A tense whisper echoed in the dimly lit alley. “We need to get out of here, now!”

The speaker was Jessica Aynes, a sixteen year old girl who was sick and tired of being prodded and poked at, studied for ten years of her life. She was one of the rare people who had magical powers— chikamago, if she remembered the term right. She recalled the day she was taken away quite well. She was sitting in the front yard in front of her and her parents’ little cottage. Her father was doing repairs in the backyard, where she usually played. Her mother was keeping a slight eye on her through the window in the kitchen. No one was worried about her. It was a safe neighborhood. No one would hurt a little six-year-old girl playing with her dolls.

She vaguely recalled her young self levitating a doll up, pretending she was a queen, when a carriage carrying a royal minister rode past. He gawped at her through the window and alerted the gaurds. Her mother had ran out the door, crying, to ask in horror why they were taking her daughter. She remembered the minister responding in a gruff voice: “She’s Magic, a Rare One. We need to study people like that. This is a rare opportunity. She won’t be lonely, there’s about five others her age in the lab.” Jessica remembered wondering what Rare Ones were as she was hoisted up into the carriage. She didn’t know why her mother was crying, but she felt excited.

Jessica shook the memory off. It wouldn’t help now. She looked around at her friends, all the same kids the minister had mentioned. There was Josie, the sweet younger girl who had arrived just recently at the labs, scaredy cat Avery who only agreed to try to escape the labs because he didn’t want to be the only one left, brainy Benjamin, who was the one who had devised the plan for escaping, hair-obsessed Penelope who just couldn’t bear having one more day without a good hair spray and lipstick, and mischievous Jonas who was the one let the skunk out (where he’d got it from, Jessica had no idea) to get rid of the guards.

But now the guards were catching up, and they had to leave.

“Why don’t we get to the woods?” Benjamin suggested. “The guards are afraid of it. They say there are rabid monsters in there.”

“There is?” Penelope gulped. Avery’s eyes grew as big as golf balls and only managed to peep, “I hope not!”

“Nah,” said Jonas. “Once, when I had been in trouble, a few nights before now, they put a collar on me and sent me out into the woods in the middle of the night. The collar kept me from going past the fence. There was nothing out there but some skunks and the usual rabbits and deer and fox. It really wasn’t that bad! The guards are all scardy cats.”

Guess that explains the skunk, Jessica thought. “Well, I guess we should go now, whatever we do.” The guard boots were drawing ever closer.

“You’re right,” said Benjamin. He tapped along the wall, humming.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking for a loose board. It would take to long to get over the traditional way, even with rope.” He pushed lightly at a board, and it wobbled. Carefully, he pulled it back. Old nails creaked and popped free. Ushering them all through the hole, he went in last and pulled the board back into place as the guards rounded the corner.

They looked around. All was black, except for the night sky and the small illumination coming from beyond the fence from the lab. They were alone in the woods.

The next day, was just as exhausting. I was rushed around through tea parties and meetings with Houses. None of them were the House of Vampire. After yesterday, my father probably figured that Damian was more of a bad influence than a protector. I couldn’t agree more.

Yet, his and Elle’s absence through the day made me frustrated. I missed having her by my side and I guess that Damian’s annoying side was getting comfortable with me.

I shook that thought from my head. Damian is a play boy. He breaks hearts and probably brought those vampires in. Stay away from him!

I slolwy prepared for day three of the festival. Tonight was story night. We dressed up as characters from Solestian fairytales. I wanted to be my favorite character, the Sun Hunteress.

When I was a child, my mother told me the story of the Sun Hunteress and the Star Sorcerer. The Sun Huntress hunted mythical animals sent form the Sun to earth. She wanted to discover new lands and find a true home. One day, she ran into a Star Sorcererer. The two wanted the same thing. Together, they went off into far off places.

Soon, they fell in love. The Moon didn’t like that and tried to tear them apart. He sent the Huntress to a far off land with everything she could ever want and sent the Star Sorcerer to a twisted land of monsters. Even though the Huntress had everything she wanted, she went back to find the Star Sorcerer.

It says that she still lingers the earth, searching for her lover.

I always found that story romantic. I smiled as I put my hair into a braid. I dressed in a simple, but brightly colored dress. I kept my outfit very plain looking. It was a bright red maiden outfit with black boots and a quiver of arrows.

Me and my sisters made our way to the festival grounds. My sisters were the Sky Twins from a child’s story. “Vesper, what are you going to do tonight?” Prudence asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Why?” I asked.

“I hear that the House of Dolce’s tent has a dance floor for dancing and I wanted to go. I was wondering if you’d take me.” She looked down shyly. I smiled.

“Of course I’ll take you. Charity, do you want to go?”

Charity was busy looking for someone. “Umm, I don’t know. Do you think Aspen Vampire will be there?” She asked.

I froze. “Aspen Vampire?”

“Yeah.”

My sister had a crush. He was a cute boy so I wouldn’t say much. “Maybe. Let’s go and see.”

I took them to the Dulce tent. There was a ballroom in there. It was lovely. Instantly, my sisters ran off to find a partner to dance with. Charity was lucky. Aspen was there and the two of them began to dance quickly.

“Hey, Vesper.” Elle said as she approached me. She was dressed as a the Demon Queen of Glorenland. It fit her well.

“Hey, Elle. I like your outfit.” I replied.

She twirled, her black and red gown shimmering in the tent lights. “Thank you. I always found the Demon Queen to fit my personality.”

I laughed. “It does.”

“Damian told me about what your father said.”

Oh. I paused. She knew. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. You seem like the kind of girl who wants to choose who you love.”

“My love is gonna betray me anyway. Did he tell you that part?”

Elle nodded.

“So, there’s no point in letting me decide. I’ll end up hurt either way.”

“And about Dane?”

His name sent an unease over me. I shivered in fear. He had touched me, but I had been wearing a revealing dress. Had it been my fault? I shouldn’t have been showing that much skin anyway. I shouldn’t feel this bad about a guy touching me. Plenty of guys are going to touch me. I just had to get used to it, I guess.

“I guess he’s alright.” I said.

“Hello, Sunshine.” Damian said as he appeared behind me. I could feel his presence behind me. My body knew where he was. “Hello, dear sister.”

Elle nodded to him. “Dear brother.” She replied in acknowledgment.

I turned to him. “What do you want, Damian?” I asked.

“A dance.” He replied and smirked at me.

“No.”

“Please.” He pouted.

I rolled me eyes. “Why?”

“Am I not allowed to want a dance from the pretty princess?” He offered me his hand.

I eyed him suspiciously. I looked at Elle. She shrugged and grabbed a goblet of wine. What was one little dance gonna do? Nothing.

But I should be staying away from him. I knew that I was starting to get comfortable with him. He was dangerous. This was dangerous.

“Fine.” I took his hand defeatedly.

“Don’t sound so sad, sunshine.” He said as he pulled me onto the dance floor. His hand found my waist and the other landed on my shoulder.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and let him lead the dance. I tried to look anywhere, but Damian’s eyes. I knew that if I looked into them, I would be swept away.

“So how is sunshine doing tonight?” He asked me.

I looked at him. “Fine.” I replied.

He smirked at me. “You can’t just be doing fine. You’re dancing with me.”

“You think too highly of yourself.” I placed my head on his shoulder and leaned into his touch. I still kept my guard up, but relaxed a little.

The breath hitched in Damian’s throat. He relaxed a second later and pulled me closer to him. We danced in silence for a while. I enjoyed swaying to melody, just him and me.

Then I saw something. There was a flash a dark coloring on the edge of the tent. Then I saw Lucian there. That was Damian’s brother. He was holding something. It was crystal. It was a dark crystal the color of midnights.

“Hey, is that-“ I was cut off by the lights going out in the tent.

No. I tensed up. I knew what was about to happen. This had happened two night ago.

“We need to get out of here, now!” Damian whispered to me.

I nodded. I knew what was about to come and we needed to leave.

This time, we were ready. Someone screamed for everyone to run. People did as told, as well as screaming.

I watched as my sisters made it safely out of the tent. Damian and I had been towards the back so it took us longer to get to the door.

By that time, they had started to descend.

People were screaming like crazy. It was all flashes of screams, dark colors, wings, and murderous red eyes. Vampires. There were vampires here. Real vampires.

“Sunshine, stay close.” Damian said as he pulled out a knife.

“You just keep that on you?” I cried out.

“You have a dagger strapped to your thigh, hypocrite.” He threw the knife at a vampire and it hit it in the wings. It screeched so loud, I had to cover my ears.

“But I can barely use it, remember?” I pressed myself as close as I could to him.

I wanted to get out of here. I had to find my sisters and Aspen-

A female vampire grabbed my arm. I screamed and swung a punch at her. She hissed at me and pulled me closer to her. Damian cried out my name, but it was too late.

Teeth were sunk into my arm.

“We need to get out of here, now!” Sam’s rushed whisper seems to echo in the dimly lit alley.

I hesitate for a beat and look around. The hair on the back of my neck stands up and I break into a full sprint. Someone saw us.

My feat beat against the pavement panting as I run full speed to the meeting point. I need to run more when I get back to the compound.

I use the shadows to my advantage as I move. Nearing the abandoned warehouse we’ve been using as a safe house. I check I’m clear before I enter.

Sam is leaning against the wall with a shit-eating grin.

“What the hell Sam?” I pant. He just chuckles, “what can I say, I love the excitement.”

I roll my eyes and pace, trying to catch my breath.

Yeah, I definitely need to run more.

“Sam, what is Nox going to say when we don’t return with the diamond, huh?”

He just shrugs like he doesn’t even care. Of course he doesn’t care, Nox won’t do anything to his nephew. Me on the other hand, I’m fair game.

“Okay, I’m going to go get it.” I sigh and turn towards the door.

Sam’s muscled hand closes around my bicep.

“You can’t,” fear blazes in his eyes, “they’re out there, and looking for you.”

The air in the alleyway was thick with tension, every sound amplified by the darkness that swallowed the narrow space between the buildings. The only light came from a flickering streetlamp at the entrance, casting long shadows that danced like ghosts on the damp brick walls. The scent of rain lingered in the air, mixing with the stench of rotting garbage, creating a nauseating cocktail that clung to the back of their throats.

Maya and Jake stood pressed against the cold wall, their breaths shallow and uneven. Their clothes, soaked from the sudden downpour that had forced them to seek refuge here, clung to their skin like a second layer, heavy and uncomfortable.

Maya strained her ears, trying to pick up any sound beyond the pounding of her heart. The alley seemed deserted, yet something felt wrong—terribly wrong. Jake’s hand was a vice on her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh as if to anchor her to reality.

“I think we need to get out of here,” he whispered, his voice barely audible, as if he feared the very air might betray them.

Maya nodded, her throat too tight to form words. She didn’t need to be told twice. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs felt rooted to the ground. She glanced at the end of the alley where the shadows were thickest, where something—someone—might be waiting, watching.

Jake tugged on her arm, more urgently this time. “Maya, now,” he hissed, his voice a harsh rasp.

She took a shaky breath, forcing herself to move. As they crept toward the streetlamp’s weak glow, every creak of their shoes on the wet pavement sounded like a gunshot in the oppressive silence. They were almost at the mouth of the alley when a loud crash echoed behind them—a garbage can knocked over, metal clattering against stone.

Maya’s heart jumped to her throat as she whipped around, eyes wide with fear. But there was nothing there, only the shadows stretching and twisting in the dim light. The crash reverberated through the alley, dying slowly into an eerie silence.

“Go,” Jake urged, his voice trembling now. He didn’t let go of her arm as they broke into a run, stumbling over the uneven ground. The entrance to the alley seemed to stretch further away with each step, the darkness behind them pressing in like a living thing, hungry and relentless.

When they finally burst onto the street, the cool night air hit them like a slap to the face. They didn’t stop, didn’t dare look back, only ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Streetlights and neon signs blurred past, the city’s noise rushing to fill the void of the alley’s silence.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally slowed, gasping for breath, hearts pounding against their ribs. They stopped under the bright lights of a diner, the hum of life around them a stark contrast to the sinister quiet they’d just escaped.

Jake glanced at Maya, his face pale and drawn. “What the hell was that?” he breathed, voice still trembling.

Maya shook her head, still too shaken to answer. She didn’t know what had lurked in that alley, and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to find out. All she knew was that something had been there, something wrong. And as they stood under the fluorescent glow of the diner, the terror of the alley clung to them like a shadow that refused to let go.

(unfinished)

“Jonas!” Joseph urgently whispered. “Just dig the flower up and get back here! I thought I saw–”

At that moment, Jonas was knocked out by the shadowy figure that had been seen before.

“Trying to steal flowers, eh?” The man began dragging Jonas’ unconscious body towards the huge house that loomed in the background. “I was just gonna destroy them anyway, but the point is, ya shouldn’t steal…” The man continued talking to the unconscious boy. Joseph had had just enough time to hide before he had been seen.

Having made it safely back to the time machine, Joseph struggled to think of a plan. Jonas was usually the one who worked out the details of the missions they went on.

After a time, Joseph crept out of the machine. He had decided just to wing it. Constantly glancing around to ensure that no one was there, he moved through the sprawling garden, making his way towards the mansion. A couple times he was almost seen by a servant, but somehow, he managed to reach his destination.

Sitting in some bushes, staring at the door, he thought about what to do next. Perhaps he would wait until a servant went inside and follow them in or knock them out or something. But what if the cameras saw him? This place had to have cameras, right? It was 2082; the security was most likely very advanced, especially at a place like this one.

If someone witnessed these teens for one moment, they would think they were old vagrants.

Stumbling into the darkness, wearing loose, dirty clothes, the four teenagers scurry to be out of sight. Police sirens ring out, making their pace even faster. A tense whisper echo in the dimly lit alley, “We need to get out of here, now!”

“Yeah, we know, dumbass,” a gruff voice responds.

The glares sent his way didn’t appear to faze him.

“This way. We can hide in here for the night,” one of the girls says lowly, already opening the rusted door to what looked like an abandoned shed/barn. It makes a high pitched creaking that makes them all wince.

They hurry inside and shut the noisy door swiftly.

Ness, Subject Tennessee, sighs in relief as the piercing noises become distant. They’ve escaped. For now.

“Penny, can you safely start a fire?” Ness asks Project Pennsylvania.

She responds with a nod, kneeling onto the gravel ground. Swiping away anything flammable, she opens her palm and a flame sparks to life. It grows to be a small fire that she sets on the stone floor. Even though it doesn’t have anything to keep the flame going, it continues to burn. Perks of controlling and manifesting fire. Penny can control how long it lasts.

Tex, Project Texas, and Landen, Project Rhode Island, scavenge the small barn for anything that would be useful. The only things they come up with are a spool of fishing line, a rusty pocketknife, and a couple of small chipped bowls that were probably to feed little kitties back in the day. Oh and lots of strewn hay.

Ness waves her arm, concentrating, creases between her eyebrows becoming pronounced. Coordinated with the movement of her hand, a mini cloud swirls to life above the little bowl and it rains into them.

She is thankful that she’ll always be able to provide fresh water. It’s food that will be an issue.

As they sit around the everlasting fire, sipping from their cups, Landen begins laughing.

He is practically howling with joy. It startles Ness and she wonders if something is wrong with him.

“We fucking did it,” he exclaims, throwing his head back and stares at the old, poorly aged ceiling.

Tex joins him in celebrating. He whoops and jumps. His jumps are a bit more intense than others with his super strength, but he doesn’t take the roof off the building yet.

She has never seen him so happy before. It brings a smile to her face.

Penny holds up her bowl towards Ness as if it were a glass wine glass. Indulging her, she clinks her bowl to hers, making a dull sound considering they were porcelain or glass.

“Here’s to the start of the rest of our lives.”

——— (Hi! Just wanted to say if you’re new here and like these characters, they are also in Forgotten Debris, It, and Possible Escape. Those are the main stories that have Penny, Ness, Tex and Landen in. There are a couple others within that world, but those are the ones most connected to this story. Thanks for reading! Have a nice day/night!)

The whisperer’s footsteps are quick as I hear them run out of the alley into a false sense of freedom. Follow, my mind shouts at me to move but I stand still, looking around at the garbage and taking in its rancid scent. My body has given up although my fight remains. It’s been weeks since they’ve come, whatever they were. We only knew the symptoms they inflicted and the signs of their approach.

Before I heard that person’s whisper, I knew I was being trailed. I could feel something's eyes on my back, picking me apart like my family does at holiday dinners but without the metallic mocking grins that are so blinding to look at. Instinctively, I reached for my pockets, the self-defense tool my friend bought me for my birthday last year became a force field around me. Or at least I hoped it did. He signed me up for self-defense classes I never took, not seeing the point because I was never alone. I always go home with a group, a friend by each side as we squeeze into an Uber. My apartment couch always has someone sleeping on it and when my friends weren’t available I found guests elsewhere, always making sure I was never alone.

Part of me wondered if the person following me was the guy I got bad vibes from earlier. I flirted for a bit but as the night went on he got more possessive so I slipped out of the club and decided to walk home. Why did I decide to walk? I don’t know. My legs were moving and moving as if they were a sail hit by a heavy breeze. Soon I was walking down streets I didn't recognize with feet slipped in red shoes stuck in an endless dance.

Someone was watching me. I could feel their eyes glued to my body. Up. Down. Side. Side. They watched my red-shoe dance that I kept steady in hopes to not alert my singular audience to the growing distress wrapping itself around me. The crowds got thinner and thinner so I…I slipped into this dimly lit alley with hopes my audience would find the exit.

With hopes, I could escape.

It wasn’t until a couple of minutes before I heard that whisper that I realized my singular audience wasn't human. I heard that strange guttural noise it made and I…I froze in the alley like an unwanted memory in someone’s head. What felt like an eternal moment was broken as the whisperer spoke and now they’re gone yet still I’m standing here.

Am I going to die tonight? In this short black skirt, I borrowed from May’s closet that always made me feel like I could take on the world and these three-inch heels that made me feel like I was tall enough to touch the clouds. I’m only twenty-four, and I haven’t gone on my dream trip or fallen in love with someone who made the tint of the world just a little brighter. If I’m not clubbing, then I’m at work, trying to be noticed. At the club, I’m trying to be noticed too by the right guys for the night and in the morning I’ll forget them.

No one’s ever seen me before without my waxy smile that’s always melting under their heated scrutinizing gazes. Am I smart enough? Am I pretty enough? Am I capable? I might die tonight and I don’t have an answer to any of those questions. I need to run, move my body and do something!

Still, I don’t but a strange feeling is infiltrating me. It’s like my thoughts are clearer than ever before and the story of my life is being reeled in front of my eyes. I remember every criticism anyone has thrown my way and I turn into a fly trapped in fly paper.

I remember the things I convinced myself didn’t happen.

My stomach twists, like a wet t-shirt in tired hands under the summer sun. It bubbles inside me and I feel a geyser rising in me longing for release. I lean over, my body shaking, as I vomit a non-stop stream of disgusted memories. A lifetime of hatred pumps, heavy in my fragile heart. My mind drifts to the news report about these creatures.

I remember the newscaster wearing a serious expression on their face as they said. “Witnesses state after hearing the sound, these creatures paralyze their prey and sort through their most vulnerable memories until all that is left of them is a husk. Researchers still have no idea if there’s a clear pattern to the people being targeted but they're working on figuring that out. Although there is a popular proposed theory…”

Falling to the ground, I lift a shaky hand to my mouth, spouts of vomit still spilling from it. My body didn’t feel like my own. There was an intruder within me. It’s why I can’t move. Why the urge to run feels like a quiet song in my head. I look at my hands and they feel as if they’re changing sizes, growing in reverse. I know who I am but I don't know when or where I am. I hear a voice that makes me shiver, a voice that haunts my nightmares. My hands go to my head, covering my ears as if that could silence it. I can feel my body shaking like a snow globe in the hands of a fascinated child.

It’s taking something from me but I don’t know what. It’s wheedling me down like I’m a piece of wood or carving into me like I’m a piece of meat. Once again, I’m thrown back in a memory but this one doesn’t make me want to recoil into a ball.

“You can always come to me to talk, you know that right?” My friend, Tyler said while we were both hiking.

His eyes held a concerned warmth, a warmth I always envied because the warmness inside of me was a blazing fire that was melting me inside.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I insisted with my signature waxy smile.

I feel regret season my every action and inaction. I wish I had told someone. Especially someone who wouldn’t…I think of my family’s knife-like words that have also left permanent scars.

And then it happens. I feel something slam in my back, caress my neck, then prick something long and sharp in my neck. My vision starts to blur as my body screams in agony but I see something, someone in this dimly lit alley near the garbage cans. A little girl that looks just like me. She looks lonely, afraid, and confused.

I’ve spent a lifetime hating her in a world that never offered her much.

I fight against the numb feeling in my body and use all my strength to reach out to her. I wish I could beg her for forgiveness. I wish I could’ve given her more.

I feel tired.

I think of the report on the creatures once again, thinking of the newscaster’s final words.

“There is a theory though that these creatures might be attracted to trauma. Some are even suggesting we call them Trauma vampires.”

It echoed in dimly lit alley: "We need to get out of here, now!" The alley of dreams and stations, The alley of truth and lie

Forgotten, crossed from memory Left alone to seek New paths and re-discovery Will make your sanity weak

Across the trails of misery, Between the highest pines Light steps to lake of mystery, Heavy pressure from angry sky

Where sun is drowned in solace, Where moon is bleak in stains Of past words and tragedies That were washed away in vain

From the leaves above, from morally Disgraced opinions on pain, Stay in the light of lantern It's warm, it will keep you sane

In the world when your scared and Alone everybody’s stolen your throne You have enough one to turn to its Dark and lonely and your slowly dieing In your heart there’s a devil in a cage Trying to cut the corners always felling Low down in your tombe no one comes To visit you get so desperate you‘d even Want your worst enemy there just to Stare at you feel unwanted sucked of Such great happiness your sad no escape You try but you Fall your with sadness in A cage the walls closing on your heart Break no even try’s to help you if you could No one wants to hear you your just an ear Worm crawling up there throat and drowning Them what if I told dident have tho be that Way just saying just sayin

I had some friends some stayed most left Dident pa there der for friends some of them Evil all of my friend kinda and All of them were the same sort of happy Way but there’s one that never made and I’m happy to call her my best friend she Made me laugh when I cried she know If I would ever hide she never let me go I had friends in high places but she was Sertenly the only one that truly knew me She never let me go and I never let her Go and I’m happy to call her my best friend She knew me we bonded over arry potter Thanks j.k for writing it she’s the reason We noticed each other she’s really sensitive But no one’s truly like her she is better than Poccaso bit iratating though at art we wrote a series together We never let go even in deep December How is she so amazing she’s just one person And that’s her she is amazing I’d never met Someone like her she knows me better Than I know myself and that is a lot of effort

There’s only one of her and I’m so lucky I got To know her we different she likes football I like rugby but that’s truly how we bonded how Could one person be so amazing and how could I Be so super lucky some of my friends tried to copy Be ya they were popular (spoken) my bestie stars With a c and ends in a y why am I telling you If you ever sad and not very glad just call be later I‘ll come asap don‘t worry cause you have me and I‘m happy to call you my freinds

A whisper in the night. A shadow in the darkness. My eyes are like an eagles, I can see them in the dark. My ears are like a bats, I can hear them through the traffic. “Where is Eugene?” “I know as little as you, Joan.” “Sigh. Why is he always late?” “It must be for a good reason”, “Oh it better be… well did you at least get the layout?” “Of course I did Joan, you don’t have very much confidence in me do you?” “Oh just give me the parchment already.” “Of course.” The man takes a sheet of parchment out of his pocket and hands it to the woman-Joan is her name I think?-it’s of-white colour is a stark against the blacks and grays of their clothing, she takes the paper and puts it in her pocket. A tall man walks up to them, he is carrying some kind of basket, “Joan? Caleb?” He says, his voice is nervous and weak. “We’re right here.” Says the man standing next to Joan. “Sorry I’m l-“ he doesn’t have time to respond. I jump down from the rooftop, silent as a spider, and in seconds there dead. I leave them slumped on the road, blood pooling around them. And then, just like a shadow, I disappear with the rising sun.