped speaking. “That’s it?”
“You don’t understand?”
“No. I really don’t.”
“And one day you will.” He finished with a stern proclamation, which somehow managed to send chills down my spine. Shuffling further away in my seat, I saw the car door open and watched as an older gentleman marched down the car and into the engine room. I just sat there for a while, expecting some other cue, maybe the man coughing or growling at me for waiting, instead I just slowly stood up and moved to the next car.
The same familiar gust of wind greeted me as I exited from the car, slowing inching my way through the ferocious winds. Swinging open the door I shut it as quickly as I had opened it, I wanted to get this done quickly and without issue. That being said, the first issue emerged immediately as if having no quarrels with destroying our plans. Turning away from the door brought me face to face with one of the staff, who I promptly collided with, startling me, but more importantly causing a scene. “Oh my- I’m so sorry sir. Are you alright?” The staff member timidly shuddered. I was no stranger to taking orders, however I usually had the courtesy of having said orders not go terribly wrong. With plans going awol, I was about as useless as a train without a conductor. “I’m fine.” I plainly stated, holding my face and looking away, making my best impression of someone who was too snobbish and important to look at a mere employee. As the server passed by me through the door, I turned to see a few glares from people sitting around the room. I wasn’t aware they cared so much if I crashed into a server. Pausing for a moment I begun to recognize that they were giving me glares because of the soot on my clothes, not having anything to do with the server. I couldn’t have them questioning me too long, so in a moment of pure panic, I overdramatically told everyone in the car, “That rotten kid must’ve spilled this on me or something! You never really can trust his type!” I heard a few chuckles as everyone’s head begun to lower, minding their own business. Of course I felt bad, not for blowing my low profile necessarily, but because I didn’t even apologize to the poor kid. Next time he’ll see me he’ll most likely have a gun pointed at the back of his head.
I counted the amount of staff and people in every car just as my partner told me. Of course I did, that’s all I knew how to do wasn’t it, follow orders blindly. I was an ignorant pawn to be used by others, like the man in black. Walking back through the cars I reported back to the man I black, like a good little soldier. “Good, good,” he declared. “Tell your friend the cross roads is coming and I’ll be at the front of the train.” Yes, yes good little soldier, don’t question anything I tell you to do, just do it without thinking. In fact, don’t think just act, that’s not too far off from how you seem to be operating now, is it?
Walking back to the engine room as nonchalantly as possible, I was suddenly overcome with a terrible feeling of apprehension. Despite my gut, my heart and head all telling me to turn around and turn myself in, I reached for the door, grasping it with one sweaty hand, I pulled it open. Canonfire hit me instantly-no, no, that was just the wind. A sigh of relief met the bitter cold air as I trudged forward swinging open the door. “Jamie!” I cried, he turned to me, he seemed exasperated somehow, I never knew shoveling coal was so tiresome. “What is it?”
“Oh. Our partner says we’re reaching the crossroads now and that he’ll be in the front of the train.”
Jamie seemed relieved, as if a giant weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. “Great. Now let’s get moving” he said with no sign of haste. Seeing him unafraid while staring death in the face was quite the stress reliever. “Yeah-” I began to speak but stopped dead in my tracks. There was a stain on one of the wall near the boiler. Was that-was that blood?! Oh no Jamie you couldn’t have, not after everything we’ve been through! “Jamie.. What happened to your boss. Where is he?”
“He… went to the front of the train” Jamie stammered and choked on his words. He can’t lie if his life depended on it. “Jamie, what have you done?” I managed to get out very little due to my shock. What was I supposed to say? I turned away from Jamie, I couldn’t confront him right now. Out of the blue, I knew what the man in black was going to do at the front of the train. Running out of the engine room I heard Jamie yell something, but it didn’t matter.
I rushed to get to the front, slamming open every door and barreling through the canonfire winds. I burst through the door to the front only to see something which I’m still recovering from. There were no bodies, there weren’t any casualties when I got in there, but the man was holding the conductor along with several passengers at gunpoint. The burst of noise as I crashed through the door startled the man as he turned and shot at me only to hit the door. The bullet ricocheted throughout the room, as well as the crack of his gun. I slammed against the floor, making my best attempt to avoid the bouncing bullet. As I did this, the conductor taking advantage of this opportunity, must’ve hit the emergency brake, because everyone went tumbling. All of this happened in the span of a few seconds.
A large case of money fell next to my head, which I supposed was being held by one of the passengers. I heard one of the passenger cry out in pain, presumably being hit by the bullet. Standing up while the train was still braking was hard enough but suddenly the man in black tried to hit me with the back end of his revolver. Narrowly missing me, the man in black cried in a fit of rage, “You idiot! Do you know what you’ve done!” pushing him and the bag off of me, I was able to assess the situation and room more clearly. The passengers that were held at gunpoint appeared wealthy, but tired. The amount of cash they had stored was abnormal and combined with their suspicious handling of it, gave off a rather confusing vibe.
The man in black got up again, pulling back his thin, string-like hair, aim his gun at me, he announced “You’ve ruined everything! Can’t you see, I was the one who would take them down to our level!” Suddenly, one of the passengers tackled him from behind, causing him the fire his revolver against the ground, this time striking the man in black’s ear. As he wailed in pain, he lost his grasp of the pistol, sending it sliding across the floor toward me. Without thinking twice, I picked up the gun and held it against the head of the passenger holding down my partner. “Get off of him or I’ll give you a headache you’ll never forget!” It was rather impulsive and made little sense, but given the situation, it was the best thing I could’ve thought of on the spot. “All right kid”, the passenger exclaimed in a shaky voice, trying his best to be calm, “you’re confused, put the gun down and we can talk.” In a fit of rage, I walked closer to him, imprinting the mussel of the pistol against his head. Keeping balance was more difficult than I would’ve presumed, having the train screech to a halt while I was trying to stand.
Clenching whatever was left of his ear, the man in black coughed out an explanation “Money laundering.” Tuning my attention toward him, I questioned his answer, “What?!”
“They’re performing illegal activity” Illegal activity? It didn’t sound all that different from what we were doing. We’re not saints for robbing a train filled with upper class citizens just because they were money laundering. But still, it sent me into a moment of confused anger. Isn’t it enough that they’re profiting off our broken medical and mental state after the war, now they need to skim extra cash as well. This moment of pondering was clearly enough for the passenger- who clearly noticed me being distracted- to knock the gun clean out of my hands, and wrap his hands around my throat. Crashing to the ground, I grabbed his arms, making my best attempt to push him off of me, but it was no use. Another one of the passenger lunged for the gun, as well as the man in black, still covering his torn apart ear. As the world slowly faded away, I saw the man in black grab the pistol, slamming it against the the side of the other passengers head. He turned it toward someone out of my field of vision, firing it, then turning toward me. He pistol whipped the passenger holding me down, which quickly sent me frantically gasping for air.
I coughed out a thank you to my partner who was still clenching the side of his end in pain. Before I could get up, the door slammed open and through the steam of the train emerged a bullet, passing between the eyes of the man in black. Stunned, I clasped my hand over my mouth, preparing to scream but nothing came out. I starred for what felt like minutes at the remains of my partner, only to be met with the harsh greeting of the mussel of a pistol pressed against the back of my head. “Evening, kid” the man attached to the pistol told me, before eyeing the bodies scattered across the room. He chuckled grimly, “Oh, man.” He uttered “Congratulations son, money laundering, homicide, you can consider yourself under arrest.
As the pistol edged against my skull, I felt no an overwhelming sense of despair and dread. It didn’t matter who committed the crimes, I had a history of mental illness. It didn’t matter I was I had a case, I had no money. It didn’t matter because I was lower class. Starring around the room, as the mussel scraped the back of my head, I thought back to why the man in black chose to rob this train above all others and I understood what he meant.
“Are trains always this loud?” I shouted over the noise, making my best attempt to make small talk under pressure. “Sure they are,” yelled Jamie “when you’re in the engine room” Jamie gave his best attempt to humour me, completed with a sarcastic smile, attempting to ease my tension. But nothing was going to calm me, no stories from when we were kids or reminders that we’re in this together and we always go each other's backs. Not this time.
Jamie pulled out a rusty barely-functioning pocket watch, that look like it was thrown in with the burning coals of the steam engine and set ablaze. “It’s time for you to go, someone’s probably going to come and check up on me soon.” Jamie barely looked at me when he spoke, instead focusing on the engine as he shuffled over to shovel more coal. “Right.” I murmured quickly with my best attempt to seem confident, however between the shakiness of my voice and the trembled quivers in my body, it definitely didn’t come across that way. Opening the door, I was met with the cold and violent embrace of wind seemingly hurdling it’s way onto my face. Stepping out into the vicious gust, was like being hit with a canon, a feeling I felt hit too close to home. Before I could slam the door behind me, I looked back at Jamie one last time. He was checking his watch, not unusual but he was anxiously tapping his foot against the floor, something I haven’t seen him do since the war. Shutting the door behind me, I was immediately enveloped in a sense of dread, which I made my best attempt to bury.
Opening the door to the next car, I was instantly greeted with wealth, power and fancy pastries. The upper class were dispersed all across the car in the fanciest chairs and tables I’d ever had the pleasure of witnessing. I didn’t realize there’d be so many of them, so much luxury and important people all in one place. Instantly I froze, forgetting what I was supposed to do. What was the plan? Why was I here? I reached back for the handle to the door, I need to tell Jamie I wanted out, there had to another way we could pay off our debts to the bank, anything but this. Suddenly, I caught the eye of someone familiar, where did I know that person. It was a lean man with well groomed black hair, in fact, everything from his fancy coat to his shiny boots were black. He was thin enough to appear as a skelington who had promptly jumped out of it’s skin and put on a fancy coat. Staring at him I realized something almost unnatural about him. Maybe it was just the way the train car was lit, but I swore his eyes were pure black too, the type of eyes that had seen the depths of hell and felt nothing. Coming to my senses I recalled who this mysterious stranger was and I started over and sat down next to him. He turned away from me which only made me try to get a better look at him, which sounds kinda dumb, but being in such an internal panic will make you do such things.
“Look away from me.” the stranger uttered with such distaste you could smell it in the air. I instantaneously turned my head away and said with somewhere between embarrassment and nervousness “Sorry, my mistake.”
“You shouldn’t have sat so close to me.” He added. His voice felt a harsh as the sound of bullets cracking, yet as controlled as a still pond. “Why?” After I questioned him I could almost feel the anger at my insolence.
“Do you want to be associated together by the Sheriff?” If he could face me I’m sure he’d give me a glare of sorts. “Do you even remember what to do?” He questioned. I paused for a moment trying to recall what Jamie, the man and I had discussed the previous night. He sighed in a way that somehow managed to be aggressive, “Once your friend’s boss has left to check up on him, you’ll go and scout out how many servers and passenger there are in each car. When you’re done, report back to me. I’ll handle the rest. If anyone ask you what you’re doing, tell them you’re looking for your friend and lead them to where I’ll be.”
“...And where will you be?” As I finished saying that I could really feel him becoming frustrated with me.
“I’ll be waiting between this car and the next.” Taking a deep breath I assessed what little of the situation I had a part in, maybe leaving the majority of the work to Jamie and this guy wasn’t so bad. They probably know more about what they’re doing than I do. “Is there anything else you want to know.” He asked for what probably was the last time. “No. No, I don’t think so.”
“Good. Then when the train comes to the crossroads you’ll know when to put your mask on and take your revolver out?” Although I had heard this plan before, hearing it again so close to when we need to put it into action, terrified me beyond the capacity for rational thought.
Despite not looking at me, the man seemed to interpret my nervousness. “Do not do anything that we have not discussed. Do we understand each other?” swallowing my fear, I muttered with what little confidence I had left, “Yes.”
“Good.” He said with finality, not intending to continue the conversation any further. I considered getting up and moving to another seat, but for some reason that for the life of me I can not recall, stayed sitting next to him. I wonder how different my life would’ve been if I had acted within so little as an inch of common sense that day and decided to quit the plan and alert the passengers. But this isn’t a story of clever heroes, to my dismay.
“So,” I pondered as a futile attempt to make small talk. “ what made you wanna take up this business? You look wealthy enough not to need any more money.” I thought it was a fair question, having him in a fancy black coat and all. He groaned as if talking to me was bringing him more pain than being hit by the train. “That’s none of your business.” He asserted
“ Oh come on, you’re not going to tell me how you got that dapper suit” I thought a compliment like this would kill the tension. “I’m sure the people in this car are wondering how you got a fancy suit all covered in soot.”
I looked down at my suit, I had almost forgotten that he gave one to me the night before to blend in. A nice suit completely ruined by soot, probably from the engine room. I took a napkin on the table, attempting to wipe the powder off. “You never answered my question.” I proclaimed while trying to dust the soot off my clothes.
He looked down, as if explaining why someone who appeared wealthy would ever want to rob anyone similar stature. Running his hand through his hair, he lifted his bony head and delivered his reasoning. “They deserve to know what it feels like to lose something dear to them.” I thought he’d have more to say, but instead he just stopped speaking. “That’s it?”
“You don’t understand?”
“No. I really don’t.”
“And one day you will.” He finished with a stern proclamation, which somehow managed to send chills down my spine. Shuffling further away in my seat, I saw the car door open and watched as an older gentleman marched down the car and into the engine room. I just sat there for a while, expecting some other cue, maybe the man coughing or growling at me for waiting, instead I just slowly stood up and moved to the next car.
The same familiar gust of wind greeted me as I exited from the car, slowing inching my way through the ferocious winds. Swinging open the door I shut it as quickly as I had opened it, I wanted to get this done quickly and without issue. That being said, the first issue emerged immediately as if having no quarrels with destroying our plans. Turning away from the door brought me face to face with one of the staff, who I promptly collided with, startling me, but more importantly causing a scene. “Oh my- I’m so sorry sir. Are you alright?” The staff member timidly shuddered. I was no stranger to taking orders, however I usually had the courtesy of having said orders not go terribly wrong. With plans going awol, I was about as useless as a train without a conductor. “I’m fine.” I plainly stated, holding my face and looking away, making my best impression of someone who was too snobbish and important to look at a mere employee. As the server passed by me through the door, I turned to see a few glares from people sitting around the room. I wasn’t aware they cared so much if I crashed into a server. Pausing for a moment I begun to recognize that they were giving me glares because of the soot on my clothes, not having anything to do with the server. I couldn’t have them questioning me too long, so in a moment of pure panic, I overdramatically told everyone in the car, “That rotten kid must’ve spilled this on me or something! You never really can trust his type!” I heard a few chuckles as everyone’s head begun to lower, minding their own business. Of course I felt bad, not for blowing my low profile necessarily, but because I didn’t even apologize to the poor kid. Next time he’ll see me he’ll most likely have a gun pointed at the back of his head.
I counted the amount of staff and people in every car just as my partner told me. Of course I did, that’s all I knew how to do wasn’t it, follow orders blindly. I was an ignorant pawn to be used by others, like the man in black. Walking back through the cars I reported back to the man I black, like a good little soldier. “Good, good,” he declared. “Tell your friend the cross roads is coming and I’ll be at the front of the train.” Yes, yes good little soldier, don’t question anything I tell you to do, just do it without thinking. In fact, don’t think just act, that’s not too far off from how you seem to be operating now, is it?
Walking back to the engine room as nonchalantly as possible, I was suddenly overcome with a terrible feeling of apprehension. Despite my gut, my heart and head all telling me to turn around and turn myself in, I reached for the door, grasping it with one sweaty hand, I pulled it open. Canonfire hit me instantly-no, no, that was just the wind. A sigh of relief met the bitter cold air as I trudged forward swinging open the door. “Jamie!” I cried, he turned to me, he seemed exasperated somehow, I never knew shoveling coal was so tiresome. “What is it?”
“Oh. Our partner says we’re reaching the crossroads now and that he’ll be in the front of the train.”
Jamie seemed relieved, as if a giant weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. “Great. Now let’s get moving” he said with no sign of haste. Seeing him unafraid while staring death in the face was quite the stress reliever. “Yeah-” I began to speak but stopped dead in my tracks. There was a stain on one of the wall near the boiler. Was that-was that blood?! Oh no Jamie you couldn’t have, not after everything we’ve been through! “Jamie.. What happened to your boss. Where is he?”
“He… went to the front of the train” Jamie stammered and choked on his words. He can’t lie if his life depended on it. “Jamie, what have you done?” I managed to get out very little due to my shock. What was I supposed to say? I turned away from Jamie, I couldn’t confront him right now. Out of the blue, I knew what the man in black was going to do at the front of the train. Running out of the engine room I heard Jamie yell something, but it didn’t matter.
I rushed to get to the front, slamming open every door and barreling through the canonfire winds. I burst through the door to the front only to see something which I’m still recovering from. There were no bodies, there weren’t any casualties when I got in there, but the man was holding the conductor along with several passengers at gunpoint. The burst of noise as I crashed through the door startled the man as he turned and shot at me only to hit the door. The bullet ricocheted throughout the room, as well as the crack of his gun. I slammed against the floor, making my best attempt to avoid the bouncing bullet. As I did this, the conductor taking advantage of this opportunity, must’ve hit the emergency brake, because everyone went tumbling. All of this happened in the span of a few seconds.
A large case of money fell next to my head, which I supposed was being held by one of the passengers. I heard one of the passenger cry out in pain, presumably being hit by the bullet. Standing up while the train was still braking was hard enough but suddenly the man in black tried to hit me with the back end of his revolver. Narrowly missing me, the man in black cried in a fit of rage, “You idiot! Do you know what you’ve done!” pushing him and the bag off of me, I was able to assess the situation and room more clearly. The passengers that were held at gunpoint appeared wealthy, but tired. The amount of cash they had stored was abnormal and combined with their suspicious handling of it, gave off a rather confusing vibe.
The man in black got up again, pulling back his thin, string-like hair, aim his gun at me, he announced “You’ve ruined everything! Can’t you see, I was the one who would take them down to our level!” Suddenly, one of the passengers tackled him from behind, causing him the fire his revolver against the ground, this time striking the man in black’s ear. As he wailed in pain, he lost his grasp of the pistol, sending it sliding across the floor toward me. Without thinking twice, I picked up the gun and held it against the head of the passenger holding down my partner. “Get off of him or I’ll give you a headache you’ll never forget!” It was rather impulsive and made little sense, but given the situation, it was the best thing I could’ve thought of on the spot. “All right kid”, the passenger exclaimed in a shaky voice, trying his best to be calm, “you’re confused, put the gun down and we can talk.” In a fit of rage, I walked closer to him, imprinting the mussel of the pistol against his head. Keeping balance was more difficult than I would’ve presumed, having the train screech to a halt while I was trying to stand.
Clenching whatever was left of his ear, the man in black coughed out an explanation “Money laundering.” Tuning my attention toward him, I questioned his answer, “What?!”
“They’re performing illegal activity” Illegal activity? It didn’t sound all that different from what we were doing. We’re not saints for robbing a train filled with upper class citizens just because they were money laundering. But still, it sent me into a moment of confused anger. Isn’t it enough that they’re profiting off our broken medical and mental state after the war, now they need to skim extra cash as well. This moment of pondering was clearly enough for the passenger- who clearly noticed me being distracted- to knock the gun clean out of my hands, and wrap his hands around my throat. Crashing to the ground, I grabbed his arms, making my best attempt to push him off of me, but it was no use. Another one of the passenger lunged for the gun, as well as the man in black, still covering his torn apart ear. As the world slowly faded away, I saw the man in black grab the pistol, slamming it against the the side of the other passengers head. He turned it toward someone out of my field of vision, firing it, then turning toward me. He pistol whipped the passenger holding me down, which quickly sent me frantically gasping for air.
I coughed out a thank you to my partner who was still clenching the side of his end in pain. Before I could get up, the door slammed open and through the steam of the train emerged a bullet, passing between the eyes of the man in black. Stunned, I clasped my hand over my mouth, preparing to scream but nothing came out. I starred for what felt like minutes at the remains of my partner, only to be met with the harsh greeting of the mussel of a pistol pressed against the back of my head. “Evening, kid” the man attached to the pistol told me, before eyeing the bodies scattered across the room. He chuckled grimly, “Oh, man.” He uttered “Congratulations son, money laundering, homicide, you can consider yourself under arrest.
As the pistol edged against my skull, I felt no an overwhelming sense of despair and dread. It didn’t matter who committed the crimes, I had a history of mental illness. It didn’t matter I was I had a case, I had no money. It didn’t matter because I was lower class. Starring around the room, as the mussel scraped the back of my head, I thought back to why the man in black chose to rob this train above all others and I understood what he meant.
The Devil's Flashlight by Heidi Elder
Oncehaven
It was night and the entire world was resting. The moon shone down over the abandoned town of Oncehaven. It didn’t matter that it was a clear night, the city remained dark, its shadows acting as the protectors of the old city’s secrets. Disturbing the stillness, a light was flicked on and the sound echoed between the ghostly buildings. One might expect a burglar or someone without anywhere else to go, because no one in their right mind would come to Oncehaven, for fear of bringing the ghosts with you when you left. It was not, in fact, a burglar nor was it a vagabond. It was a child. He was a boy, no older than 10, looking out a window and onto the park, whose grass had long since been green. He liked the solitude of the town, and the quiet. Caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, he nearly fell out of the window when a bright beam of light appeared from across the chipped road. Curious, the boy considered going after it, as any little boy would. He leaned toward the temptation but then recoiled as if he had been slapped. He was brave, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go looking for trouble. It would be a shame to die so early, especially when he had been training his entire life learning how to survive.
The boy tried, but he couldn’t ignore the light, and he couldn’t keep staring either. He was caught at a crossroad and the wrong decision could cost him his life. After he had made his decision, the boy turned back to the window to inspect the flashlight. The light’s beam wavered for a second before disappearing completely. The boy’s features twitched, his mind wandering to all the places the light could have gone; most of which lead to the room he was in. Fortunately for him, the boy knew how to hide so that no one would be able to find him. Working quickly, he extinguished the light and the room immediately fell to darkness. He turned his attention to the door. While slamming it shut, he recognized a lock just above the handle. Perfect, he thought. Turning the bolt with a click, he began scanning the room and he smiled when he found a wardrobe. Moving silently, he climbed into the hiding place and shut the door behind him. He could barely see, except for the moonlight seeping in through the bottom where the doors didn’t shut properly. He watched the opening and prayed that he would see no movement. He stayed like that for half an hour, focusing intently on the gap, searching for the flashlight and its owner. He’d had to do this hundreds of times in his life but this was his first time in Oncehaven. Though he was used to hiding in cramped places, he wasn’t used to staying there for long. It usually only took a couple of minutes for his father to calm down and then it would be safe to come out again. With time, his fear had diminished to understanding.
For the first time, he tore his eyes away from the gap between the wardrobe’s doors to look around at the contents strewn over the flooring. There was a possibility that knowing where he was could help him think up his plan of escape. He squinted in the dim light but made out the unmistakable figures of dresses. The fact that they were dangling high above his head proved that they were a girl’s dresses and not a woman’s but he didn’t know how this knowledge would help him. Next, he scoured the trash that littered the floor of the wardrobe. He brushed the wood with his hands blindly, hoping they would land on something useful. He smiled when he felt something pointy touch his hand. Making sure not to lose it, he grabbed it and held it inches from his face, trying to decipher what it was. As he rotated it in the moonlight, he gasped when he made out a face. Its black eyes surprised him to the point where he nearly dropped the object but he managed to tighten his grip on it at the last minute to prevent from making a sound. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, he took a second look at the pointy thing. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a doll. Granted, it was a terrifying, well-loved doll, but dolls couldn’t hurt him and it felt nice to have something that could be used as a weapon in desperate situations. After his mind tackled the shock of discovering the doll, his mind realized what it meant. Oncehaven wasn’t just abandoned, it had been fled. There was no way that the little girl who owned all those dresses and the doll would have left them behind. A shiver ran down his spine as he wondered what had happened to all of those people.
A Deal with the Devil
“Yes, it’s completely normal to ponder. There is something mysterious and beautiful about Oncehaven,” said a voice from just outside the wardrobe. It was deep and rich, comforting, almost. The boy’s eyes drifted the gap between the doors and saw a pair of black boots standing just outside. “Are you going to come out or do I need to open them for you?” The boy’s breaths were shallow and quick as he gripped the doll until his knuckles turned pale. Still, the boy said nothing. “Alright, my silent friend, I’m coming in.” The wardrobe opened and moonlight shone. Spurring into action, the boy positioned the doll with its feet pointing down, aimed at the voice’s neck. The boy didn’t expect them to puncture but he also didn’t expect them to go through the man like smoke. Using his momentum, he ran to the door, not stopping to consider what had just happened. Fumbling with the lock, he unlocked it and then yanked the door open. Except the door didn’t open, he was instead met with a sharp pain in his shoulder. With his back to the door, he turned to face the voice.
It was a man, tall, wearing an entirely black outfit that seemed too expensive for someone found in Oncehaven.
“Who are you?” The boy demanded. The man paused to consider this.
“We have not met so you would not recognize my name if I told it to you but for the sake of friendly conversation, my name is Reaper. And yours?” The boy was young but he was old enough to know that one should never give their name to a stranger.
“Jimmy.” The man’s eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses but the boy could see his eyebrows raise.
“Are you sure?” The boy nodded violently.
“Very well, Jimmy.” The man emphasized. “I have an offer for you. I want you to come live with me.”
“No thank you.”
“Smart boy, but I think you might want to reconsider.”
“No thank you.”
“Think of your father. Running off in the middle of the night is sure to make him angry. You have no bruises to show for his rage, that makes you a liar.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know a lot of things. That your mother ran off when you were young, that your father has a temper, that you hide every night because you’re afraid of him.” The boy was speechless, it was impossible for anyone to know those things. “Oh-and also, I know your real name is Kyle but you never use it because you hate it; because it was your father who named you.” The man approached him and the boy lashed out but like the first time, his blows went through the man like he wasn’t even there. Ignoring this, the man knelt down in front of the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“I can offer you an escape. You would never have to go back and you can come live with me.” No longer so defensive, the boy answered.
“Where do you live?”
“I live wherever I want, Jimmy. I’m residing in this abandoned neighborhood for the time being but I can go wherever I want, Jimmy. If you come with me, you could finally escape this dreadful place.” The man dressed in black didn’t mean Oncehaven, like you might have thought but this world, Earth. Of course, the boy did not know this.
“Free?” The boy asked. Reaper nodded sympathetically. The boy thought back to all those days in the closet, under the bed, hidden within chests. He recalled the day he learned to cry silently because it was how his father found him. Quietly, the boy fell into Reaper.
“Will it be peaceful there?” He asked, burying his tear streaked face into the man’s overcoat.
“Peace is all there is.”
“I want to go with you. How do we get there?”
“To get there, you must fall.”
“Fall?”
“Any ledge will do. Even that window would work.” The boy considered this and found himself rejecting the idea. Reaper squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “Are you scared?”
“A little.”
“We can do it together if you would like.” The boy thought this over and nodded.
“I don’t want to fall alone.”
“Of course not.” The man said, his teeth sparkling in the dim light. Holding the frightened child’s hand, Reaper lead him over to the window. Stepping over the wall and onto the balcony, the boy’s grip tightened. “Is there anything you would like to say, Jimmy?”
“Why do you carry around a flashlight?”
“It isn’t a flashlight.”
“What is it then?” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic cylinder that resembled the exact size and shape of a flashlight.
“You see this?” He said, indicating the object. “This is nothing but a container. This-” He said as he flicked the switch that made the cylinder project a beam of light. “-Is my humanity.” He flicked the switch again and the light vanished. He replaced the cylinder back in his coat pocket.
“Why do you keep your humanity in that flashlight?” Reaper smiled again.
“Because there’s nothing that draws other humans in than humanity itself.”
In one swift movement, he escaped the boy’s grip and sent him falling down and down the apartment building. The boy’s screams filled the abandoned streets of Oncehaven as the forsaken city eagerly awaited the sickening crack that would quench its desire for death. Except, the boy never hit the ground, instead, he passed through it and for a couple of moments, he was falling through the Earth. Then, the light of the moon had relit his world as he was falling from the sky. He didn’t feel the wind on his face and he didn’t even feel Reaper’s strong arms around him as he caught the boy. He knew he was shaking and there was no helping that.
“When do we leave?” The boy asked, his voice quivering as though it was being strummed like a guitar string.
“I have already told you, I plan to stay in Oncehaven for a little bit longer before I pack up and leave. Our departure should be soon.”
“How do you know when it's time to leave?”
“When we find one more to join our cause. For you see, I haven’t been completely honest with you, Jimmy. I am not only Reaper, I am also a collector.” The man’s voice still managed to make the hairs on the boy’s arms raise straight on end.
“What do you collect?”
“Humanity, my son.” There was a blinding flash and suddenly in front of the boy appeared dozens of other children. They were ghostly and barely opaque enough to see. They rose up into the air like a giant wall, each connected by a chain that wove in and out of their arms.
“Who are they?”
“Those are part of my collection, as I like to call it. They come from here and there, ranging from around here to on the other side of the globe.”
“What did they do to you?” Reaper shook his head sadly.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t what they did but more so what they didn’t do. You see, Jimmy, none of them fell. You were the first of a long line of candidates and that’s why I grant you the title of my son. You will be infinite, like the galaxy and you will help me find more candidates.” The boy said nothing and cast his eyes to the ground. Tilting his chin, Reaper asked. “What is wrong my son?”
“I was just wondering. What if-what if I disappoint you?” The boy’s voice was barely audible by the last word. When he responded, Reaper’s voice was firm but also comforting.
“If you are to disappoint me, Jimmy, then I shall be upset but never will I hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me, my son and never will you have reason.”
“Thank you, father.”
“Come, let us sleep, for tomorrow is another day.”
“This is the Life I Chose”
*10 years later*
The boy floated along the abandoned streets of Oncehaven, his father often left for the day and didn’t return until dark. His father didn’t have many rules for him, though the ones he did have were meant to keep him apart from society. The boy knew this was odd but decided that he would deal with it sometime when he was older, more used to his new spirit-like form. He had taken up the arts, finding concepts like science and math, obscure. It helped deal with the boredom but on more than one occasion, the boy wondered what life would be like to return to the human world, to see people on a regular basis. He was wandering the streets of the now familiar town when he heard a board snap. Accustomed to the decaying nature of Oncehaven, he thought nothing of it but then another board snapped. This caught his attention. He squinted in the bright sun and looked for the cause of the sound. It had been 10 years since he had seen another human, for they rarely wanted to explore the allegedly haunted town. The thought of seeing another person set off undead butterflies in his stomach. He was about to dismiss his hope when he caught a flash of red in the corner of his eye. Before it got away, he chased after it. He ran down an alley that lead to one of the fancier houses. Without pausing in stride, he skidded into the doorway. He let out a yelp when something came out of nowhere and attempted to connect with his head. Of course, being intangible when he wanted to be, the object went right through his head but it rattled him just the same.
“What the hell was that?!” He looked around wildly for his attacker, preparing to smite them with the power of The Reaper.
“Oh my god, you talk.”
“You talk? You talk?! Of course I talk! I learned when I was one!” He was face to face with a human girl but he was too shocked to think straight. She brought her finger to her lips as she tried to quiet him.
“Alright, shh, I’m sorry.”
“Wait-” He paused to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “You’re a girl.” The girl snorted.
“How observant captain obvious.”
“No, I just mean that-why are you here?”
“I dunno.” Now it was his turn to look at her with amazement.
“You end up in the abandoned/haunted city of Oncehaven and you “dunno” how you got here.” The girl rolled her eyes and dismissed the obvious question in his statement.
“So, what’s your name ghosty?”
“Ghosty?”
“That’s actually your name?”
“No. My name’s, um, Purge.” To his surprise, the girl didn’t burst out laughing. She just looked at him strangely and said.
“Hello Purge, my name’s Maya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“So Maya, what are you doing here?”
“Just looking.”
“Nonsense, no one comes here just looking. You are very vague my friend.” She shrugged and smiled slyly.
“My business is mine and yours is yours. Just like I’m not asking you what you are and why you’re hanging around Oncehaven.”
“Would you like to know?”
“Know what?”
“What I am, why I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Why do you think I’ve got the time for that?”
“Because there isn’t anything here worth stealing, so you aren’t here to rob us. You don’t have any friends so you aren’t here to freak yourself out. You haven’t tried to escape yet so you aren’t here on a dare. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a runaway.” He looked at her empty hands and lack of supplies. “Though by the looks of it, a pretty poor one.” The girl blushed and looked away from Purge.
“What are you?” She asked quietly.
“Human. Sometimes, mostly.”
“What else are you?”
“You mean the floating and the phasing through solid objects?” She nodded, her small smile returning to her face. “It’s a long story, maybe if I saw you around here tomorrow then I would be able to tell you.” Purge offered hopefully. Having a person to talk to would change his entire daily routine.
“I’m a runaway, remember? I’ll have to find a building here to sleep in.” Upon hearing this, the boy quickly shot down the idea.
“No! You can’t!” This seemed to startle the girl.
“Why not?”
“Um.” What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t risk freaking her out because that might scare her away forever but he also couldn’t let her stay in the city at night because his father would find her for sure. “It gets really cold here at night.”
“Oh. That’s okay, I’ll just sleep in one of the buildings.”
“No, actually that won’t work because they’re invested with rats and bedbugs.”
“I think I’ll be okay for just one night.”
“No! They’re really bad.”
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. What are you hiding?” Purge tried his best to act shocked.
“What? Me? Hiding something? I’m the most see-through guy there is.” He tried to dismiss the subject with a pun but the girl was persistent. Maya only continued to glare at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Alright the truth is… this whole town is haunted and my father who is also kind of a collector of souls will try to steal your humanity and then use it to fuel this little flashlight doohicky he has and then you will probably die. So yeah. It’s a bad idea to stay the night.” He knew he was rambling but he wanted her to catch the least amount of that sentence as possible. No such luck. When he looked back at the girl, she was frozen in her spot and her eyes were wide. Sensing what was coming next, he rushed in front of her. “But this place is perfectly safe in the daytime and I really want you to stay because I haven’t spoken into another human in 10 years.” He had meant it to sound desperate but it came out weird and creepy.
“Sorry Purge,” she said, backing away towards the door. “You seem like a really cool guy and I will definitely be back tomorrow to see you. Definitely. I just remembered that when I ran away, I think I left the stove on, so bye.” At this, she bolted and though Purge could keep up with her easily, he could do nothing to stop her. When she reached the city’s borders, he felt his body slam into the invisible barrier that prevented him from leaving. Disappointed at himself, he kicked small stones in the dirt. It’s okay, he told himself, I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow, just like she said. Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t true. At times like these, he liked to repeat his motto. You chose this life, you chose this life. But this time, it wasn’t working, all the frustration of 10 years of loneliness and solitude was driving him insane. So for the first time in his entire life, he screamed. He screamed like there wasn’t a tomorrow and it shook the entire town. Maya, who was now far out of the town’s reach heard it and quickened her pace. After he had finished mourning his ‘what ifs’ he got up out of the town’s sandy roads and continued back to his writing room to write yet another story inspired by the allegedly haunted town of Oncehaven.
It was night and the entire world was resting. The moon shone down over the abandoned town of Oncehaven. It didn’t matter that it was a clear night, the city remained dark, its shadows acting as the protectors of the old city’s secrets. Disturbing the stillness, a light was flicked on and the sound echoed between the ghostly buildings. One might expect a burglar or someone without anywhere else to go, because no one in their right mind would come to Oncehaven, for fear of bringing the ghosts with you when you left. It was not, in fact, a burglar nor was it a vagabond. It was a child. He was a boy, no older than 10, looking out a window and onto the park, whose grass had long since been green. He liked the solitude of the town, and the quiet. Caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, he nearly fell out of the window when a bright beam of light appeared from across the chipped road. Curious, the boy considered going after it, as any little boy would. He leaned toward the temptation but then recoiled as if he had been slapped. He was brave, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go looking for trouble. It would be a shame to die so early, especially when he had been training his entire life learning how to survive.
The boy tried, but he couldn’t ignore the light, and he couldn’t keep staring either. He was caught at a crossroad and the wrong decision could cost him his life. After he had made his decision, the boy turned back to the window to inspect the flashlight. The light’s beam wavered for a second before disappearing completely. The boy’s features twitched, his mind wandering to all the places the light could have gone; most of which lead to the room he was in. Fortunately for him, the boy knew how to hide so that no one would be able to find him. Working quickly, he extinguished the light and the room immediately fell to darkness. He turned his attention to the door. While slamming it shut, he recognized a lock just above the handle. Perfect, he thought. Turning the bolt with a click, he began scanning the room and he smiled when he found a wardrobe. Moving silently, he climbed into the hiding place and shut the door behind him. He could barely see, except for the moonlight seeping in through the bottom where the doors didn’t shut properly. He watched the opening and prayed that he would see no movement. He stayed like that for half an hour, focusing intently on the gap, searching for the flashlight and its owner. He’d had to do this hundreds of times in his life but this was his first time in Oncehaven. Though he was used to hiding in cramped places, he wasn’t used to staying there for long. It usually only took a couple of minutes for his father to calm down and then it would be safe to come out again. With time, his fear had diminished to understanding.
For the first time, he tore his eyes away from the gap between the wardrobe’s doors to look around at the contents strewn over the flooring. There was a possibility that knowing where he was could help him think up his plan of escape. He squinted in the dim light but made out the unmistakable figures of dresses. The fact that they were dangling high above his head proved that they were a girl’s dresses and not a woman’s but he didn’t know how this knowledge would help him. Next, he scoured the trash that littered the floor of the wardrobe. He brushed the wood with his hands blindly, hoping they would land on something useful. He smiled when he felt something pointy touch his hand. Making sure not to lose it, he grabbed it and held it inches from his face, trying to decipher what it was. As he rotated it in the moonlight, he gasped when he made out a face. Its black eyes surprised him to the point where he nearly dropped the object but he managed to tighten his grip on it at the last minute to prevent from making a sound. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, he took a second look at the pointy thing. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a doll. Granted, it was a terrifying, well-loved doll, but dolls couldn’t hurt him and it felt nice to have something that could be used as a weapon in desperate situations. After his mind tackled the shock of discovering the doll, his mind realized what it meant. Oncehaven wasn’t just abandoned, it had been fled. There was no way that the little girl who owned all those dresses and the doll would have left them behind. A shiver ran down his spine as he wondered what had happened to all of those people.
A Deal with the Devil
“Yes, it’s completely normal to ponder. There is something mysterious and beautiful about Oncehaven,” said a voice from just outside the wardrobe. It was deep and rich, comforting, almost. The boy’s eyes drifted the gap between the doors and saw a pair of black boots standing just outside. “Are you going to come out or do I need to open them for you?” The boy’s breaths were shallow and quick as he gripped the doll until his knuckles turned pale. Still, the boy said nothing. “Alright, my silent friend, I’m coming in.” The wardrobe opened and moonlight shone. Spurring into action, the boy positioned the doll with its feet pointing down, aimed at the voice’s neck. The boy didn’t expect them to puncture but he also didn’t expect them to go through the man like smoke. Using his momentum, he ran to the door, not stopping to consider what had just happened. Fumbling with the lock, he unlocked it and then yanked the door open. Except the door didn’t open, he was instead met with a sharp pain in his shoulder. With his back to the door, he turned to face the voice.
It was a man, tall, wearing an entirely black outfit that seemed too expensive for someone found in Oncehaven.
“Who are you?” The boy demanded. The man paused to consider this.
“We have not met so you would not recognize my name if I told it to you but for the sake of friendly conversation, my name is Reaper. And yours?” The boy was young but he was old enough to know that one should never give their name to a stranger.
“Jimmy.” The man’s eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses but the boy could see his eyebrows raise.
“Are you sure?” The boy nodded violently.
“Very well, Jimmy.” The man emphasized. “I have an offer for you. I want you to come live with me.”
“No thank you.”
“Smart boy, but I think you might want to reconsider.”
“No thank you.”
“Think of your father. Running off in the middle of the night is sure to make him angry. You have no bruises to show for his rage, that makes you a liar.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know a lot of things. That your mother ran off when you were young, that your father has a temper, that you hide every night because you’re afraid of him.” The boy was speechless, it was impossible for anyone to know those things. “Oh-and also, I know your real name is Kyle but you never use it because you hate it; because it was your father who named you.” The man approached him and the boy lashed out but like the first time, his blows went through the man like he wasn’t even there. Ignoring this, the man knelt down in front of the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“I can offer you an escape. You would never have to go back and you can come live with me.” No longer so defensive, the boy answered.
“Where do you live?”
“I live wherever I want, Jimmy. I’m residing in this abandoned neighborhood for the time being but I can go wherever I want, Jimmy. If you come with me, you could finally escape this dreadful place.” The man dressed in black didn’t mean Oncehaven, like you might have thought but this world, Earth. Of course, the boy did not know this.
“Free?” The boy asked. Reaper nodded sympathetically. The boy thought back to all those days in the closet, under the bed, hidden within chests. He recalled the day he learned to cry silently because it was how his father found him. Quietly, the boy fell into Reaper.
“Will it be peaceful there?” He asked, burying his tear streaked face into the man’s overcoat.
“Peace is all there is.”
“I want to go with you. How do we get there?”
“To get there, you must fall.”
“Fall?”
“Any ledge will do. Even that window would work.” The boy considered this and found himself rejecting the idea. Reaper squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “Are you scared?”
“A little.”
“We can do it together if you would like.” The boy thought this over and nodded.
“I don’t want to fall alone.”
“Of course not.” The man said, his teeth sparkling in the dim light. Holding the frightened child’s hand, Reaper lead him over to the window. Stepping over the wall and onto the balcony, the boy’s grip tightened. “Is there anything you would like to say, Jimmy?”
“Why do you carry around a flashlight?”
“It isn’t a flashlight.”
“What is it then?” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic cylinder that resembled the exact size and shape of a flashlight.
“You see this?” He said, indicating the object. “This is nothing but a container. This-” He said as he flicked the switch that made the cylinder project a beam of light. “-Is my humanity.” He flicked the switch again and the light vanished. He replaced the cylinder back in his coat pocket.
“Why do you keep your humanity in that flashlight?” Reaper smiled again.
“Because there’s nothing that draws other humans in than humanity itself.”
In one swift movement, he escaped the boy’s grip and sent him falling down and down the apartment building. The boy’s screams filled the abandoned streets of Oncehaven as the forsaken city eagerly awaited the sickening crack that would quench its desire for death. Except, the boy never hit the ground, instead, he passed through it and for a couple of moments, he was falling through the Earth. Then, the light of the moon had relit his world as he was falling from the sky. He didn’t feel the wind on his face and he didn’t even feel Reaper’s strong arms around him as he caught the boy. He knew he was shaking and there was no helping that.
“When do we leave?” The boy asked, his voice quivering as though it was being strummed like a guitar string.
“I have already told you, I plan to stay in Oncehaven for a little bit longer before I pack up and leave. Our departure should be soon.”
“How do you know when it's time to leave?”
“When we find one more to join our cause. For you see, I haven’t been completely honest with you, Jimmy. I am not only Reaper, I am also a collector.” The man’s voice still managed to make the hairs on the boy’s arms raise straight on end.
“What do you collect?”
“Humanity, my son.” There was a blinding flash and suddenly in front of the boy appeared dozens of other children. They were ghostly and barely opaque enough to see. They rose up into the air like a giant wall, each connected by a chain that wove in and out of their arms.
“Who are they?”
“Those are part of my collection, as I like to call it. They come from here and there, ranging from around here to on the other side of the globe.”
“What did they do to you?” Reaper shook his head sadly.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t what they did but more so what they didn’t do. You see, Jimmy, none of them fell. You were the first of a long line of candidates and that’s why I grant you the title of my son. You will be infinite, like the galaxy and you will help me find more candidates.” The boy said nothing and cast his eyes to the ground. Tilting his chin, Reaper asked. “What is wrong my son?”
“I was just wondering. What if-what if I disappoint you?” The boy’s voice was barely audible by the last word. When he responded, Reaper’s voice was firm but also comforting.
“If you are to disappoint me, Jimmy, then I shall be upset but never will I hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me, my son and never will you have reason.”
“Thank you, father.”
“Come, let us sleep, for tomorrow is another day.”
“This is the Life I Chose”
*10 years later*
The boy floated along the abandoned streets of Oncehaven, his father often left for the day and didn’t return until dark. His father didn’t have many rules for him, though the ones he did have were meant to keep him apart from society. The boy knew this was odd but decided that he would deal with it sometime when he was older, more used to his new spirit-like form. He had taken up the arts, finding concepts like science and math, obscure. It helped deal with the boredom but on more than one occasion, the boy wondered what life would be like to return to the human world, to see people on a regular basis. He was wandering the streets of the now familiar town when he heard a board snap. Accustomed to the decaying nature of Oncehaven, he thought nothing of it but then another board snapped. This caught his attention. He squinted in the bright sun and looked for the cause of the sound. It had been 10 years since he had seen another human, for they rarely wanted to explore the allegedly haunted town. The thought of seeing another person set off undead butterflies in his stomach. He was about to dismiss his hope when he caught a flash of red in the corner of his eye. Before it got away, he chased after it. He ran down an alley that lead to one of the fancier houses. Without pausing in stride, he skidded into the doorway. He let out a yelp when something came out of nowhere and attempted to connect with his head. Of course, being intangible when he wanted to be, the object went right through his head but it rattled him just the same.
“What the hell was that?!” He looked around wildly for his attacker, preparing to smite them with the power of The Reaper.
“Oh my god, you talk.”
“You talk? You talk?! Of course I talk! I learned when I was one!” He was face to face with a human girl but he was too shocked to think straight. She brought her finger to her lips as she tried to quiet him.
“Alright, shh, I’m sorry.”
“Wait-” He paused to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “You’re a girl.” The girl snorted.
“How observant captain obvious.”
“No, I just mean that-why are you here?”
“I dunno.” Now it was his turn to look at her with amazement.
“You end up in the abandoned/haunted city of Oncehaven and you “dunno” how you got here.” The girl rolled her eyes and dismissed the obvious question in his statement.
“So, what’s your name ghosty?”
“Ghosty?”
“That’s actually your name?”
“No. My name’s, um, Purge.” To his surprise, the girl didn’t burst out laughing. She just looked at him strangely and said.
“Hello Purge, my name’s Maya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“So Maya, what are you doing here?”
“Just looking.”
“Nonsense, no one comes here just looking. You are very vague my friend.” She shrugged and smiled slyly.
“My business is mine and yours is yours. Just like I’m not asking you what you are and why you’re hanging around Oncehaven.”
“Would you like to know?”
“Know what?”
“What I am, why I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Why do you think I’ve got the time for that?”
“Because there isn’t anything here worth stealing, so you aren’t here to rob us. You don’t have any friends so you aren’t here to freak yourself out. You haven’t tried to escape yet so you aren’t here on a dare. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a runaway.” He looked at her empty hands and lack of supplies. “Though by the looks of it, a pretty poor one.” The girl blushed and looked away from Purge.
“What are you?” She asked quietly.
“Human. Sometimes, mostly.”
“What else are you?”
“You mean the floating and the phasing through solid objects?” She nodded, her small smile returning to her face. “It’s a long story, maybe if I saw you around here tomorrow then I would be able to tell you.” Purge offered hopefully. Having a person to talk to would change his entire daily routine.
“I’m a runaway, remember? I’ll have to find a building here to sleep in.” Upon hearing this, the boy quickly shot down the idea.
“No! You can’t!” This seemed to startle the girl.
“Why not?”
“Um.” What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t risk freaking her out because that might scare her away forever but he also couldn’t let her stay in the city at night because his father would find her for sure. “It gets really cold here at night.”
“Oh. That’s okay, I’ll just sleep in one of the buildings.”
“No, actually that won’t work because they’re invested with rats and bedbugs.”
“I think I’ll be okay for just one night.”
“No! They’re really bad.”
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. What are you hiding?” Purge tried his best to act shocked.
“What? Me? Hiding something? I’m the most see-through guy there is.” He tried to dismiss the subject with a pun but the girl was persistent. Maya only continued to glare at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Alright the truth is… this whole town is haunted and my father who is also kind of a collector of souls will try to steal your humanity and then use it to fuel this little flashlight doohicky he has and then you will probably die. So yeah. It’s a bad idea to stay the night.” He knew he was rambling but he wanted her to catch the least amount of that sentence as possible. No such luck. When he looked back at the girl, she was frozen in her spot and her eyes were wide. Sensing what was coming next, he rushed in front of her. “But this place is perfectly safe in the daytime and I really want you to stay because I haven’t spoken into another human in 10 years.” He had meant it to sound desperate but it came out weird and creepy.
“Sorry Purge,” she said, backing away towards the door. “You seem like a really cool guy and I will definitely be back tomorrow to see you. Definitely. I just remembered that when I ran away, I think I left the stove on, so bye.” At this, she bolted and though Purge could keep up with her easily, he could do nothing to stop her. When she reached the city’s borders, he felt his body slam into the invisible barrier that prevented him from leaving. Disappointed at himself, he kicked small stones in the dirt. It’s okay, he told himself, I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow, just like she said. Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t true. At times like these, he liked to repeat his motto. You chose this life, you chose this life. But this time, it wasn’t working, all the frustration of 10 years of loneliness and solitude was driving him insane. So for the first time in his entire life, he screamed. He screamed like there wasn’t a tomorrow and it shook the entire town. Maya, who was now far out of the town’s reach heard it and quickened her pace. After he had finished mourning his ‘what ifs’ he got up out of the town’s sandy roads and continued back to his writing room to write yet another story inspired by the allegedly haunted town of Oncehaven.
Spotlight by Yasmin Nowlan
Kayden heard the train coming. A pale hand reached out for the lever beside him, resting on top of it. His black hair blocked the view of everything except the tracks right in front of him, but he heard it getting closer. The hand on the lever tightened. Wind blew back the trench coat hanging around the man’s shoulders, pushing the hair away to leave bronze eyes a clear view. On Kayden’s right, a train was quickly approaching, and his left, along with the lever, were tracks that split into two paths leading in opposite directions. He had maybe 5 seconds till the train passed him. Pushing one foot back to brace himself, Kayden let out a tsk of annoyance and pulled the lever. A gunshot echoed.
Cole heard the click of his door unlocking and pushed it open. His house was small, but he didn’t need a big one. He passed a shadow sitting on one of the couches and turned the light in his kitchen on. He hung his coat on one of the hooks there, using his other hand to open up the fridge and search for leftovers. Glancing over his shoulder, Cole sighed when he spotted the dark silhouette resting on the counter.
“Don’t you have your own house? I don’t have much here.” He murmured, grabbing two plates from the cupboard and putting a serving of cold pasta on each.
“Oh come on now Cole, can’t I visit my dear friend's house after not seeing him all day? Cheese?” The bright voice came from Kaden who had walked around the counter to grab one of the plates.
Cole handed him the grater, replying to his questions. “Same place as always, and yes you can visit, but usually visiting doesn’t include breaking into my house.”
His friend paused reaching into the fridge, sending him his signature smirk, and offered no other excuses. They both set their plates on the counter and Cole began to eat. When his friend didn’t pick up his fork, Cole raised one eyebrow quizzically. Kayden merely gave him a simple soft smile before grabbing the silverware.
Cole stared at the man across the table from him, hazel eyes alight with concern, though his face remained neutral. “Is something wrong? You’re unusually quiet today.” Cole’s voice had no hint of the worry that gnawed at the back of his mind.
Propping up his head with one hand, Kayden shot his friend a melancholy grin before letting his gaze drift down to stare at the open palm of his hand. “I’ve once again stained them with red, “Kayden answered in his typical roundabout way, but one not covered in layers as they normally are, showing how neither his mind nor his heart were truly present. Then without even a hint of the lost expression that he had worn before, the man in black pushed against the table, balancing his chair on the back two legs, before letting himself fall forward. “Well it doesn’t matter, I chose this path for myself after all.”
Cole looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. Instead, he asked his visitor if he had any plans of going away or if he would be stuck with the guy till tomorrow. The way to innocent look told him all he needed to know.
A hand shook him awake, and Cole looked up with barely opened eyes to find Kayden with a finger to his lips. He pointed to his ear. After a few seconds, Cole heard the footsteps on the upper floor and quietly got out of bed to follow Kayden. On his way out, Cole grabbed the gun on his bedside table.
“I took a quick look at them before waking you,” explained Kayden in a hushed voice, “They were some people who saw me in action before, though for the life of me I can’t remember where. They must have seen me with you so I couldn’t just sneak out like I do normally.” Cole couldn’t see his eye’s but he heard the apology when he continued. “I didn’t want to get you involved in my business.”
“You didn’t bring your gun did you,” Cole said, noticing that Kayden still hadn’t armed himself despite the danger.
“Nope. Rookie mistake, didn’t think I’d need it,” Kayden looked over his shoulder to smile at Cole, “If they catch me I’m dead.”
By now they had reached the stairwell. “They are probably after revenge right?” Cole asked as they padded down the carpeted steps. Kayden hummed in response. Then he heard Cole’s footprints running up instead of down. Whipping around, Kayden grabbed Cole’s hand before he could run further.
“Cole what are you doing? They’ll kill you if they find you, you know. They don't care who they kill.” The last sentence was hissed out in a low voice.
Cole looked down at his friend for a long moment then finally asked. “Do you?”
Kayden let go of his hand, recoiling in shock. The haunted look in his eyes gave the answer. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, then looked back at Cole who was near the top of the stairs. “Of course I do, but what does-”
“Then give it up. Live with me. I’ll help you get on track, and you can leave this past behind you. I’ll get rid of these guys, and then no more killing. For either of us.” With that Cole closed the door, locking it. Kayden ran up to the door, pounding on it as he called out for Cole to stop, to turn around, to let him help.
He heard the train, but it was far away, muffled by the glass case Kayden was trapped in. Next to the train tracks with his back to Kayden stood Cole. Kayden kicked and screamed, and fell to his knees as his throat choked and his energy was used up. The train got closer, Kayden started on, shaking his head as tears marched down the sides of his face. Cole rested his hand on the lever and turned back to face Kayden. With an apologetic grin, the click of the tracks shifting rang just like the gunshot that followed.
The door finally opened letting Kayden stumble through. When he arrived, panting, at the threshold of the apartment they had left minutes before he froze. In the middle of a blood-splattered room, stood Cole with his back to the door. Around him lay the bodies of those who had tried to attack them, but that was not what caused Kayden to stop. Cole’s beige sweatshirt had begun to be tainted by red, flowing from the middle of his back. Suddenly, Cole swayed, then collapsed, only to be caught by Kayden right before he hit the floor.
“That was stupid Cole, so stupid.” The voice, like the hands that held Cole, shook violently. Kayden’s eyes widened as they drifted to Cole’s chest. “Oh my god, there’s so much blood.” The words were spoken so softly as if saying them might make things worse.
“Kayden,” Cole barked, raising one hand to force the man to look at his face, “Promise me. I know you can thrive in whatever place your in but please, leave the killing behind.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” Kayden looked to be on the verge of tears as he asked the question, “You were supposed to guide me right? So what am I supposed to do without you?”
“Become a good man,” Pleaded Cole, “Make up for those you’ve killed by saving others. Its cliche, and won’t mean much to you I know. But at least, at least that would make you a bit better.” Kayden couldn’t muster a reply through his tight throat. Cole smiled weakly at him. “Sorry, I wish I could’ve seen you do it. You know, you really were the best friend I’ve ever had.”
His hand dropped away. Kayden hunched over the body of his friend, letting tears fall from his closed eyes as screams of grief tore at his throat.
Days later, Kayden stood in front of a grave, clad in a black suit with a bouquet of white flowers in one hand. In the other was one of the few photos he had of them both together. In the photo, Cole stood with his hands in his pockets looking at the camera from the corner of his eye. His lack of a smile was countered by the Kayden in the photo, whose head was positioned to look at Cole behind him but eyes focused on the camera and a blinding smile on his lips. Kayden crouched down, placing both items on the grave. Standing back up, Kayden stared at the tomb for a moment longer.
With a sigh, he smiled. “Well then, I’m off to find myself a new job. One where I save just as many as I’ve killed.” With that he turned around, waving goodbye.
Cole heard the click of his door unlocking and pushed it open. His house was small, but he didn’t need a big one. He passed a shadow sitting on one of the couches and turned the light in his kitchen on. He hung his coat on one of the hooks there, using his other hand to open up the fridge and search for leftovers. Glancing over his shoulder, Cole sighed when he spotted the dark silhouette resting on the counter.
“Don’t you have your own house? I don’t have much here.” He murmured, grabbing two plates from the cupboard and putting a serving of cold pasta on each.
“Oh come on now Cole, can’t I visit my dear friend's house after not seeing him all day? Cheese?” The bright voice came from Kaden who had walked around the counter to grab one of the plates.
Cole handed him the grater, replying to his questions. “Same place as always, and yes you can visit, but usually visiting doesn’t include breaking into my house.”
His friend paused reaching into the fridge, sending him his signature smirk, and offered no other excuses. They both set their plates on the counter and Cole began to eat. When his friend didn’t pick up his fork, Cole raised one eyebrow quizzically. Kayden merely gave him a simple soft smile before grabbing the silverware.
Cole stared at the man across the table from him, hazel eyes alight with concern, though his face remained neutral. “Is something wrong? You’re unusually quiet today.” Cole’s voice had no hint of the worry that gnawed at the back of his mind.
Propping up his head with one hand, Kayden shot his friend a melancholy grin before letting his gaze drift down to stare at the open palm of his hand. “I’ve once again stained them with red, “Kayden answered in his typical roundabout way, but one not covered in layers as they normally are, showing how neither his mind nor his heart were truly present. Then without even a hint of the lost expression that he had worn before, the man in black pushed against the table, balancing his chair on the back two legs, before letting himself fall forward. “Well it doesn’t matter, I chose this path for myself after all.”
Cole looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. Instead, he asked his visitor if he had any plans of going away or if he would be stuck with the guy till tomorrow. The way to innocent look told him all he needed to know.
A hand shook him awake, and Cole looked up with barely opened eyes to find Kayden with a finger to his lips. He pointed to his ear. After a few seconds, Cole heard the footsteps on the upper floor and quietly got out of bed to follow Kayden. On his way out, Cole grabbed the gun on his bedside table.
“I took a quick look at them before waking you,” explained Kayden in a hushed voice, “They were some people who saw me in action before, though for the life of me I can’t remember where. They must have seen me with you so I couldn’t just sneak out like I do normally.” Cole couldn’t see his eye’s but he heard the apology when he continued. “I didn’t want to get you involved in my business.”
“You didn’t bring your gun did you,” Cole said, noticing that Kayden still hadn’t armed himself despite the danger.
“Nope. Rookie mistake, didn’t think I’d need it,” Kayden looked over his shoulder to smile at Cole, “If they catch me I’m dead.”
By now they had reached the stairwell. “They are probably after revenge right?” Cole asked as they padded down the carpeted steps. Kayden hummed in response. Then he heard Cole’s footprints running up instead of down. Whipping around, Kayden grabbed Cole’s hand before he could run further.
“Cole what are you doing? They’ll kill you if they find you, you know. They don't care who they kill.” The last sentence was hissed out in a low voice.
Cole looked down at his friend for a long moment then finally asked. “Do you?”
Kayden let go of his hand, recoiling in shock. The haunted look in his eyes gave the answer. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, then looked back at Cole who was near the top of the stairs. “Of course I do, but what does-”
“Then give it up. Live with me. I’ll help you get on track, and you can leave this past behind you. I’ll get rid of these guys, and then no more killing. For either of us.” With that Cole closed the door, locking it. Kayden ran up to the door, pounding on it as he called out for Cole to stop, to turn around, to let him help.
He heard the train, but it was far away, muffled by the glass case Kayden was trapped in. Next to the train tracks with his back to Kayden stood Cole. Kayden kicked and screamed, and fell to his knees as his throat choked and his energy was used up. The train got closer, Kayden started on, shaking his head as tears marched down the sides of his face. Cole rested his hand on the lever and turned back to face Kayden. With an apologetic grin, the click of the tracks shifting rang just like the gunshot that followed.
The door finally opened letting Kayden stumble through. When he arrived, panting, at the threshold of the apartment they had left minutes before he froze. In the middle of a blood-splattered room, stood Cole with his back to the door. Around him lay the bodies of those who had tried to attack them, but that was not what caused Kayden to stop. Cole’s beige sweatshirt had begun to be tainted by red, flowing from the middle of his back. Suddenly, Cole swayed, then collapsed, only to be caught by Kayden right before he hit the floor.
“That was stupid Cole, so stupid.” The voice, like the hands that held Cole, shook violently. Kayden’s eyes widened as they drifted to Cole’s chest. “Oh my god, there’s so much blood.” The words were spoken so softly as if saying them might make things worse.
“Kayden,” Cole barked, raising one hand to force the man to look at his face, “Promise me. I know you can thrive in whatever place your in but please, leave the killing behind.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” Kayden looked to be on the verge of tears as he asked the question, “You were supposed to guide me right? So what am I supposed to do without you?”
“Become a good man,” Pleaded Cole, “Make up for those you’ve killed by saving others. Its cliche, and won’t mean much to you I know. But at least, at least that would make you a bit better.” Kayden couldn’t muster a reply through his tight throat. Cole smiled weakly at him. “Sorry, I wish I could’ve seen you do it. You know, you really were the best friend I’ve ever had.”
His hand dropped away. Kayden hunched over the body of his friend, letting tears fall from his closed eyes as screams of grief tore at his throat.
Days later, Kayden stood in front of a grave, clad in a black suit with a bouquet of white flowers in one hand. In the other was one of the few photos he had of them both together. In the photo, Cole stood with his hands in his pockets looking at the camera from the corner of his eye. His lack of a smile was countered by the Kayden in the photo, whose head was positioned to look at Cole behind him but eyes focused on the camera and a blinding smile on his lips. Kayden crouched down, placing both items on the grave. Standing back up, Kayden stared at the tomb for a moment longer.
With a sigh, he smiled. “Well then, I’m off to find myself a new job. One where I save just as many as I’ve killed.” With that he turned around, waving goodbye.
Cross Country by Emma Breton
Skye wasn't the best runner. She didn't have the longest legs and she just wasn't that fast. Being younger than all the other runners didn't help either and in the group there wasn’t really any friendly faces.
She went to practice before school, her feet pounding next to her teammates on the concrete path. It was the day before her big run at the Huckle Open where she had to run 4 kilometers, but she wasn't expecting much from herself. As Skye ran, her mind ran wild. She thought about the people in her school, her friends, her family, her dog; really just anything. She thought about how her feet sounded on the concrete bike path. How when she crossed onto the grass it would be wet against her toes. She thought about how the sun was beating down on her, like it was trying to say a warm hello. She thought about the leaves crunching under her shoes. She kept running and eventually, as always, she found herself at the back of the pack.
The team was trying out a new route this time, and of course she didn't know where she was going. She followed her teammates, keeping an eye on their colourful shirts, until she couldn't see them any longer and had fallen too far behind. The bike path soon became a gravel trail. She ran until her legs couldn't handle it anymore and still she pushed on. Skye knew that if she stopped running, she would be late getting back to the school, later than she already was. Her legs were burning and she could barely walk, but she needed to keep going.
Looking up, she saw busy road ahead of her. She frowned, puzzled. The teacher never mentioned where to go. Skye stopped at the edge of the street and looked around, confused, she didn't know which way to go. Going forward across the road, the path continued into a small forest. Going left it continue down the road and she saw a few transmission towers looming in the distance. She thought to herself, I never saw transmission towers near my school, but it was also only the third week. Going right, the road turned, leaving Skye to questioning what was around the bend. She started to panic, what if she took the wrong path, what if she ended up somewhere even more lost than she already was?
After a few minutes, she took a risk and continued down the road to the left. She didn’t know what time it was, where she was or if she was ever getting back. She must’ve been out for over half an hour, but it felt like forever. One silent tear streamed down her face as her feet pounded on the concrete. Stop it. You just need to focus on getting back. And you will get home. For once, she had nothing to think about. Her mind only thought one word. Lost. The sun wasn’t welcoming anymore, it was harsh and burning. The leaves cackled and laughed at her while she ran. The transmission towers loomed over her, daring Skye to turn back. She didn’t though.
She ran until finally she made it to a neighborhood, with street signs she recognized and houses she knew. She followed her until she saw the convenience stores near the school. Skye felt herself smiling and started to laugh. She made it. Running down the street, she saw the school and felt her body fill with energy. She saw her entire team sitting, looking towards her. She felt her cheeks heating up, but when Skye looked up at the tall transmission towers in the distance, she was reminded of what she just went through. She couldn’t help smiling.
She went to practice before school, her feet pounding next to her teammates on the concrete path. It was the day before her big run at the Huckle Open where she had to run 4 kilometers, but she wasn't expecting much from herself. As Skye ran, her mind ran wild. She thought about the people in her school, her friends, her family, her dog; really just anything. She thought about how her feet sounded on the concrete bike path. How when she crossed onto the grass it would be wet against her toes. She thought about how the sun was beating down on her, like it was trying to say a warm hello. She thought about the leaves crunching under her shoes. She kept running and eventually, as always, she found herself at the back of the pack.
The team was trying out a new route this time, and of course she didn't know where she was going. She followed her teammates, keeping an eye on their colourful shirts, until she couldn't see them any longer and had fallen too far behind. The bike path soon became a gravel trail. She ran until her legs couldn't handle it anymore and still she pushed on. Skye knew that if she stopped running, she would be late getting back to the school, later than she already was. Her legs were burning and she could barely walk, but she needed to keep going.
Looking up, she saw busy road ahead of her. She frowned, puzzled. The teacher never mentioned where to go. Skye stopped at the edge of the street and looked around, confused, she didn't know which way to go. Going forward across the road, the path continued into a small forest. Going left it continue down the road and she saw a few transmission towers looming in the distance. She thought to herself, I never saw transmission towers near my school, but it was also only the third week. Going right, the road turned, leaving Skye to questioning what was around the bend. She started to panic, what if she took the wrong path, what if she ended up somewhere even more lost than she already was?
After a few minutes, she took a risk and continued down the road to the left. She didn’t know what time it was, where she was or if she was ever getting back. She must’ve been out for over half an hour, but it felt like forever. One silent tear streamed down her face as her feet pounded on the concrete. Stop it. You just need to focus on getting back. And you will get home. For once, she had nothing to think about. Her mind only thought one word. Lost. The sun wasn’t welcoming anymore, it was harsh and burning. The leaves cackled and laughed at her while she ran. The transmission towers loomed over her, daring Skye to turn back. She didn’t though.
She ran until finally she made it to a neighborhood, with street signs she recognized and houses she knew. She followed her until she saw the convenience stores near the school. Skye felt herself smiling and started to laugh. She made it. Running down the street, she saw the school and felt her body fill with energy. She saw her entire team sitting, looking towards her. She felt her cheeks heating up, but when Skye looked up at the tall transmission towers in the distance, she was reminded of what she just went through. She couldn’t help smiling.
Untitled by Ella Pegan
He told me to meet him at the crossroads, where the train tracks intersected. He told me that he could explain, that he had the answers I needed.
I didn’t believe him. It had been a long time since I had believed anything he said. But I couldn’t deny the part of me that stirred at even the concept of the truth. Why had he gone? Why had he strung me along for so long, just to leave me behind? Where had he spent the last year?
My head was throbbing. It was eleven, later than I thought it proper to meet, and the wind was merciless. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself, looking back and forth down the tracks.
The thought of seeing him again made me shiver even harder than the wind had. So many emotions flooded through me, enough to make my head spin and heart pound without knowing the reason why.
I hated him. Of course I hated him, but it was the little questions that left the confusion behind. He was a special breed of monster, and I a special breed of target. Foolish, and too trusting.
Then again, maybe I wasn’t the least bit special.
I checked my phone for the time, shoving it back into my pocket with a sigh. He was late. Five minutes, I told myself. Five minutes of waiting, and then I’d leave. I didn’t need this.
Five minutes passed. Then ten, fifteen, thirty. I waited an hour, knowing the whole time that it was pointless. I was waiting for something, someone, that I knew would never come, and I knew it. I started crying. Feeling beat up and spent, without a care, I lay down on the tracks. The tears came faster, blurring my vision and making me feel like I was drowning.
My chest was heaving as I hyperventilated and swiped at the tears running down my cheeks. I could feel myself building up to a panic attack, the thought that I had been abandoned once again echoed in my head. And then, a moment of stillness. A calm that tore through the air, splitting the world apart. An answer to my remaining questions.
I could hear a train coming.
I didn’t believe him. It had been a long time since I had believed anything he said. But I couldn’t deny the part of me that stirred at even the concept of the truth. Why had he gone? Why had he strung me along for so long, just to leave me behind? Where had he spent the last year?
My head was throbbing. It was eleven, later than I thought it proper to meet, and the wind was merciless. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself, looking back and forth down the tracks.
The thought of seeing him again made me shiver even harder than the wind had. So many emotions flooded through me, enough to make my head spin and heart pound without knowing the reason why.
I hated him. Of course I hated him, but it was the little questions that left the confusion behind. He was a special breed of monster, and I a special breed of target. Foolish, and too trusting.
Then again, maybe I wasn’t the least bit special.
I checked my phone for the time, shoving it back into my pocket with a sigh. He was late. Five minutes, I told myself. Five minutes of waiting, and then I’d leave. I didn’t need this.
Five minutes passed. Then ten, fifteen, thirty. I waited an hour, knowing the whole time that it was pointless. I was waiting for something, someone, that I knew would never come, and I knew it. I started crying. Feeling beat up and spent, without a care, I lay down on the tracks. The tears came faster, blurring my vision and making me feel like I was drowning.
My chest was heaving as I hyperventilated and swiped at the tears running down my cheeks. I could feel myself building up to a panic attack, the thought that I had been abandoned once again echoed in my head. And then, a moment of stillness. A calm that tore through the air, splitting the world apart. An answer to my remaining questions.
I could hear a train coming.
Crossroads by Liam Jones
That May morning, I stood outside the mail box with the little blue envelope in my hand. “University of Los Angeles” is written in blue pen. How many months had it been? At least six, maybe more since I walked down the street and crossed the cobblestone bridge.
_______________________
I remembered the rusted mailbox. It stood in Doug’s convenience store signs’ light. Frost lingered in the concrete cracks and my hands were buried in my mom’s red mittens. I slid the brown envelope, it reached the bottom with a clang, and then silence.
Behind me, Doug’s murmured. “Your mom won’t be mad?” I turned to him. His seaweed-green eyes met with mine.
I paused. She’d be mad. I pictured her yelling - her blonde curls flying. “No.” The lie slipped through my teeth before I caught myself. I hated it.
“Well, I was talking to your mother the other day… she seemed pretty keen on you staying.” he paused. “How’s the business going, anyway?” It hadn’t been busy. In the summer the occasional passersby came past the souvenir, but the town was dead in autumn. The last customer was an eccentric tourist in a red tropical t-shirt, who bought a pack of playing cards.
“Good, I guess...” He glared at me for a moment. He knew the truth.
A moment passed. “Okay, I’m glad.” A bitterness spiked his words.
“Hey, could you do me a favour?” I said. “Just... could you not tell my mom that I was here?”
“Don’t worry, my mouth is shut.”
I walked back home after that, passing the the painted storefronts which shed their paint, until our red house came into view. The seagulls squealed on the bridge, they mocked me.
_______________________
Now, the spring’s sky is still dim. The slight breeze coils the trees. Slowly, I tear the envelope and my heart leaps. I’ve been accepted. A warmth pulses through every inch of me, and then it vanishes. All that lingers in my head is my mother; how she will scowl and most of all, how she won’t forgive me.
_______________________
I remembered the rusted mailbox. It stood in Doug’s convenience store signs’ light. Frost lingered in the concrete cracks and my hands were buried in my mom’s red mittens. I slid the brown envelope, it reached the bottom with a clang, and then silence.
Behind me, Doug’s murmured. “Your mom won’t be mad?” I turned to him. His seaweed-green eyes met with mine.
I paused. She’d be mad. I pictured her yelling - her blonde curls flying. “No.” The lie slipped through my teeth before I caught myself. I hated it.
“Well, I was talking to your mother the other day… she seemed pretty keen on you staying.” he paused. “How’s the business going, anyway?” It hadn’t been busy. In the summer the occasional passersby came past the souvenir, but the town was dead in autumn. The last customer was an eccentric tourist in a red tropical t-shirt, who bought a pack of playing cards.
“Good, I guess...” He glared at me for a moment. He knew the truth.
A moment passed. “Okay, I’m glad.” A bitterness spiked his words.
“Hey, could you do me a favour?” I said. “Just... could you not tell my mom that I was here?”
“Don’t worry, my mouth is shut.”
I walked back home after that, passing the the painted storefronts which shed their paint, until our red house came into view. The seagulls squealed on the bridge, they mocked me.
_______________________
Now, the spring’s sky is still dim. The slight breeze coils the trees. Slowly, I tear the envelope and my heart leaps. I’ve been accepted. A warmth pulses through every inch of me, and then it vanishes. All that lingers in my head is my mother; how she will scowl and most of all, how she won’t forgive me.
Untitled by Ella MacDonald
I thought they were happy. Last summer on the beach, they seemed like they couldn’t have loved each other more. But that clearly changed, now that they are getting divorced.
I hated the way they told me, looking all innocent and loving, but I knew that was all an act. I had heard them fighting, late at night when they thought I was asleep. They sat down on my bed and looked at me sympathetically. Deep down inside me, I knew what was coming, I just didn’t want to hear them say it. “ Emelia,” they said. Mom took over, as she always did, and said “Emelia, your dad and I have something to tell you, it might upset you, but please be strong,” Dad looked like he would rather be anywhere else but in my bedroom, sharing the news. But mom spoke before he got the chance to leave, “Sweetheart, your dad and I are getting a divorce,” I didn’t want to look at them, I didn’t want them to see me cry, I could already feel a fat, hot, tear sliding down the left side of my face. I didn’t even look up when they left, but I could hear my dad whisper to my mom, “We should probably just give her some space for now.”
Three months later, everything was happening so fast, I was stuck in a blur of moving boxes, lawyers and unhappy people. But there was nothing I could do about it. There was something I could control though, choosing whether I could live with my mom who was staying in our house in the suburbs, or with my dad, who was buying a condo in the city. I was stuck at a crossroads, picking who to live with was like picking a favourite parent, which was something I just couldn’t do. This was something I would think about quite often, almost all the time, and t took over my entire life, got in the way of my schoolwork, my social life (Not that I really had one, with only my best friend Abby by my side.) and almost everything else. The due date was approaching, October 14th, that’s when the lawyers had to know, that’s the day my life would change, that’s the day when I would pick who I would spend the rest of my childhood days with. Sure, I could visit either parent I didn’t live with, but it just wouldn’t be the same. What would I choose? Living with either parent didn’t seem so bad, but choosing one over the other would hurt whichever one I didn’t choose. How would my life ever be the same? Nothing would ever be the same.
I hated the way they told me, looking all innocent and loving, but I knew that was all an act. I had heard them fighting, late at night when they thought I was asleep. They sat down on my bed and looked at me sympathetically. Deep down inside me, I knew what was coming, I just didn’t want to hear them say it. “ Emelia,” they said. Mom took over, as she always did, and said “Emelia, your dad and I have something to tell you, it might upset you, but please be strong,” Dad looked like he would rather be anywhere else but in my bedroom, sharing the news. But mom spoke before he got the chance to leave, “Sweetheart, your dad and I are getting a divorce,” I didn’t want to look at them, I didn’t want them to see me cry, I could already feel a fat, hot, tear sliding down the left side of my face. I didn’t even look up when they left, but I could hear my dad whisper to my mom, “We should probably just give her some space for now.”
Three months later, everything was happening so fast, I was stuck in a blur of moving boxes, lawyers and unhappy people. But there was nothing I could do about it. There was something I could control though, choosing whether I could live with my mom who was staying in our house in the suburbs, or with my dad, who was buying a condo in the city. I was stuck at a crossroads, picking who to live with was like picking a favourite parent, which was something I just couldn’t do. This was something I would think about quite often, almost all the time, and t took over my entire life, got in the way of my schoolwork, my social life (Not that I really had one, with only my best friend Abby by my side.) and almost everything else. The due date was approaching, October 14th, that’s when the lawyers had to know, that’s the day my life would change, that’s the day when I would pick who I would spend the rest of my childhood days with. Sure, I could visit either parent I didn’t live with, but it just wouldn’t be the same. What would I choose? Living with either parent didn’t seem so bad, but choosing one over the other would hurt whichever one I didn’t choose. How would my life ever be the same? Nothing would ever be the same.
The Myth of the Fireflies by Hannah Blauer
There were once two villages living side-by-side. There was a wicked village that liked to steal from their neighbour, and a good village that would always do the right thing and treat others as the would like to be treated. One night, the wicked village stole all of the good village’s food and carried it off to a tower far away.
The good village burned with rage as they watched the wicked villagers run away with all their food in the darkness of the night. “It’s not fair!” yelled out one the villagers. “We have to do something!” yelled another. ”We can’t just always let them get away with this!”
The more the good villagers whined, the more their chief became annoyed. How tiring it was to be robbed by their wicked neighbours time after time after time. The chief called out to his villagers. “Stop!” he cried. He looked down at his villagers, some full of tears and sorrow, and others full of rage and fury. He looked toward the darkness where the wicked villagers were running away with their food, and after a moment of reflection, he made a decision. “They will pay,” said the chief. “They will suffer as we have.”
With revenge in their hearts, later that night, when least expected, the good villagers attacked and captured all of the wicked villagers. Rounding them up one-by-one, the good villagers stuck everlasting candles into the wicked villagers’ stomachs. As the candles burned inside their stomachs, the wicked villagers started to weep and cry as they grovelled apologies to the good villagers.
“We will only burn out the candles if you all go and retrieve the food that was once ours,” the good villagers told them.
“We will! We will!” said the wicked villagers, and they ran away from the village to retrieve the food. When the wicked villagers came back with all the stolen food, they couldn't help but to weep and to cry for mercy. “We brought you back your food, now please… burn out the candles that you have lodged inside of us. It burns!!!”
The good villagers looked at each other and exchanged sneaky smilles. “Did you pick up the crumbs?” said the good villagers.
“Pardon?” replied the wicked villagers, a little confused.
“Did you pick up the crumbs?” repeated the good villagers. “You must of dropped some crumbs in the field when you were rushing back to bring us back our food. Would you be so kind and pick up every single crumb that has fallen into the field and bring them back to us, please?”
“Pick every single crumb of food that has fallen into the field?! Why would we do that?!” said the wicked villagers, rubbing their hands on their stomachs, trying to ease the pain.
“We will not burn out the candles in your stomachs until you have finished the task.”
At their word, the wicked villagers bolted to the field to try to find every crumb that they had dropped. Weeks passed and the wicked villagers had grown weak and were nothing but skin and bones. Day and night, they shrunk smaller and smaller until they were the size of mere insects and had developed wings out of the extra skin on the sides of their bodies. As they flied droopely during the day, the sun had scorched their bodies, turning their skin black. The sun had scorched them so badly that they had all become intolerant to the light and could only fly at night.
This is how the wicked villagers turned into the insects that we know today as fireflies: tortured souls trying to find all the crumbs they dropped the night they stole the food from the good villagers.
The good village burned with rage as they watched the wicked villagers run away with all their food in the darkness of the night. “It’s not fair!” yelled out one the villagers. “We have to do something!” yelled another. ”We can’t just always let them get away with this!”
The more the good villagers whined, the more their chief became annoyed. How tiring it was to be robbed by their wicked neighbours time after time after time. The chief called out to his villagers. “Stop!” he cried. He looked down at his villagers, some full of tears and sorrow, and others full of rage and fury. He looked toward the darkness where the wicked villagers were running away with their food, and after a moment of reflection, he made a decision. “They will pay,” said the chief. “They will suffer as we have.”
With revenge in their hearts, later that night, when least expected, the good villagers attacked and captured all of the wicked villagers. Rounding them up one-by-one, the good villagers stuck everlasting candles into the wicked villagers’ stomachs. As the candles burned inside their stomachs, the wicked villagers started to weep and cry as they grovelled apologies to the good villagers.
“We will only burn out the candles if you all go and retrieve the food that was once ours,” the good villagers told them.
“We will! We will!” said the wicked villagers, and they ran away from the village to retrieve the food. When the wicked villagers came back with all the stolen food, they couldn't help but to weep and to cry for mercy. “We brought you back your food, now please… burn out the candles that you have lodged inside of us. It burns!!!”
The good villagers looked at each other and exchanged sneaky smilles. “Did you pick up the crumbs?” said the good villagers.
“Pardon?” replied the wicked villagers, a little confused.
“Did you pick up the crumbs?” repeated the good villagers. “You must of dropped some crumbs in the field when you were rushing back to bring us back our food. Would you be so kind and pick up every single crumb that has fallen into the field and bring them back to us, please?”
“Pick every single crumb of food that has fallen into the field?! Why would we do that?!” said the wicked villagers, rubbing their hands on their stomachs, trying to ease the pain.
“We will not burn out the candles in your stomachs until you have finished the task.”
At their word, the wicked villagers bolted to the field to try to find every crumb that they had dropped. Weeks passed and the wicked villagers had grown weak and were nothing but skin and bones. Day and night, they shrunk smaller and smaller until they were the size of mere insects and had developed wings out of the extra skin on the sides of their bodies. As they flied droopely during the day, the sun had scorched their bodies, turning their skin black. The sun had scorched them so badly that they had all become intolerant to the light and could only fly at night.
This is how the wicked villagers turned into the insects that we know today as fireflies: tortured souls trying to find all the crumbs they dropped the night they stole the food from the good villagers.
How the Wolf got its Howl by Zevida Germain
Long ago, before humans even laid foot upon the earth, only the animals roamed. Without humans there was plenty of land , mountains of food, and untouched sparkling lakes that stretched father than the eye could see. The animals were spread out far and few between and lived most of their lives in solitude. One animal however, hated this style of life. From the tip of his white tinted muzzle all the way to the end of his long bushy tail, every inch of him destested it. Wolf didn't exactly know why, but he was always so lonely. So very lonely that he spent his entire life looking for any companionship he could find.
From the time the sun rose in the east til it set in the West, Wolf wandered Mother Earth searching for someone to give him the time of day. But since the other animals enjoyed their solitude and weren't interested in giving him any attention. So when the Wolf couldn't walk another step and the moon's presence brought silence over the vast land, Wolf would raise his weary head and let out a few mournful howls, waking up any neighboring creatures. Months passed and the animals grew tired of Wolf's nighttime cries so they devised a plan.
In the middle of the world grew a massive oak tree, who they called Mother oak. She was the first being ever created, and she created everything else. She was known for being a loving deity, one who cared greatly for everything she had made but had a great temper when it came to anyone who came Asking for more than what she deemed necessary.
So the animals decided to trick Wolf into going to see Mother oak, telling him that she had heard his calling and was planning to help him. When Wolf heard this, he raced off to were mother earth was resting. walking tirelessly for many nights and days until finally he came to a gargantuan tree, bigger than anything he had seen before. She towered over him, her long branches seeming to scrape the clouds above, and her roots seemed to dig to the center of the earth. For a second, Wolf felt so weak and powerless looking up at the Mother of everything, as if he was still just a tiny pup. He shuttered for a moment, worrying what mother oak might do to him if she got got mad, his mind suddenly filling with horrific possibilities. He thought about turning back with his tail between his legs.
This feeling didn't last long though, as he quickly came to his senses and calmed himself, Puffing out his chest to try and look important before speaking.
He called out, but there was no response.
“Mother oak?”
He called out again slightly louder this time. Still there was no response. Wolf was getting irritated at this point.
“Mother oak?”
He cried out, his voice much harsher and more demanding. This Time, someone answered.
“Mother oak!”
“My child, you are happy with what I have given you are you not?”
the voice seemed to come from everywhere. A voice so encompassing, Wolf could feel the earth under his paws rumbling.
he answered Shaking slightly, but he was interrupted by the voice.
“Yes but-”
“ Then that settles it. No special treatment for anyone. Do not come to me again.”
And with that, the earth grew silent . This angered Wolf so greatly that , he brought his claws down on the brindle bark of the tree, breaking its weak fibers. As soon as the tip of his claws left the bark, the sky grew dark as night and a booming voice so loud that it could be heard from miles and miles away exploded from all around him
“I made the bright sun to warm you, and the soft grass for you to lie in, and the glistening lakes for you to fish in. I made everything you see around you. I made it all for you and yet this is how you repay me? You deserve to be punished. From this day forth, all your kind will live together in packs but you, you will be forced to wander the earth forever, and your only friend will be the moon . You will howl to her, and the neighboring wolves will howl back but you will never be able to see them. Now leave! “
That's what Wolf did. To this day, sometimes you can still hear him calling to the moon, his sorrow echoing in the vastness of the dark. The other wolves respond, but it is all in vain, you see, he will never be able to see them, never again.
From the time the sun rose in the east til it set in the West, Wolf wandered Mother Earth searching for someone to give him the time of day. But since the other animals enjoyed their solitude and weren't interested in giving him any attention. So when the Wolf couldn't walk another step and the moon's presence brought silence over the vast land, Wolf would raise his weary head and let out a few mournful howls, waking up any neighboring creatures. Months passed and the animals grew tired of Wolf's nighttime cries so they devised a plan.
In the middle of the world grew a massive oak tree, who they called Mother oak. She was the first being ever created, and she created everything else. She was known for being a loving deity, one who cared greatly for everything she had made but had a great temper when it came to anyone who came Asking for more than what she deemed necessary.
So the animals decided to trick Wolf into going to see Mother oak, telling him that she had heard his calling and was planning to help him. When Wolf heard this, he raced off to were mother earth was resting. walking tirelessly for many nights and days until finally he came to a gargantuan tree, bigger than anything he had seen before. She towered over him, her long branches seeming to scrape the clouds above, and her roots seemed to dig to the center of the earth. For a second, Wolf felt so weak and powerless looking up at the Mother of everything, as if he was still just a tiny pup. He shuttered for a moment, worrying what mother oak might do to him if she got got mad, his mind suddenly filling with horrific possibilities. He thought about turning back with his tail between his legs.
This feeling didn't last long though, as he quickly came to his senses and calmed himself, Puffing out his chest to try and look important before speaking.
He called out, but there was no response.
“Mother oak?”
He called out again slightly louder this time. Still there was no response. Wolf was getting irritated at this point.
“Mother oak?”
He cried out, his voice much harsher and more demanding. This Time, someone answered.
“Mother oak!”
“My child, you are happy with what I have given you are you not?”
the voice seemed to come from everywhere. A voice so encompassing, Wolf could feel the earth under his paws rumbling.
he answered Shaking slightly, but he was interrupted by the voice.
“Yes but-”
“ Then that settles it. No special treatment for anyone. Do not come to me again.”
And with that, the earth grew silent . This angered Wolf so greatly that , he brought his claws down on the brindle bark of the tree, breaking its weak fibers. As soon as the tip of his claws left the bark, the sky grew dark as night and a booming voice so loud that it could be heard from miles and miles away exploded from all around him
“I made the bright sun to warm you, and the soft grass for you to lie in, and the glistening lakes for you to fish in. I made everything you see around you. I made it all for you and yet this is how you repay me? You deserve to be punished. From this day forth, all your kind will live together in packs but you, you will be forced to wander the earth forever, and your only friend will be the moon . You will howl to her, and the neighboring wolves will howl back but you will never be able to see them. Now leave! “
That's what Wolf did. To this day, sometimes you can still hear him calling to the moon, his sorrow echoing in the vastness of the dark. The other wolves respond, but it is all in vain, you see, he will never be able to see them, never again.
The Deer and its Antlers by Nada EF
In the forests that draped themselves over the lands, a graceful creature roamed around, keeping to itself and not disturbing anyone or anything.
It had a dark brown coat, which glimmered golden in the sunlight despite its dark colour. It had deep, passionate brown eyes, ones that portrayed emotions far beyond words. It had a broad, beautifully and powerfully chiseled body, built for moving throughout the forest and its tightly packed trees.
The way it lived its life also made it beautiful. With no effort, it moved through the forest, winding itself between trees, leaping over boulders, all while hardly disturbing any of its surroundings. It would graze at the grass so calmly, so quietly, displaying nothing but peace in its ways. There was nothing wrong with this creature.
The fact that such perfect beauty existed in an animal angered Saevus.
Saevus was the god of evil and cruelty.
Saveus decided to give this creature a pair of unappealing, repugnant horns. That way, nobody would dare to call it beautiful again, and he would get what he wanted.
However, just as Saveus was preparing a pair of horns to sprout from this creature’s skull, Decusia interfered.
“Saevus, what in the name of the heavens are you doing?”
Decusia, the goddess of flawlessness, had caught Saevus in the middle of his supposedly secret crime.
“I am giving this creature its proper appearance,” Saveus stated. “No creature with such beauty should be allowed to exist in any place but the heavens.”
“But Saveus!” Decusia objected. “This world has never seen any beauty. Please, leave this creature be. Let it dwell in its allure. It may seem otherwise, but this world does deserve it.”
Saveus was not one to change his mind so easily. But Decusia begged and begged, until he decided to abandon his plan for the current moment.
“Very well, Decusia,” Saveus said, “I will leave this creature as it is.”
Decusia was about to thank him, until a honeyed female voice cut through.
“Saveus, oh, why would you listen to Decusia’s words?”
That, without a doubt, was Aphrodite.
The goddess of love and desire. Neither Saveus nor Decusia knew why she may want to be a part of this situation.
“Why have you come here, Aphrodite?” Decusia demanded.
Aphrodite sneered. “I must say, Saveus, I do agree with your plan.”
“What do you mean?” Saveus questioned.
“I do support the idea of giving this creature horns,” she stated. “Not for the purpose of making it hideous, but giving it horns may prove effective when it comes to attracting females.”
Saveus was filled with joy. With Aphrodite was on his side, he would be able to carry out his plan and alter these creatures.
Decusia let out a wail of despair.
Trutis, the god of balance and harmony, who also happened Decusia’s brother, heard Decusia’s wails and immediately arrived by her side.
Saveus stopped celebrating. Decusia’s cries ceased. The two goddesses and the god looked in Trutis’s direction questioningly.
“What is going on here?” demanded Trutis. “Why does my sister cry?”
Decusia spoke: “Brother, they—”
Aphrodite cut her off. “You have no part in this, Trutis. Leave.”
“They want to taint a beautiful creature with hideous horns!” Decusia cried out.
Saveus and Aphrodite glared at Decusia. Trutis was shocked.
“You cannot do that!” exclaimed Trutis.
“You are only taking Decusia’s side because she is your sister,” Saevus growled. “You don’t have a valid reason.”
“Yes, I do!” Trutis stated. “Horns will make it extremely noticeable to its hunters. The horns will also be too heavy for its head. You cannot do this.”
“The horns will help attract mates!” Aphrodite objected.
“You will ruin its beauty!” Decusia retaliated.
“That is the point!” Saveus bellowed.
Trutis shook his head. “This differently.”
The two gods and two goddesses—Saveus and Aphrodite against Decusia and Trutis—all arranged a challenge. Whichever team could create the most beautiful plant by sundown would get their way.
Saveus and Aphrodite planted their seed. Aphrodite coaxed it to grow into a beautiful, vibrant blue vine.
Decusia and Trutis grew a flower. Trutis grew the petals to just the right size and Decusia gave the flower its colours. Its petals were dark pink and cherry red.
The two teams compared their plants. Both were beautiful. The challenge ended in a draw.
“I have an idea,” Trutis said. “We can give the creature horns for part of the year, and they can fall off and be gone for the remainder of that year.”
Aphrodite joined in: “He is right. And when the horns are at their largest size, that is when the mating season for this creature will be.”
There were no objections.
“I will grow its horns, then,” Saveus said, ready to ruin this creature’s beauty forever.
“Wait, Saveus,” Aphrodite interrupted, “The creature’s horns must be, at the least, mildly attractive.”
Saveus was furious. “Are you changing sides?”
“No,” Aphrodite said. “I just want the horns to look good.”
“But this was the whole point of my plan!” Angrily, Saveus stomped his foot on the forest floor.
Tree branches were knocked down. Aphrodite saw one fall at her feet and looked to Saveus, an idea in her head.
“What if we made them look like tree branches?”
Decusia smiled. “They don’t affect the creature’s beauty too much.”
“They blend in with the trees and won’t make the creature easy to hunt,” Trutis added.
“They can be used to fight…” mumbled Saveus. “Better than nothing.”
“They will do well when attracting mates,” stated Aphrodite. “They’re perfect.”
This, they all thought, wasn’t bad, and so they agreed.
The tree-branch-like horns they gave the deer were called antlers. The deer remained a peaceful creature, but now, it had antlers. And so every year, the deer would grow a pair of antlers, mate, and then they would fall off. On and on this would go, and even the deer grew to be grateful for this new phenomenon.
It had a dark brown coat, which glimmered golden in the sunlight despite its dark colour. It had deep, passionate brown eyes, ones that portrayed emotions far beyond words. It had a broad, beautifully and powerfully chiseled body, built for moving throughout the forest and its tightly packed trees.
The way it lived its life also made it beautiful. With no effort, it moved through the forest, winding itself between trees, leaping over boulders, all while hardly disturbing any of its surroundings. It would graze at the grass so calmly, so quietly, displaying nothing but peace in its ways. There was nothing wrong with this creature.
The fact that such perfect beauty existed in an animal angered Saevus.
Saevus was the god of evil and cruelty.
Saveus decided to give this creature a pair of unappealing, repugnant horns. That way, nobody would dare to call it beautiful again, and he would get what he wanted.
However, just as Saveus was preparing a pair of horns to sprout from this creature’s skull, Decusia interfered.
“Saevus, what in the name of the heavens are you doing?”
Decusia, the goddess of flawlessness, had caught Saevus in the middle of his supposedly secret crime.
“I am giving this creature its proper appearance,” Saveus stated. “No creature with such beauty should be allowed to exist in any place but the heavens.”
“But Saveus!” Decusia objected. “This world has never seen any beauty. Please, leave this creature be. Let it dwell in its allure. It may seem otherwise, but this world does deserve it.”
Saveus was not one to change his mind so easily. But Decusia begged and begged, until he decided to abandon his plan for the current moment.
“Very well, Decusia,” Saveus said, “I will leave this creature as it is.”
Decusia was about to thank him, until a honeyed female voice cut through.
“Saveus, oh, why would you listen to Decusia’s words?”
That, without a doubt, was Aphrodite.
The goddess of love and desire. Neither Saveus nor Decusia knew why she may want to be a part of this situation.
“Why have you come here, Aphrodite?” Decusia demanded.
Aphrodite sneered. “I must say, Saveus, I do agree with your plan.”
“What do you mean?” Saveus questioned.
“I do support the idea of giving this creature horns,” she stated. “Not for the purpose of making it hideous, but giving it horns may prove effective when it comes to attracting females.”
Saveus was filled with joy. With Aphrodite was on his side, he would be able to carry out his plan and alter these creatures.
Decusia let out a wail of despair.
Trutis, the god of balance and harmony, who also happened Decusia’s brother, heard Decusia’s wails and immediately arrived by her side.
Saveus stopped celebrating. Decusia’s cries ceased. The two goddesses and the god looked in Trutis’s direction questioningly.
“What is going on here?” demanded Trutis. “Why does my sister cry?”
Decusia spoke: “Brother, they—”
Aphrodite cut her off. “You have no part in this, Trutis. Leave.”
“They want to taint a beautiful creature with hideous horns!” Decusia cried out.
Saveus and Aphrodite glared at Decusia. Trutis was shocked.
“You cannot do that!” exclaimed Trutis.
“You are only taking Decusia’s side because she is your sister,” Saevus growled. “You don’t have a valid reason.”
“Yes, I do!” Trutis stated. “Horns will make it extremely noticeable to its hunters. The horns will also be too heavy for its head. You cannot do this.”
“The horns will help attract mates!” Aphrodite objected.
“You will ruin its beauty!” Decusia retaliated.
“That is the point!” Saveus bellowed.
Trutis shook his head. “This differently.”
The two gods and two goddesses—Saveus and Aphrodite against Decusia and Trutis—all arranged a challenge. Whichever team could create the most beautiful plant by sundown would get their way.
Saveus and Aphrodite planted their seed. Aphrodite coaxed it to grow into a beautiful, vibrant blue vine.
Decusia and Trutis grew a flower. Trutis grew the petals to just the right size and Decusia gave the flower its colours. Its petals were dark pink and cherry red.
The two teams compared their plants. Both were beautiful. The challenge ended in a draw.
“I have an idea,” Trutis said. “We can give the creature horns for part of the year, and they can fall off and be gone for the remainder of that year.”
Aphrodite joined in: “He is right. And when the horns are at their largest size, that is when the mating season for this creature will be.”
There were no objections.
“I will grow its horns, then,” Saveus said, ready to ruin this creature’s beauty forever.
“Wait, Saveus,” Aphrodite interrupted, “The creature’s horns must be, at the least, mildly attractive.”
Saveus was furious. “Are you changing sides?”
“No,” Aphrodite said. “I just want the horns to look good.”
“But this was the whole point of my plan!” Angrily, Saveus stomped his foot on the forest floor.
Tree branches were knocked down. Aphrodite saw one fall at her feet and looked to Saveus, an idea in her head.
“What if we made them look like tree branches?”
Decusia smiled. “They don’t affect the creature’s beauty too much.”
“They blend in with the trees and won’t make the creature easy to hunt,” Trutis added.
“They can be used to fight…” mumbled Saveus. “Better than nothing.”
“They will do well when attracting mates,” stated Aphrodite. “They’re perfect.”
This, they all thought, wasn’t bad, and so they agreed.
The tree-branch-like horns they gave the deer were called antlers. The deer remained a peaceful creature, but now, it had antlers. And so every year, the deer would grow a pair of antlers, mate, and then they would fall off. On and on this would go, and even the deer grew to be grateful for this new phenomenon.
The Devil's Flashlight by Heidi Elder
Oncehaven
It was night and the entire world was resting. The moon shone down over the abandoned town of Oncehaven. It didn’t matter that it was a clear night, the city remained dark, its shadows acting as the protectors of the old city’s secrets. Disturbing the stillness, a light was flicked on and the sound echoed between the ghostly buildings. One might expect a burglar or someone without anywhere else to go, because no one in their right mind would come to Oncehaven, for fear of bringing the ghosts with you when you left. It was not, in fact, a burglar nor was it a vagabond. It was a child. He was a boy, no older than 10, looking out a window and onto the park, whose grass had long since been green. He liked the solitude of the town, and the quiet. Caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, he nearly fell out of the window when a bright beam of light appeared from across the chipped road. Curious, the boy considered going after it, as any little boy would. He leaned toward the temptation but then recoiled as if he had been slapped. He was brave, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go looking for trouble. It would be a shame to die so early, especially when he had been training his entire life learning how to survive.
The boy tried, but he couldn’t ignore the light, and he couldn’t keep staring either. He was caught at a crossroad and the wrong decision could cost him his life. After he had made his decision, the boy turned back to the window to inspect the flashlight. The light’s beam wavered for a second before disappearing completely. The boy’s features twitched, his mind wandering to all the places the light could have gone; most of which lead to the room he was in. Fortunately for him, the boy knew how to hide so that no one would be able to find him. Working quickly, he extinguished the light and the room immediately fell to darkness. He turned his attention to the door. While slamming it shut, he recognized a lock just above the handle. Perfect, he thought. Turning the bolt with a click, he began scanning the room and he smiled when he found a wardrobe. Moving silently, he climbed into the hiding place and shut the door behind him. He could barely see, except for the moonlight seeping in through the bottom where the doors didn’t shut properly. He watched the opening and prayed that he would see no movement. He stayed like that for half an hour, focusing intently on the gap, searching for the flashlight and its owner. He’d had to do this hundreds of times in his life but this was his first time in Oncehaven. Though he was used to hiding in cramped places, he wasn’t used to staying there for long. It usually only took a couple of minutes for his father to calm down and then it would be safe to come out again. With time, his fear had diminished to understanding.
For the first time, he tore his eyes away from the gap between the wardrobe’s doors to look around at the contents strewn over the flooring. There was a possibility that knowing where he was could help him think up his plan of escape. He squinted in the dim light but made out the unmistakable figures of dresses. The fact that they were dangling high above his head proved that they were a girl’s dresses and not a woman’s but he didn’t know how this knowledge would help him. Next, he scoured the trash that littered the floor of the wardrobe. He brushed the wood with his hands blindly, hoping they would land on something useful. He smiled when he felt something pointy touch his hand. Making sure not to lose it, he grabbed it and held it inches from his face, trying to decipher what it was. As he rotated it in the moonlight, he gasped when he made out a face. Its black eyes surprised him to the point where he nearly dropped the object but he managed to tighten his grip on it at the last minute to prevent from making a sound. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, he took a second look at the pointy thing. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a doll. Granted, it was a terrifying, well-loved doll, but dolls couldn’t hurt him and it felt nice to have something that could be used as a weapon in desperate situations. After his mind tackled the shock of discovering the doll, his mind realized what it meant. Oncehaven wasn’t just abandoned, it had been fled. There was no way that the little girl who owned all those dresses and the doll would have left them behind. A shiver ran down his spine as he wondered what had happened to all of those people.
A Deal with the Devil
“Yes, it’s completely normal to ponder. There is something mysterious and beautiful about Oncehaven,” said a voice from just outside the wardrobe. It was deep and rich, comforting, almost. The boy’s eyes drifted the gap between the doors and saw a pair of black boots standing just outside. “Are you going to come out or do I need to open them for you?” The boy’s breaths were shallow and quick as he gripped the doll until his knuckles turned pale. Still, the boy said nothing. “Alright, my silent friend, I’m coming in.” The wardrobe opened and moonlight shone. Spurring into action, the boy positioned the doll with its feet pointing down, aimed at the voice’s neck. The boy didn’t expect them to puncture but he also didn’t expect them to go through the man like smoke. Using his momentum, he ran to the door, not stopping to consider what had just happened. Fumbling with the lock, he unlocked it and then yanked the door open. Except the door didn’t open, he was instead met with a sharp pain in his shoulder. With his back to the door, he turned to face the voice.
It was a man, tall, wearing an entirely black outfit that seemed too expensive for someone found in Oncehaven.
“Who are you?” The boy demanded. The man paused to consider this.
“We have not met so you would not recognize my name if I told it to you but for the sake of friendly conversation, my name is Reaper. And yours?” The boy was young but he was old enough to know that one should never give their name to a stranger.
“Jimmy.” The man’s eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses but the boy could see his eyebrows raise.
“Are you sure?” The boy nodded violently.
“Very well, Jimmy.” The man emphasized. “I have an offer for you. I want you to come live with me.”
“No thank you.”
“Smart boy, but I think you might want to reconsider.”
“No thank you.”
“Think of your father. Running off in the middle of the night is sure to make him angry. You have no bruises to show for his rage, that makes you a liar.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know a lot of things. That your mother ran off when you were young, that your father has a temper, that you hide every night because you’re afraid of him.” The boy was speechless, it was impossible for anyone to know those things. “Oh-and also, I know your real name is Kyle but you never use it because you hate it; because it was your father who named you.” The man approached him and the boy lashed out but like the first time, his blows went through the man like he wasn’t even there. Ignoring this, the man knelt down in front of the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“I can offer you an escape. You would never have to go back and you can come live with me.” No longer so defensive, the boy answered.
“Where do you live?”
“I live wherever I want, Jimmy. I’m residing in this abandoned neighborhood for the time being but I can go wherever I want, Jimmy. If you come with me, you could finally escape this dreadful place.” The man dressed in black didn’t mean Oncehaven, like you might have thought but this world, Earth. Of course, the boy did not know this.
“Free?” The boy asked. Reaper nodded sympathetically. The boy thought back to all those days in the closet, under the bed, hidden within chests. He recalled the day he learned to cry silently because it was how his father found him. Quietly, the boy fell into Reaper.
“Will it be peaceful there?” He asked, burying his tear streaked face into the man’s overcoat.
“Peace is all there is.”
“I want to go with you. How do we get there?”
“To get there, you must fall.”
“Fall?”
“Any ledge will do. Even that window would work.” The boy considered this and found himself rejecting the idea. Reaper squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “Are you scared?”
“A little.”
“We can do it together if you would like.” The boy thought this over and nodded.
“I don’t want to fall alone.”
“Of course not.” The man said, his teeth sparkling in the dim light. Holding the frightened child’s hand, Reaper lead him over to the window. Stepping over the wall and onto the balcony, the boy’s grip tightened. “Is there anything you would like to say, Jimmy?”
“Why do you carry around a flashlight?”
“It isn’t a flashlight.”
“What is it then?” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic cylinder that resembled the exact size and shape of a flashlight.
“You see this?” He said, indicating the object. “This is nothing but a container. This-” He said as he flicked the switch that made the cylinder project a beam of light. “-Is my humanity.” He flicked the switch again and the light vanished. He replaced the cylinder back in his coat pocket.
“Why do you keep your humanity in that flashlight?” Reaper smiled again.
“Because there’s nothing that draws other humans in than humanity itself.”
In one swift movement, he escaped the boy’s grip and sent him falling down and down the apartment building. The boy’s screams filled the abandoned streets of Oncehaven as the forsaken city eagerly awaited the sickening crack that would quench its desire for death. Except, the boy never hit the ground, instead, he passed through it and for a couple of moments, he was falling through the Earth. Then, the light of the moon had relit his world as he was falling from the sky. He didn’t feel the wind on his face and he didn’t even feel Reaper’s strong arms around him as he caught the boy. He knew he was shaking and there was no helping that.
“When do we leave?” The boy asked, his voice quivering as though it was being strummed like a guitar string.
“I have already told you, I plan to stay in Oncehaven for a little bit longer before I pack up and leave. Our departure should be soon.”
“How do you know when it's time to leave?”
“When we find one more to join our cause. For you see, I haven’t been completely honest with you, Jimmy. I am not only Reaper, I am also a collector.” The man’s voice still managed to make the hairs on the boy’s arms raise straight on end.
“What do you collect?”
“Humanity, my son.” There was a blinding flash and suddenly in front of the boy appeared dozens of other children. They were ghostly and barely opaque enough to see. They rose up into the air like a giant wall, each connected by a chain that wove in and out of their arms.
“Who are they?”
“Those are part of my collection, as I like to call it. They come from here and there, ranging from around here to on the other side of the globe.”
“What did they do to you?” Reaper shook his head sadly.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t what they did but more so what they didn’t do. You see, Jimmy, none of them fell. You were the first of a long line of candidates and that’s why I grant you the title of my son. You will be infinite, like the galaxy and you will help me find more candidates.” The boy said nothing and cast his eyes to the ground. Tilting his chin, Reaper asked. “What is wrong my son?”
“I was just wondering. What if-what if I disappoint you?” The boy’s voice was barely audible by the last word. When he responded, Reaper’s voice was firm but also comforting.
“If you are to disappoint me, Jimmy, then I shall be upset but never will I hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me, my son and never will you have reason.”
“Thank you, father.”
“Come, let us sleep, for tomorrow is another day.”
“This is the Life I Chose”
*10 years later*
The boy floated along the abandoned streets of Oncehaven, his father often left for the day and didn’t return until dark. His father didn’t have many rules for him, though the ones he did have were meant to keep him apart from society. The boy knew this was odd but decided that he would deal with it sometime when he was older, more used to his new spirit-like form. He had taken up the arts, finding concepts like science and math, obscure. It helped deal with the boredom but on more than one occasion, the boy wondered what life would be like to return to the human world, to see people on a regular basis. He was wandering the streets of the now familiar town when he heard a board snap. Accustomed to the decaying nature of Oncehaven, he thought nothing of it but then another board snapped. This caught his attention. He squinted in the bright sun and looked for the cause of the sound. It had been 10 years since he had seen another human, for they rarely wanted to explore the allegedly haunted town. The thought of seeing another person set off undead butterflies in his stomach. He was about to dismiss his hope when he caught a flash of red in the corner of his eye. Before it got away, he chased after it. He ran down an alley that lead to one of the fancier houses. Without pausing in stride, he skidded into the doorway. He let out a yelp when something came out of nowhere and attempted to connect with his head. Of course, being intangible when he wanted to be, the object went right through his head but it rattled him just the same.
“What the hell was that?!” He looked around wildly for his attacker, preparing to smite them with the power of The Reaper.
“Oh my god, you talk.”
“You talk? You talk?! Of course I talk! I learned when I was one!” He was face to face with a human girl but he was too shocked to think straight. She brought her finger to her lips as she tried to quiet him.
“Alright, shh, I’m sorry.”
“Wait-” He paused to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “You’re a girl.” The girl snorted.
“How observant captain obvious.”
“No, I just mean that-why are you here?”
“I dunno.” Now it was his turn to look at her with amazement.
“You end up in the abandoned/haunted city of Oncehaven and you “dunno” how you got here.” The girl rolled her eyes and dismissed the obvious question in his statement.
“So, what’s your name ghosty?”
“Ghosty?”
“That’s actually your name?”
“No. My name’s, um, Purge.” To his surprise, the girl didn’t burst out laughing. She just looked at him strangely and said.
“Hello Purge, my name’s Maya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“So Maya, what are you doing here?”
“Just looking.”
“Nonsense, no one comes here just looking. You are very vague my friend.” She shrugged and smiled slyly.
“My business is mine and yours is yours. Just like I’m not asking you what you are and why you’re hanging around Oncehaven.”
“Would you like to know?”
“Know what?”
“What I am, why I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Why do you think I’ve got the time for that?”
“Because there isn’t anything here worth stealing, so you aren’t here to rob us. You don’t have any friends so you aren’t here to freak yourself out. You haven’t tried to escape yet so you aren’t here on a dare. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a runaway.” He looked at her empty hands and lack of supplies. “Though by the looks of it, a pretty poor one.” The girl blushed and looked away from Purge.
“What are you?” She asked quietly.
“Human. Sometimes, mostly.”
“What else are you?”
“You mean the floating and the phasing through solid objects?” She nodded, her small smile returning to her face. “It’s a long story, maybe if I saw you around here tomorrow then I would be able to tell you.” Purge offered hopefully. Having a person to talk to would change his entire daily routine.
“I’m a runaway, remember? I’ll have to find a building here to sleep in.” Upon hearing this, the boy quickly shot down the idea.
“No! You can’t!” This seemed to startle the girl.
“Why not?”
“Um.” What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t risk freaking her out because that might scare her away forever but he also couldn’t let her stay in the city at night because his father would find her for sure. “It gets really cold here at night.”
“Oh. That’s okay, I’ll just sleep in one of the buildings.”
“No, actually that won’t work because they’re invested with rats and bedbugs.”
“I think I’ll be okay for just one night.”
“No! They’re really bad.”
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. What are you hiding?” Purge tried his best to act shocked.
“What? Me? Hiding something? I’m the most see-through guy there is.” He tried to dismiss the subject with a pun but the girl was persistent. Maya only continued to glare at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Alright the truth is… this whole town is haunted and my father who is also kind of a collector of souls will try to steal your humanity and then use it to fuel this little flashlight doohicky he has and then you will probably die. So yeah. It’s a bad idea to stay the night.” He knew he was rambling but he wanted her to catch the least amount of that sentence as possible. No such luck. When he looked back at the girl, she was frozen in her spot and her eyes were wide. Sensing what was coming next, he rushed in front of her. “But this place is perfectly safe in the daytime and I really want you to stay because I haven’t spoken into another human in 10 years.” He had meant it to sound desperate but it came out weird and creepy.
“Sorry Purge,” she said, backing away towards the door. “You seem like a really cool guy and I will definitely be back tomorrow to see you. Definitely. I just remembered that when I ran away, I think I left the stove on, so bye.” At this, she bolted and though Purge could keep up with her easily, he could do nothing to stop her. When she reached the city’s borders, he felt his body slam into the invisible barrier that prevented him from leaving. Disappointed at himself, he kicked small stones in the dirt. It’s okay, he told himself, I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow, just like she said. Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t true. At times like these, he liked to repeat his motto. You chose this life, you chose this life. But this time, it wasn’t working, all the frustration of 10 years of loneliness and solitude was driving him insane. So for the first time in his entire life, he screamed. He screamed like there wasn’t a tomorrow and it shook the entire town. Maya, who was now far out of the town’s reach heard it and quickened her pace. After he had finished mourning his ‘what ifs’ he got up out of the town’s sandy roads and continued back to his writing room to write yet another story inspired by the allegedly haunted town of Oncehaven.
It was night and the entire world was resting. The moon shone down over the abandoned town of Oncehaven. It didn’t matter that it was a clear night, the city remained dark, its shadows acting as the protectors of the old city’s secrets. Disturbing the stillness, a light was flicked on and the sound echoed between the ghostly buildings. One might expect a burglar or someone without anywhere else to go, because no one in their right mind would come to Oncehaven, for fear of bringing the ghosts with you when you left. It was not, in fact, a burglar nor was it a vagabond. It was a child. He was a boy, no older than 10, looking out a window and onto the park, whose grass had long since been green. He liked the solitude of the town, and the quiet. Caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, he nearly fell out of the window when a bright beam of light appeared from across the chipped road. Curious, the boy considered going after it, as any little boy would. He leaned toward the temptation but then recoiled as if he had been slapped. He was brave, but he wasn’t stupid enough to go looking for trouble. It would be a shame to die so early, especially when he had been training his entire life learning how to survive.
The boy tried, but he couldn’t ignore the light, and he couldn’t keep staring either. He was caught at a crossroad and the wrong decision could cost him his life. After he had made his decision, the boy turned back to the window to inspect the flashlight. The light’s beam wavered for a second before disappearing completely. The boy’s features twitched, his mind wandering to all the places the light could have gone; most of which lead to the room he was in. Fortunately for him, the boy knew how to hide so that no one would be able to find him. Working quickly, he extinguished the light and the room immediately fell to darkness. He turned his attention to the door. While slamming it shut, he recognized a lock just above the handle. Perfect, he thought. Turning the bolt with a click, he began scanning the room and he smiled when he found a wardrobe. Moving silently, he climbed into the hiding place and shut the door behind him. He could barely see, except for the moonlight seeping in through the bottom where the doors didn’t shut properly. He watched the opening and prayed that he would see no movement. He stayed like that for half an hour, focusing intently on the gap, searching for the flashlight and its owner. He’d had to do this hundreds of times in his life but this was his first time in Oncehaven. Though he was used to hiding in cramped places, he wasn’t used to staying there for long. It usually only took a couple of minutes for his father to calm down and then it would be safe to come out again. With time, his fear had diminished to understanding.
For the first time, he tore his eyes away from the gap between the wardrobe’s doors to look around at the contents strewn over the flooring. There was a possibility that knowing where he was could help him think up his plan of escape. He squinted in the dim light but made out the unmistakable figures of dresses. The fact that they were dangling high above his head proved that they were a girl’s dresses and not a woman’s but he didn’t know how this knowledge would help him. Next, he scoured the trash that littered the floor of the wardrobe. He brushed the wood with his hands blindly, hoping they would land on something useful. He smiled when he felt something pointy touch his hand. Making sure not to lose it, he grabbed it and held it inches from his face, trying to decipher what it was. As he rotated it in the moonlight, he gasped when he made out a face. Its black eyes surprised him to the point where he nearly dropped the object but he managed to tighten his grip on it at the last minute to prevent from making a sound. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, he took a second look at the pointy thing. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a doll. Granted, it was a terrifying, well-loved doll, but dolls couldn’t hurt him and it felt nice to have something that could be used as a weapon in desperate situations. After his mind tackled the shock of discovering the doll, his mind realized what it meant. Oncehaven wasn’t just abandoned, it had been fled. There was no way that the little girl who owned all those dresses and the doll would have left them behind. A shiver ran down his spine as he wondered what had happened to all of those people.
A Deal with the Devil
“Yes, it’s completely normal to ponder. There is something mysterious and beautiful about Oncehaven,” said a voice from just outside the wardrobe. It was deep and rich, comforting, almost. The boy’s eyes drifted the gap between the doors and saw a pair of black boots standing just outside. “Are you going to come out or do I need to open them for you?” The boy’s breaths were shallow and quick as he gripped the doll until his knuckles turned pale. Still, the boy said nothing. “Alright, my silent friend, I’m coming in.” The wardrobe opened and moonlight shone. Spurring into action, the boy positioned the doll with its feet pointing down, aimed at the voice’s neck. The boy didn’t expect them to puncture but he also didn’t expect them to go through the man like smoke. Using his momentum, he ran to the door, not stopping to consider what had just happened. Fumbling with the lock, he unlocked it and then yanked the door open. Except the door didn’t open, he was instead met with a sharp pain in his shoulder. With his back to the door, he turned to face the voice.
It was a man, tall, wearing an entirely black outfit that seemed too expensive for someone found in Oncehaven.
“Who are you?” The boy demanded. The man paused to consider this.
“We have not met so you would not recognize my name if I told it to you but for the sake of friendly conversation, my name is Reaper. And yours?” The boy was young but he was old enough to know that one should never give their name to a stranger.
“Jimmy.” The man’s eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses but the boy could see his eyebrows raise.
“Are you sure?” The boy nodded violently.
“Very well, Jimmy.” The man emphasized. “I have an offer for you. I want you to come live with me.”
“No thank you.”
“Smart boy, but I think you might want to reconsider.”
“No thank you.”
“Think of your father. Running off in the middle of the night is sure to make him angry. You have no bruises to show for his rage, that makes you a liar.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know a lot of things. That your mother ran off when you were young, that your father has a temper, that you hide every night because you’re afraid of him.” The boy was speechless, it was impossible for anyone to know those things. “Oh-and also, I know your real name is Kyle but you never use it because you hate it; because it was your father who named you.” The man approached him and the boy lashed out but like the first time, his blows went through the man like he wasn’t even there. Ignoring this, the man knelt down in front of the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“I can offer you an escape. You would never have to go back and you can come live with me.” No longer so defensive, the boy answered.
“Where do you live?”
“I live wherever I want, Jimmy. I’m residing in this abandoned neighborhood for the time being but I can go wherever I want, Jimmy. If you come with me, you could finally escape this dreadful place.” The man dressed in black didn’t mean Oncehaven, like you might have thought but this world, Earth. Of course, the boy did not know this.
“Free?” The boy asked. Reaper nodded sympathetically. The boy thought back to all those days in the closet, under the bed, hidden within chests. He recalled the day he learned to cry silently because it was how his father found him. Quietly, the boy fell into Reaper.
“Will it be peaceful there?” He asked, burying his tear streaked face into the man’s overcoat.
“Peace is all there is.”
“I want to go with you. How do we get there?”
“To get there, you must fall.”
“Fall?”
“Any ledge will do. Even that window would work.” The boy considered this and found himself rejecting the idea. Reaper squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “Are you scared?”
“A little.”
“We can do it together if you would like.” The boy thought this over and nodded.
“I don’t want to fall alone.”
“Of course not.” The man said, his teeth sparkling in the dim light. Holding the frightened child’s hand, Reaper lead him over to the window. Stepping over the wall and onto the balcony, the boy’s grip tightened. “Is there anything you would like to say, Jimmy?”
“Why do you carry around a flashlight?”
“It isn’t a flashlight.”
“What is it then?” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic cylinder that resembled the exact size and shape of a flashlight.
“You see this?” He said, indicating the object. “This is nothing but a container. This-” He said as he flicked the switch that made the cylinder project a beam of light. “-Is my humanity.” He flicked the switch again and the light vanished. He replaced the cylinder back in his coat pocket.
“Why do you keep your humanity in that flashlight?” Reaper smiled again.
“Because there’s nothing that draws other humans in than humanity itself.”
In one swift movement, he escaped the boy’s grip and sent him falling down and down the apartment building. The boy’s screams filled the abandoned streets of Oncehaven as the forsaken city eagerly awaited the sickening crack that would quench its desire for death. Except, the boy never hit the ground, instead, he passed through it and for a couple of moments, he was falling through the Earth. Then, the light of the moon had relit his world as he was falling from the sky. He didn’t feel the wind on his face and he didn’t even feel Reaper’s strong arms around him as he caught the boy. He knew he was shaking and there was no helping that.
“When do we leave?” The boy asked, his voice quivering as though it was being strummed like a guitar string.
“I have already told you, I plan to stay in Oncehaven for a little bit longer before I pack up and leave. Our departure should be soon.”
“How do you know when it's time to leave?”
“When we find one more to join our cause. For you see, I haven’t been completely honest with you, Jimmy. I am not only Reaper, I am also a collector.” The man’s voice still managed to make the hairs on the boy’s arms raise straight on end.
“What do you collect?”
“Humanity, my son.” There was a blinding flash and suddenly in front of the boy appeared dozens of other children. They were ghostly and barely opaque enough to see. They rose up into the air like a giant wall, each connected by a chain that wove in and out of their arms.
“Who are they?”
“Those are part of my collection, as I like to call it. They come from here and there, ranging from around here to on the other side of the globe.”
“What did they do to you?” Reaper shook his head sadly.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t what they did but more so what they didn’t do. You see, Jimmy, none of them fell. You were the first of a long line of candidates and that’s why I grant you the title of my son. You will be infinite, like the galaxy and you will help me find more candidates.” The boy said nothing and cast his eyes to the ground. Tilting his chin, Reaper asked. “What is wrong my son?”
“I was just wondering. What if-what if I disappoint you?” The boy’s voice was barely audible by the last word. When he responded, Reaper’s voice was firm but also comforting.
“If you are to disappoint me, Jimmy, then I shall be upset but never will I hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me, my son and never will you have reason.”
“Thank you, father.”
“Come, let us sleep, for tomorrow is another day.”
“This is the Life I Chose”
*10 years later*
The boy floated along the abandoned streets of Oncehaven, his father often left for the day and didn’t return until dark. His father didn’t have many rules for him, though the ones he did have were meant to keep him apart from society. The boy knew this was odd but decided that he would deal with it sometime when he was older, more used to his new spirit-like form. He had taken up the arts, finding concepts like science and math, obscure. It helped deal with the boredom but on more than one occasion, the boy wondered what life would be like to return to the human world, to see people on a regular basis. He was wandering the streets of the now familiar town when he heard a board snap. Accustomed to the decaying nature of Oncehaven, he thought nothing of it but then another board snapped. This caught his attention. He squinted in the bright sun and looked for the cause of the sound. It had been 10 years since he had seen another human, for they rarely wanted to explore the allegedly haunted town. The thought of seeing another person set off undead butterflies in his stomach. He was about to dismiss his hope when he caught a flash of red in the corner of his eye. Before it got away, he chased after it. He ran down an alley that lead to one of the fancier houses. Without pausing in stride, he skidded into the doorway. He let out a yelp when something came out of nowhere and attempted to connect with his head. Of course, being intangible when he wanted to be, the object went right through his head but it rattled him just the same.
“What the hell was that?!” He looked around wildly for his attacker, preparing to smite them with the power of The Reaper.
“Oh my god, you talk.”
“You talk? You talk?! Of course I talk! I learned when I was one!” He was face to face with a human girl but he was too shocked to think straight. She brought her finger to her lips as she tried to quiet him.
“Alright, shh, I’m sorry.”
“Wait-” He paused to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “You’re a girl.” The girl snorted.
“How observant captain obvious.”
“No, I just mean that-why are you here?”
“I dunno.” Now it was his turn to look at her with amazement.
“You end up in the abandoned/haunted city of Oncehaven and you “dunno” how you got here.” The girl rolled her eyes and dismissed the obvious question in his statement.
“So, what’s your name ghosty?”
“Ghosty?”
“That’s actually your name?”
“No. My name’s, um, Purge.” To his surprise, the girl didn’t burst out laughing. She just looked at him strangely and said.
“Hello Purge, my name’s Maya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“So Maya, what are you doing here?”
“Just looking.”
“Nonsense, no one comes here just looking. You are very vague my friend.” She shrugged and smiled slyly.
“My business is mine and yours is yours. Just like I’m not asking you what you are and why you’re hanging around Oncehaven.”
“Would you like to know?”
“Know what?”
“What I am, why I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Why do you think I’ve got the time for that?”
“Because there isn’t anything here worth stealing, so you aren’t here to rob us. You don’t have any friends so you aren’t here to freak yourself out. You haven’t tried to escape yet so you aren’t here on a dare. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a runaway.” He looked at her empty hands and lack of supplies. “Though by the looks of it, a pretty poor one.” The girl blushed and looked away from Purge.
“What are you?” She asked quietly.
“Human. Sometimes, mostly.”
“What else are you?”
“You mean the floating and the phasing through solid objects?” She nodded, her small smile returning to her face. “It’s a long story, maybe if I saw you around here tomorrow then I would be able to tell you.” Purge offered hopefully. Having a person to talk to would change his entire daily routine.
“I’m a runaway, remember? I’ll have to find a building here to sleep in.” Upon hearing this, the boy quickly shot down the idea.
“No! You can’t!” This seemed to startle the girl.
“Why not?”
“Um.” What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t risk freaking her out because that might scare her away forever but he also couldn’t let her stay in the city at night because his father would find her for sure. “It gets really cold here at night.”
“Oh. That’s okay, I’ll just sleep in one of the buildings.”
“No, actually that won’t work because they’re invested with rats and bedbugs.”
“I think I’ll be okay for just one night.”
“No! They’re really bad.”
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. What are you hiding?” Purge tried his best to act shocked.
“What? Me? Hiding something? I’m the most see-through guy there is.” He tried to dismiss the subject with a pun but the girl was persistent. Maya only continued to glare at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Alright the truth is… this whole town is haunted and my father who is also kind of a collector of souls will try to steal your humanity and then use it to fuel this little flashlight doohicky he has and then you will probably die. So yeah. It’s a bad idea to stay the night.” He knew he was rambling but he wanted her to catch the least amount of that sentence as possible. No such luck. When he looked back at the girl, she was frozen in her spot and her eyes were wide. Sensing what was coming next, he rushed in front of her. “But this place is perfectly safe in the daytime and I really want you to stay because I haven’t spoken into another human in 10 years.” He had meant it to sound desperate but it came out weird and creepy.
“Sorry Purge,” she said, backing away towards the door. “You seem like a really cool guy and I will definitely be back tomorrow to see you. Definitely. I just remembered that when I ran away, I think I left the stove on, so bye.” At this, she bolted and though Purge could keep up with her easily, he could do nothing to stop her. When she reached the city’s borders, he felt his body slam into the invisible barrier that prevented him from leaving. Disappointed at himself, he kicked small stones in the dirt. It’s okay, he told himself, I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow, just like she said. Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t true. At times like these, he liked to repeat his motto. You chose this life, you chose this life. But this time, it wasn’t working, all the frustration of 10 years of loneliness and solitude was driving him insane. So for the first time in his entire life, he screamed. He screamed like there wasn’t a tomorrow and it shook the entire town. Maya, who was now far out of the town’s reach heard it and quickened her pace. After he had finished mourning his ‘what ifs’ he got up out of the town’s sandy roads and continued back to his writing room to write yet another story inspired by the allegedly haunted town of Oncehaven.