I knew my fate the moment I lent myself to the mysteries of this world. It was no surprise that I’d be overthrown so quickly. I now find myself faced with the reality of having to exchange my magic for death.

 I’ve been counting down the days since the moment I felt her power grow ten times larger than mine. I was ready to give up my magic to the next. That day is today. 

  “I knew they’d be coming for me, but I didn’t think they’d send you. “ 

“ Of course they were always going to send me to look for you. I’m the best they have. “

 “That’s no surprise to me. You are my daughter. “

I wish I could say I was surprised. I wish I could believe that it was somehow shocking that they were able to track me down. But honestly the only thing that surprised me was who they sent.

It was a cold quit night in December when they finally found me, I was walking home when, under the dim glow of a street lamp, I saw him. I was overjoyed to see him again, the reality of the situation had not yet sunk in I ran to him calling out excitedly “ John! john! What are you doing here?” I threw my arms around him for a hug, but he didn’t hug back. He seemed distant and cold with his arms down by his side. I pulled back confused, he spoke softly, “I think you already know.” I stared deeply into his eyes trying desperately to understand what he meant, his face was emotionless and his eyes looked cold and dead. He continued “01 you need to come back they’re waiting for you”

it took me a moment to process his words, almost as if my brain hadn’t wanted to process them at all, but once the full gravity of what he had said sunk in I was overwhelmed with emotions, it was as if a bomb had gone off in my brain scrambling any thought I tried to form and leaving my emotions it a messy soup. But in the mess that was my emotions, confusion, sadness, and anger seemed to be the most common.

After some time I was able to gather what was left of thoughts and spit out “John you escaped, you were out. Why…” there was a brief moment of silence between us before he responded confidently “come now, you didn’t really think they would let us get away did you. You knew from the moment we hopped that barbed wire fence that it would end like this.” a panic swept over me and the fear was clear in my voice as I said “John you don’t have to do this we can run away together, now.” He responded with a tinge of sadness “you know my name is 06 and you also know we can’t do that they will just find us again. Come with me peacefully 01 their patience is already wearing thin soon they will send in a full swat team, and things will get bloody, just come with me 01.” A deep sadness filled me, he was right they got me. If it were anyone else standing there I would have killed them and ran, ran into that cold quit night. But it wasn’t anyone it was John, I could never hurt him and I guess they knew that, so instead of sprinting off into the night I calmly said “your right 06 let’s go.” Then we walked, walked into the darkness of the night and the cold of winter.

“I knew they’d be coming for me, but I didn’t think they’d send you” He breathed a humourless breathy laugh as he looked at the little blonde girl with her pigtails that curled in random directions and ‘superhero’ suit that was made up of leggings and a black T-shirt with her own haphazardly drawn symbol on the front in white paint. He knew the little girl well, she was his eldest niece now 7 years old but short for her age.

“Uncle Fin, we just want you to come home, I pinky promise I won’t let them do anything that isn’t good for you”

“Good for me!? Your father has made me his science experiment! Since we were children he’s been screwing me up!” He shouted, his face reddening as tears started to stream from his eyes and he spat out each word with such venom it took the little girl aback.

“Uncle Finny... I won’t let him, I promise, please Uncle Finny? Just get off the ledge and let me talk to you, please...” tears welled in her own eyes, it was her father’s experimentation that made her what she was, she knew her Uncle’s distress to an extent and she could understand why it would drive him here to the top of the hospital building he’d been admitted to under insanity and instability charges from none other than his own brother.

“Fine. On one condition, you never let your dad near me again, do you promise that?” She nodded immediately reaching up to hug her uncle as the police burst through the door to the roof only to stop in their tracks at the sight of the man they were informed was insane and highly dangerous hugging a young child who didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable around him.

“Boys, false alarm” was the last thing said before the little girl and her uncle were escorted to the front desk and a mix up was reported, a week later the little hero’s father was dragged kicking and screaming to the police station and placed in a cell alone. “He can’t hurt us now Uncle Fin, I promise”

The man chuckled, as he slowly walked out of the shadows clutching a gun with a silencer. “No one knows.” He chuckled, cocking the gun. The woman stood back, clutching a small knife. “You Damn freak. Sweat beaded in her forehead, as her legs began shaking. The scar that ran down the mans face was horrific, let alone the burn marks.

It took one shot, and one only.

Woooshhhh