Notes:

This story was written as a prequel to the episode "The Society" from the web series entitled "Match," which you can view at match-dot-colaborator-dot-com. This series encourages fans to interact with each episode through forums, blogs, and fanfiction. If the producers like your story ideas enough, they will credit you as a writer and use your ideas for future episodes, which I think is really neat!

A Fresh Start

Teresa rolled her eyes as another soldier was decapitated in front of her. Everywhere she looked, another person was being mauled to death or losing a limb. This wasn't what she signed up for when she swore to get revenge on the army that murdered her family and destroyed her village. Or was it? She had gotten so desensitized to the violence now that she couldn't remember what she wanted anymore or what it was like to feel genuine sympathy for other human beings. This was war. It wasn't about feelings. It was about instinct. She launched several arrows at the opposing soldiers, piercing each one in the heart and killing them instantly. There were still too many of them. The battle was endless. Everywhere she looked, she saw blood and severed body parts. It was almost too much to take in.

Another soldier came running at her with a sword, but this time, she made no attempt to defend herself. Life. Death. What did any of it matter anymore? She closed her eyes and imagined being in another place, one where people looked out for each other and time had no meaning or relevance. This nightmare had to end.

When Teresa opened her eyes, the battlefield around her had vanished. The blood on her clothes was gone. There was something sharp in her hand. It felt like an arrowhead. Was it one of hers? No, she knew this arrowhead. It was wrapped in a scrap of fabric that her mother wore the day she was killed. Teresa held onto it as a constant reminder of how much she hated those soldiers for what they had done to her village. She had left it on her mother's grave, though. How did it end up in hand? Disgusted by the thought of everything it represented, she shoved it down her shirt, not wanting to look at it again.

When she stood up, Teresa found herself on an open plain that seemed to go on for miles with no end in sight. A man walked toward her. He looked older than her, but still possessed the strength and vitality of someone much younger.

"Am I dead?" she asked him.

"Not one for formalities, are you?" he asked with a friendly grin.

"Being the only living thing here in sight does not automatically grant you my trust," said Teresa defiantly.

"They sure did pick a feisty one," chuckled the man.

"They?"

"Your people might refer to them as gods, but no one really knows for sure, considering that no one has ever seen them."

"Then how do you know they exist?"

"Good question. I think you'll do well here. Allow me to introduce myself. Name's Adam. I'm the last surviving member of the Society."

"Teresa," she said coldly.

"Well, Teresa, you are a very special person. Do you know that?"

"I'm not interested in your games."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You see, it was foretold that someone with a dark past would come to rebuild the Society from scratch and make it a place where people from all walks of life could connect with each other instead of becoming consumed by their regret. When you arrived here, you found something in your hand, didn't you?"

"Perhaps," said Teresa, still not quite sure she could trust Adam.

"You don't have to tell me what it is. Just make sure you keep it on you at all times. That item is your memento, and it represents your deepest regret from the living world. All the others who came here gave up their mementos, thinking it would free them from regret. Instead, it turned them into soulless beings known as Torches that went around trying to find new mementos so they could experience human feelings again."

"And where are they now?"

"I had to destroy them all. They were too dangerous to walk this world. I tried to form a safe society for all who came here, but I failed."

"There cannot be peace without any war. If you never taught them how to defend themselves, then of course the Torches would have destroyed them all," said Teresa in an authoritative tone.

"I guess that's why they chose you to take over. You know better than to trust people right away. You have a warrior's instincts."

"I am a warrior," she replied in an intimidating voice.

"Well, you might be just what this place needs!" Adam replied cheerfully.

"And what exactly do you expect me to do?"

"As a parting gift, I'll leave you with anything you request to start building your ideal society for new travelers. Remember that this is a one-time offer, though. After I'm gone, you'll have to start doing things the hard way, so think about it carefully."

Teresa closed her eyes and pictured the world that she had imagined in her final moments where people looked after each other and time had no meaning.

"First, if these torches are as dangerous as you say, we would need a shelter."

"Done," said Adam.

A steel building surrounded by a gated fence manifested itself out of thin air. It seemed so whimsical that Teresa wondered for just a moment if she was dreaming, but it felt too real to be a dream. The arrowhead still pierced at her from inside her shirt.

"They'll need weapons to defend themselves too."

A pile of every weapon Teresa could possibly imagine as well as some she had never seen before appeared in front of her.

"And a place to heal the sick."

A small infirmary appeared next to the shelter.

"It looks like you've used up your three wishes, so it's back to the lamp for me!" joked Adam. Teresa was unimpressed. His smile dimmed. "Well, I guess it's up to you now. My work here is finished. Good luck."

In a sparkling light show, Adam vanished. Teresa went to inspect the newly formed shelter and infirmary when she heard some movement coming from behind her.

"Hello? Is someone there?" asked a child's voice.

When Teresa turned around, she saw a little girl who reminded her very much of herself before she became obsessed with revenge. The girl's clothes were ripped, and she looked terrified. Crumpled in her hand was a rough drawing of a man and a woman.

"They were attacking my parents, and I didn't want to lose my mommy and daddy, so I tried to jump in front of them. Where are they? Where am I?" The girl sniffled and began to cry.

"Welcome to the Society," said Teresa. "Everything is going to be okay."