Tossed into a limousine for the third time this week! Micah struggled to get the bearings in this new situation. He owed them money. Lots of it too. He looked through the tinted glass and watched the buildings fly by him.

“So pal, where we going?” Micah asked dusting himself off.

“Shut it, Ronaldo is fucking livid with you, you’ll be lucky to get away with your life this time, what’s the grand total?” The driver asked anxiously.

“Nah, chump change where I come from, a cool fifty thou. Nothing major. I’ll get it to him by this Friday guaranteed! Watcha want to wager on it little man?” Micah said with a sly smirk.

“I’m not taking my chances with someone like you man, you just don’t get it! This isn’t fucking make-believe. This is real life. And if you don’t fix it you’re gonna be scraped out of a gutter! Stop fucking around Micah,” the driver said angrily.

They were suddenly pulling up to a dock where three guys stood by the water. Two holding guns, one standing there smoking an expensive cigar. Overweight and well groomed.

“Well he’s finally here, with our fifty thousand I’m sure!” The man said as he walked up to the door and opened it. Guns pointed at Micah as he was pulled out.

“Hello Ronaldo, long time no see!” Micah said with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, not happy with you right now,” Ronaldo said as he punched him in the stomach. Drops of blood oozing from his lips.

“Ouch! That sucked!” Micah said angrily.

“Yeah. So here is a phone, here is my account number, fifty grand or death. Your choice. Point your guns at him men,” Ronaldo ordered.

Micah picked up the phone and looked over at the gun barrels. He only had one choice. Dialing his number Micah put the phone to his ear.

“Devon’s cell, what can I do for you?” Devon said furiously typing away. “Hey bro, how much money is in your house account again?” Micah asked

carefully.

“About seventy five thousand, why? Need to borrow some cash! Gotta get it

back though brother, you stiffed me five grand last year. I don’t like that shit,” Devon said quietly.

“Yeah bro, I’m gonna die if you don’t wire fifty thousand to this account. Routing: 011601100, account 1789 8933 923,” Micah said through a choke.

“What the fucking hell Micah, what the shit did you do!” Devon screamed.

“Devon, keep it down in there!” His boss yelled angrily, “you’re not supposed to take personal calls!”

“Sorry boss, emergency,” Devon said as he walked out of his cubical into the break room.

“Yeah, I really fucked up this time man,” Micah said sadly.

“You are damn right you did, what the fuck man? Are you using again?” Devon screamed.

“No not this time, a little debt I owe or else I die, nothing major. Promise to pay it back by Friday?”

“God damn it!” Devon said fumbling his phone and hitting speaker.

Devon logged into his account and went to “wire transfers” and quickly answered all his security questions and popped in the information.

“It’s there,” Devon choked, realizing he probably just lost fifty grand! “Thanks brother, owe you one!” Micah said, almost nonchalantly, hanging up. “Look at the account Mavis,” Ronaldo ordered.

Mavis pulled out a laptop and logged into his account. A fifty thousand

memo credit was posted to his account. He quickly clicked the “verify funds” button and it was cleared instantly.

“Thanks Micah, don’t let it happen again!” Ronaldo said as he tossed him into the car and slapped the hood.

“Get in here Devon!” The man shrieked as the door slammed.

“Yes Mr. Davison,” Devon asked

“This report is shit, redo it. You have an hour.” The man said ushering him

out the door.

Devon threw the report on his desk as he fumbled through his drawer for his

secret stash. He found the little black box pocketed it and walked outside. The sun beating hard on him as he walked to the park across the street, a smoker’s corner was his destination. He pulled out the little white drug and slipped it between his lips. Striking a match effortlessly as he lit it up. Pulling in the poisonous smoke. He shoved into the corner of the trees surrounding them, for some privacy and quiet. He pulled at it as he looked around anxiously hoping none of his co-workers would catch him. His black suit getting a little bit of ash on it as he conveyed his relief.

“Well, well, well, a little faggot in a black suit? Wonder why you’re here, on the ‘shit side” of the park?” A man laughed as him and three of his buddies walked up to him.

“Excuse me?” Devon said as he pulled the cigarette from his lips.

Were they seriously looking to start a fight?

“Well there is a toll to use these facilities, tiered by the quality of life you life.

The raggedy it’s a dollar, small enough to afford and reasonable enough to request. The ‘white collar boys’ they have to toss in a ten, they aren’t making the most money, but better than those that struggle every day. Then The teens, well they need to pay extra, a whopping twenty is acceptable. More is preferred. They don’t want their mommies and daddies discovering their little secrets. I believe they call that supply and demand. Then there are guys like you, walking around in your three-hundred dollar suits, working under the hand of the man. Fifty. Nothing less is accepted. I’m sure you make that in ten minutes? Cough it up boy, or we fuck you up!” The man laughed holding out a blue Crown Royal bag.

Is this guy serious?

“Yeah, this isn’t happening,” Devon said as he turned his back to them. Puffing away while looking into the cloudy skies above. Rain was coming.

“Well boys, looks like we have a trespasser!” The man said as he pulled a police baton from his belt loop and striking Devon in the shoulders.

“Fuck!” Devon cried as the pain rushed through his shoulder. “You guys were serious? What the fuck!”

“Yeah man, it’s just a fifty pocket change for you suit guys.”

“That’s not happening!”

The frustration was whelming up inside him, his control slipping away as he

grabbed his assailant mercilessly and continued to bash his face into Devon’s knees. Blood oozed from his mouth as he dropped the baton trying to grasp the little consciousness he had. The other three pulled out their own weapons and prepared to defend their mighty leader. Devon kicked two to the ground as he picked up the third one and punched him over and over again until he could hear cracking. Unconscious immediately. The two struggled to get up but Devon has retrieved one of their switchblades and proceeded to stab the man in the arm.

That could not satisfy Devon. He threw it to the ground as the man screamed in agony. Rushing the man and tackling him into the ground. Mercilessly bashing at this chest until he fainted. Picking up the next unfortunate soul he tossed him against a tree and kicked his legs until her heard them snap. There before him lay a mangled mass of unconscious bodies as he quickly pulled another cigarette to his lips. He smiled as he finally felt relief by hurting all these people. He rushed to his car for a change of pants. He always kept spares on him in case the urges hit him again.

He leapt into the backseat and removed the bloody pants sealing them away in a discarded gym bag as he pulled his new ones on. He straightened them as he walked back inside. His desire to kill his boss temporarily lifted as he went to correct the report that was “dead wrong”.

Suddenly the doors blew open and three men rushed in. They each yelled a word and the doors melted to the frames. The people screamed in terror. Ethan looked around anxiously as Chloe nestled closer to his neck. Alyson sat in the corner frozen in fear.

“We are the Cavances, and we are here to rob this bank!” One yelled raising his fist high.

“You are so loud,” a calm voice said displeased.

Walking out of the crowd was a sharply dressed man, thin, with a pair of wired rim glasses on his face. His brown eyes echoed danger. The head teller there, Miranda, looked upon them with a frown.

“Yes, although my idiot companions are right we don’t want to alert too many people. My name is Jasper, I am the leader of the Cavances, and although stealing your money is a bonus I am actually here for another reason. But before we get into that, the vault combos my lady,” Jasper smiled a sick fascination in his face.

“Sorry we need two people to open it, and I’m the only one here right now that has a combo,” Miranda said with a huff.

Suddenly on her shoulders she felt a heavy weight, there before them appeared a chameleon, it anxiously licking its eyes and a blade from something attached to its tail resting on her the tender flesh of her neck.

“How about now?” Jasper laughed sadistically.

Miranda knew better than to actually mess with them but she hoped her ruse would suffice. She walked with a shake to the vault. Ethan looked in awe as he noticed, this must be another summoner, that means him and his companion animal were very dangerous.

“Chloe you lazy girl, wake up,” Ethan nudged her as she frustratingly purred on his neck, “disarm him.”

Chloe crawled down Ethan’s body and poked out through his coat, quietly inching down his leg to avoid attention. She plopped to the floor and laid low, her slinky ferret body slithering across the floor. The rug was a deep chocolate which helped hide her dark brown fur. She slipped behind the teller line and looked up at Amanda. Slinking up her body without enough pressure for her to jump, stealthily reaching her side where Chloe leapt up and pounced the chameleon.

It flew to the ground and Chloe wrestled it’s tail to avoid its messily attempt at stabbing her. Finally disarmed Chloe pinned it to the ground as it laid unconscious from her beating. Chloe yawned as it watched over its prey.

“What is this, another summoner is here with us today, my who is going to pay for this?” Jasper said looking over the crowd in suspicion.

Ethan pretended to act scared to not give it away and watched Jasper’s eyes prodding him for some sort of tell.

“Maybe they’re outside,” someone said with a shaky voice.

“Why yes I suppose that would be a good guess but then who let them know? Was it you,” Jasper said with a sick chuckle.

“No sorry, I don’t know,” the man choked.

“Guess I’ll just start to kill people until someone confesses,” Jasper said with a shrug.

Alyson leapt into the air and blasted a wave of magic his way. Blasting him and his entire team onto the floor. Ethan looked in awe at her sudden outburst, and quickly eased through the crowd to get to her.

“What are you doing?” Ethan cried to her, “you’re a witch? Don’t you work for the hotel?”

“Yes and I don’t know, know, why I did it I was just so mad!” She said in a panic.

“We will work on that, thankfully we can figure this out,” Ethan said as he whistled.

Chloe dragged the unfortunate creature to Ethan as she stood beside him. Ethan drew a symbol in the air quickly and placed a holding spell on the criminals.

“What was that?” Alyson asked with curiosity.

“Old magic, it’s not very powerful and very inconvenient to use but its all I got.

“Well a witch too, that’s just marvelous,” Jasper said as he floated into the air, beyond the holding spell and back on his feet.

“How did you break through that?” Ethan said amazed.

“I’m much more powerful than you think, you’re the summoner then, DIE!” He yelled as he blasted a bolt of lighting Ethan’s way, rolling to the ground missing it barely he summoned Chloe back into his hood worried for her safety. If she was to get killed, Ethan wouldn’t know what to do with his pathetic life. Alyson muttered another spell blasting a concentrated stream of fire in his direction that he quickly deflected.

“And you must be the witch,” Jasper sneered.

The chameleon leapt into the air and knocked Alyson down as Jasper continued floating towards her, suddenly a blade in his hand, he brought it down but at the last moment, a fluffy red tail grasped it tightly.

“Great catch Chloe,” Ethan screamed as he stepped forward quickly etching another rune into the air for a spell.

“Your esper can transform? Gah!” Jasper said disgusted.

“Took a lot of practice but worth it,” Ethan said as a rune glowed and blasted Jasper into the walls behind him. His sword lifted by magic and thrust into the mans waist.

“Fine, I will have to cease this and come for you later kid, watch yourself!” Jasper said as smoke built around him and he suddenly disappeared.

Ethan pulled the frightened Alyson up and sat her carefully against the wall.

“Thank you, truly,” Ethan said with a smile, “Chloe could have been hurt if you weren’t so quick to respond.”

The little creature ran up to her and wrapped herself around Alysons neck and purred softly as it closed its eyes.

“Haha, I think I made a friend,” Alyson laughed nervously, still trying to get through what had just happened.

Ethan looked at the three men who were still trapped in his spell as he quickly went over to each of them knocking them unconscious.

Derek sat at the bar, tapping away furiously on the table. The speakeasy was busy tonight, not something Derek liked. Suddenly the doors were thrown open and in pushed three people in long white jackets. Great, Derek sighed, now the Artesian police force was strolling in. Hopefully they would overlook him. He really didn’t feel like starting another fight tonight.

‘Keep them coming,” Derek ordered the bartender. She strode over, her long black hair and busty frame oozing from her tight top. Her beautiful eyes a glimmering blue as it hit the candlelight.

“This is your fifth one tonight Derek, don’t you want to take it easy?” She asked carefully.

“Don’t worry, I’m staying upstairs in the inn, I’m not going very far. Have those fancy jackets help me out tonight if you need,” Derek laughed.

The busty bartender furnished another rum and coke and just shook her head. The three jackets started heading in her direction and she knew she was about to deal with some stupid shit.

“Good evening bar wench, how is it going?” One of the white jackets jested.

He was a scrawny looking guy. Very bone thin. His hair was a messy chocolate and his eyes a dark blue. On his jacket was the long coat insignia.

“The name is Gerald, and if you need someone to escort you home tonight. I’d be glad to do it, just invite me in and we will have some fun,” Gerald laughed trying to show off for his partners.

The other one was a bit burly, buzz cut hair and a chiseled jaw. His eyes bore into me as he looked over. The third one had wandered off to see what kind of women were hanging out this evening. He was tall and average. Black hair smoothed back like a ladies talker.

“These are my pals Trevor, the muscle, and Matt, the stylist, we are pretty adventurous guys so you know, if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. We’ve got what you need,” Gerald continued, obviously ignoring her signs of disinterest.

“Who might you be civilian?” Trevor asked accusingly.

“My name is Derek, what can I do for you? Looking to bum a few drinks before you collect their rent?” Derek said through gritted teeth,

“My you’re quite the dirtbag huh? You do realize I could arrest you for any reason at all and keep you for as long as I want right. I’d be more on the civil side if I was you!” Trevor said with his voice laced with bragger.

“Leave him be, he’s just another piece of shit that ended up here, and besides he’s not all wrong. How about we open a tab, take a little off the rent for you?” Gerald said with a wink.

It was not needed however, the longcoats collected all the funds for the village. Every bill that needed paying and the rent that needed to be collected. They basically ran the place. Ever since the poor revolution they had early the king of Artesia granted them a boost in their ruling. Basically reporting directly to one of his board any sort of issue that felt was important enough to mention.

“Yes sure, what do you need? You know these are like 3 bits apiece right?” She smirked as each one pointed at the beer keg.

“Not even a patriotic discount, disappointing,” Gerald smiled as he pulled out a slip of parchment. On the very top was the longcoat insignia and anything written by quill on it, was official. He scribbled our beer quickly and put three lines next to it and slipped it to her.

“See you around Derek,” Trevor poked as he stepped towards the crowded tables.

“Fucking longcoats I tell you, always pushing around their power thinking they are all great. Stupid bastards. We could overpower each of them right now!” The bartender said disgusted.

“Careful now Lilly, I think that is treason,” Derek laughed.

He came home drunk that night. Thats nothing unusual. He collects his shit paycheck and goes to the bar every Friday night. He grabs one two many and stumbles home. Usually the mom takes most of it. He will hit her and force himself on her and it would always be out of the eyes of little ones. Derek and his step sister, Kristi could not be bothered with such disturbing images. Derek would sneak and check on Kristi to make sure she is still sleeping so she doesn’t have to hear his maniac episodes. Derek knew though, as he did everything. A little slip here and there, almost like he had some sort of psychic abilities. He could feel the emotions rising and falling.

Derek got accustomed to this though, he knew if he was to try and do anything his mom would just push him away, like she always does.

“Go to bed sweeting, mom and daddy are just playing!” She would smile, forced and broken it would be.

Derek would obey, he never really knew why. At 13 I guess, you really don’t know what to do in a situation like that. He’s taken his dad before, tried to get him to just go and sleep it off. Run to the garage and take his frustrations out on the punching bag. He would never succeed. Travis, the dad, would always just beat him to a red mess too. It was easy for him. A slow moving target. Derek would take each and every hit though. Even if it was just to soften the blow for his mother.

One night though, the unthinkable happened. Something that Derek, for some reason, could just not let go. Stumbling through that door like he always does. He headed for Kristi’s room. Derek didn’t know why, thought wishfully for a moment to give her a soft kiss goodnight. Derek just laid in bed listening to his chaotic footsteps and thing for a blissful moment thats all it would be. With a big smile on his face he decided to let go of the charade. Stepping out onto the soft carpet he would creep up on them.

Travis was leaned over her, rocking back and forth slightly, barely able to hold his balance. He pulled her covers down. Then he went for her PJ pants next. Derek really couldn’t grasp the situation. It was too unthinkable for something of that magnitude to come out of the scumbag. Derek sat in awe for only a moment. Once he pulled off her panties. Her tiny little butt in full view of the disgusting man. That was when Derek lost it.

All his life he has known something else resided inside him. Some kind of lost soul, or compass of sorts. He spent so much of his life just wanting to keep everyone safe. Going in the boxing ring happily for anyone. Just to soften their blow for them. He felt the anger boiling inside him. He didn’t know that it was even this possible to feel this much frustration. His heart caving at the very notion of what could be happening.

Travis reached his ginormous hands and as gently as a drunk man could touched her butt ever so slightly. Kristi’s eyes were about to open, Derek could feel it. He could not let her see this. This was too much. Too awful. She did not deserve this. No one did. So Derek jumped right into that battle ring again but this time. Something came with him.

Ripping his drunk fathers hands from barely touching her, Derek shoved him out the door. The man weighed roughly 190 lbs of pure muscle and beer belly. Derek was 13, barely 100 pounds. He rushed that man out of her room faster than he knew what was going on. It all became a haze then, but he could remember it. Almost like looking through a foggy window at a horror film.

Light swallowed Derek’s body. His arms pulsed with power as he dragged the man down the hallway. The carpet barely resisting his tug. Travis went in for a couple punches but felt nothing but air. Like a shield had suddenly swallowed the boy whole. He began to scream and swear, words slurred massively as he tried to show off his foul vocabulary. Derek kept pulling he no longer cared what he said, blocked him out as he tossed him down their stairs.

The mother came rushing out for the crash, screaming in confusion. Looking over at her son who was now swallowed in some sort of translucent blue light. Her heart shuddered, as if Satan himself had appeared to her that night. Grabbing the ginormous man who was aching and hurting, Derek dragged him to the front door.

Tossing the man into the snowy evening air he screamed at him. His voice laced with malice.

“You are to go. I never want to see you again. Your hands will never touch the innocent again!”

Shuddering at the sheer volume of his screaming, the mother tried to rush his step-sister back into her bed. Trying to sweeten the tone with lies.

“They’re just playing! Go back to sleep,” she would say, as convincing as she could.

Derek kept punching the man though. He could not stop, the power coursed through his veins as he did it. Punching and screaming terror filling the evening air. Finally when Derek decided he had enough, there in the small dusting of snow laid the very incarnation of disgust. Battered and bruised. Blood oozing from his broken nose, his cut lip, and the scratches that magically appeared on his body. Derek laughed, a laugh he could not fathom. Laced with pleasure and pain he turned to his mother as she peeked out the door. Her eyes filled with tears. The light vaporized. Steam rising from his flesh. He had made his point. And now he was terrified of it.