Chapter 1

Eden sat on the park bench throwing pieces of her sandwich to the few birds around her. She sung softly to herself, and watched the birds freely move about. These were the last days of warm summer weather. It was just warm enough to wear a modest skirt or dress. The frost on the lawns had melted away over the course of the day. The breeze was light, and the sun was peeking out from the clouds occasionally. Eden had a long day of school. She was tired and felt the urge to skip her ballet practice. She threw the last piece to a smaller sparrow. “I’m sorry guys, I don’t have anymore.” At that instant, the birds flew way into the bleak, grey, August sky. She leaned back and stared at them, biting a carrot in the process. “Good luck out there guys.”

            “Hey beautiful,” said a deep voice from behind her. She didn’t acknowledge him. “Bitch,” She turned around to look at the perpetrator quite angrily, that is before she saw who it was.  There stood a tall lean young man with charcoal hair, a small minimally dressed blonde girl, and a large muscular Mohawked man.

“Oh. Hi there Mark. Ruth. Matt.” She stood up and grabbed her satchel and duffle bag. “What’s…uhh… up?”  

“You know what’s up. Give us your money.” The dark-eyed Mark said. Ruth shifted her wait. “My name is ‘Rufie’ now, you beast.” She said angrily.

“Oh sorry about that, Rufie, heh heh,” Eden took a step back. “Oh Mark, you know I can’t do that. You know what that money is for, and I know that if I gave it to you, you would abuse it.”

“Look, bitch, cuz you seem to only answer to that,” the three of them laughed, “I don’t care about your stupid poor box in your stupid cult. It’s 2300, no one cares.  Give me your money.”

Eden’s brow furrowed. “Please don’t talk about my community like that, Mark. You can make fun of me, but don’t make fun of my cause. That money is going to those who need it most.”

Mark laughed loudly. Don’t you realize that those idiots are just as crooked as the rest of us?! If the money makes it to them, they are going to use it like we are.” His humor vanished, as he pulled out a knife. “Now, once more, give me your money.”

Eden looked around in desperation. There strolling up the path of the park came a policeman. She was saved. She let out a small sigh of relief. Mark followed her gaze and saw him. “Shit,” He said. He saw the gun on the cop’s side. “This isn’t over, Bitch. Next time, I’ll take your money and more. C’mon guys.”

When they were out of sight, Eden fell to her knees. Breathing heavy and holding her hand to her mouth, she couldn’t believe how close that was. The world around her was spinning slightly, and a ringing started in her ears. She couldn’t believe what a coward she was, how much of a coward she is now. She was just sitting there. The police man came up to her. “Are you okay, young lady?” He said very concerned.

“Yes, thank you.” She said distantly. She stood up slowly.

“Wear those Scathers harassing you? These damn kids these days, back when I was a lad and still living in the bunker, we never drew knives on each other. The world really is getting worse.” he said scratching his head, as he looked toward where the three disappeared. “Ha! I used to hate when my father would say that, now I understand!” The policeman was middle-aged; he looked as though he could have had some kids of his own. “I don’t trust that lot that was with you, young lady. Would you like me to escort you to your house?”

“Thank you, but I’m not going to my house; I’m actually going to my ballet practice.” Eden was always so thankful to find a kind person; even the police were known to be corrupt, so she was lucky he came by when he did. She hadn’t actually talked to the police much before, but at this point they became her best friends in her mind.

“Then let me walk you there,” He said putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you so much!” she said.

            With that, she went to practice with peace of mind.

•••

Practice went as it usually goes. Eden working out all of her anxieties with every move she made on the floor. With every spin, a part of her hoped that when she stopped the world would be different. Every leap, she tried to escape the Earth’s pull. Hours of training always flew by to her. By the end of class, she would feel exhausted yet unwilling to return to the world she actually lived in: A world that she couldn’t fly away from with a single leap, a world that she felt unsafe in.

“Alright girls, gather round”, the tall, stern woman with a deep Russian accent. Eden immediately halted. “Now, while everyone was practicing, I put up the cast names outside. Do not dare to come find me just to beg for another role. I may change roles around based on the performance in rehearsal I see over the next few weeks”

Eden felt uncomfortable. This was always her least favorite part about ballet. She knew that she considered herself a fairly decent ballerina, but when it came to casting time, she was glared at by everyone that got a less major part than here. She pulled at her pinky in apprehension.

After the dancers warmed down, she began to pack her things slowly. She didn’t want to face the tension around the cast board. The other girls ran promptly to the board as soon as they were done packing. Eden did an extra-long set of stretches.

“Miss Gardener, I will trust you with the studio. Make sure you secure the facility before you leave.” Her instructor said before leaving the room. “I leave it to you.” She winked with a smile.

“Yes, Gospoja Popov!” she smiled.

When everyone else was gone, she sighed, shut down the studio, and went over to the board in the hall. The suspense tugged at her minded. She looked up at the list. There was her name— Eden—— at the top: Tamara. She couldn’t believe it. She exhaled. A small smile danced across her face, she was happy both for being casted as Tamara and for no one else being around. She knew that she would put her heart into playing Tamara, not unlike how she usually preforms. Somehow, Tamara was a more appealing role than any other she had played.

As Eden turned to leave, she noticed that her bracelet wasn’t on her wrist. She went back to the dark empty studio to find it. The light didn’t turn on. Faulty wiring. She sighed and proceeded to look around the floor where her belongings once were. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure. “Gospoja Popov?” she asked as she turned. It wasn’t her instructor though. It was a mass in the mirror staring at her. She stood up slowly not blinking. She waved slowly at the figure. The figure didn’t move at first then the fiery eyes smiled mischievously and returned the greeting. Eden let down her guard and blinked; that action allowed the figure to disappear.

To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. She gathered up the courage to walk over to where she saw the menacing being. Nothing was there but her own reflection. She looked over her shoulder to make sure what she assumed was a figment of her imagination wasn’t there. Letting her breath escape, she turned back and found her bracelet by the door. One last look at the empty studio and she walked out.

Eden walked out of the building and made sure the door locked behind her. It was dark by then. She pulled up her hood, as to not draw attention to herself, and started the short trek home. It was only three blocks away, but the darkness seemed to extend the journey. When she was less than a block from her apartment complex, she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

“The wait was worthwhile. You walked home all by yourself? That was silly, young lady.” It was the police officer. He shoved her against the wall of the alley.

“Officer? What are you doing?” Eden was already shaken from her experience in the studio, but this was terrifying.

“I want your money… and whatever I find under that skirt of yours.” The policeman pulled out his gun, and told her to give him all the money in her bag. As she rummaged in desperation, he began to feel up her leg and under her skirt. She whimpered. Her legs were shaking. Everything was blurring. She blinked her developing tears away. Her nose stung from an unknown stench.

Suddenly she heard a guttural scream and hisses of pain. It was the police officer; she opened her eyes and saw his legs being dragged into the darkest part of the ally.

“Run.” Said a dark voice.

Eden obeyed. She ran faster than she ever had in her life, to the complex, up two flights of stairs, and to her apartment. Once inside she locked the door, and ran into her room and locked herself in. Adam won’t be home for a few hours she thought. She was shaking. Her heart was violently attacking her rib cage. Even if that primal voice didn’t demand her to run, she would have done so anyway. The atmosphere wasn’t right. Something told her that what just happened was an abnormal situation of mugging. Whoever told her to run seemed to be more menacing than the lowly man disguised as a protector of the law. She recalled the scent of the scene just before she left. It was rancid; the scent burned all the way through her nasal passage and throat. The smell was like 1,000 dead bodies rotting in a pit of fire at low tide. Her stomach wasn’t sitting right. Eden curled up in a ball at the end of her bed and tucked her face in her knees.

“I’ll just wait for Adam to get home.” She said, dazed.

————

            “Well, Uphir, this will be the last time you meddle with my prey, won’t it?” The deep voice said wickedly.

            “Y-yes!” Uphir screamed. “I’m sorry! It was so easy to do it! I couldn’t resist!” He cried out in pain. His leg was being twisted and mangled every second.

            “You see dear Uphir,” The voice hissed, “this is my game to play. I can’t have you interfering. I might consider that mutiny. I need to keep you under my command, don’t I?”

            “Yes!” Uphir screamed.

“I’m sending you back” The beast said with a dark voice. “You won’t be working in the fourth world for a long, long time.” He picked Uphir up by his throat. “I’m going to give you the worst duty there is. Guarding the gate.” The beast smashed the policeman’s corpse into the ground. “This is also to warn the others to not interfere.” The human was screaming in agony; blood was spraying and spreading across the asphalt in the alley. One final smash and the man’s body was emptied of any and all life. Back into the shadows went the creature. A devilish smile crept onto his face.