"Well screw you too jerk!" she yelled laying on the horn of her beloved black 1990 Jeep Wrangler. Manhattan traffic was horrible, as usual, and Rhea was running late for her meeting with her school advisor. When she finally made it, it was 15 minutes passed her scheduled time. "Damn it!" throwing her Jeep into park, she grabbed her bag and ran towards the school.

"Come in Ms. Hale." Mr. Anderson gestured Rhea to the chair in front of his desk. Nervously she sat waiting to hear where she would be placed to continue her studies. "I would like to first congratulate you on completing your Anthropology degree here at New York University." Nodding she adjusted her cat eye glasses, the summer heat mixed with nerves made it feel like a beehive was in her belly. "I see here you wish to continue your education in this field with a specialization in forensics and eventually earn your PH.D." he paused "That takes at least another 6 years of school Ms. Hale"

"Yes sir. I want to become a Forensic Anthropo-"

"I understand that Ms. Hale, but do you really think you have what it takes." Mr. Anderson interrupted.

Before Rhea could respond the door to Mr. Anderson's office opened. "Ah Mr. Hunt! So glad to see you!" Mr. Anderson stood to shake the hand of one of Rhea's classmates who also graduated this spring. Charles Hunt, the golden boy, womanizer, teacher kiss ass.

He is one of the beautiful people, the people that may look good on the outside, but on the inside, they're shit.

"Sorry Mr. Anderson I came a bit early." Charles said scratching the back of his head, neither of them acknowledging Rhea's presence. She knew Charles wasn't really sorry.

"Nonsense have a seat please." He gestured towards the seat Rhea was sitting in, the only seat in the room. She stood up on instinct, "well wait a second Mr. Anderson our meeting isn't over yet…" Rhea looked over at the time "we still have 10 minutes left."

As Mr. Anderson went rummaging through his desk, Charles grabbed Rhea's chair and took a seat. Rhea looked at Charles dumbfounded, but should she really be so surprised? "Here you go Ms. Hale." Mr. Anderson practically threw the manila envelope at Rhea then opened the bottom drawer of his desk and began to pull out rocks glasses and an old bottle of scotch.

"So, Charles tell me. You look to continue your education?" Mr. Anderson poured two glasses of scotch, Charles took one and put both of his feet up on Mr. Anderson's desk. They began to have a conversation about Charles' future, he wanted much like what Rhea envisioned for herself. Mr. Anderson was overwhelmingly supporting, like a proud father. Rhea opened her mouth to argue but she realized it didn't matter, her time here was done.

Walking back to her Jeep Rhea lost herself in thought. The halls of the school were mostly empty now that class was out. The clicking of Rhea's heels she had since high school was the only sound that echoed through the halls. When she finally returned to her Jeep she took them off and threw them into the passenger seat. Before boosting herself in Rhea peeled off her sweat dampened blazer she bought at a secondhand store. With a huff she plopped herself into the drivers seat and pulled away, the school in her rearview mirror, never looking back.

1 Week Later

She was on the I-80 W headed toward Wisconsin. When she got home from her last meeting with Mr. Anderson a week ago she finally grew the courage to open the envelope. He placed her in the northern peninsula of Wisconsin to begin her internship. Rhea was ticked, he could have at least placed her in Milwaukee. Where she was going she would get the least experience with dead bodies… unless of course you count those that died of naturally causes… but those weren't any fun.

Strapped in next to her was Fred, Rhea's plant companion she's had for a little over a year. The longest relationship she's had, thank you very much. Cranking the tunes and taking a few big gulps of soda Rhea focused on the road. She had been driving for 8 or so hours and didn't want to stop to sleep, people worked 16 hours straight before so why couldn't she drive that long?

As night fell it got harder to stay awake. Rhea stopped a few more times to get coffee which helped some. Only four more hours… Rhea thought, sipping the last bit of coffee from her Styrofoam cup. The bags under her eyes became heavy weights as the road became but a blur. Flashes of light crackled above, jolting her awake. She rolled up the windows of her Jeep. No rain came but the flashes of light got brighter and brighter. Keeping her eyes on the road Rhea attempted to find a weather station on her radio but nothing came through, just white noise. "what is going on?" she mumbled as the rumbling of thunder shook the very road she was driving on. By the time Rhea realized something was in the middle of the road it was too late. The Jeeps tires squealed as the black rubber clung to the asphalt. Rhea screamed, closing her eyes to brace for impact…

Thunder and a sharp pain at the bridge of her noise woke Rhea. As she lifted her head from the steering wheel air bag she realized that she had crashed right into tree, the second thing she noticed was her blood stained T-shirt. She groaned as the pain got worse with movement and glanced at herself in the rearview mirror to see the disaster that was her face. Her nose was obviously broken, and cuts from glass and tree branches only made it look worse. Taking both her hands she placed her index fingers at the bridge of her nose, applied more and more pressure until she heard the famous crack that signaled the bones were set. If school taught her anything it was how to set broken bones. Rhea used her shirt to wipe some of the blood from her face. Saving the shirt now a lost cause. Her mind slowly became clouded, she supposed the impact was great enough to cause a concussion. With her increasing confusion, she clumsily searched for her backpack. Pulling it from under her suitcase she slung it over her shoulder. Before opening the door she looked over at her plant companion to see his pot shattered. "I'm gunna find us help."

The reassurance mostly for her.

Opening the door she stuck her foot out but instead of finding the ground she found… nothing. Rhea's stomach dropped as she fought off the scream clawing at her throat. With the sudden jerk in movement the car creaked and branches snapped. Rhea let out a blood curdling scream. Once all seemed calm Rhea opened her eyes. She didn't just hit a tree, she was literally in the tree.

Fuck.

Rhea sobered her mind as best she could knowing she had very little time before the branch that was holding the Jeep would give to the weight of the vehicle. Willing herself down, she stepped onto sturdy branches, until finally her feet where met with solid earth. Taking a few moments to catch her breath she evaluated her surroundings. Rhea couldn't decide which way the road was so with a quick eenie meenie minee moe she turned on her flash light she had in bag, slung the bag over her shoulder and began her trek.

"Finally, a human… I'm starving." Rhea froze "I-is someone there? I need help!" "Do you hear that? The human needs help!" Cackling surrounded her. Rhea dropped her bag to the ground and unzipped the front pocket. She searched around until she saw the hot pink plastic keychain of her never used, and very old, pepper spray. Quickly she unlocked the safety of the plastic and held it in the direction she first heard the voice.

"Stay back! I have pepper spray!" Rhea trembled but was able to keep her voice from cracking. Barely.

A small being lept from one of the bushes, Rhea took her aim and pressed hard on the trigger. It shot a stream of thick liquid and hit the beast between the eyes. It staggered back some giving Rhea a moment to run for it. Her head pounded with her heart as she raced for safety, but safety never came. The forest trees got thicker and the sounds of beasts and evil laughs rang in Rhea's ears. Tears streamed down her face as fear took its grip on Rhea's heart and mind. She pushed herself forward her will to survive leading her on as the stinging in eyes and pounding in her brain nearly made her blind.

She fought to stay conscious but as she did her steps became sloppy. Rhea tripped on what felt like a tree root and began to roll down a steep hill. She tried to scream, tried to reach out, but her injuries had taken its toll and her speed was increasing. Rhea began to slip from consciousness, her body becoming numb to the rocks and sticks slamming into her body on her decent. To Rhea this made sense, everyone else thought she wouldn't make it, so then why should she? It was just when Rhea came to terms with her death and was giving into the darkness that she felt… warmth?

Hot hands grabbed at Rhea stopping her from rolling any further down the hill. Her instincts told her to run, but her mind knew that was impossible. Rhea cracked her eyes open enough to make out the person, or thing that had hold of her. If she was going to be eaten she at least wanted to see the face of her murder.

Three eyes glowing blue is all she could see of her assailant. "Fuck you…" Rhea mouthed to the beast, her voice now gone. "Pathetic…" it spat in a surprisingly human-sounding voice. Rhea slipped unconscious fully prepared for her end, little did she know, this was only the beginning.

8 Days Later

A few times Rhea awoke from her comatose state but only for a few moments at a time. The beings helping her definitely didn't look human nor did they sound human. Rhea assumed this was just a side effect of her injuries but as they healed things only got more puzzling. The room she was in was dark and had weird fixtures and utensils that certainly didn't belong in a hospital. On her mental list of places where she could be she was all the way down at the bottom; aliens.

"She's awake." A ghoul looking thing said aloud, the doors behind him opening.

A man walked in, his red eyes studying Rhea like some sort of test subject. She attempted to sit up but the dizziness told her otherwise. As she lay flat on the table she turned her head to look at the man the eye on his forehead pulsated blue. It almost seemed familiar but Rhea couldn't say why. "Once you are fully healed you will be returned to your people and have no memory of this place or anything that has taken place here." He stated as if he has said it a million times before. He held up his right hand over Rhea, ready to snap his fingers.

"Wait."

The doors opened again this time a mummy like thing coming forward. "She may be useful to us." It looked to the man standing over Rhea his right hand not moving from its position. "what makes you think that?" He questioned, his expression that of loathing. "Not here…" The mummy turned and left the room, it wasn't until then that the three-eyed man dropped his hand and shoved it back into his pocket. Rhea tried to speak, to question what they wanted, but her voice failed her. He smirked at her as if he knew what she wanted to say, he turned and disappeared.

Rhea was alone.

Day 10

With her mind clear and injuries healed enough to move again Rhea found herself shackled to a chair. She was in a dark room illuminated by eerie candlelight. Her theory of aliens still going strong.

"Ms. Rhea Hale. 27-year-old human female. No family, no friends, and single. Graduate from New York University…" The mummy paused. "Anthropology degree?" it asked more than stated. The three-eyed man leaned against the wall across from them, though now he wore a headband, eyes closed.

"Yes." Rhea cleared her throat. "It's the study of human biological and physiological evolution."

The mummy leaned back in its seat. " I reviewed the literature you had in your bag, you also had books about forensics."

Rhea nodded. " I want to have a specialty in forensics. I would study human bodies and determine how and when they died."

"interesting…" The mummy seemed to think to itself for a moment and then lifted the bandages covering its face to reveal a woman.

"My name is Mukuro, the man behind me Hiei. Hiei found you near death in our woods here in the Makai. A dangerous place for a human such as yourself."

Rhea was so confused and terrified of what was happening she remained silent trying to sort through the mess she was in. The Makai?

"You see Ms. Hale. Normally we send back humans that cross into our realm but you may be useful to me." Rhea could tell by the way Mukuro spoke that she was dangerous. The man, Hiei, remained quiet.

"How is it that I can help you? Where am I? How did I get here?" Rhea asked fear easily detected in every word.

Mukuro stood and released the shackles binding Rhea. "Come, I shall show you." rubbing her wrists Rhea followed silently keeping her gaze to the floor. Mukuro brought her to a room filled with technology she had never seen before. It almost looked like an operating room, just one not meant for humans.

"This way." Mukuro led her to a table that had bones splayed in every which way on top of it. As Rhea got closer she realized the bones where human and from a young human at that.

Her hands went cold and clammy as her eyes scanned the remains from head to toe.

Rhea was looking at the bones of a young boy no older than 12 years of age with a neck fracture at his C5 vertebrae. His bones were riddled with fractures and breaks throughout but Rhea could see the C5 injury is what killed him. It broke Rhea's heart.

"Who did this?" Anger taking the place of fear Rhea looked to Mukuro for answers.

"This is why we need you. Someone here in this world is killing humans as they cross the pseudo space from Ningenkai to the Makai."

"Why are you being so open with me? An outsider? How do I know it isn't you that killed this poor boy?" Rhea boldly questioned.

Mukuro smiled,"Ming, take our visitor to her room she has had enough for one day."

Rhea kicked and screamed but nothing she did could break her free of Ming's grasp.

Once to Rhea's room, Ming provided her with water and some hot soup. Rhea refused both. Ming sat with her a few moments contemplating what he could tell her. When silent tears began to stream down Rhea's face Ming spoke.

He explained to Rhea where she was and how she got there, that Mukuro and her followers were being framed for murdering humans. This was a problem as the new King of the Makai forbids any violence towards humans. Rhea took everything in, how Mukuro was treating her as a guest was just a façade, the moment she disobeyed orders was the moment she would die. After answering Rhea's questions to the best of his ability and knowledge Ming left Rhea to herself.

"Get some rest kid, you're going to need it." Were his parting words, but Rhea didn't sleep.

The Next Morning: Hiei's POV

Hiei waited as Ming brought the human girl from her room. The servants reported the girl refused her meals and did not sleep. Agitated by Rhea's stubbornness Hiei crossed his arms, cursing Mukuro for her decision to keep the human girl here.

Finally, Ming opened the doors to the examining room with Rhea beside him. Her long brown hair was atop her head in a messy bun. She wore a white T-shirt one size too big for her frame, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her pair fitted black pants. Both freshly clean from when she first arrived here in the Makai. When she glanced in his direction Hiei saw her right eye was a bright auburn and the left a deep blue. When her eyes met his she immediately averted them to the ground.

"Master Hiei, Ms. Rhea Hale." Ming bowed to Hiei and left the human and demon alone in the room. Rhea crossed her arms and pouted, turning her head from him. Hiei's hand twitched for his sword ready to lop off the woman's head.

"You will do as I say, when I say it." Hiei ordered. Rhea glared up to Hiei, this being the first time she held Hiei's gaze. What Hiei saw there was not an obedient woman willing to take orders, but a stubborn one fully hell-bent on making this the most painful and difficult experience possible.

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! Please leave a review with your thoughts on this first chapter! Thanks for ready! :)