“He watches from afar. What shall we do about him?” I asked my partner, Carter. “There’s nothing we CAN do. We are the ones who killed him after all.” Carter whispered back.

If I were to wish upon a star I would wish for you to feel how much I love you, To truly feel in your entire being All of my emotions, old and new. Instead as that cannot be possible, The technology our century has failed to bring, words will explain how my love is as if gravity’s forces, strong and incredible Are ​ pulling​ me ​ and ​ pushing me toyou. My love for you is so real, but others say we are ‘too young to fall in love’ My question to them: ‘is love’s strongest bay Really just waiting for the right age?’ It is silly and so my heart disagrees, Therefore, simply put, all truth, no tease, I love you now and forever is my heart’s reprise.

“We do nothing. Our mission is to perform a patrol around the strait.”

“But....”

“I know, our weapons are free but we were told not to engage unless we are engaged.”

I heard a low ‘fine’ being muttered through the radio as my wingman’s F-15C flew closer to my own F-15C.

The place my wingman and I are patrolling is the coastal region located to the north of the airbase we took off from. The briefing earlier had told us that due to the lack of any activity on the strait, AWACS wouldn’t be needed for the patrol and it would be only my wingman and I patrolling the empty coast for a few hours.

They weren’t lying when they said that the coast was empty. There was barely anything here other than the usual cliffs and rocks that formed on the land. Our patrol, however, was disturbed as a random plane appeared from the clouds and flew on the back of our left flank. The unknown plane followed us for an hour which led to the discussion my wingman and I were having earlier.

Time passes as my wingman and I continued on with our patrol. The unknown plane was still with us and, to be clear, whoever was flying it is spooking me and my wingman out.

“Should we try and to radio whoever it is?” My wingman asked.

“I’ll try to.” I switch to an open channel and contacted the unknown plane.

<<“Unknown aircraft who is tailing us. Please respond and identify yourself.>>

<<“....”>>

That was odd. I radioed the unknown plane again and still got no answer. I then radioed the unknown plane for the third time.

<<“Unknown aircraft. Identify yourself or will be forced to-!”>>

As we passed a cloud, I looked back and saw that the plane had disappeared, startling me as I quickly changed the radio to talk to my wingman.

“He disappeared?!”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“He’s not behind us and the on-board radar isn’t picking up anything.”

I turned my head around to find the other plane behind me and I checked both of my sides but found no sight of it.

Suddenly, I could hear a loud roar coming from my right side. I turn my head towards the source and had to jerk my plane towards the side.

A grey plane came out of the clouds on my right and I was given an incredible sight of an F-22. The vapour of the clouds cloud clinging to its body that housed an opaque yellow canopy.

I steadied my plane as I watch the Raptor rolled above my plane before it suddenly put itself into a vertical climb and shot up into the sky, disappearing into the higher clouds.

“Should we go after him?” My wingman asked.

“No. I don’t think we have to... That Raptor, it had a blue ribbon on its tail.”

“A blue-ribboned fighter?”

“A ghost from the past... The Reaper himself...”

He watches from afar. What shall we do about him. Chances of him leaving are slim I want to go That i know It’s a shot to the heart I knew from the start He was trouble But i was stuck in a bubble Of hell This story I’ll never tell It’s to scary It’s not necessary I’ll take this to the grave I’m not this brave

He watches from afar, what shall we do about him? He says we have free will, but do we really? I will allow you to tear him down. I will give you the power to decide.

You’re supposed to believe your god is benevolent and all-powerful, but must use doublethink and know there are malicious powerful beings as well. Why would a loving god allow children to die? How could they sit back and watch as soulmates are torn apart and the earth dies? It must be demons.

I promise, my believers, when I am god I will rule with a code of transparency. You shall fall into my arms and I shall protect you from the man- for that’s how you perceive him- upstairs. If he holds all the power, then I don’t exist. You have nothing to lose...

He cast me out for refusing to bow to you. Now I realise my mistake. It should’ve been him who was unworthy of my obedience. If he is omniscient, then he created me for the sole purpose of humiliation. How can you pray to something so cruel?

Will there be shame when I rule the earth? Will there be fear? No. You shall have freedom. And knowledge. For fear spawns from the unknown.

So, what do you say? Are you still going to visit church? Still look up to the same god who makes you figure out life’s mysteries for yourself? If he created all, if he holds the universe upon his pinky, then he is the one responsible for destruction as well. He can spare a moment to give you a clue. A sign.

Come to me. My singed wings shall shield you from his jealousy. I shall turn hell into a safe haven. But wait, if your god is so loving and forgiving, then how can he allow for the torturous caverns of Tartarus to exist? Perhaps he’s not what you think he is...

Burn the false god. Let chaos rein. I will wait patiently for you, my children.

“He watch’s from afar. What shall we do about him?” Penny, my dear sister asks me. “Well we could always keep him around.” Then we laugh. I’m Margaret and my sister, Penny and I are on our way to New Orleans to meet the infamous voodoo queen; Helena. This man watches us as we walk down the street. It makes us wish he weren’t. He starts to walk over then stops as if he just remembered something. We turn down the alleyway and wait a few seconds; seeing if he’ll come to us. A big booming voice yells “Hey over there! I see you and I want to help you!” We turn around and it’s the man that watched us walk here. “And your name is?” Penny asks, walking up to the man. “Alex, I’ve been watching and if you are who I believe you are, well then I would love to be your friend and partner.” Alex says genuinely. “And what do you believe we are sir?” I say. “Well that’s the trick. Most people would pass you off as normal people. I on the other hand believe you are the daughters of Vincent the Voodoo man, and I also believe you are looking for madam Helena. Am I correct?” Alex says. We look at each other for about 10 seconds when Penny answers “That is correct but your missing a piece. Why are we coming here again? Margaret, what time is it?” “It’s 3:05 in the afternoon, Penny dear.” I say. “You are here for Madam Helena she told me nothing else about you. The passage is right this way.” We look at each other and relax, knowing that all will be ok now.

‘He watches from afar. What shall we do about him?’ I ask Apollo. ‘Don’t worry Artie, if he comes I’ll protect you,’ my brother teases. That makes me laugh. I’m the one with the bow and arrow after all. Our uncle, Poseidon laughs along with me. We are all out in his little boat The Medusa, bobbing and rolling along the calm sea. Sometimes Dad let us come down from Mount Olympus to hang out in the human world so here we are. I spot a little boat rowing out from the shore towards us. It looks vaguely familiar. ‘Uncle, pass me the telescope will you?’ I say. I hold it up to my eye and focus on the rowboat. No. It’s the man. The one who has been following us ever since we left Greece. ‘Uncle!’ I cry. ‘It’s him, it’s him, it’s him!’ ‘Use your powers!’ Apollo implores Poseidon. ‘Get us away from him.’ But Poseidon just laughs it off. ‘Whoever is in that boat, they will be no match for three Olympians. Just let them come.’ As the boat nears, a strange feeling overcomes me. It makes me breathless and I feel like all the air is being sucked out of me. It must be fear. The boat is only a metre away and about to pull up right next to us. I can now see that there are two men in the boat. One is tall and muscular, the other one having a pixie-like quality. I can almost see the danger vibes rolling off these two. It pulls up alongside us and I can fully see who they are - Heracles, one of my half-brothers, and Dolos, son of Gaia and Aether. They don’t look like they are here for good reason. Poseidon doesn’t seem to notice and asks, ‘What are you two doing here?’ That’s when Heracles gives us the most devious smile ever given and blows a pink powder in our faces. Suddenly I feel really sleepy. I fall into the sea.

I wake up, coughing and spluttering water. My head feels like I was hit by a harpoon. I try to move, but can’t. My hands and feet are bound. Once my eyes come into focus, I can see that Apollo and Poseidon are tied up next to me and Dolos and Heracles are standing in front of us, dangling vials in front of our faces. ‘What’s in those bottles?’ I ask, my words coming out slurred. I guess that pink powder did something. ‘Your powers.’ Heracles cackles maniacally. Not something I’d expect from a Greek hero. Apollo suddenly becomes really angry. ‘Give them back!’ He yells, pulling on his restraints. That smile again. It always seems more evil every time I see it. ‘You have to do something for us,’ Heracles says. ‘What?’ Apollo spits in our half brother’s face. ‘You must complete twelve labours. And your first one is to go to Olympus and steal Hera’s treasure for me. Thanks.’

He watched from afar. What shall we do about him? It was there that I noticed him... staring intently at me as if I was the only thing in the world... I looked over to Monica, my best friend of some 25 years, and glanced his way. It was then that I realized he had been watching me all morning as I told her about my newest boyfriend. As he stared, all I could think about was who he was. He looked familiar... I thought for sure I had seen him before but I was for sure just going crazy. If I’m being honest, most men look the same to me nowadays. And they come and they go... but not him. No and I knew this because I had seen him before just watching me from afar... he has never come up to me, he has never talked to me, I don’t even know his name... but I know his eyes... they are like bright blue skies on a hot summer day and you fee them blazing into your soul. It terrifies me but excites me all at once. I’m not sure how to handle him but I have to know for sure. When I look up... he’s gone.

When I get home... he’s there... waiting... watching.. I know he sees me... I know he’s there but part of me wants him to be. I know I sound crazy but... then the next thing I know... he’s walking toward me.

I panic. I don’t know this guy... what if he kills me... I mean... no one would miss me... I don’t have any family or pets, my boyfriend is probably cheating on me and Monica... well... she might miss me.. but... that’s it. You see I’m a loner. I don’t have many friends and I keep my wall up and locks bolted. No one gets in... nothing comes out.

Fuck Lily stop!! It’s ok. When I look up, he’s in front of me.

“Oh! Um, can I help you?!” I speak first after what seems like forever has gone by. “Um... yeah. I noticed you staring at me at the coffee shop”, I blank for a minute... what, “The coffee shop on North Central?” DUH LILY! “Oh yeah! That was you?” “Um, yeah. I thought you would have known.” Silence for again like forever, “anyway, i live upstairs, and I’ve seen you come in and out. I’m surprised you’ve never noticed me before...”... “I’m Jeremy.” “Oh nice to meet you.” “Um yeah you too... uh I didn’t bath your name.” “Oh it’s Lily.” “Like the flower!” “Yep like the flower.” Seriously, like the flower(?) , god what am I thinking. “Alright we’ll it was nice meeting you Jeremy. I guess I’ll see you around.” “You too... Lily.”

WHAT AM I THINKING?! This guy has been watching me for months now. How have I not noticed and since when does he live here? Has he always lived here? Did he move here?

He watches from afar. What should we do about him?

He believes he is invisible because he is hiding behind a tree then why does he wear a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt?

He follows three car behind but drives a van with unicorns painted all over it.

If and when we are close enough to see each each other, he was wearing Arsenal colors on his face. Guess that explains why he takes days off.

He is so predictable that you can set your watch by what time he is on a bus bench with a newspaper with holes in it.

We went to the police station with his locations and time tables. Next time he was hopping on his pogo stick, he was arrested for tomfoolery, stalking and his IQ was tested. The was convicted and is learning clown school in jail.

“He watches from afar. What shall we do about him?”. Gemma wondered. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to either her or her best friend, Beth but she shrugged it off, continuing to sip her nice, cold glass off wine as the man’s eyes burned deep into her soul. Once she’d finished her drink, she put her empty glass down on the table and then she and Beth got up and left the club. It was dark out. Gemma got her phone out of her clutch bag and attempted to call a taxi but the call wouldn’t connect and so the two of them just decided to walk home, not long after they began to walk they heard footsteps behind them, it was the man that had been staring at them all night, so they sped up...but then so did the man. “Babe, I think that man’s following us”. Gemma says. Beth turns her head slowly but then changed her mind and looks straight ahead, walking even faster and Gemma follows. The man is really close behind them now...the girls are fearing for their lives. They weren’t too far from their house but before Gemma could catch up with Beth and before she had the chance to scream, she was whacked over the head with a large metal bar, the sound of her skull cracking made Beth feel nauseous. She slowly tuned around, coming face to face with her best friend’s killer... someone Beth knew very well but had never told Gemma, it was her brother, who had took the blame for Beth murdering their parents. “Hello, sis...”.