It was an almost universal opinion among teenagers that school is the most boring thing in existence. Eight hours spent sitting in uncomfortable seats as you are forced to listen to an adult talk about things you couldn't care less about, only cut by the thirty minute lunch that never seems long enough. Yes, there were few things more boring than school.
I yawned into my palm as I tried to focus on what Mr. Gladly was talking about. My ears strained to pick up words between the droning buzz that made up his speech before I shrugged, giving up my attempt. Whatever he was droning on about probably wasn't too important anyway.
I sighed, moving a strand of blond hair out from in front of my eyes as I looked around the classroom, taking in the faces of my classmates. They looked just as bored as I felt, half lidded gazes pretending to focus on the front of the room, though a few were actually paying attention. Weirdos.
Turning back toward the front, I sighed again, lamenting the fact that I had to be here instead of at home, playing video games or browsing PHO. My parents had often voiced their disapproval of my choices in pastimes, but given that they had chosen to send me to Winslow instead of Arcadia or Immaculata, I just ignored their complaints.
Oh sure, I understood why they did it, I even agreed to it. That didn't mean I wasn't angry about it.
My family was German, able to trace our lineage all the way to the time of Emperor Wilhelm I over one hundred and fifty years ago. We had only moved to America around twelve years ago when I was a toddler due to some disagreements between my father and his parents. We settled in Brockton Bay because he had heard some old friends of his had done the same and he wished to join them.
What he didn't know at the time was that those old friends of his had actually come to Brockton to join the Empire, a gang of nazis run by Allfather.
Now, my parents were extremely proud of their lineage, to the point that I had several memories of them laying me down for bed and reading small excerpts from autobiographies that our ancestors had written, but they were not nazis. When my father was approached by his old friends with the offer to join the Empire, he turned them away immediately, threatening violence if they ever returned.
Needless to say, this upset the higher ups in the gang who had been hoping for another perfect aryan family to add to their ranks. And while they couldn't exactly force us to join, forced loyalty is no loyalty at all, they could strongly encourage us to do so using other methods.
My father suddenly found himself being demoted at his job for reasons they wouldn't say, and my mother had trouble finding a job at all, neary every interview ending with them stating they didn't think she would be a good fit with the company or some other bullshit.
More people wearing Empire colors began loitering around our street, which normally wouldn't be out of the ordinary given that we lived in Empire territory, but it still sent a clear message.
Reconsider the offer or else.
While my father still refused to join the gang, our livelihood was being threatened and something needed to be done. He went out to meet with his 'friends' one night four years ago and when he came back, he told me I had been enrolled at Winslow High School, a known hotspot for gang recruitment.
I had been furious and heartbroken, believing that he had given me up to the Empire. I had screamed at him for ruining my life and threatened to run away if he didn't re-enroll me somewhere else. He simply stood there and took it, all while my mother watched from the kitchen. As I finally screamed myself ragged, he asked me to come sit with him in the living room so he could explain himself.
Apparently, when he had gone to talk with his 'friends' they had offered him an alternate solution. He could send me to Winslow, where the recruiters could keep an eye on me and attempt to recruit me into the Empire, and if I hadn't joined by the end of my senior year, the gang would leave us alone.
I had been skeptical, why would they be willing to simply give up after putting in all this effort? My father had said that the gang was wasting too many resources trying to recruit just one family and Kaiser, Allfather's son who took over after his death, was furious. Kaiser had told the other's to lay off and go for a softer approach instead of expending so much effort to recruit people who would never be loyal.
It made sense, I had always found it odd how they had put so much effort into trying to get us to join. I had taken a moment to calm down and agreed to go to Winslow, after all, how bad could it be to go to the school for only four years.
I won't say it wasn't a struggle, my blond hair and blue eyes had caught no small amount of attention from the gang members in the school who pegged me as an Empire member. I had been forced to take my lunches off campus to avoid being accosted and as a result, had virtually no friend group to speak of, leaving me lonelier than ever.
Luckily for me, the school year was almost over, I was nearly free.
"Ms. Becker," Gladly called and I straightened, turning my attention back to reality to find the man looking at me with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe instead of staring off into space, you could answer my question?"
I felt my face heat up as the people around me snickered. I looked to the whiteboard, hoping for some hint as to what he had been talking about only to find it blank.
"I uh," I wracked my brain, trying to come up with an answer only to come up blank. I slumped my shoulders, "I'm sorry."
As the students around me laughed, Gladly just sighed, "Valerie, I understand you are eager to go home, this being the last class of the day and all, but please pay attention. You've already failed this class once, please don't try for a second." He turned his attention to the rest of the class, "And that goes for all of you as well. This class could be important for your future, you never know."
As he turned back to the board, I heard a snicker from beside me, "Yeah, sure thing Mr. G." I turned and was met with Christine, the blonde girl snickering to herself quietly. She noticed me looking at her and raised a slender eyebrow in questioning, giving me a small grin. I turned back toward the front, not willing to engage in conversation with the other girl.
Christine was my neighbor and one of my first friends when I moved to the Bay. Our parents had often organized playdates when we were younger and we had become fast friends. I had fond memories of playing with her at the park or having sleepovers at her house, falling asleep to some cheesy teen romance and waking up to the smell of pancakes and drool on my lips.
That changed when one day two or so years ago, Christine came over to my house wearing Empire colors and tried to convince me to join. I had immediately cut off all contact with the other girl, as much as it hurt to do so.
I came to find out she had become a recruiter for the Empire, usually using her looks as a way to get the boys to join up in an attempt to get closer to her. You'd think they would have caught on by now given that she'd already had around twenty different boyfriends, sometimes two at a time, but I guess that saying about teenage boys thinking with the wrong head was true after all. All in all, it just validated my decision to cut her off in the first place.
"Alright everyone!" Gladly clapped his hands once to get everybody's attention, "The bell's about to ring so that is all for today. Because it's Friday, I've decided not to assign you any homework. Please enjoy your weekend."
The bell rang as if on cue and the classroom was abuzz with sound as everybody made their way to the door. I stayed behind, taking my time to put my books back into my backpack so I could avoid the rush to get out of the building.
This proved to be a mistake, as I soon realized when Christine approached my desk with a small smile on her face. I sighed as she stopped in front of me as the class emptied out.
I turned toward her, "What do you want Christine?" I asked, voice tinged with annoyance.
"Weeell," She began, rocking on her heels, "Me and a few of my friends were planning to meet at the mall after school and I wanted to know if you would like to join us. I know you don't have many friends and I wouldn't mind hanging out with you again." She smiled hopefully, though I noticed her eyes were tinged with something else…desperation?
I snorted, her bosses were probably putting more pressure on her to recruit me. Who knows what kind of punishment she'd face if she failed to get me to join before the school year ended. Either way, I already knew what my answer would be.
"Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather do…literally anything else. I appreciate the offer though!" I quickly finished putting my books in my bag and stood, making my way to the door.
I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. I grit my teeth, turning toward the owner to find Christine with her arm extended. "Let go of me. Now." I spoke slowly, watching with some satisfaction as she retracted her hand like it was burned.
She didn't back away though, instead stepping closer to me, voice tinged with the same desperation that I saw in her eyes moments ago, "C'mon Valerie, it will be fun! We'll all have a good time. I'm not trying to get you to join, I just want to hang out, I promise!"
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah sure. And I guess these friends of yours don't have any other plans either? You aren't as clever as you think you are."
She shook her head, opening her mouth to argue but I was done with her bs. I shook my head, turning away, "Do us both a favor and just leave me alone Christine. I want nothing to do with you as long as you are wearing those colors."
I began walking away once more and my ears picked up a small whisper.
"Please Val…"
I just grit my teeth and shook my head, giving a small nod to Mr. Gladly as I exited the classroom. She had made her choice and I made mine. That's all there was to it.
I had gotten more than enough practice to ignore the small voice in the back of my head that still missed her.
As I stepped off the bus outside my house, I was immediately hit with a sense of wrongness. I looked around, trying to find what had given me this feeling before realizing what it was.
Normally there would be at least a few people on the street at this time of day. Be they poorly disguised gang members who lived nearby or students returning from school, the street usually had at least four or five people in view at all times.
Now however, it was completely empty, even the gang members who always stood posted up on the corner were gone, blanketing the entire street in an eerie silence. In the distance, I could hear the rumbles and honks of cars driving a few blocks down so I at least knew I hadn't suddenly gone deaf.
My dad's car was in the driveway so I knew my parents were home as my mother was a stay at home mom. What was strange was the lack of barking coming from inside the house. Normally my dog, Lars, would be going crazy by now, having heard the school bus driving by and me approaching the house. Something was up.
I shook myself slightly and began making my way up the steps to my house, hand in my hoodie and tightly grasping the handle of the switchblade I kept in the pocket. I grasped the handle to the front door and swung it open.
As I stepped into the house I was immediately struck by the silence within, not a single sound emerging from the depths, "Hello?" I yelled, fingers tightening around my switchblade, as I walked forward, "Mom? Dad? Lars?"
As I made my way deeper into the silent house, I could feel panic begin to set in. Where were her parents? Did they go out somewhere? No, they would have left Lars at the house if they had, where were they?
"Mom! Dad! This isn't funny!" I yelled again, voice wavering with panic and my heart beating wildly in my chest as I made my way to the living room.
As I turned the corner, I froze, my knife falling through my suddenly limp fingers to impact the carpeted floor as I took in the sight in front of me.
Sitting there, arms tied behind their backs and legs tied to wooden chairs were my parents. They were groaning blearily, eyes blinking listlessly as they struggled to focus on their surroundings. They were covered in bruises and my father had a broken nose. My mom seemed a little better off but not by much, still sporting two black eyes.
"MOM! DAD!" I rushed to their side, hands going to the knots around their legs in an attempt to untie them. They shifted, groaning as I tugged on the ropes urgently, "What happened?! Who did this to you?!"
"Sweetie…" My mom groaned, grimacing lightly in pain, "You need to get out of here."
I shook my head furiously, blinking tears out of my eyes as I struggled with the ropes, "Hell no! I'm not leaving you here!" The damn ropes wouldn't budge! If only I had a… Wait!
I turned away from the ropes and rushed back to the entrance to the living room, grabbing my switchblade from the floor and making my way back to my parents. The knife made quick work of the ropes on their legs and as I made my way behind them to take care of the ropes around their hands, my father spoke up.
"Valerie, please leave us." He begged, voice nasally from the broken nose, "He'll come back."
I growled as I worked on the ropes around their hands, it was taking longer than the other ropes as it was made out of tougher material, "I already told you no! And who's coming back?! Who did this to you?!"
"That would be me."
I turned in surprise and anger only to be met with a fist to the jaw that sent me sprawling to the floor. I layed there for a moment, groaning in pain before I turned my gaze to my assailant and froze.
He was massive, around six foot five. He was wearing only a pair of jeans, leaving his chest and feet bare. His long blond hair was greasy and tangled, clearly having been neglected. That wasn't what made me freeze though. No, what made me freeze was the large metal wolf mask on his face.
'What's wrong girl?" Hookwolf sneered, walking toward my downed form as I scrambled backwards, "Cat got your tongue?"
I struggled back to my feet, "Why are you here? We had a deal with the Empire! You were supposed to leave us alone!" I shouted at the large man, clenching my knife tightly.
He just laughed as he continued to walk forward, "Yeah, see the thing is, not all of us were in agreement about the little deal Kaiser made with your father. The idea that a family like yours would be allowed to exist in our territory without joining makes my blood boil. So I took it upon myself to deal with the situation."
He gestured toward my parents, "All they had to do was agree to join and that would have been that. But instead they said no, to 'protect you'." He snorted in derision, and my vision went red, "Idiots."
I screamed in wordless rage, rushing forward with my switchblade held aloft. Hookwolf just stood there as I approached and smirked as I brought the blade down on his chest.
*Snap*
I watched in disbelief as the blade snapped in two on contact with his skin. I looked up at his masked face as he snorted.
"Cute." He raised an arm up and I went to step back. It was too late however, and he brought his fist down on top of my skull with a yell.
I felt an intense pain in my skull before my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I passed out.
I woke up with a start, body jerking upward, or at least attempting to. My arms were tied behind my back and my legs were tied to each other with thick ropes. I looked around as I tried to free myself, I was inside of what looked like the trunk of a car. Over the lip, I could see Hookwolf standing there, talking to another member of the Empire, an unpowered member if his lack of mask was any indication.
He noticed I was awake and nodded at the member, who nodded back and ran around the right side of the car and out of my view. I could hear the car door open and shut indicating he had entered the driver's seat. I was proven right as the car started a moment later.
I turned my attention back to Hookwolf, glaring at him as he approached, "So what, are you gonna kidnap me, do you have my parents in another car?" I struggled against my bonds to no avail, "You know people will look for us right? Even you can't get away with kidnapping an entire family."
Hookwolf laughed loudly, "Ha! Kidnap you? Why would I waste the effort? You aren't worth it girl, you or your parents."
I froze, staring up at his mask in horror, "What did you do to them."
His neck flexed slightly as he grinned viciously, "The same thing that's about to happen to you. They took a long swim in the bay."
My vision bled red with rage and I began thrashing in my bonds even harder, trying to get at the man, "I'LL KILL YOU!" My bound legs slammed into the walls of the trunk as I thrashed around.
The massive cape just laughed, grabbing the top of the trunk, "Good luck with that." He slammed the trunk closed, engulfing me in darkness. The car revved and I slammed into the metal trunk as it surged forward. It picked up speed with the sound of tires on concrete before suddenly rocketing into the bay with a massive splash.
Water immediately began surging through the cracks in the trunk and I struggled against the ropes even harder. I grunted in exertion, mind whirling with panic as the water began filling the small space around me.
If this kept up, I was going to drown.
"Come on! Come on! Please!" I practically pleaded as the trunk filled with water. My meager muscles strained against the ropes, accomplishing nothing but giving myself rope burn.
The water soon reached my face and I coughed and sputtered, trying to keep my lungs free of liquid to no avail. My eyes burned as they filled with saltwater and my tastebuds were overwhelmed by the taste of the ocean.
My struggling slowed as my vision darkened slowly, 'Is this it for me?' I thought dimly to myself, the tears in my eyes unrecognizable from the saltwater, 'I don't want to die like this…'
DESTINATION
AGREEMENT
TRAJECTORY
AGREEMENT
I came to my senses feeling odd, the water around me seemingly singing to my senses as something within me attempted to reach out to it. I gave in to the feeling and was immediately overcome with the feeling of my body melting, bones and organs liquifying to match my surroundings.
The ropes once bound to my limbs floated freely as my body became one with the water around me. I was free. I surged toward the cracks in the trunk, moving my liquid form feeling like second nature as I freed myself from my confines.
As soon as I got into the open ocean of the Bay, my senses expanded rapidly. I could feel the push and pull of the waves at the surface and more importantly, the smashing of those waves on the pier.
I raced toward the feeling, water that wasn't part of me rushing past me at an incredible pace. It only took a few seconds to reach the pier at my speed and as I did, I shot out of the water like a rocket, landing on the wooden pier with a splash, sending several people who had been fishing off the edge scattering away from me.
I wasn't concerned with that though, I just stood there, mind racing as I came to terms with what had just happened. Hookwolf, drowning, my parents…
Everything had fallen apart so quickly.
I looked around and paused as I caught sight of myself in a glass window. I walked closer, putting a hand against the smooth glass as I took myself in. In some ways, I looked like I always did, long hair, both ears pierced, impeccable fashion sense, same as usual.
Same, except for the fact that I was made entirely out of saltwater. Even my clothing was made of water, hoodie still in place on my chest. I brought a hand up to my face, watching in distant fascination as the light refracted through it.
I brought my gaze back to the glass. I needed to test something.
The moment I touched the pier, something in my body once again sang out like it had in the water, only this time it seemed to be directed toward the wooden deck. I gave in once more, watching with distant fascination as my form solidified, clear liquid turning solid brown as my body turned into the same light brown wood as the pier.
I stared down at my now wooden hands as I flexed them, opening and closing my fingers over and over again. In the back of my mind, I knew I should be hysterical with grief but for some reason everything seemed… muted. I was probably in shock.
"That's a pretty cool trick." I turned my head toward the voice and was met with an odd sight.
A teenage boy, around sixteen if I had to guess. His skin was bright orange and his hair was blue, under the right strap of his tank top I could make out a tattoo of an upside down omega symbol inked onto his skin.
His eyes were blue with no sclera, making it appear as if they were just massive pools of blue in his skull. He was barefoot, showing off his clawed feet and a glance revealed his hands were similarly clawed. A long tail extended out from the back of his jeans, swishing back and forth as he walked toward me.
"My name's Newter." He introduced as he stopped in front of me and extended his hand, "Does the lady have a name?"
I stared at his hand for a moment before reaching out and grasping it, the feeling of wood instead of skin an odd one, "I'm Valerie."
Newter just sort of stared at me in surprise for a moment before his face softened slightly, "You've had a rough day haven't you?" He asked softly.
I nodded at his question, rough was an understatement. He sighed lightly before letting go of my hand, "I know a place you can talk about it if you'd like."
I tilted my head to the side, that sounded nice. Something inside of me told me I only had moments before I broke down, best do it where nobody could see. "I'd like that."
Newter stepped back, turning around and motioning for her to follow, "Follow me then."
Next chapter is on my Pat re on if you'd like to read it a week early
