Miracle City three years ago...

A group of children were gathered at the woods that lay at the edge of the city. Their ages were elven to fourteen, the age where kids think they know everything and do stupid stuff. Among them is a familar blue haired thirteen year old girl. At this age she's smaller and her hair is shorter, she's also considered the school weirdo and has no friends.

"What are we doing here?" She asked annoyed.

"We're waiting to see if he comes out." A fourteen year old boy said.

"Who?"

"The devil child."

"The what?"

"You don't know the story?" A girl asked her.

"No."

"They say that years ago Satan seduced a woman and got her pregnant. When she had the baby she killed herself and left it in the woods to die." A boy said.

"He was found and raised by hell hounds and he grew up into a big, mean, ugly monster who spends his nights running through the woods looking for human flesh to eat." Another girl said.

"And you know what his favorite food is? Little girls with blue hair and big mouths." The fourteen year old boy teased.

"Shut up Nico! I know that's not true!"

"Yeah huh it is!"

"Nuh uh. You're just making it up to scare everybody. This devil child doesn't exist."

"Oh you think so?"

"Yeah."

"Well if you're so sure then prove it. Go into the woods and spend the whole night there."

"No way! I'm not staying in the woods all night...Unless of course you plan to make it worth my while."

"How much are we talking here?" Nico asked.

"Cough it up fellas. Show me your money."

"Alright each of us bet you ten bucks to spend the night in the woods and come back alive."

"You're on."

"But you can't chicken out."

"You'll find that I'm not that easy to scare."

So the next day she told her parents that she would be going to a camp out with the other kids which wasn't exactly a lie since all the other kids would be camping outside of the woods. She packed her flashlight, sleeping bag, a tent, a water bottle, and a couple of books. With her bag packed she went to meet the other kids and she prepared to go through with her challenge. She walked a fairly long distance into the woods, when she found a decent spot she set up her tent, laid out on her sleeping bag, sat on it, and began to read her books. When it got late she felt herself starting to doze off. She had almost fallen asleep when a strange and frightening noise woke her up completely. At first she wondered if it was a wild animal like a wolf or bear but it didn't sound like one. It sounded like something feral and howling but at the same time it also sounded like crying. Someone was crying.

Curious she grabbed her flashlight and went to follow the strange noise. As she got closer to the source it began to sound less like a howling creature and more like a crying child. Soon she saw a figure sitting on the ground, using her flashlight she saw it was a boy. A boy who was holding his knees and crying.

"Hello?" She said.

At the sound of her voice the boy sat up and ran away.

"Wait a minute! Come back!" She called chasing after him but he was a fast runner and before she knew it she had lost him. She began to look around and wonder where he had disappeared to. As she searched for him she didn't see the nearby ditch and accidentally walked right off of it. She screamed as she fell, in fear she closed her eyes and waited for the painful impact but instead she felt a pair of arms catch her. At first she thought it was her father and due to his constant worrying he had come looking for her, saw her fall, and saved her. But then she realized that these arms weren't like her father's. They were strong but much smaller than her father's. When she opened her eyes she saw that it wasn't her father holding her, it was that boy. She could see him better at this angle, he had brown eyes one of which that had a scar and he looked to be the same age she was but he was incredible strong and fast. How had he managed to catch her in time that fast?

"Um...Thank you." She said.

He put her down and tried to run away but he tripped and fell on a stone. He groaned and then crawled away toward a tree. He was trying to climb up but when he tried he cried out in pain.

"Are you okay?"

"Just go away!" He shouted. "Leave me alone!"

He was starting to cry again.

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

"I'm not crying!" He denied while turning away to hide his tears.

"Yes you are."

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

She looked down and saw that he had cut his knee. It was bleeding and it had dirt on it.

"Oh look at that you hurt yourself." She said.

"So what if I did? It's none of your concern so get lost!"

She walked away leaving him alone. Once she was gone he tried to stand up but every time he tried his knee would release a sharp pain that inflamed his entire leg. He hissed in pain and fell back down. Next thing he knew she came back carrying a water bottle and sat down next to him.

"I told you to go away!" He snapped.

"Oh hush your mouth and hold still!"

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing your knee before you get an infection now hold still and you may want to grip something because this may sting."

She unscrewed the lid on her water bottle and poured some water on his knee. He hissed at the stinging sensation but the water washed away all the dirt and blood. After that she tore off one of the sleeves on her shirt and binder it around the injured part of his knee.

"There? Better?" She asked.

"Why did you do that?"

"Well you did save my life so I kind of owe you."

"Right."

"Hey are you hungry?"

"I guess."

She pulled a candy bar from her skirt pocket and offered it to him. He looked at her skeptically then at the candy bar. He slowly took it from her and sniffed it suspiciously much to her confusion.

"Um you do know what a candy bar is right? It's food." She told him.

"I know what it is I'm just checking it."

"Checking it for what?"

"Poison."

"Poison?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I want to."

"Uh-huh, yeah right like the other ten people who told me that."

"What other ten people?"

"Don't you know who I am?"

"No because you haven't told me your name."

"Wait a minute you don't know what I am?"

"I figured that you were a boy. Am I wrong?"

"No! No I'm definitely a boy! A perfectly normal human boy!"

"Ooookay."

"What's your name?"

"Frida Suarez. What's yours?"

"Manny Rivera. What are you doing out here?"

"Well what are you doing out here?"

"I asked you first."

"I'm out here because a couple of dumb kids bet me ten bucks to spend the night here. Apparently they think so devil child lives here but that's just a story to scare kids into staying out of the woods so they don't get lost. So why are you here?"

"I...I live here."

"You live in the woods? Strange, does your father live here,"

"Don't have one."

"What about your mother?"

"She's...She's gone."

"Well no wonder you were crying. You're an orphan."

"For the last time I was not crying!"

"Alright if that's what you want to tell yourself." She giggled. "Still shouldn't you be in an orphanage?"

"No! I'm perfectly happy living here."

"Really? How do you sleep?"

"I have my ways."

"Can I see?"

"I...Sure. Follow me."

She followed him to a nearby tree.

"It's a long way up so you'll have to get on my back." He told her.

"Okay."

He squatted down, she got on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hold on." He said.

He started climbing up the trees while she held on to him. She was surprised by how strong he was and how good of a climber he was. He climbed all the way to the top where they stood on a sturdy tree branch where a make shift bed was.

"So you sleep up here?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I sleep in caves or fields, it depends on where I am."

"Well the view up here is incredible."

It really was. Being this high up at night gave them a great view of the stars. It looked like the knight sky was filled with diamonds shinning bright. She had never seen stars like these before, she thought it was the most amazing thing ever. She turned and saw that he was looking at her strangely.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Sorry but your the first girl I've met who's my age."

"No kidding?"

"Nope. All the girls I knew were way older than me."

"Oh? Well what do you think?"

"I don't know, to be honest I thought that you would have boobs."

"Hey!"

SLAP!

"Ow!"

"You creep! I'm only thirteen! I haven't finished puberty yet." She said blushing.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude "

"Could've fooled me. You better be grateful my father didn't hear you because he'd kill you if he heard what you just said."

"Sorry, sorry, believe me I'm not a pervert I just...I was raised by nuns who covered up everything even their ankles so...I may be just a tad curious."

"Whatever just don't talk to me about it. Ever."

"Okay I swear I won't. So do you wanna get down now?"

"Yes."

He put her on his back and climbed back down.

"Hey I just now realized that your knee doesn't seem to be bothering you." She said. "Does it still hurt?"

"No."

"Wow you're a fast healer either that or I have great medical skills."

"Speaking of which are you some kind of nurse in training or something?"

"No but my father is a cop and he's crazy protective of me and my sisters so he insisted we learn every emergency first aid treatment in the book."

"Do you plan on being a doctor when you grow up?"

"No. I'm going to be a singer, right now my voice is not that good but my mom says that's because I'm still growing. She says when I'm done growing I'll be a beautiful woman with a great voice."

"No offense but don't all mothers tell their daughters that?"

"Maybe but I think she's telling the truth because my mother is beautiful and people say I look just like her when she was my age so I'll probably look like her when I'm older."

"Fair enough. So you're probably tired now so I'll just go back to my tree and let you sleep."

"Wait! Will I see you again?"

"Do you want to?"

"Yes."

"Wait you're not in love with me are you?"

"No! Gross! I'm never gonna fall in love because boys are just dirty minded and dumb, no offense."

"None taken and I'm never gonna fall in love either because...Because...Because."

"Because why?"

"Because...Because girls are just whiny and demanding. No offense."

"None taken. So do you wanna be friends?"

"Su...Sure."

"Great! Hey tell you want let's meet up back here everyday in the afternoon."

"Alright, see you there."

From them moment on everyday after school Frida would go to the woods to meet Manny and they would spend hours laughing and playing together. They were both so happy because for once they both had a friend. Frida had met someone who didn't think she was a weirdo and Manny had finally met someone who wasn't afraid of him. But if he wanted to keep it that way he couldn't let her find out his secret or she would see him like everyone else did. For a month everything seemed to be going well until one day as Frida was walking home from school she was being followed by three teenage boys from the high school.

"Hey kid!" One of them shouted at her. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business." She said.

"I see you have a bag with you."

"Yeah and what of it?"

"Got any money in there cutie?"

"Again it's none of your business now if you'll excuse me."

But the largest of them blocked her path while the remaining two began closing in.

"Leave me alone." She said.

"Look boys this one has a mouth on her." The first one chuckled. "Why don't you be a good little girl and give us your money."

"No way! Get lost you creeps!"

The first one grabbed her bag from her. She quickly grabbed the other end and pulled back. It was a tug a war with him getting the upper hand since he was bigger and stronger than she was. Thinking fast she kicked him in the shin. He shouted and released her bag but that kick only got him really mad.

"Little bitch!" He grabbed her arm and threw her on to the ground. "You wanna fight like a man? Well let's show her what it's like boys."

His two friends held her down while he slapped her in the face and when he tried to slap her again she bit his hand. That got him really mad, so much that he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a switch blade.

"I'm gonna cut off that mouth of yours!" He declared grabbing her face. Frida screamed and began to struggle with all her might to escape but it did her no good. The teenage thug chuckled sinisterly as he brought his knife closer to her mouth. But just when the blade was inches from her skin the thug suddenly dropped his knife and screamed in pain.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" She heard a familiar voice shout in anger.

She watched as the thug fell to the ground with a huge, bleeding, scratch mark on his back and standing from behind him from his Manny but he looked so different now. He had fur, claws, a tail, ears like a tiger, and his brown eyes had changed to green that held fury and rage she had never known. When Frida didn't show up at her usual time he started to get worried, then he heard her scream so he quickly transformed and went to see what was wrong. Imagine his anger when he saw what those thugs were doing to his first and only friend. He grabbed the two thugs holding her down and pulled them off of her. She watched as he began to mercilessly beat all three of them leaving them black, blue, and bloodied. When he was finished he turned to see if Frida was okay.

He was relieved that aside from the red mark on her cheek she was fine. But his relief vanished when he saw what was in her blue eyes. It was fear, fear he was all too familiar with. People had been looking at him with that same fear in their eyes for years. She knew what he was, she had seen the other side of him and she was afraid of him.

"What are you?" She asked him in a trembling voice.

"I...I...I-"

"Manny Rivera." A strength voice said. "What on earth are you doing here in civilization?"

It was the high council of spirits. Manny felt a growl slip from from his mouth when he saw them. The people who had ruined everything, who had forced him into those woods, who had taken him from his mother.

"It would seem where we placed you wasn't far enough." The head member said. "We'll have to take you farther now."

"What?!" He gasped.

"Wait a minute who are you people?" Frida asked.

"Young lady we are the high council of spirits, out job is to maintain peace and balance on earth. One of the things we had to do was make sure this boy had no contact with any human civilization."

"Why?"

"Because he's not meant to exist. Him being here could draw in demons."

"No demons have shown up yet!" Manny argued. "And I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You just mauled three humans!"

"They were hurting my friend!"

"Your friend?"

"Yes and I won't let you separate us like you did with my mother!"

"Foolish boy now that she's seen you for what you really are she won't want to be around you! She'll be too afraid!"

"No I won't!" Frida objected much to Manny's surprise. "Okay I don't really know what's going on here and part of me is a little creeped out by Manny's new look but he saved me. So okay he's not human, frankly I don't know what he is but he's not a monster."

"Really? You're not scared of me?" He asked her.

"No. Why should I be? You're still you aren't you? You're just hairier."

Manny felt his heart swell with joy. These were words he hadn't heard like that since he last saw his mother. She wasn't afraid, she was confused but not afraid and she still liked him.

"Young lady how old are you?" The head member asked Frida suspiciously.

"Thirteen." She said.

"Thirteen. Oh no I'm afraid this must end."

"What?!" Manny and Frida said at the same time.

"Why?" Manny asked.

"Sorry but you two are a boy and a girl on set of puberty meaning an attraction could develop in time."

"Attraction!" Frida blushed.

"No way!" Manny said. "We are not attracted to each other! Honest!"

"You say that now because you're merely children but when you get older things will change and we can't risk someone like you falling in love and possibly repopulating. I'm afraid you two must never see each other again."

"No! You can't do that! You already took my mother! I won't let you take my friend!"

"Separate them, take her home amd him back to the woods."

"I said no!"

Manny kicked the head member. He grabbed Frida's hand and they ran away from them but the council members were spirits making them faster and stronger than they were. All too soon they caught up with them and them cornered. One member grabbed Frida and began to pull her away while two members held Manny back.

"No please! He's my only friend!" Frida begged.

"Stop it! It's not fair!" Manny shouted.

"Manny!"

"Frida!"

His hand and hers held on to each other for as long as they could but in the end her hand slipped from his and she was taken away from him while he was forcibly taken back to the woods.

"Manny!" Frida cried.

"Don't worry Frida! I found you once! I'll find you again! I will find you! No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes I'll always find you!" He vowed.

"I'll wait for you! I'll wait for as long it takes!" She vowed back.

All too soon they disappeared from each other's sight.

"We don't want a repeat of what he did the last time we did this." The head member said. "So erase both their memories of ever meeting each other and take him farther out this time. So far that it'll take him forever to get back here."

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" One member questioned.

"It's for the good of earth, mark me this boy and this girl must never meet again. Never."

"But...I've been thinking do we intend to keep this boy alone?"

"He musn't have any human contact with anyone."

"But no one can live like that."

"That's the idea."

"You want him to die?"

"He was never meant to exist in the first place, we can't kill him but we can make sure that he doesn't need to live very long."

"Sir I don't-"

"Enough! Do as your told!"

The other member sighed and then reluctantly did as he was ordered to do. He took away their memories of each other and sealed them away. Then he sent Manny to a part of the woods so far away that it would seem like forever for him to get back. But it wouldn't take forever, it would only take him two, lonely, sad years.

Two years later...

Manny now fifteen was in his spirit form was sitting in a tree and feeling the warm sun on his face. It had been awhile since he had been able to relax like this. From what he could remember he had spent two years surviving in the woods only by his wits, fighting a few demons here and there, he also formed a relationship with an attractive female half demon named Zoe but they had gotten too close and he couldn't risk falling in love so he left her. After that he just kept traveling and traveling from one area of the woods to the next. Fir the last few days he had been on the run from El Oso a bear demon, the woods weren't safe anymore, he needed a new place to hide and he was exhausted. He decided to take a break and rest up in a tree, maybe even take a nap for awhile.

"Hey look Sofia! It's the blue haired freak!"

He was woken from his nap by a shrill and annoying voice screaming. Realizing humans were nearby he turned invisible and went to see what the commotion was about. From the top of the tree he saw three girls. They were teenagers, two of them he thought were pretty but he thought they were snobby looking. The third was an unfamiliar blue haired girl who he thought looked very beautiful. A petite thing she was but she had curves and he did like curves. She also smelled very nuce.

"What do you two brats want?" He heard her ask in a tone which he could tell by it that she was fiesty.

"We just wanted to help." One of the girls he thought were mean said.

"Really?" The blue haired one said.

"Yeah somebody has to let people no about your stinky new job!" Another cackled.

He watched as the girl with blue hair clenched her fists then smiled mischievously at a pile of rocks. He could already tell where this was going. He watched her throw rocks at them then pick up one and lightly toss it up and down as a warning. The girls quickly ran away screaming.

"Yeah that's right! Keep running! Go on! Get out of here! Scram! Before I shove my fist up your jaws!"

Manny couldn't resust. He found himself laughing uncontrollable. He didn't know who this girl was but she was a tough one.

"Hello?" He heard her call looking around. "Who's there?"

Caught off guard he silenced himself quickly. Had she heard him laughing?

"I know you're there! I heard you!"

She had, he kept quiet and still.

"Hmm. Must've been hearing things. Oh well back to work." She said.

"Great! What else can go wrong?"

He quickly decided that it was time to leave so he started to climb down but he made a rustling noise in the process. It caught her attention, she looked up at the trees and then at him. She was looking right at him. But she couldn't see him right? He was invisible to humans.

"Hey! Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not polite to stare?" She called.

Was she talking to him? No, she couldn't be because she couldn't see him.

"Hello up there! Are you deaf?"

He still didn't respond.

"Hey I'm talking to you!"

He looked around to see if there was anyone else around that she could possibly be addressing but there was no one. For further confirmation he pointed to himself questionably.

"Yeah you! Hiding in the trees! With the big ears! Who the heck are you and why are you spying on me?"

He couldn't believe it, she could see him. But how? Humans shouldn't be able to see him if he was invisible. Then again maybe this girl wasn't human. Just who was she? What was she? And why did she smell familiar? He chose to climb down and find out just who or what she was.