July 4, 2014

Gwen's House; 10:40 am

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Frank asked for the fifth time that morning.

"Yes, dad, I'm sure." Gwen's parents decided to go camping for the holiday weekend. She made an excuse that she couldn't go because of a project due the following Monday. It wasn't a complete lie; she did have a project but didn't mention that she finished it weeks ago. The real reason she didn't want to go was that Carl and Sandra would also be camping with them.

Aside from Thanksgiving and Christmas, Gwen had made a conscious effort to avoid that side of the family as much as possible. Even when she did, she did her best to stay out of the conversations. Occasionally, she'd catch Sandra giving her nasty looks but pretended not to notice. Thankfully, Ben did his part to avoid her entirely. Neither spoke a word to another since Ken was born, and the family was thankful for that.

Frank finished packing the car and turned to ask her again, but Gwen cut him off. "It's just a weekend, dad. I'm going to be fine. You guys go have fun." She hugged him goodbye, and then they were on the road.

Gwen spent the next hour and a half cleaning the house. It wasn't dirty, but if she was going to be left alone for the weekend might as well make it look nice for when they got back. She had just finished making herself a sandwich when she heard a knock at the door. She opened it to find a woman standing outside. She had white hair with purple highlights, sunglasses, and a punk aesthetic.

"Can I help you?" Gwen asked.

"Nice to see you, Lucky Girl." Gwen tried to slam the door shut, but the woman blocked it with her foot. Gwen ran into the kitchen and pulled out a knife to protect herself. "Well, that's a rude way to welcome an old friend."

"How'd you find me, Charmcaster?"

"Facebook," Charmcaster picked the sandwich off the table and started eating it. "God, I was starving. Hey, you got any sour cream and onion chips?"

"Is Hex here too?"

"He's dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss." Gwen was confused as to what was happening. Charmcaster finished the sandwich and started to rummage through her fridge.

"Don't be; he was a piece of shit. Besides, I already took out the guys that killed him." She started drinking from a bottle of orange juice. Gwen tried to grab from her, but Charmcaster backed away, holding her finger out to tell her to wait. Once she finished, she handed it to the redhead and then made her way for the pantry.

"Can you please stop ransacking my kitchen!?" Gwen threw the empty bottle into the recycling and pointed the knife toward the magician. "Why are you here?"

"I want to make you my apprentice." Charmcaster looked bored, almost annoyed that things didn't go as she had hoped. She didn't seem to be lying, but Gwen had learned the hard way about trusting this woman.

"Let's hypothetically say I believe you; why would you want me to be your apprentice?"

"Because you're the obvious choice." Charmcaster must have noticed her confusion. "We're a dying breed, Gwen; not everyone can do magic. The potential is genetic, but how powerful their mana is completely random. So, a Master Magician must take on at least one apprentice in their lifetime."

"That still doesn't answer why you chose me. Why don't you just find a nice guy to have some kids with and train them?"

"That's not really an option for me. I play for the other team, if you catch my drift. Besides, I have the perfect student right here." She began to pinch Gwen's cheeks to emphasize her point, then stopped with a scowl. "Or at least I did until I saw how pitiful you became."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I've been trying to antagonize you since I walked through that door, and all you've done is hide like a scared little girl. I've seen you fight. You're powerful with or without magic, so the fact you pulled a knife on me is downright disrespectful." Charmcaster snapped her fingers, and the knife began to heat up and melt onto the floor.

Gwen was now defenseless. If the other woman had wanted to harm her, then there was nothing she could do to stop it. She tried to run for it, but Charmcaster grabbed Gwen by the throat and slammed her against the counter. The corner dug into her side, causing her to wince in pain.

"Why won't you fight back?" Charmcaster asked, almost growing.

"I can't," It was the truth. Gwen hadn't used magic or practiced karate in almost four years. She could feel her eyes sting as she began to cry.

"We'll see about that," Charmcaster's eyes began to glow as she siphoned the mana from the girl's body. Gwen tried to wiggle free, but she could feel her body grow weaker until she lay there limply.

Regret began to wash over her. Gwen thought about all her mistakes and how she could have worked harder and lived life to the fullest. Her chest began to burn as her lungs could no longer take in oxygen. Her vision was fading away. She closed her eyes and felt her heart beat slower and slower until it couldn't beat anymore.

This is it; this is how I die.

.

.

.

Gwen gasped for air, her heart beating with the intensity of a marathon runner. She felt a new wave of energy wash over her as she opened her eyes. The magician smirked before dropping her to the floor.

"You're a fighter, Gwen." Charmcaster wrote on a piece of paper and tossed it at her. "Call me when you're ready to start."

Gwen watched her leave. She heard the door close, followed by an engine roaring and screeching tires. She stayed for a few minutes longer, expecting the woman to come back and finish the job, but she never did. Gwen grabbed the paper and tossed it into the trash without giving it a second glance. After locking every door and window, she went to her room and threw herself onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.

It was the middle of the night when Gwen awoke. She chastised herself for sleeping the day away as well as not changing out of her clothes. She tried to stand up but collapsed to the floor. She was exhausted, and her head felt fuzzy. She pulled herself back onto the bed and tried to recall what had happened earlier.

She remembered her parents leaving that morning, and she had cleaned and made lunch, but everything after that was a blur. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of her stomach growing. She didn't know what time it was, so she may have slept through dinner. Gwen reached for her nightstand to grab her phone, but it wasn't there. Figuring she left it in the kitchen, she made her way downstairs.

The house was pitch black save for some light peaking in through the blinds from the street lamps. Using the wall to support her, Gwen inches her way to the kitchen. She was momentarily blinded when she turned the light on but soon regained her vision. She noticed her phone lying on the dining table beside a dirty plate. She began to question why she would leave a dirty plate after she finished eating but remembered she didn't get to eat her sandwich.

The paranoia kicked in as Gwen recalled the events that transpired earlier that day. How Charmcaster had offered to train her in magic formally and how she almost killed her when she refused. Her heart had stopped; Gwen checked her pulse to ensure it was still beating, but the fast thumping did nothing to calm her. If that wave of energy hadn't coursed through her, she would be dead.

Gwen collapsed onto a chair, feeling overwhelmed. Did Charmcaster pick that exact moment to confront her because she knew Gwen's family would be out of town? And if so, how long has she been watching her family? The idea that someone could have been stalking them all this time was terrifying. Charmcaster could have killed them at any moment, and Gwen would have been helpless to stop it.

She knew her grandfather would be there if she had called, but it was summer. He could be anywhere in the country, and by the time he arrived, it would be too late. The thought of a blue lizard racing across the country flashed in her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She can't rely on him, not anymore.

Gwen picked up her phone, noticing a missed call at two in the afternoon from her father, followed by a text saying they won't have any service in the forest. She tried to preoccupy her anxious thoughts by scrolling through Facebook. Once she opened the app, she found a picture of her family. Her parents were standing next to her aunt and uncle, with Ken in between them.

They looked happy. Ken will turn four this year, and her parents have decided which preschool to put him in. He has so much going for him; he's so bright and cheerful, and everyone loves him. But he's also young and fragile. That beautiful boy's light can be snuffed out in an instant.

Unless she stops it.

Gwen dug her hand through the trash. In her panicked state, she completely ignored how gross the action was. She found the paper and quickly dialed the phone number. After two rings, the other woman picked up the phone.

"So when do we start?"