REND

“Trust you on what? I don’t understand.” My forehead wrinkled as I checked the screen again. It was Deen’s number and her voice for sure. “Deen, are you alright? The fire—"

“Yes, I’m alright. What do you mean?” she interrupted with a raised voice. “The fire at Sanders mall? Did you also see it on the news? What’s that got to do…”

“Uhm…" I trailed off, encouraging her to continue.

“Oh, you thought I went there? To the mall?”

“Yeah, I did. My bad.” If I got this right, Deen also didn’t want to say anything incriminating over the phone—there were rumors that calls and messages were recorded by telecom companies so the Bureau of Interdimensional Defense could review them in Adumbrae investigations.

Then I thought of a more sinister possibility. What if someone was threatening Deen on the other side of the phone and she was speaking in codes, asking for help? I wasn’t going to help her if it would be detrimental to me.

“I did plan to catch up with Adrian and others at the mall,” she said. “I even wanted you to come, remember? But you refused…as usual.” Deen sighed with as much drama as she could muster. “Turns out you’re right.”

“I do hope there are no casualties in that fire,” I said, sounding like a decent human being that cared about others.

“I hope so too. We’re fortunate to avoid getting entangled in another difficult situation today.” Then she continued slowly, stressing every word, “Kelsey’s disappearance is one case too many to be involved in within a day, right?”

“Not just within a day,” I said. “For a lifetime more like.”

“You don’t even know the half of it.”

“The half of what? Of the thing with Kelsey?”

“The reason I didn’t go to the mall was that a lot of things happened after you left. Things connected to Kelsey’s case. That’s what I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. Wait a minute. Where are you now?”

“I’m in my condo.” I bit my lips. Shit, that was stupid as fuck. I automatically answered because I was deep in thought. My automatic mode was useful most of the time, but there were instances my responses could use some thinking. “Have you checked in on our classmates if they’re alright?” I said, changing the topic.

“Huh? Ye-yes! I did,” Deen said in a flustered tone that meant she didn’t, apparently realizing only now that some of our fellow 1L students might be charcoal. I didn’t actually care if they were still alive; I only wanted to rattle Deen because I was annoyed she caught me off guard. She clarified, “I only texted them, but I’m sure they’re fine. I’ll call them after this. I contacted you first because I’m worried that creepy guy might’ve followed you home, so I immediately called you when I was able to.”

What did she mean by ‘when she was able to’? How much time had passed since I left the mall? Over two hours already, relayed by my cutesy pink and silver wall clock. Not a pip from her for over two hours. And what was she talking about now? “What creepy guy?” I asked.

“The creepy guy that, uh, we met earlier. You remember?” Deen said. “The guy who…er…harassed us?”

Only one thing came to mind as this ‘creepy guy’—the Adumbrae in the parking area. “Ah, that guy. I remember him.” Right, Deen didn’t know our attacker was a woman. She still assumed she was a dude.

“Harassed us. Yep, he harassed us at the train station when I dropped you off.”

She had dropped me off a couple of times before at the train station at the end of the main road connecting Eloyce University with the city; we were besties that way, I guess. “I wasn’t exactly checking, but I didn’t notice anyone following me once I got on the train,” I said with a fake uncertain tone. “It was a pretty uneventful ride. I just listened to lectures and forgot about that creep.”

“Oh, Erind. It’s like you’re never flustered by anything, ever. That’s so you to immediately forget about stuff like that. Do you even remember those two guys who stopped the creep?”

If the ‘creepy guy’ was the Adumbrae that attacked us, then by ‘two guys’ Deen should be referring to the people in the car that bumped the Adumbrae. They might’ve helped her afterward. “You mean the ones inside the car?” I asked for confirmation. “I didn’t know there were two of them because I had to rush to…er… catch the train.”

“Yes, those guys. They blocked the creepy man from chasing after us outside the station. After you left, they shooed that creep away and then he ran off. I was so scared that he might've gone after you.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” I said. “Hang on. Do you mean to say that those two guys were able to fight off the…um…? How was that possible?"

“They did. I know what you’re thinking right now. We’ll talk about it later. Just trust me when I say, they kind of know how to fight…people like that.”

“I don’t know how that works, but, ok then… I’m not going to ask about it for now.” Curious how they were able to drive the spiky bitch away. Was that why she went in my direction? Fuck them! They should’ve died so I could escape; I’d still be a normal human now.

“They’re fighting the creep and his…uh…gang. There are many of them.”

A vigilante group hunting Adumbrae? Were they like ex-military or something to be able to do this? Normal people couldn’t fight Adumbrae. This was all sketchy as hell. “Where are they now? What happened after all of that?”

“There might’ve been others like that creep, so they offered to protect me. I—”

“And you went along with them? Deen! You’re shouldn’t go with random guys!” This was something a good friend would say, right? I was, of course, more interested in what the actual fuck was going on with the Adumbrae and these random asshats showing up out of nowhere that could supposedly fight them. But this segue was much needed to establish goodwill if I’d need Deen’s help in the future.

“They’re not random guys. They helped us.”

“They’re still strangers.”

“Ah, yeah, I didn’t know who they were—”

“Why did you go with them?”

“—but they’re friends of Myra. So, not complete strangers.”

“Huh? Myra? What’s she’s got to do with all of this?”

“Don’t worry, we can trust her,” Deen said to someone on her side of the phone. “She understands it.” She didn’t sound like she was forced or being held hostage. People were arguing; it had something to do with Deen’s revelation that Myra was with them. “She’s not going to trust us otherwise,” I heard Deen claim.

“Is everything alright over there? What was that about Myra?”

“Like I said, they’re Myra’s friends.”

I was shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re telling me that we met Myra just this morning, and then we got attacked, and then it turns out she’s friends with the guys who helped us?”

“It’s connected. Actually—”

“Her sister,” I said, having a moment of epiphany. “This is connected to her sister, isn’t it? That incident this morning?”

“Something like that. Myra came rushing to our location after hearing from her friends that someone tried to attack us. She was close by.”

“Oh, yeah. She was.” She suspiciously was.

“Myra’s actually the one who told them to go check up on us, just in case we needed help. She realized we might be harassed by that creepy gang because we were inadvertently entangled with their, uh, issue because of…that incident, yes, like you said, incident. I think you can guess how that came about. Remember what Myra said to us in Melchor?”

That she suspected her sister was becoming an Adumbrae? “I sort of have an idea but I’m sure the actual story is much wilder.” This turn of events was not even in my top ten of possible scenarios that could happen next in my currently awful day. Things were escalating, getting more complicated, and I didn’t like it one bit. But it was good that I was starting to get some explanation.

“She’s here with us now,” Deen said. “I’m switching to loudspeaker.”

Another voice spoke, “Hi, Erind!” Myra sounded like she was shouting from across the room. “Glad to hear you’re fine!”

“Errr, hi…”

“Switching back now,” Deen said. “They also told me stuff that’s going to sound insane and best discussed in person. It'll all make sense once they explain it to you. Ermm, well, not really. It’s very complicated. But you’ll see they’re not lying. Please just trust me on this one. We’re best friends, right?”

I rolled my eyes, but I still answered, “Yes, we are.”

“Also, you may not be safe right now, Erind. That’s why you have to meet us as soon as possible.”

“Why? Am I in danger of getting attacked again?”

“They aren’t certain. We’re still trying to find out why we were attacked. Maybe you can shed some light on possible reasons, so hurry here.”

“Here being where?”

“My house. My sister and I are renting a house at Poblacion Verde Hills. Sis is at work, so we can have our—let’s just call this a little meeting—here. Plenty of space and privacy.” Deen explained to me how to get to her address via public transportation. She must’ve realized I didn’t have my bicycle with me so I couldn’t take the train to the station near that place and bike the rest of the way. I should’ve asked Mom for a car, but I didn’t have the patience to find a parking space every time I went out. Privileged problems, I know.

While listening to Deen talk and making agreeing sounds such as “uh-huh” and “yeah”, I composed a text message on my phone for her: “I’m sorry, I can’t come. I’m doing something now.” I didn’t send it yet.

“Got that, Erind?”

“Yup,” I said. “I’m just going to message a friend who invited me for coffee this afternoon to say I can’t come.”

“Ooo, is that a guy?” Deen said. “Sorry, I’m just trying to lighten up the mood in this situation.”

“She’s not a guy. A friend that came to town. I’m going to text her now to resched—Oh! Oops, I accidentally sent the message to you. Deen ignore that message saying I can’t come, that was meant for her.”

“I haven’t received any message yet.”

“It might be delayed,” I said. “I’m going to prepare for a few minutes then I’ll be on my way there. Not sure how long. Traffic around this time and all that. Wait for me, okay?”

“Of course. Do keep me updated on your way here. Keep safe and be watchful of your surroundings.”

“Sure, buh-bye.” I ended the call and then sent the message to her.

The message was to misdirect any possible investigation later should something unexpected happen at Deen’s place or the mysterious people with her did something stupid and got caught by the police. If Deen’s phone was examined, the police would see we had a long call and I might be suspected for whatever shit. That fake message would be a big help in dispelling suspicions towards me. On the other hand, if I ended up meeting with them, I already had an alibi, albeit, a weak one, if I had no choice but to kill them.

That included Deen.

This was a dangerous situation I found myself in, so I wasn’t discounting any possibility of murder to save myself. I smirked. Look at me, getting superpowers and plotting to kill people.

Now…

To go or not to go? That is the question.

I walked over to my mini-living room and sat on the cold tiled floor in front of my glass table.

Let’s take a step back and think about this thoroughly. I only half made up my mind when I agreed to meet with Deen and her new pals. To give me time to think, I told her I might be delayed because of traffic even if there was barely anyone riding the train going to her place this time of the day.

If not going was the best course of action, I already gave Deen that fake story about a friend wanting to meet with me. I could tell her the friend showed up and I couldn’t refuse.

Visualizing the situation helped in thinking. Picking one of the stones strewn at the base of the fake potted plant sitting in the middle of my table, I said, “Okay, so let’s say this is the police.”

After a few seconds of consideration, I placed the ‘police’ stone far from me; there was zero chance of this being a police trap. If the police, or even the BID, got a tip of an Adumbrae running around in the city—pretty little me, for example—then they’d already be here, busting down my door and arresting me. Or, you know, killing me on the spot.

Going a step lower, if I was suspected of only aiding or hiding an Adumbrae, or even merely coming in contact with one, they’d still arrest me as soon as possible, interrogate me, test me…find out I wasn’t human.

Boom. Dead.

Speed was imperative in Adumbrae extermination; the BID wouldn’t waste time with all this nonsense.

I picked a handful of stones. These were ‘Kelsey-is-an-Adumbrae’ stones. Our attacker was female, vaguely familiar, and most likely an Adumbrae. I heard her mention about a sister.

Candidates? Kelsey, duh.

She was the only one I could think of that fit the bill.

How about this theory? Myra suspected Kelsey would attack us for knowing her secret and sent her friends either to rescue us or stop Kelsey, or both. This would explain why the guys in the car weren’t killed; Kelsey recognized them. Given that premise, there were a few possibilities.

Stone numero uno, Myra’s group genuinely wanted to save Deen and me from Kelsey. Who knew what was going on inside the head of Adumbrae? And that was one vote for going. I set a stone down in front of me. This was the go-to-Deen’s-home pile.

Next possibility, they were going to report us to the police. Which was dumb. They’d be endangering themselves along with us. I placed this stone beside the ‘police’ stone for being improbable.

Third. Myra’s group planned to kill us to keep Kelsey’s secret. This didn’t make much sense because they could’ve already killed Deen then just ambush me at school or find out where I lived and attack me here. Anyway, if this was the case, wouldn’t it be better for me to make a move before they did? They’d assume I was a normal human; I'd have the element of surprise on my side.

If I didn’t go there now and kill them, I’d be constantly looking over my shoulder for an attack. I wouldn’t be able to get a good night’s sleep. Another for the go-to-Deen’s-home pile.

Now…what if that murderous spike bitch wasn’t Kelsey? Just a random Adumbrae out there. What could Myra’s group be? I grabbed a few more stones.

The story they gave to Deen could be the truth. A secret vigilante group fighting Adumbrae. All sorts of idiots on this planet. They wouldn’t be normal people, for sure. Possibly human with enhancements or bioaugmentronics. Should I go there then to ask for help?

But if they found out that I turned into an Adumbrae, they might kill me. However, the benefit of gaining information heavily outweighed the risk. I simply had to be very careful not to reveal my secret.

One more point for the go-to-Deen’s-home pile.

On the other end of the spectrum was the possibility they were a group of Adumbrae. One of them couldn’t control itself, and we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, the rest wanted to silence Deen and me.

It'd be hilarious if this was the actual situation.

If so, shouldn’t I reveal myself to them and ask for, I dunno, tips on how to hide being an Adumbrae while continuing with my life? I honestly had no idea what a group of Adumbrae would do. To the go-to-Deen’s-home pile this stone goes.

In between these two extremes was the possibility that Myra’s group were just normal humans but engaged in something illegal connected to Adumbrae. Black market trade of Adumbrae parts…our attacker was an escaped Adumbrae they were about to harvest. Something like that? This was more common in Asia.

How about a rich family hired a mercenary group to hide and secure an Adumbrae family member? Maybe the spiky bitch was the person they were supposed to guard and she escaped? There were a few famous cases of that here in the US.

Bottom line was, this group would want to silence me. If so, I needed to strike first while I had an ace up my sleeve. Thus, the go-to-Deen’s-home pile rose higher.

Two stones at the improbable situation pile, five stones representing possibilities all in the go-to-Deen’s-home pile, and none in the stay-the-fuck-away pile. It became clearer and clearer that I should meet with Deen.

Ooooorrr …I was just extremely biased in my arguments for going there.

And the reason for that was Rule #4. Also known as reactive bothering.

I shoved all the stones on the table to the side, picked up the potted plant itself, and set it in front of me. This was the biggest point for going to Deen’s house. Those two fuckers in the car bothered me. How? They didn’t die there in the parking area along with Deen so I could escape safely. Instead, they somehow drove that spiky bitch to me…and now I wasn’t a human anymore.

Granted the spiky bitch was the ultimate cause—she’ll suffer accordingly when I find her.

Still! The two guys had a hand, albeit indirectly, in my present quandary.

Their sins will be mitigated by the fact that they indeed saved me in the parking area, so I wouldn’t kill them. But I have to find out about the situation to have a proper and informed application of the Rules. If they could lead me to the spiky bitch, that would mitigate their penalty.

Rules above all.

Nonetheless, I went through the mental exercise of considering all the possibilities and consequences because of the main weakness of my...sort of people...that I was trying to be mindful of. People like me usually planned in terms of achieving goals and not in terms of possible negative consequences—that was why most serial killers commit batshit insane acts which would make a normal person wonder if the perpetrator just wanted to get caught. It wasn't about wanting to get caught, but not even thinking of getting caught. And I usually suck in seeing danger.

I went into my bedroom to change my clothes as I’d been wearing my blood-stained jeans and a stolen blouse this whole time. I was about to go out of my room when I stopped and did an about-face. I was missing something.

Some of the scenarios I considered earlier would require me to kill people. If I was up against a large group of criminals or something like that, then I might need to escape and go into hiding for some time after disposing of the people at Deen’s house.

I rummaged around my closet and took out a small backpack. A bigger bag would be better but too suspicious to lug around.

I threw some comfortable tops into the bag, a couple of pairs of shorts, pants, a few pieces of underwear, and a thick jacket which I rarely wore because of the generally warm weather in California. Living under a bridge might be unavoidable in the future, and this jacket could be my blanket of sorts. I had to roll it up real tight to fit into my already cramped backpack. Women’s necessities should also not be forgotten; I jammed them into any space left. Lastly, I squeezed the first aid kit Mom bought me, which I had never used before, into the front flap of the bag. I had enhanced healing abilities now, but who knew, I might need it.

On my way out, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. “Glasses. Forgot about it.” I went back to my room to get a spare. I always had a couple of them lying around since I had lost them a few times in the past. These fake glasses were cheap anyway.

While walking to the elevator, I texted Mom that I decided to go out to eat instead of having food delivered. She replied, “Take care, Erind sweetie. Be mindful of your surroundings.” Mom still had the unexpected fire at the mall in mind. “You never know when you’ll be in a dangerous situation,” she ended her message.

True that, Mom. True that…