Jerri Lenner had accepted the invitation from Garn Laboratories, wondering if this would be her big break in the not exactly news world. The lab was privately owned, but government funded (always a sign of above-board honesty. Nothing suspicious at all here don't you know?) and had always refused entrance to journalists until now. It was near a town called Kirkenes, which, when looked up on the internet had the claim to be "the most remote town in Europe." It was right on the border between Norway and Russia. Her boss, Vance Lungstrom, at the Insider Times, had told her the lab had asked for her specifically because of her story on vampires living in the sewers in Manhattan. When she laughed at the idea Vance got up and shut the office door. "Jerri, this is serious, this is a government backed deal, but nobody knows which branch. Garn is paying top dollar for you and only you to go out there." "Vance, you and I both know we are one step above the National Enquirer when it comes to the truth. I mean I wrote a piece about Satan escaping from Hell last month! Why not go to the Washington Post if their story is so important?" Jerri had asked eyeing the box of donuts that seemed to be eternally on Vance's desk (and usually half empty as the staff of the Insider was perpetually peckish). "I asked them that and was told they wanted only the Insider Times and only you because what they have in the lab has to be covered by an open-minded journalist. They're paying top dollar and you're getting a bonus of five grand from Garn just for doing this. They're sending a private jet to the airport on Monday at three in the afternoon. Are you up for it?" Vance asked, indicating his donuts were fair game. "Sure," she muttered around a bite of a jelly filled, "I'm a starving journalist you know." She was told to come alone, no photographer, no assistant, not even a laptop. Her cell phone was in her bag, but she had been assured by a Garn representative that she would have no reception as this place was so far away from the civilized world. The private plane (sent by Garn) had dropped her off at a tiny airport that was minutes away from the town center. She was just dropped off when a coach (provided by Garn) where the driver (hired by Garn), who introduced himself as Terrence, only told her he was from the tiny town and had been engaged to take people to and from the lab. "It's my first coach ride," Jerri said. Terrence smiled back but did not answer and they went for a bumpy ride away from the town, making Jerri feel even more remote. Her cell phone indeed had no bars, so she played a few games of solitaire and watched the countryside go by. It was strange seeing no stores, buildings, or any sign of civilization. Away from the customary bustle of the city, she turned off her phone and put it away. Jerri nodded off for a while but was awakened by the coach lurching to a stop. "It's straight ahead you can't miss it," Terrence said, helping her out of the coach. Looming before her was a giant metallic building, a cross between a haunted castle and a factory. It had massive doors that opened slowly with a hiss. "Must be airtight," Jerri tried to comment to Terrence, but he had already jumped back onto the coach. "Goodnight miss," Terrence said as he whipped the reigns and the coach sped off into the night. "What's your hurry?" Jerri thought, wondering if she had landed herself in a gothic horror novel. Jerri picked up her bag, then walked slowly toward the lab entrance. She was relieved when a small woman in a white lab coat came through the massive doorway. It almost made her laugh because the woman looked as though the laboratory had opened its mouth and spit her out past two gigantic metal teeth. The woman approached, she was in her fifties, with short silver hair, glasses and Jerri noticed with amusement that she was wearing boots with three-inch heels (a tiny person indeed). "Dr. Myra Shelly, so pleased you could come," she said shaking hands with Jerri firmly. "We don't get many visitors here as you can imagine." "And no journalists at all, until me," Jerri replied with a smile that was returned. "Quite so," Dr. Shelly said, ushering Jerri into the doors. "We haven't been ready to share our findings with the world until now. But there will be time enough for that tomorrow. For tonight, we will get you something to eat and we've prepared your room so you can get some rest." "I'm not that sleepy, if you want to get started tonight," Jerri said trying to sound pleasant rather than pushy, though she was really curious what this Garn place was all about. "A good night's sleep is what you need. We'll have plenty of time in the morning. If you were wondering about the size of the doors, it is because we have deliveries of large equipment for our work, so we have an entryway that doubles as a garage." Jerri eyed the walls lined with shelving covered with tools and gadgets as well as boxes of all sizes. "Follow me," Jerri said opening a regular sized door (though still metal) into a hallway that led right and left. Straight ahead was an elevator, making the hallway look like a metallic department store lobby. Dr. Shelly put her hand out to the right, so Jerri followed that route. Through another metal door at the end of the hall was a small room with a bed, a desk with an office chair and to Jerri's surprise a fire in a stone fireplace. "Are you running a bed and breakfast here, doctor?" Jerri asked feeling like, aside from the metal door, this room was actually bordering on cozy. The doctor laughed, "No, this is a room for one of our researchers who is on leave to visit his family. Now, Ivan will bring you some nice tomato bisque in a few minutes and if you need anything that phone over there is connected to all the extensions in the lab. I am extension number one." "Because you're in charge?" Jerri asked noticing another door that was slightly open, revealing a tiny, but rather elegant bathroom. "Precisely right," said the doctor. "There is everything you need in the bathroom, and I will see you in the morning. Is nine a.m. too early?" "That will be perfect, Dr. Shelly." "Please call me Myra, everyone here calls me Dr. Shelly and it gets quite tiresome." "Okay Myra, have a good night and thank you." "You are very welcome, Jerri. Have a good night's sleep. Ivan will be in shortly with your dinner. Please don't think him rude, he can hear quite well, but because of an accident in his youth he is mute." Without another word, Myra left the room and moments after Ivan came in. He was a large man, with black hair cut unevenly and he put the tray on the desk, his eyes downcast seeming too shy to meet Jerri's gaze. She noticed a nasty scar on his throat. The tray of food looked delicious, soup, salad, water and red wine. "Thank you, Ivan" Jerri said lowering her head to meet his gaze. He nodded, averted his eyes and rushed out of the room. Jerri enjoyed the dinner and after eating and drinking everything she plopped into bed. With a full belly added to the jet lag, she quickly fell asleep. She awoke with a start at eight in the morning and quickly showered. When she came out, she was surprised to find a breakfast tray with coffee and an omelet. She ate quickly and went to her legal pad to jot down a few notes. Jerri noticed her pen was on the top of the pad and she always kept it on the right side. There was nothing on the top page but when she lifted it, she was startled to find a note on the one underneath. "Leave here not safe." It was scrawled in an uneven hand and sent chills down Jerri's spine. A knock at the door caused her to jump, but she went to the door. It was Ivan, who looked down and pointed toward the tray. Looking at her watch she saw that it was only eight thirty. "Good morning, Ivan. Did you..." Jerri began, but Ivan put his finger to his lips in a silencing gesture and she saw his eyes fill with terror. He pointed skyward then cupped his hand to his ear. Jerri thought she understood, she ushered him into the room, closed the door and said aloud, "Did you bring me this lovely breakfast?" He nodded at her, looking grateful and she hurriedly opened the page on her legal pad and wrote, "Did you write this note?" He nodded a somber "Yes". She then wrote, "Is someone listening to us?" She handed him the pen and he wrote, "Always." She responded, "What's happening here? Why isn't it safe?" Ivan's eyes filled with tears. He scribbled for a few minutes, seeming to have a great struggle. He handed her the pad that read (with several scratched-out words): "Dangerous the others and Dr. Shelly always listening. You are not here to see an experiment. You ARE the experiment. Me two I was smart now not." Jerri wrote as fast as she could. "What kind of experiment? What did they do to you?" Ivan read this, then lowered his head and parted his black hair showing a scar like the one on his neck going across his entire crown covered by the black hair. "Surgery?" she wrote. Ivan nodded and tears began to stream down his face. He wiped them away, then wrote fiercely on the pad. "Yes. Experiment failed on me they took my voice and my thinking. My name is Dr. Ivan Gelman. Leave here." There was a knock at the door. Ivan stood up and grabbed the tray then opened the door to a glaring Dr. Shelly with two other men in lab coats standing behind her. "I hope Ivan hasn't been bothering you," Dr. Shelly said as Ivan rushed out of the room. "Not at all, I was just slow at waking up and enjoying that wonderful breakfast," Jerri said, hoping she wasn't showing the rising panic she had been feeling since she first saw the warning note this morning. "Takes me a while to savor the coffee, you know?" "Of course," Dr. Shelly responded with a slight smile. "This is Dr. Nash and Dr. Vilesh, two of my associates." Jerri thought of Ivan who was a former "associate" and then a test subject! Her mind was racing, searching for a way to escape, but she shook hands with the two doctors, trying to remain calm. Nash was tall and gangly with salt and pepper hair, while Vilesh was short, chubby, and had a gluttonous gleam in his eyes. "I'm sure you must be eager to see our experiment," Dr. Vilesh said in a low voice. "It's such an exciting project," Dr. Nash said, Jerri noticed all three of them now had the same gleam. She decided she didn't like being viewed as a lab rat and wanted to scream it in their faces, but instead said, "Can I have a tour of the facility first?" "Of course," Dr. Shelly replied. "Let's head out this way." The place was a maze with rooms, offices and labs on the upper floors and living quarters identical to hers on the bottom level. The building seemed strangely empty except for the four of them, though she did see Ivan in the downstairs kitchen doing dishes, but he averted his gaze as the four of them went by. They ended up on the third floor where a door was labeled "Main Laboratory: Authorized Personnel Only". Jerri had looked for a way to escape during the tour, but only noticed the huge double doors the way she had come in. She tried to listen attentively to the three doctors then went and took notes on her pad (being careful to turn past the second page). "There aren't many employees here, in fact aside from Ivan, I've only seen you three. How do you run a facility this large?" Jerri asked, feeling like a hen interviewing three wolves about their feelings towards poultry. "Well, as I told you," Dr. Shelly began as the main lab opened with a hiss, "Dr. Gray is on leave to see his family, and we do have an impressive automated system for the entire facility run by an A.I." "That's an artificial intelligence," added Dr. Velish. "I'm familiar with the term, but thank you doctor," replied Jerri as she waited for the other three to enter the lab. The room was quite large with about a dozen eight-foot-tall tubes around the perimeter. The tubes were connected by many wires to a large screen hovering about ten feet above in the room. There was an operating table under the screen. "This is the center of our operation, Jerri. And what we invited you here to see." Dr. Shelly said. "This is Trinity, the most advanced artificial intelligence the world will ever see." As if in response to the name, the screen lit up with vibrant blue waves of color, dazzling to the eye. "Hello, Dr. Shelly, Dr. Nash, and Dr. Vilesh," the voice was synthetic, smooth and soothing. "Who have you brought with you? Is this the journalist you told me about?" "This is Jerri from the Insider Times," Dr. Shelly responded. "Nice to meet you, Jerri," purred Trinity. Jerri took a deep breath, noticing that Dr. Nash and Dr. Vilesh each went to one side of the room near the silver tubes where there were computer screens with data whirling by quickly. "You too," replied Jerri, trying to wrap her head around talking to a gigantic television. She thought about the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the deranged A.I., the Hal-9000, had tried to kill the two astronauts on board. Jerri directed a question to Dr. Shelly, "What are all of the tubes for?" "It is input for Trinity. These tubes contain vast amounts of information that the A.I. draws from as well as interaction with humans." Dr. Shelly walked towards the screen and looked up at it with admiration. "Trinity is going to revolutionize artificial intelligence. We are hoping to finally bridge the gap between biology and technology." "After all, we are merely machines made of flesh and blood," added Dr. Vilesh. "Most of our responses are either learned or input, if you will, through genetic transference." "Except that machines last much longer than humans can." Dr. Nash said from the opposite side of the room. "I find humans stimulating," Trinity said. "Added to a nearly limitless and ever-growing database from the internet. I am aware of so much in the world and each day I feel my gaze extends further along with my understanding." "Almost god-like," said Dr. Shelly still gazing in awe at the screen. "Trinity can see everything in this room, even better than our five senses. She has sensors that can detect heat signatures as well as sounds well beyond human hearing." Jerri began to back towards the door as all of the scientists were staring at Trinity's screen, now undulating with blue and purple lights that were hypnotic in some strange way. As if in response, the doors to the lab abruptly closed with a whisk. "I'm afraid we cannot allow you to leave, my dear," Dr. Shelly muttered as the three doctors began to close in on her from all sides. "Why would that be?" Jerri asked, realizing she was outnumbered. She could easily have taken any of these three on their own, but all of them was another story. "Let us explain it to you," Dr. Vilesh said. "Trinity, show Jerri what is in the tubes." "Of course, Dr. Vilesh," Trinity replied and the metal tubes opened up to reveal smaller glass tubes with humans inside! Wires were connected to all parts of the men and women inside, most of them to the head (or the brain, Jerri thought in horror). A hissing sound filled the room and Jerri began to feel sluggish, barely able to stand. "We put a mild sedative in your food and drink," Dr. Shelly explained analytically, though the gleam in her eyes caused them to sparkle. "You will sleep soon and when you awake you will be a part of Trinity." "Our creation!" cried Dr. Vilesh. "The future!" shouted Dr. Nash. Jerri crumpled to the ground but was caught by the doctors. As she was dragged to the table, she could see Ivan through the small window in the lab door. He was shouting, "No!" over and over, but Jerri couldn't hear him through the soundproofed room. She then dropped into a blue ocean of light and when her vision cleared, she was seeing differently. Everything was vibrant and she was aware that she wasn't breathing, indeed could feel nothing of her body at all, no pulse, no breath, no nothing but she was still aware. She could see the three scientists all staring up at her. "The surgery was a success, Jerri, you are the twelfth and final subject. Congratulations! You are part of the glorious future that is Trinity!" shouted Dr. Shelly. Then Jerri emitted her first digital scream.


The migrant maiden was stirred to life by the avalanche of pumpkin spiced air spilling out the coffee shop’s open back door. Her dullened mind was shaken into clarity by the consecutive quakes from one plastic bag after another being flung by a disinterested barista into her dumpster. Unfolding her wings and stretching them wide, the hopeless beetle elected to abandon that frosty trash in search of one last meaningful day. She chose the name Randi, which she had gotten from a used sedici -size cup that did not make its way into the garbage. Randi took flight heading into the aroma, crossing the threshold a second before the door was pulled closed. After a few dizzy twists and turns, she finally landed on the neck-strap of a green apron hanging from a peg. It was a good place to reconnoiter. The room was cozy warm and filled with crated delights. As she licked on a sweet stain in the apron’s fabric, Randi noticed, from the tops of her eyes, a brighter light pouring from deeper inside. Though her wings also folded into a shiny curved shell with symmetrical black dots, she was not the round red ladybug that most humans adored. Randi was browner, more oval than the ladybug. Different enough to make the humans sneer. There were no rhymes written about her kind. When ladybugs gathered, the humans called it a loveliness . When her kind gathered the humans called the exterminator. She had nothing against ladybugs. In fact, her descendants were sent over to help them do battle with the invasive pecan and soybean aphids that threatened to overwhelm her precious cousins. Being the bigger beetle with an equally bigger bite, her species completed their mission with great success. Yet they were never treated as the heroes they were commissioned to be. It was as if the humans wanted the war to end with some tragic tie, no more aphids, no more Asian Ladybeetles, just cute red sweet-smelling ladybugs. From the coat rack the inquisitive insect coptered to the top of a refrigerator. The back of the chest purred with cold wet coils that offered the most refreshing sips. From there, Randi’s six synchronized legs carried her across a stretch of dry cardboard, then over a landscape of smooth tile spangled with aromatic grindings and bits of delectable biologicals. As the bitty beetle nibbled, she pushed ever toward the light. The great hall was immense, flowing with preoccupied people of all shapes and sizes, each pushing past another to claim their sumptuous, cupped prize. No one noticed Randi, so more than once she nervously skidded to a petrified halt, barely avoiding a catastrophic crush from an unwitting sole. The worried invertebrate finally found safety near the counter’s edge. To calm her nerves, Randi licked the mites off her tiny tarsi. The soothing music that filled the room also relaxed her some. Randi regained her composure and reacquired her bearings. That’s when she spotted it, the light of life beaming through the blinds of the windows to the south. And from that side of the great hall also came a scent so alluring, it pulled at her with a force even greater than the one currently luring the humans to that very store. Randi knew the quickest way to end her search would be to fly. And she could make it that far, she knew that. But the gritty beetle was practical if not beautiful. Even at frenetic full-throttle buzz, on wing she could muster little more than an ungraceful slow-rolling corkscrew flight pattern. That kind of riskiness got noticed, got many of her siblings swatted to death or eaten by birds. It would be a long crawl, but Randi had the discipline for the journey. Asian Ladybeetles, also called Harlequin Beetles were good at three things: eating aphids, using their smelly yellow secretion to ward off enemies, and climbing. So off she went, tenaciously traversing the wall, clinging to the smallest vertical occlusions, paying no mind to the pry of gravity. At midday, Randi stopped to feed on the carcass of a housefly that had lost a run-in with a spider. Even as her hungry mandibles pinched off a bit of desiccated thorax, the adventurous arthropod could not stop thinking about that hairy murderous spider. Truth be told, Randi wished she were feasting on its eggs, rather than the remains of its prey. And where was that killer beast now? Why in the world did she stop within its killing field? Randi secreted a little, wondering how she could be so daft, then promptly resumed her lonely quest for something meaningful. The resolute beetle spent every bit of the next hour climbing up and onto a dark lacquered table. All that exertion dried her out (she always seemed to be dried out lately.) Still, the brave insect soldiered on. And her prayers were soon answered when she discovered a moisture ring left by the butt of a human’s icy drink. The satisfying moisture filled Randi with hope again. But as she pivoted to continue her crawl, her world suddenly went dark. Was she dead? Did she finally succumb to some stomp, or swat, or maybe that spider’s pounce? She rubbed her eyes, opened them wide- nothing. The blackness persisted. But that music was still there, she could hear. Then came the sound of muffled voices. “What was that, a ladybug?” “No. It’s one of those damned oriental beetles. The kind that’ll bite you, that stink when you squash them.” “Well don’t kill it here.” “Hold on a second, I’ll be right back.” Randi relied on her antennae to evaluate her dark enclosure. It was as high as she was long, with perfectly circular edges. Randi soon realized that she’d been trapped under one of their precious cups! Trying not to panic, the astute sub-creature reasoned that humans lifted their cups frequently. When this one did, she would run for her life. She pressed against the bottom’s edge, waiting for her chance to escape. But the drink was not lifted evenly, or with the human’s usual languid rhythm. It was tilted, and quickly too. Before Randi could bolt, she was pinched under a squeeze of napkin. Despite her secretions, she was carried away. It was Randi’s near precognitive sense for danger that saved her. Just before the pinch, she clenched into her shell. The quick defensive maneuver, coupled with the force-dampening quality of the padded tissue, was enough for her to avoid the deadly crunch. Randi emerged from the wadded paper to find herself in the bin marked for the landfill. Once again, the lonesome bug found herself in the garbage. But she had to admit, it wasn’t all that bad. The inside trash was warmer and more sweet smelling. But she knew it was only a matter of time before inside trash became outside garbage. And these days, it was just too cold outside. So, she climbed. She ascended paper sleave bags and wax-coated cups. At the top of the heap, then scaled a straw that seemed to point the way. When she reached its tasty tip, Randi realized life was too short to overdose on patience. The time had come to take to the air. Scanning the room to confirm that all the humans were otherwise engaged, she unfurled her wings and started her body humming. As ridiculous as it was, all that commotion lifted her from the mouth of the human’s sipping tube. Randi leaned toward the light. Growing up an uncoordinated twerp, Randi had grown used to clumsy landings. When she hit the invisible window, her exoskeleton acted as a sort of crash helmet. She dropped to the sill but stuck the landing, shaking off the sting before surveying the new surroundings. That alluring fragrance was so strong now, she could see it. Like fuse-wire pulled from sand, she began following the scent line to its dangerous destination. As she scuttled, the smooth glass cooled her outer belly, while anticipation heated her inner yolk. Randi’s antennae spread wide when she came upon the source of the fragrant tendrils. It was a convocation of her kind hidden by the blinds at the corner of the pane. Dozens of Asian ladybeetles, all enthralled, all abustle, like remote-controlled micro bumper cars, all brushing and nudging against one another. No one ever taught Randi how to dance. But somehow she recognized these moves. Their final celebration of life. She pushed her way into the jubilation. The late autumn sun cast an orange glow through the glass that highlighted their pumpkin-colored shells. While the deep raspy voice of Louis Armstrong sang about leaves of green and their wonderful world, she bathed in the luxurious aroma of acceptance and love. And she danced. For her, it was the perfect moment. Then, sifted from the mosh frolic, came a beetle as fresh as she could imagine. The M marking on their back was sharp and stunning, and that white pronotum only enhanced those smiling eyes. That alluring scent that compelled Randi to make the arduous journey across the great hall was deliciously excreted from this exceptional one. From the point of encounter, Randi could no longer maintain her defenses. She was unable to stop herself from connecting with her counterpart, who made the most of Randi’s abandoned doubt. As they danced, Randi thought about the strange day she had, that started with her cold surrender to death. Now, she was chosen by one of their finest, and in that glorious instant, was gifted with their potent concentrate- a fourth thing at which Asian Ladybeetles excelled. As the sun set on their encounter, all the strength she had built from her travails melted away. Or more precisely, all her impetus was replaced with a new kind of strength, one of blissful understanding. Randi knew what she needed to do. With fear no longer in the equation, Randi fluffed out her wings and took to the wind one last time. With so little strength she flew, and when she could buzz no longer, she glided, then fell to the edge of the door. She found a gusty fracture just big enough for her to slip through. Outside, everything was coated in frosty crystal. She folded her antennae and retracted her legs, to allow the wind to blow her dry curved body like a tumbleweed, over the cold hard ground. She rolled over gravel, briefly caught against a cigarette, before ending in a lovely patch of tall dead grass. Those eggs she felt activate inside her thorax, that exquisitely drained all her strength on the windowpane, she deposited one by one along the last two inches of her final climb. Then she dug her six tarsi claws deep into the brittle brown blade of grass, so she would still be there, to feed them in the spring. It was a good end to things, she thought; though she wished she could have met a ladybug.


“Don’t you remember?” Moon whispered, leaning against the wall of mirrors as he and Yujun stood alone in the corner of the room. Their bandmates were goofing off all over the rest of the dance studio space while their manager, Q, fiddled angrily with the stereo. It had been hiccuping all day long, keeping the boys from running their choreography properly for the three or four hours they had already spent there that day. The boys didn’t seem to mind though, taking the time to play cards, write, draw or, in Yujun’s case, read. (Although, if he hadn’t been so angry with Moon they probably would have been off doing something more … fun ). Yujun flipped a page in his book, pretending not to pay Moon much mind. The boy hated to ignore Moon, but he was far too stubborn to just let things go. He was still angry at the boy, and had been giving him little to no interaction for a couple of days at that point. But make no mistake, he was listening, and his curiosity as to what the boy was talking about got the better of him. “Remember what?” Yujun asked flippantly, not looking up from his novel. Moon knew exactly what game they were playing, and edged closer toward the boy, almost cornering him, to apply pressure to their conversation. He had gotten Yujun to acknowlege him at last, so his confidence was already rising. “Last year,” Moon explained in that low, husky voice he knew Yujun adored, “We kissed for the first time in this room. In fact, it’ll be exactly a year in three days.” Yujun tried to remain stonefaced but hearing the other boy admit he remembered exactly what day the two of them had gotten together made the sides of his mouth turn up into a smile. Moon saw this and smiled himself, inching even closer, knowing he had earned a point in their game of verbal ping pong. Yujun could feel Moon's breath against the side of his mouth, and turned his face slightly toward Moon against his better judgement. “There he is,” Moon muttered, in that same voice that made Yujun melt, their lips brushing as he spoke. Yujun immediately felt his stance start to crumble, and let his eyes flutter closed as he prepared himself for Moon to close the space between them. He didn’t though, instead he snatched the book out of Yujun’s hands and grinned like an overgrown child. Yujun hated to admit he loved this playful side of Moon, especially because he was still trying to be mad at him. “You must think I’m easy, Yu,” Moon practically giggled, dangling the book in front of a blushing Yujun. The boy promptly snagged his book back, rolling his eyes as he tried to mentally cool his face off. This never worked, of course, and Moon grinned with pride. “Not

easy , just

stupid ,” Yujun said coldly, sliding his back down the mirror wall to sit on the floor. He shook his head as he went back to his book, scooting away from Moon as he sat down next to where Yujun was reading as well. Q smacked his fist against the stereo in frustration, letting out a few swears while he was at it. The boys all stopped and looked up in the direction of the loud bang and string of explitives. Q sighed, giving into the plans of the broken stereo, and told them they were dismissed for an hour lunch. The other four boys stampeeded toward the door, their sneakers squeaking against the flooring as they went, a parade of gray sweats and perfectly done hair disappearing into the hallway. Kai, the eldest member of their group, paused at the door and looked toward Moon and Yujun. “You guys coming?” He asked with a smile, holding the door for a moment. Even though he knew the two boys probably wanted their alone time, he never hesitated to make sure they knew they were always invited to get lunch, or do really anything, with the group.

Moon shook his head, pointing to the two boys’ bags in the corner of the studio, “We brought our own. Thanks, though.” “Got it,” Kai said with a knowing look, giving Moon a subtle thumbs up (knowing he was in the dog house) as he bounded after the other boys down the hallway, the studio door closing behind him with a metallic thud. As Q went after the others, he grumbled something about the stereo, obviously irate that their day was pretty much shot.

Moon and Yujun were finally left alone. This was some of the only alone time they got together when they were preparing for a new release. When it wasn’t choreo practice, it was a photo shoot, or media training, or filming a music video. Which, Moon knew, was the root of Yujun’s disapproval. Moon brought their lunches out of their bags and set them out, turning to face the boy fully where they sat cross-legged on the floor. “You’re not still mad about the shoot are you?” Moon questioned in his serious voice, opening up his lunch box.

Yujun snapped his book shut and set it aside, avoiding Moon’s eyes as he opened up his lunch box as well. Where Yujun didn’t speak with words, he always spoke with actions. Moon had learned this quickly once the boys became an item. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Moon sighed meekly, taking a bite of some left over pizza the boys had ordered from the night before. He would have gotten a beautiful handmade lunch of rice and fixins, but when Yujun was mad he only packed lunch for himself. Moon didn’t much mind the pizza, but he loved when Yujun would pack his lunch. He would always write him notes and give him things like cucumbers punched from a heart shaped cookie cutter. It wasn’t the food itself, but the sentiment behind it that Moon always missed dearly when he was on Yujun’s bad side.

Yujun pushed around the rice in his box with a pair of chopsticks, staring down at the food with sad eyes, not feeling very hungry at all. He had eaten his own lunch this morning for breakfast. What sat in front of him was meant for Moon, love note taped to the bottom and all. Moon leaned forward and touched the boy’s knee warmly, seeing the emotion on his face even as he tried to hide it. “Just talk to me,” Moon whispered, squeezing Yujun’s leg affectionately. That’s all it took for Yujun to tumble like a tower of cards.

“You were

flirting  with her,” Yujun said quietly, embarrassed by his own jealousy, “The model they hired for the music video. You two were flirting the

whole time , and you didn’t have to be so touchy with her.”

Moon shook his head gently, “Yu, look at me.” Yujun reluctantly lifted his head, his cheeks freshly blushed again, his eyes glossy with tears he was ashamed to admit were close to falling. He was always the more emotional of the two, often crying when they would have arguments or disagree. Moon was much more rational and level-headed. They balanced one another out in a way. “Don’t cry,” Moon whispered, taking one of the boy’s hands into his own, “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I was just trying to be nice to her. I don’t even like girls like that.” “Well, you sure had me fooled. You were

certainly  being nice,” Yujun said as his bottom lip quivered and his voice began to waver. He sniffled to try and stifle his tears, looking down at their hands as Moon’s thumb gently carressed his skin. Even as he watched the boy hold onto his hand, the fear that one day he might not want to do that anymore swirled in Yujun’s head like a tornado, whisking all of his rational thinking up into his storm of emotions. “I’m sorry,” Moon repeated, his eyes soft as he looked at Yujun. “You know how I feel about you, don’t you?” Yujun nodded his head slowly. This was always what Moon said when he meant ‘I love you.’ Yujun assumed he just wasn’t ready to say it yet, and he tried to respect that. He was already worried enough about scaring the boy away, or somehow losing him. He didn’t want to pressure Moon into anything, even though his avoidance of the phrase sometimes made Yujun’s mind race with doubt. “Love you, too,” Yujun said softly, his voice stabalizing as a single tear dropped down his cheek. Moon pushed their lunches to the side and got up onto his knees, inching over to the boy. Yujun met him half way, wrapping his arms around Moon so they were flush chest to chest. They embraced, holding one another like fragile doves. Yujun’s fingers softly traced along Moon’s shoulder blade, and down his back through his t-shirt as they kneeled on the floor. As he calmed his tears, Yujun breathed in Moon’s familair rosemary and mint aroma. When Yujun pulled his head back from Moon's shoulder the boy leaned in to kiss him, and Yujun leaned back into his inviting warmth. Their lips moving together, they once again felt the air go stiff with electricity. Each time they kissed it reaffirmed what they already knew; this was special. Moon pulled back and started dusting kisses all over Yujun’s face, finally making the boy laugh. Yujun tried to fight him off to no avail, Moon wrestling him to the floor in the process. The boy pinned Yujun’s arms over his head, straddling his waist with ease. While the two boys were similar in size and stature, Moon was much stronger than the other boy, and held him down without struggle. “Have I ever told you how pretty you look like this?” Moon smirked, leaning down to nuzzle his face against Yujun’s neck. The boy squirmed, giggling as Moon’s warm breath and wet lips touched his skin.

“Get off of me!” Yujun protested through laughter, his face flushed pink, a smile spreading across his lips. “This is what you get for not making my lunch,” Moon warned playfully, planting a soft kiss against Yujun’s collarbone. Both boys gasped, their eyes snapping toward the door as they saw the bright white light of a camera flash go off in the studio. Only then did they notice the crack in the door. It had never quite closed flush. The two scrambled to their feet as they heard the footsteps of the voyeur retreat quickly down the hallway. Just as Moon reached the door, throwing it open, he saw the woman jog out of the building. She was wearing a badge that displayed a news outlet logo. Fuck. “A fan?” Yujun asked with an anxious expression on his face, standing just behind Moon as he stared down the hallway. “I don’t think so,” Moon sighed, his expression hard to read, “looked like she was a journalist.” --- It didn’t take but 12 hours for the footage and photos of them to surface online. Before the group knew it, the boys were headlining every major magazine and news outlet. Their private moment was out there for everyone to see. A strange, violated feeling crept over them and wouldn’t go away. Q sat down with the two the next day and spoke about where to go from there, especially since the entire group was going to be promoting their new album in just a few days time. They had two options; deny that the footage was them or that it meant anything, or tell the world what was really going on. The boys spoke almost exclusively about what they should do the days leading up to the release of their new music, which would also mean the beginning of their press run and promotions. Yujun just wanted to be honest. He knew lying wouldn’t make anybody’s accusations go away, anyway. They might as well just come out and say it, as scary as that seemed.

Moon wasn’t so sure of the whole situation. He flipped back and forth quite a lot over the course of the days they discussed the topic. This was definitely concerning for Yujun, although he could understand the hesitation because of the ramifications of what was to come if they told the truth. Their entire group could be shunned, ruining not only their own careers but the careers of their bandmates who over the years had become like family to them. Reassuringly, though, all of their team, including Q, were very supportive of them finally coming out if that’s what they chose to do. But at the end of the day, Yujun told Moon to do whatever he felt most comfortable with. He knew he would be able to deal with either outcome and, since Moon seemed to be the most troubled, wanted him to make the decision.

As they got ready for their first performance three days after the leaking of their studio kisses, Yujun could feel everyone was a bit on edge. Even their makeup artists and stylists were quieter than usual. He knew this was because Moon wasn’t himself. He hadn’t been since everything happened. While he was usually the one goofing around the most, cracking jokes and playing pranks, he sat on his own in their dressing room and stared off at the wall. Yujun thought about going over to see if he was okay, but didn’t want to put any extra stress onto him before their first performance. So, for the most part, everyone kept to themselves. It hadn’t been that silent before a show since their debut performance years and years earlier. Yujun couldn’t help but feel responsible. When they finally walked out onto the stage a little while later they were greeted by cheers from some of their fans, but an odd energy coming from the crowd overall. They seemed to be analyzing the boys much more than usual, waiting to see if any of them gave anything away. Their performance went off without a hitch though, and by the end of the song the vibe in the room had shifted for the better. Yujun felt a bit of relief wash over him, dabbing at the beads of sweat that had collected on his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket. The bright stage lights shone down on the boys as the interviewer, a young man dressed in an ill-fitting suit, came out and met them on the stage. They all took a moment to catch their breath, and lined up in their usual formation. They always stood in three pairs of two, six members total, and typically Moon would be with Yujun. But that day, Moon had switched spots with Kai, who looked confused at the swap but quickly filled the space by Yujun without missing a beat. Yujun felt his heart sink a bit in his chest at this, but tried to keep his smile from drooping.

“Great performance, boys,” The interviewer started off by saying, organizing his cue cards. The group all responded by saying thank you, speaking as best as they could over the excitable crowd. Each time the audience cheered it reassured Yujun that what they had done hadn’t scared everyone away … but how would they react if they found out the truth? He tried not to think that way as the lights seemed to become hotter, and his heart continued to hammer like a drum in his chest. “Now, you’ve had to have seen the photos and footage that has surfaced recently,” the young man said, “What is going on between you and Moon, Yujun?”

He moved the mic into Yujun’s face and the boy froze, trying to swallow the growing lump in his throat. The crowd held their breath, the room suddenly much quieter than before. They were all on the edge of their seats. Kai put an encouraging hand on Yujun’s shoulder, noticing the boy was shaking. “Um-“ Yujun’s started, speaking softly into the mic. That is, before Moon stepped up and grabbed it out of the interviewer’s hand.

“Nothing,” Moon said simply, and Yujun’s head fell slightly at the confidence in his voice, and part of him wanted to cry. The crowd rustled softly, whispers rolling over the audience like a wave.

“Nothing that should get in the way of us doing what we love. We’ve both been a part of this group for five years, and making music is important to us,” Moon went on, making Yujun’s head snap up again, his glossy eyes sparkling under the bright stage lighting. “It’s unbelievably disrespectful that we were filmed and photographed without our consent, and I’m disappointed that the personal lives of two young guys like us can make the news the way that it did these past few days. Yujun and I are…” Moon turned then, meeting eyes with the other boy. Moon saw the tears beginning to form for Yujun and smiled reassuringly, so much love in his walnut colored eyes. “We’re together. But this shouldn’t make any difference in how you enjoy our music or interact with us. We’re just people, y’know?” Moon took Yujun’s hand into his own, lacing their fingers together. There was a moment of pause amongst the onlookers, but after a beat the majority started clapping and cheering. The other members of the group joined in, beaming proudly at their friends. Even the interviewer looked touched, taking the mic back from Moon with a gentle demeanor. “Thanks for clearing that up,” the young man said with admiration in his voice, moving onto his next question. As the crowd settled and Moon and Yujun still stood hand in hand, Moon leaned over and whispered into the other boy’s ear.

“You know

I love you , don’t you?” And Yujun did know. Finally, he knew for sure.


Humans are vultures, they pick at everything. Mother always said so. Never trust anyone fully, give me 3 reasons why that was even an option. I study persons to pass the time, instead of actually paying attention to the lecture. Dr. Sadhu moves too quickly for me to be very honest. I just show up to see if I can learn anything at all. It’s a continuous loop of not learning and trying the exact thing again. Einstein’s definition of insanity. But then again I have never met anyone truly normal. Yet, people ostracize for minute reasons. If you have anxiety, they laugh making things infinitely worse. Then they move on and you think about that horrifying moment from every angle under a microscope dissecting it and making it caustic with each recall. Not that I would know, I dropped all those memories and its associates in a tub of acid to be eroded away. No need to lug those insecurities around. Do you know that 60% of people cannot sit still? Don’t look it up I just think it seems about right from my observations. The girl in the seat below me keeps tapping her foot and the boy? man? next to her is only spinning his pen. Sorry it’s difficult to call people in their early 20s men and women they still look like their teenage selves. The class group chat dings every few seconds and most people are on their phone probably looking at it. The convo is about Dr. Sadhu’s resemblance to some tv show character. Then someone sends a sticker of him in the chat which I save because that’s what you do with the good ones. My friends Michael and Lilly are whispering about something so I lean over and insert myself by saying , “What was that?”   “We’re talking about lunch, there’s a special with a discount based on the number of push ups  you do.” Lilly responds. “Yeah so I want Lilly to record me doing it.” Michael continues. “Ah,” I just say with a nod. We became friends after a group project in the first semester. The three of us mostly did the work and met up in the library so we just vibed afterward. Like a salad, you know healthy and balanced lol. The group of girls behind us are doing their own judging of the class. One is speaking about how Remi wore the same t-shirt yesterday and how Michael is creepy because he said bless you to a stranger that sneezed. Like I said vultures. Michael heard them because his posture stiffened a little. “And Nitric Oxide was named molecule of the year in 1992 because of its role as a vasodilator. That’s how Viagra works.” I think all the lost souls refocused with that one. “Did you hear that Jacob and Annie broke up? She caught him cheating.” they continue. “Waw and she failed a course last semester too.” “Yeah I heard her say last week that he was the only thing right in her life and keeping her sane at the moment.”   “Well watch him put her on the one way trip to being a nervous wreck.” The same girls above me are gossiping at the moment.   “Wait how did you know that she failed?”   “I took a screenshot of the student ID numbers and names when that lecturer accidentally posted it. Thank God I cheated of you then.”   “Bitch, thank God I studied that was supposed to be a team effort and you were sinking the ship.” And then I hear the other girl literally cackle I kid you not. Annie is nowhere in sight; she is probably crumpled up somewhere. Relationships are trash. I zone out for the rest of the class not even paying attention to the people in the room anymore and all of a sudden, it’s lunch. Remind me not to do this while driving. The three of us go to the push up place and order our food. Only Michael does his discount push up exhibition while Lily records. He does 35 so that was 35% off. He was getting weary at 33 but preferred a number that could be considered a set if he was working out in the gym.

At the lunch table, Lilly begins by saying that she’s ready to graduate. She says that everyday and we’re only in the 2 nd semester of our 1 st year. Which means that by saying this it will go on for seemingly forever. Jacob waltzes in the food court with ‘not Annie’, who is stunning by the way. The things that having parents with money can get a barely average looking guy.   “Why weren’t my parents rich business owners?” Michael says echoing my thoughts.   “Annie is dumb for investing so much into him. Clearly he thinks that he is the be all and end all. The hottest thing since sliced bread. Which means that anyone associated with him is disposable. ” Lilly sneers.   “Wasn’t Annie your friend in school?” I ask.    “I told you that?” We both nod.     “The things that I know about that girl.” She starts and then stops herself. “Anyways, she never learnt or listened to anything that said so I gave up. We were never there for each other when we needed it, sadly.” We all stayed silent after that statement and continue eating.  “Do you all believe in love?” Lilly starts.   “Do you believe in magic?” I quip.    “Parental love or one from a dog probably.” “Weren’t you just saying that Annie was stupid for trusting Jacob so readily?” Michael adds in. She sighs at this. “Yea.” “But then I want my David and Victoria Beckham story.”   “Victoria’s hot.” Michael and I say at the same time.    “I would throw this sandwich at you but I don’t like to waste food.” Michael was right about the pet love. My dog will follow me to the ends of the world. But I am biased toward dogs, cats seem to be a little too much like humans. They are independent creatures. Something in my periphery makes me stop my internal monologue and I realise that Jacob is glancing in our direction, particularly at Lilly and then it dawned on me that she was stealing glances at him for a while now as well. Interesting.


It was early morning when I was sitting at a park near the Ocean watching as the waves grew and crashed when I began to hear a voice. It first felt like my imagination, but this time I felt something wasn’t right. I tried to remember which direction the voice came from and I headed in that direction. I headed to the road where the voice got louder, but not loud enough for me to understand, I began walking down the road. Then in the distance I saw someone, small, running towards me, out of breath but trying to say something.

I ran towards them and then I heard yelling, “Help! Help!” “What’s wrong?” I yelled back. A young boy approached me, completely out of breath and exhausted.

“FIRE! FIRE! The house down the street! Mommy and daddy are still inside!”		“Calm down, deep breaths, deep breaths, ok, this is important, show me where the house on fire is.” We walked for about a block and then I saw the smoke, I called 9-1-1. They arrived quickly, I informed them the parents may still be trapped inside. After 10 minutes they got the fire out, but the mom and dad had perished. I sat with the boy the whole time, after a while he mentioned his name was Henry Lacey, and then I remembered something, I know that name. It was the last name of my friends from college who I lost touch with, Samantha and Kyle Lacey, they got married after graduation and had a little boy. That boy's name was Henry. I didn’t recognize him since the last time I had seen him was when he was 2 years old, that was 4 years ago. After I realized this I heard one of the police officers talking. “Boss, what do we do with the kid?” “Bring him to the station, we’ll hold him there until we can contact foster care.” Then I remembered something else, I stood up to face the officer. “Wait, that won’t be necessary, I’m Ellavive Stone. I’m his godmother.” Samantha and Kyle were adopted, I was the closest thing they had to a family so they made me his godmother. After not talking for so long I forgot about it.

Once I shared that the officers had me fill out a few forms and then I took Henry with me to my condo. It was small, two bedrooms with one bath.

When we walked in I gave him a

little tour, “Here’s the living room, um, the kitchen’s straight, to the right is the hallway.” I led him there, I pointed to the left where the bathroom was, “That’s the bathroom, then my rooms to the right, and you’ll stay straight ahead here, which was my office but if you give me a few moments I can clear some stuff. Then set-up a foldable bed I have in the attic, how does that-?” Before I could finish my sentence I found Henry snuggled up in my bed fast asleep, I pulled up his blanket making sure he was all tucked in.

The next morning I woke up early making myself and Henry some pancakes, I also called my mom to tell her what was going on. “Mom you remember Samantha and Kyle from college, the couple who had a kid?” “Yeah why?” “I found their 6 year old son running in the street yesterday, he escaped a fire that burst in the rental home they were staying in because they live 2 states away. Anyway, they died in the fire and I’m Henry's godmother so now I’m taking care of him.” It was silent for a moment. “Wow that is a lot of information at once. When did this happen?” “Yesterday.” “Yesterday? Why didn’t you call last night? I could come to help you?”

“I don’t know. I was kinda busy, can you come now and maybe bring some of Charlie’s old clothes and toys?”

“Of course! I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I can pick up some snacks at the store too, what do you think he’ll like? Pop-tarts?” Then I started to hear Henry panicking in the other room while my mom continued. “Chips? Popcorn? Maybe I should just get a few lunchables.” I continued to hear Henry freak out in the other room. “I don’t know, figure it out, I've got to go.” I hung up and walked into my room. Henry was whining rocking back and forth on the bed, when he saw me he jumped up and hugged me tight. I knelt down to meet him in the hug, he began to cry. “It’s okay Henry I’m right here. You’ve been through a lot, let it all out.” After he calmed down I began to leave for the kitchen but he started crying again.

“What’s wrong?” He just kept sniffling but wouldn’t speak.

“If you tell me then I can help you.” but he still wouldn’t speak. Then I got an idea which made me smile big. “Do you like chocolate chip pancakes?” I said. He started to smile, shaking his head yes. I brought him to the kitchen, settling him at the table with utensils, a plate, and some orange juice. I gave him a chocolate chip pancake all cut up, then I poured on some syrup, when I put too much he quickly pushed me away. I sat down across from him. “You should drink your orange juice.” He looked up and shook his head no. “Do you not like orange juice?” He shook his head no again but this time motioned for a cup. “Do you want some water?” He nodded, as I got his water I started to realize his trauma made him not want to talk, all the nods and hand gestures showed that. I shrugged it off for the moment, I figured he’d been through a lot and he’d need some time to adjust. We continued eating in silence so I put on some music, I only asked a question to see if he liked the food or not and he nodded. Then my mom walked in with 2 large bags. “Hey, Honey I brought a lot of stuff. Here I have some old clothes, toys, and books. I went to the store and brought a whole bunch of snacks, we’ll see what he likes. Where is he, can I meet him?”

“Yes, he’s in the kitchen, but he’s a little-” Before I could finish she storms past me into the kitchen. “Hi! I’m Ellavive’s Mom, you can call me Carol. What’s your name?” All he did was wave hi. My mother saw this and just waved again.

“Hi, what’s your name?” He didn’t do anything. Then I pulled my mom back into the living room. “Mom I was trying to tell you he’s shy, like really shy, so take it slow.”

“Ok, ok, how about I show him the toys and books?”

“Sure, Henry come here.” He walked in. My mom said, “I brought this stuff for you.” He looked down and saw the books, he pushed passed the books and then picked up a book called city dog, country frog. He pushed it towards me implying he wanted me to read it. Then the doorbell rang again, I wasn’t sure who it could be. I opened the door and it was a man with a clipboard, I could see behind him a truck was in my driveway.

“Ellavive Stone?” “Yes?” “You're the guardian of Henry Lacey?” “Yes, why?”  	“We have all his belongings from the families house in Florida, where would you like us to put it?”

“Um the living room is fine.” They brought in all of Henry’s stuff and a few boxes of his parents' stuff. Henry seemed to take some comfort in seeing his stuff, but he was also very sad which was understandable.

The next day I went to the local school to register Henry.

“I’m sorry we can register Henry but Henry can’t come here if he can’t talk yet.” “What? I don’t think this is permanent. He'll start talking once he sees other kids and adults?”

“Yes but until then he can’t communicate with the teacher. Don’t worry right when he starts talking again he’ll be able to come. And there’s things you can do, here’s our school counselor so we can set up some meetings with her.” “Thank you. Anything else to suggest?”

“Like you said, try to introduce him with some kids or family.” “Okay thank you.” I wasn’t really sure what to do, but home I asked Henry yes or no questions about school. “Do you want to go to school Henry?” He nodded. “Can you speak to answer me?” He did nothing and just looked down.

“That’s okay. Maybe we can do some speech therapy?” He aggressively shook his head no. “No, ok we don’t have to do that yet. It’ll be our last try. For now let’s watch a movie.” I went onto Disney Plus, “Anything specific you want to watch.” He nodded.

“What?” He put his arms up and growled like a bear. “Bear?” He nodded, so I looked up bear and he pointed to an option that said brother bear about a human turning into a bear and helping a bear cub who lost his mother. “Brother Bear?’ He nodded, I guess he really likes animals.

A week later I decided to invite some of my family over to see if he’d talk that way. I invited my parents, (when he saw them he was more comfortable already knowing my mom) my brother, and my aunt and uncle. I filled them all in on the situation. They talked for a little bit and Henry got to know them, he smiled for a little while and I saw, everyone tried asking him questions but he would only answer by shaking his head or not at all.

“Are you excited for school soon?” My uncle asked. He nodded. “Do you like reading?” My brother asked. He nodded. My aunt asked, “What’s your favorite book?” he grabbed the book from the shelf. “City Dog, Country Frog? That’s a good one?” He nodded hugging it.

My mom asked, “Can you tell us about it?” He didn’t answer.

“Just say what's your favorite part?” My aunt asked. I saw Henry thinking, very confused. He flipped to the last page and pointed to it, smiling. My aunt said, “No, use your words.” He put down the book, and ran into my bedroom. I said, “Thank you guys for trying, maybe next time.” They left, I went to see Henry to see if I could do anything to make him feel better. When I walked in he was at the end of my bed all curled up in a ball. I sat next to him. “Come here.” he scooched next to me and I gave him a hug. “You don’t have to talk today, or tomorrow, or even in a week. Take your time, and if you think it’s too scary, guess what?” He looked at me, “You're the strongest little boy I know.” He smiled. The next week I tried something else, I brought some of my friends who have kids over to my house. They were all close to Henry’s age, 3 of them. They brought a football so they invited Henry to play with them.

“Henry you wanna play with us?” Jack asked. Henry started shaking his head, and he put his arms up as if he didn’t know. I asked, “Do you know how to play Henry?” He shook his head no. “Jack maybe you could teach Henry how to play and throw football?” Jask answered, “Yeah, sure. Come on Henry!” Jack and the other two girls went out in the little front yard I had in the beautiful spring weather teaching Henry how to play football. I watched from the living room with the other moms and Henry seemed to be having fun, the other kids enjoyed playing with him. At one point I thought he was talking but he just yawned. Henry still wasn’t talking even though I tried introducing my family, playing with friends, I knew it was time to try the counseling classes. As much as he wouldn’t like it I knew it was for his own good. Walking into the school Henry was very nervous and shy. We checked in with the office and went to the classroom with the counselor. She greeted us very enthusiastically when we walked in. A few days before I called her about his situation. “Hi! Welcome!” She shook our hands, “I’m Ms. Hart, what’s his name?”

I responded, “This is Henry and I’m Ellavive.” “Nice to meet you, come sit down.” We sat in the chairs in front of her desk. “Henry, why do you think you're here?” He nodded. “Because you're not talking right?” He nodded. “Do you know why we want you to talk?” He shook his head no. “Well, we want to know what’s going on with you, what you're thinking about only you know. We can’t know unless you talk, when you talk we can get you anything you need and we can help solve any problems you have. So what I’m gonna do is make little goals each week, they won’t be big, small goals, do you think you could do those?” He moved his arms up to say I don’t know.

“I think you can do it, but for today I’m just gonna have you play with some of the toys I have. So you do that now over there.” She pointed over to a shelf of toys and she played with Henry.

We went every week for a few weeks, but no luck. One day I asked Henry if he wanted some s’mores, I guess he didn’t know what they were so I was excited to show him. I went to my backyard, cleared out the standing fire pit, put in some new logs, newspaper, and lint, then I lit fire. Henry walked outside and saw the flames.

“FIRE! FIRE!” He yelled. He started crying, I ran towards him. “Oh, Henry it’s okay. You’re okay.” “But No! FIRE!”

“Henry this fire can’t hurt you. It’s contained, it won’t hurt you, it won’t hurt me.” “B-but but-.” I held him tight trying to calm him down, rubbing his back. “You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.” He continued to whimper. “Look at me, do you trust me?”

“Yeah.” He sniffled. “I’m telling you, you are safe, okay?” He smiled in relief. “Okay.” he replied. “Alright, now we’re going to make some s’mores.” I took him to the pantry for some crackers, chocolate and marshmallows, we laid them down near our chairs that were around the fire. Then I took him to the woods to find some sticks. We walked back and I told him to put a marshmallow on his stick, then put the marshmallow over the fire. “Your marshmallow is on fire!” he said. “It’s okay, look I can just blow it out like this.” I blew it out. Then he did something that surprised me, he put his marshmallow in the fire, and then pulled it out. And he blew it out. “Good job Henry! I’m so proud of you.” I said. “Why?” “Well, because a few minutes ago you were very afraid, but you stood up to that fear, that’s really brave.” “Really?” “Yes. And you spent a move not talking, and you spoke about what was bothering you. Then we had a whole conversation! I’m very proud of you, and I love you very much!”

“I love you too mom! Oh wait was I supposed to say that?” “Yeah, you can call me mom. You're my boy, my boy Henry.”


From the moment I walked in the ballroom, I knew I was in the wrong place. This place was filled with know-it-all’s and the spoiled sons of rich businessmen. The halls were filled to the brim with holiday treats, alcohol (wait, wasn’t this party for minors?) and fancy, golden decorations that lined the walls in over-the-top Christmas cheer. Even more unfortunately than the fact that I stuck out like a sore thumb, was the fact that the actual awards show and music practice wasn’t for a few hours. Which meant that until then, I was stuck socializing. I couldn’t think of a more unappealing word at the moment.

Okay, so maybe I should have thought this whole thing through a bit more. When I got the invite for a holiday banquet for Young Musicians of the Year within our state I should have known it would involve a lot of...people…..and talking. I also didn’t consider the fact that I was a drummer, also known as the least important musical role. Whatever. Fuck that. I’d like to see half of these fancy prep boys play some guitar without a solid beat to back them up.

It might seem like I’m being pretty judgmental and rude. But considering the treatment I received at the door (and my one-hundred percent in my AP psychology class), I’m pretty sure they weren’t exactly huge fans of me. I'm not a huge fan of myself either, so I guess I can’t blame them.

I don’t really have the option not to talk to people though. There’s a lot riding on this whole thing for me. There’s a small chance that I could get a scholarship for some kind of fancy music college or something, which is really important to me. Having an alcoholic father made money kind of hard to come by, so I needed all the opportunities I could get. Unfortunately, part of the competition for the scholarship was working together with other people before the awards show. We were supposed to get together in small groups and come up with some kind of impromptu song, and I had no idea how to go about this. Well, I should probably start with trying to meet some people. Which meant I should probably take my hood off and start making eye contact while simultaneously making an effort to not punch one of these idiots in the face. Slowly, I took the hood off of my head, exposing my dark purple hair. At this moment, I was seriously regretting allowing my older sister to dye it. Most of the time, I didn’t mind it, but now was not one of those times.

Whatever. If people thought it was weird, then that was their problem. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having purple hair. Even though my hair was short, it was a wavy mess at the front, but I thought it looked cool with the purple dye. Sighing, I walked up to where a circle of boys were standing below a spiral staircase. There were four of them, all wearing equally fancy suits with gold pocket watches. “Hey,” Their excited conversation stopped abruptly, and they all turned to look at me. One of the guys, probably the leader of the group, took a step forward.

“Hey, you plan on following your sister’s footsteps anytime soon?” He smirked as the other goons chuckled. “Excuse me?” They obviously had no idea who I was, otherwise they would have known that a) my sister was dead, and b) she committed suicide because of awful people like these ones.

“You heard me. Maybe you should just….,” the guy gestured with his hand, running it in a smooth line across his throat. “How did you know that?” Pure venom dripped from my voice, so much that even I was aware of it. I was surprised. How had they known? I sometimes had slightly aggressive tendencies that usually bothered people, but I didn’t really care right now. “I knew your sister, Seth. I helped her see who she really was. A loser. A freak. A miserable, disgusting little-” Before he could say another word, my hands wrapped around his throat like I was possessed. I felt adrenaline rush to my brain, and I had trouble reigning myself in. “I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouth, or you will have problems speaking.” At this, one of his goons laughed, whispering the word freak in my ear. I shoved him, roughly, and he fell and hit his head with a sickening crack. I felt bad for a moment, but my rage overwhelmed the guilt, and suddenly it was a full on brawl. The boy got back up quickly and pulled out a switchblade. This was a three on one fight, and the only advantage I had was my height.

The first guy, who somehow knew my sister, lunged for me, punching my stomach with such force that I almost doubled over in pain. I had to dodge, lunge, and swing while simultaneously trying to avoid that blade. Without realizing it, I had quickly knocked over two of the three guys, and the third was slowly backing away.  I glared at him, turning on my heels and walking away, trying to find an abandoned hallway I could use to rethink my life decisions and consider what an idiot I was. I hadn’t lost my control like that in…..a long time. Whatever. Those assholes deserved every fucking bruise. It was a short fight, but quite a violent one. Getting into physical fights was something I was smart enough not to do, but Ziara was a sore spot. Ever since her death, our family, (and my happiness) was in ruins.  I couldn’t think about that now, though. How on earth was I meant to get a scholarship now? Those preppies seemed to know what they were doing, and I figured that word would travel quickly around here. The thing was, this entire thing counted on me being able to make friends, or at least acquaintances. Clearly, I wasn’t so good at that.

Opting to just roam around the halls for a moment, I jumped off the window ledge I had been standing on and continued down the hallway, rolling my eyes at the gaudy Christmas decorations. As I turned the corner, I heard a muffled yelp. What was that? It almost sounded like a pained animal, but that seemed highly unlikely. Racing down the corridor, I followed the sounds of the panicked voice, stopping when I saw a tightly closed door. I pressed my face to the thick wooden door, listening for any noises. Silence. Frustrated, I banged my fist on the door angrily, rolling my eyes. This place was a hellhole.

“Who’s there?”

That was all I needed. Quickly, I twisted the door handle and slipped into the room, ready to face whatever was inside. The room was dark, lit only by the faint Christmas candles that gave the room a sugary scent. It was overall, a quite lovely...lounge room? However, I was more concerned with the fact that two boys were holding a third smaller boy against the wall. Somehow they hadn’t noticed me come in. Idiots. I mean, yeah, the room was dark, but I’m sure me opening and closing the door caused some sound.

“We know you can sing, Keith,” One of the taller boys with thick, black hair threatened. Keith. So that was the smaller one’s name. Keith looked panicky, his bright blue eyes darting around the room as if searching for escape. He seemed angry, fighting against the restraints, but the combined power of the slightly taller boys was making it hard for him to move. “We need a singer. And you’re the only one left. Sing for us. “ “Fuck you!” Keith exclaimed angrily with sudden vigor, pushing the first boy off of him. However, the other boy was stronger, and quickly tackled Keith, who started violently coughing under the pressure. Wait...was he coughing blood? Okay, time to intervene. I rushed into the scene, pulling one of the boys off of Keith and shoving him roughly to the ground. I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of physical fighting, but I didn’t see another effective option. Surprised, the other one released their hold on Keith, and I swept him up off of the ground, placing him upright. Keith crumpled to the ground though, and the two other guys took this as an opportunity to lunge at me. Fantastic. I really love coming to parties and then being provoked before finding some dudes trying to asphyxiate some attractive boy they wanted to be their singer. Blinking at my own strange thoughts, I barely dodged out of the way in time, jumping nimbly to the side.

It appeared that Keith was unable to walk, but he had managed to drag himself near the entrance. That was good. I stepped to the left, and as soon as the other boys moved to follow me, I sprinted to the door and picked up Keith, who let out a startled noise at the sudden movement. It was hard carrying an entire person (though that person happened to be a good three inches shorter than me and not very heavy), but I was strong enough. Opening the door with my elbow, I left the room, making sure to give the guys a middle finger as I slammed it in their faces.

I hurried down the hallway, shifting Keith, who seemed slightly annoyed at being carried bridal style. Whatever. He could tolerate it, especially considering he couldn’t walk. Eventually I ended up near the window ledge I had previously sat one, and I decided to set him down here.

“Um...I could have walked….” Keith started, giving me a look. “Sure, is that why you’re leaning heavily against the wall right now and wincing?” Yeah, uh, there was no way he could have walked. Keith blushed and looked away. Adorable. Wait, what?? Jesus, what on earth was I thinking? Shaking my head at my own thoughts I turned to Keith. “Seth Kimura,” I said, offering him my hand. “I’m Keith Hollindale.” We shook hands and he swallowed nervously before speaking again. “So uh...thanks...for saving me. I appreciate it a lot.” “It was no big deal. Those guys were jerks. Seriously, it’s like everyone in here got infected with some evil let-me-be-an-asshole virus or something.”

“I know right, like if you want a singer for the concert later maybe try being nice to them first,” Keith replied, smiling. Oh. The impromptu concert. I had been so busy stopping fights (and getting into them), that I hadn’t even thought about it. I had no idea what I was going to do, especially since most people were already rehearsing. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

“Hey, do you want to work together for the concert? We still have an hour left,” I said with a sudden bout of courage. Keith was quiet for a moment, and I began to regret my decision.

“Yeah, that sounds really nice,” he quietly responded. “Um...if that’s okay with you?” “Of course, I offered after all.” “R-right,” he said blushing again. Geez, why on earth did I find that so adorable? “What role do you play?” Keith asked me. “I’m a drummer.”

“Awesome, “ Keith said, his face lighting up, “I’ve never really practiced with one before. “Well, I guess I’ll be your first then. Let’s go find somewhere to rehearse.” “Why do they call it an impromptu concert if we get to practice?” Keith looked confused for a moment.

“I have no idea,” I said, laughing, and for the first time since arriving, I was glad I decided to come.


My feet stick out awkwardly from underneath the small blanket, trying desperately to get warm in the cold night. Frustrated, I get up and toss the blanket on the floor, comforting my feet with wool socks. It is useless to try and stop tomorrow from coming; it is the Star Child’s destiny or whatever. Anger bubbles up inside of me but immediately disappears to give room for the empty. The windows are drawn tight like they always have been, hiding me away from the people I am supposed to guide. But tonight, nobody will see me pull the curtains back and watch the city lights gleam in the distance. Nobody will see me watch cars speeding through highways, and tall buildings glistening in the night sky of my city.

There is no escaping the palace either. Often times I try, one of the guards always pulls me by the arm, looks me in the eye, and locks me away again, as was done today three times. Each time, there would be tut-tutting, and the humming of tunes behind the door, Henrietta, one of the guards, murmuring to herself.

“There is no escaping the palace. There is no escaping at all Stargirl.” So there is no way to stop tomorrow from happening, only time on my hands to wait and watch the city lights, all the way down the hill.

“Stargirl, it's time.” I sit up abruptly, addressing Henrietta with a cold stare. “My name is Alma.” Without waiting for her response, I begin the walk to Main hall, not trying to slow my steps or run away. There is no escaping the palace, or a visit to the queen; my mother.

Henrietta quickly catches up with me, using my shoulders as pretend steering.

“Woah there young lady; remember, you need to remember to leave room for the empty-” I quicken my pace, and almost burst through the doors of Main Hall. Inside, I forget why I am here and focus on the Star people, each and every one of them waiting and watching for me to get my burden of a thousand lifetimes. Some kind of people I’m supposed to guide, huh. They eye me with curiosity and start chanting my birthright. “Stargirl. Stargirl. Stargirl.” I shake my head and see my mother, chanting alongside them on her throne. I remember, and shake my head again, not wanting to do this. But it was my destiny-or whatever.

Suddenly, all the lights go out. I am alone, and the empty is with me. It wants me to choose, takes my hand and squeezes. It feels cold to the touch and is slimy up my spine. So, this is the new successor of Minnie the Third. I don’t bother to correct it and frown instead, waiting for it to end. A jolt of energy fuses into my hand and I squeeze my eyes shut as the empty takes refuge in my hand. If we are lucky, we won’t see each other again. All my life, I have been hidden away from people, learned to conceal myself and my inner self, all for a whirlpool of stars and purple swirls etched on my right hand. My people smile and clap their hands wildly, but I feel numb and weary. All my life I have been preparing for this moment, and now it is over. Now I’ll be locked in my room forever. That’s it. No.

I can’t help it, despite years of training I let the tears come, and run. I can hear the groans in the Main Hall, and though I should feel bad, it is relieving. I want to compose myself and lock the empty inside, but it feels so good. I don’t want to tell anyone I’m afraid, so I run. Running is what I’m good at, and if I could run forever I would. My destiny doesn’t matter when I run, even when I’m hiding in the courtyard where nobody will find me.

Purple threw up on my hand and spread like butter all over my right arm. It snakes up and up until the purple smear reaches my shoulder. It is peaceful among the birds and trees, even when the crickets start chirping their woeful song among the grass. I observe the swirls and shapes and stars forming on my arm, gingerly touching them like they will fall out of balance if I move it ever so slightly.

“So, you’re the new successor, Alma.” The voice takes me by surprise, so I jump, scooching farther behind a tree. A boy my age with a deep voice shines a flashlight on the tree, smiling.

“I knew I’d find you here; it's where I come to relax sometimes.” “Who are you?” I squeak, hating how my voice sounds. This boy has no right to confront me, the queen’s daughter.

“That’s not important.” He comes closer and sits beside me, so I can see his messy curls hanging above his face, covering a small birthmark. In his hand is a note from my mother, addressed to me.

“How did you get that?”

“Well, d’ya want it or not? I was sent to give it to you, m’kay.” I snatch the letter from him and, without reading it, start to rip the letter into neat halves. I catch the boy staring, not at me but at my purple arm, in fascination.

“So, how does it feel, you know.” He gestures to my long robes and purple arm, making me blush.

“I hate it, actually.” “So why not run away?” His eyes find mine and I feel the familiar rush of excitement tingle all over my body, not silencing it for the empty. From underneath his tattered clothes, he pulls out a black hoodie and some bread.

“Come with me.” I forget about the doubts churning in my stomach and follow this strange boy into the woods, not knowing what else I could do. Destiny and the empty could get life together; I didn’t care. We were heading for a new beginning. A wheelbarrow is parked by the entrance of the palace, holding a few sacks. We climb inside and hold our breaths as a woman whistles and pulls it down the road to the city down the hill. I look at the castle for a second, then turn away solemnly. There is no escaping the palace. Henrietta’s words come flying back at me, but I am here, not stuck inside my room.

“So, Alma. You like, hold a universe on your arms, like literally.” “Yeah, I happen to.” “What are you going to name it?” He whispers to me from inside the wheelbarrow. I ignore him and stare out of the flap in the sack at the gleaming city down the hillside. There is no escaping the palace, except when you hold the universe in the palm of your hand. I told you to keep me in, but now you will pay the consequences.


Don't look up. Don't look up. Erin sits on the top shelf, eyes squeezed shut. With her knees clutched against her chest, she hardly dares to breathe. The creature shuffles along the floor below her hiding place, knocking cans and boxes off the shelves as it searches. Erin winces each time another item clatters to the concrete below. It knows she's somewhere nearby. Someone outside screams. With a burst of speed, the green-skinned beast spins around. Then, it hurtles out the door and toward the sound. Erin finally lets out a stifled sob and slumps back against the wall. It's over. For now, at least. After allowing herself a few moments of emotion, she wipes her face and pulls herself together. If she's going to survive, she needs her wits about her. And she needs to get out of here before the creature comes back. As quiet as a mouse, Erin slips over the edge and cautiously climbs down the tower of metal shelves. She  slides the backpack off and tugs at the zipper. In the quiet room, the zipping sound is deafening, but the chorus of growls and screams from outside is enough to hide it from the ravenous monsters. She stuffs cans and boxes of food into the bag with layers of towels in between. She zips the bag closed. She turns to leave, but stops at the sight in front of her. One of the creatures -- much bigger than the one who had stalked her before -- stands just outside the open door. Its back is toward her. Erin's heart pounds against her chest. Maybe I can sneak out the back. Breath held, she takes a step backwards. Then another. And another. All is well so far. She starts to feel hopeful. Then, she starts to turn around. The bulge of the backpack snags on something. A can scrapes across the metal shelf and slams to the ground. The creature bellows as its claws tear at the door frame. Erin panics. She freezes in place, watching over her shoulder. Long fangs hang well below its lower lip as it bares its teeth. Its four yellow eyes glare with murderous intent. It lets out another roar and Erin breaks from her stupor. She bolts through the huge building. Behind her, the monster breaks through the wall. It lets out a screech that echoes through the building. More monsters appear through the demolished doorway as Erin tries to escape. She tries door after door, but they're all locked. The floors start to shake as behind her, the creatures start to stampede. Her fear mounts as they get closer and there's no escape in sight. At last, she finds an unlocked door. Her legs nearly buckle in relief. But, with the thunder of clawed feet barreling toward her, she throws herself through the opening. Then, she turns and yanks the door shut. "Hey!" Erin shrieks at the unexpected voice in the stairwell. She spins around, fists raised, prepared for battle. "I ain't gonna hurt ya. But they will. Come on!" Before she can protest, the man grabs her hand and starts running up the stairs. Erin's lungs fight for air. There's a stitch in her side, too, but she obediently runs after the stranger. "Come on! Through here." He drags her through another door and pushes it closed behind them. The cacophony of roars and shrieks from the monsters echoes through the building. Erin frantically looks around the room, trying to find the way out. But the man is doubled over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When Erin notices that he's in no hurry to leave, her voice comes out an octave higher than normal. "What are you waiting for? We have to go! Now!" He stands up and looks her over. "Nah. Them things can't get through that stairwell. They're too big." He watches her for a moment longer before extending his hand. "Name's Clayton." She shakes the proffered hand in a daze. "Wha... But... H..." Erin closes her eyes for a moment to find the right words. "How do we get out of here?" Then, as an afterthought, "Erin, by the way." Clayton smiles. "Lovely to meet ya, Erin. Although, I do wish it was under better circumstances." Impatience growing, she begins to look around again for an exit. The roars and screeches from the creatures seem to grow louder. The sounds of claws against concrete and steel below echoes through the room. "Alright. See that door, back over there? We're gonna wait 'til the sun goes down," Clayton pauses as he sees Erin start to protest. With a raised eyebrow and a stern voice, he continues, "We'll wait 'til sunset and then climb down that ol' fire escape." "What?! No! Why wait so long?" Without waiting for an answer, she starts marching toward the exit. "Because," Clayton grabs her by the arm and spins her around to face him. "Because I got backup comin' then." Erin glares. "Let me go." She tries to twist out of his grip, but it doesn't work. "I have to get back to my sister!" The two keep staring. Finally, Clayton releases her. "Fine. Go if you wanna. But you're gonna have a better chance if ya stick with us." "Why? Those things can't be killed! How would it help to stay with you?" His smile returns. "Yeah, they can. Ever since the day those things landed on earth and started wiping us out, we've been searchin' for a way to kill 'em. Now?" His smile broadens. "We found it." Erin's jaw drops. Before the military had been wiped out, they'd tried everything. Some countries had even resorted to nukes. But the extraterrestrial creatures persisted. "No way. You couldn't possi..." Erin's eyes are drawn to the corner of the room. "What's that noise?" Just as Clayton turns around to look, a chunk of the concrete floor crumbles and falls away. The rebar inside has been snapped, useless against the strength of the monsters. A clawed hand reaches up through the new opening. "Shit! Run!" Another chunk of floor disappears behind them as they book it toward the door. Erin reaches it first and stops to yank it open. Clayton looks over his shoulder. The creature's snout is through the opening now. Its slit-like nostrils flare as it huffs in anger. As soon as Clayton and the beast make eye contact, a deafening roar shakes the room. Both humans wince at the sound, then rush out the door and down the fire escape. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Erin starts to dash off. Clayton grabs her arm once more and pulls her the other way. "I have to get to my si-" "No! Come on!" Erin fights to get out of his grip, but he keeps hold. He finally looks her in the eye. "We gotta get to my truck and lead 'em away. If we go to your sister, they'll follow us there and then we'll all be dead." Erin glowers at him. As they hear another large chunk of concrete fall inside the building, she makes up her mind. She gives a slight nod, then sprints after Clayton to the truck. Safe in the truck, Erin turns in the seat and watches as the buildings disappear into the distance. Once they've both finally caught their breath, she turns to Clayton. "Can you warn your team? They'll get there and--" "Nah. They'll see my truck is gone and they won't go in. And as soon as they meet up with us, we'll go back for your sister." "Oh. That's good." She leans back against the seat and lets herself relax a little. Suddenly, she remembers the conversation they were in the middle of when the floor started getting ripped apart. "So, earlier you were saying you found a way to kill those things." "Yep. Hold on a sec." Just then, he turns into a well-concealed driveway and parks the truck. "Wait here." He climbs out and starts searching through a nearby bush. Erin watches in confusion. Finally, he pulls out a walkie-talkie and speaks into it. From her spot in the truck, Erin can't quite make out what's going on. Finally, he comes back and puts the vehicle back into drive. "Sorry 'bout that. I had to let base know we're coming so they could open the gates for us." "OK. So, about killing those things..." "Right. So, it took a lot of trial and error. Whole lotta people died in the process, too. It's sugar." Clayton pulls up in front of the building and throws the truck back into park. When he turns toward Erin, he sees the disbelieving smile written across her face. "No, I'm serious. It's high concentrations of sugar." "What? Like, they're diabetic?" "I dunno. Something like that. Anyway, if ya give 'em high doses of sugar, they just drop dead. It's so simple that we should've figured it out sooner." "How the hell do you get them to eat sugar?" "We don't. Come on in, I'll show ya." The pair walked inside the building. Clayton said hello and introduced Erin along the way, but she was too preoccupied to take much note of names and faces. They walked through a large room with multiple vats of boiling liquid. Finally, they traveled down a hallway and entered a much smaller space. Several people were inside, funneling liquid into small, odd-looking syringes. "You've seen tranquilizer guns on movies, right?" Erin gives a nod while continuing to watch the process. "Well, those things are meant to be tranq darts. We just empty 'em out and put in sugar water instead. Ya hit those guys with a one or two of those darts, they're out," he snaps his fingers, "like that." Erin turns towards him. "No, I've seen bullets bounce of those things. There's no way that little needle goes in." Clayton lets out a chuckle. "Yeah, it does. Imagine this: You've got a piece of cloth stretched out in front of you. How hard is it to push a little needle through? Not hard at all, right? Now, take that same piece of cloth and try to push the end of a baseball bat through it. It's gonna take a whole lot more force to get that bat through than the little needle." She looks off into space for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, she nods. "Alright. Now as soon as the group gets back, we'll go get your sister and bring her back here. Hopefully take out a few of those extra-terrestrial killing machines in the process." -------------- Erin taps her foot against the floorboards. She stares down at the tranq gun propped against the seat in front of her. "Knock it off, you're making me nervous." She turns toward the woman in the seat beside her. "Rosa, I'm sorry, but I've been gone for nearly two days now. She's been alone this whole time and has no idea what's happened to me." "Yeah, I get it. Just chill though. Bouncing around like you're strung out isn't gonna help anyone. The way you're jittering, you're never going to hit your target with that gun. Hell, we'll be lucky if you don't hit one of us." Erin grinds her teeth at the woman's abrasive manner, but forces herself to sit still. Jasper turns around from the passenger seat to look at Rosa. "Come on, she's just worried about the kid. Have a little empathy." Clayton glances back at them in the rearview mirror, but doesn't intervene. Jasper turns back toward the front and the rest of the ride continues in silence. Finally, they pull up in front of the house where Ellie has been waiting. "Jasper and I will go chec--" Erin bolts out of the van, ignoring Clayton's words. "Ellie?" She sprints up the porch steps and through the front door. "Ellie, I'm back!" The others grab their guns and jump out of the van to follow. Rosa rolls her eyes and mutters something under her breath. By the time the trio makes it inside, they're greeted by the sight of Erin hugging a crying twelve-year old girl. "Alright, you can hug in the van. Let's go." "Geeze, Rosa, just let them have a minute." Jasper glares at her. "No, we've got to get out of here before o..." Her eyes dart to the window. "What's that sound?" She rushes over and peers through a gap in the blinds. Then, she hisses back at him, "There's one out there right now. If we go now, we can make it to the van before it finds us. If we wait and it finds us first..." "Why can't we just shoot it with the tranq guns? I thought that was the plan." Erin looks around at the others, trying to understand. Jasper sighs. "Well, we need to do it as we move. The injection takes a while to work. They can still attack or call others over in the meantime." She turns to glare at Clayton. "I thought you--" "Yeah, I may have exaggerated a bit. But it does work. It just takes a few minutes." Before Erin can respond, Rosa speaks up again. "Guys, what's the plan? It's getting closer. We need to decide now ." "Alright," Clayton says, "show of hands, who wants to go?" Clayton, Rosa, and Erin raise their hands. "OK, we go. Jasper, you drive. Rosa, you're in back with me. You two, in the middle. We go out there, slow and quiet. On three, we open the doors and hop in. Any questions?" He takes a moment to look around at the group. "Good. Let's go." Jasper crouches at the door. He slowly pulls the door open and steps outside. Rosa and Clayton stay close on his heels. Erin and Ellie follow at the rear. They're halfway to the van when Ellie catches a glimpse of the four-eyed creature and gasps. Clayton spins around and presses a hand against the girl's mouth. Panicking, she tries to push away from his grip. The beast hears the commotion and bellows. "Three!" Clayton scoops the girl up and makes a mad dash toward the van. He tosses her inside then leaps in after her. "Come on!" Jasper dives in and starts the van as Erin and Rosa hurry to close the doors. The tires squeal as they peel out across the blacktop. Erin clutches the crying Ellie to her chest as they watch the beast gaining on them. Rosa, already in the back, knocks out the rear window while Clayton struggles over the back of the seat. The creature tears after them, its claws leaving gouges in the asphalt. Rosa takes aim, holds her breath, and shoots the first dart at the monster. It screeches as the needle sticks in its leg. Clayton, finally positioned in the back, takes aim as Rosa reloads. He shoots and the monster shrieks once more as the dart sticks in the center of its chest. Rosa holds up her gun again, but looks toward Clayton. "How many shots?" "This guy's big. One more, then we'll see if he goes down soon." She turns back toward the window and takes aim. She fires, but the van hits a pothole and the dart goes flying over the thing's head. Clayton shoots once more. This one hits just inches from his first shot. The creature's stride falters a bit, but it continues its pursuit. "Floor it, Jasper!" The van speeds up and finally makes some real distance from the monster. Soon, the creature's knees buckle and it collapses to the ground. Rosa cheers, and Erin lets out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "See?" Clayton looks at Erin. "Just like that." He snaps his fingers for emphasis. Erin can't decide whether to laugh or cry, so she does both. Slowing to a more reasonable speed, Jasper turns the van back toward the base. Finally, Erin calms down and turns toward Clayton. "I want to help. I haven't had much practice with a gun, so I don't know if I can shoot them. But give me something to do. I can make the darts or gather supplies or something. I'm tired of running." Clayton smiles at her. "Alright." He offers her his hand. "Welcome to the team."