iii. 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 - 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥

𝟎𝟎𝟏

A weathered man stops throwing the toy to his dog as he watches something fall from the sky. As the object gets closer, he realizes that it's a girl. The girl hits the ground, and dust rises from the corn field as the ground shakes. The man runs toward the girl, hoping against hope that she isn't dead. When he reaches her, he's astonished by what he sees.

The girl's body was rippling with purple flames, and she was covered in cuts and bruises. The material of whatever clothing she was wearing is ripped nearly to shreds. Her long caramel hair is caked in dirt, as is the rest of her.

As she starts to move, the man stabilizes her. Her eyes fly open, and he's intrigued by the brightness of them. They are a sparkling green, as if they were cut directly from an emerald or a peridot.

The girl, who he realizes is more of a woman, stands. She shakes a little but holds her ground. She pushes away from the man, looking around in confusion.

"Where am I?" she asks, voice gravelly.

"Waverly, Iowa," he says. The woman studies him, taking in his features. She walks toward the road, limping.

"Ma'am, who are you? And how did you survive that fall?"

The woman's eyes pierce into his. He notices that her face is streaked with tears, like little rivers running among the dirt.

Her voice barely above a whisper, she answers.

"I don't know."

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Five Years Later

Fingers drummed against the steering wheel to the beat of the music. A clear voice filled the car as the driver waited for traffic to clear.

Then kiss me once again, it's been a long, long, time

Green eyes watched the road in front of her as she pulled into the parking garage of her apartment.

Everett Barton stepped out of her car and grabbed her bags. Her feet were sore from standing all day, her head pounding from the barrage of conversations she had to pretend she enjoyed.

She pulled her key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Hey, Brystal. Sorry I'm late. There was a ton of traffic on 7th for some reason," Everett called through the apartment. Her roommate had a habit of keeping every single door open, so Everett knew that she could hear her wherever she was.

But there was no response.

"Brystal?" Everett called again.

Still nothing.

Everett's guard was up in an instant. She set down her bag and reached for the gun tucked into the waistband of her pants. Everett raised the gun and walked towards Brystal's room. She nudged the door open with her foot. She almost dropped her gun at the sight in front of her.

Her roommate was passed out on the floor in front of her. Everett dropped to the ground and checked her friend's pulse, immediately checking for any sign of a bullet wound. When she found her pulse, she exhaled. Brystal wasn't dead, just unconscious. The floorboards behind her creaked.

Everett spun up and around and aimed her gun in the direction of the noise.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here without a key?" Everett's voice was rimmed with daggers.

A woman stepped out of the shadows, and the fight drained out of Everett.

"Please. Do you really think I'd need a key to get where I want to be?"