Hundreds of miles away from any human life, a plume of smoke steadily climbed into the night sky. A data warehouse sat among an endless expanse of dry, yellow grass. If it weren’t for the smoke, one would assume the building was abandoned; Not even the crudest of dirt roads ran to the building. The center of it was smoldering, untold amounts of digital data caught among the flames.
Inside, alarms blared and dozens of workers orderly moved to safety. Each of them wore black slacks and black long sleeved shirts, and a black balaclava, hiding any semblance of individuality.
One went against the flow, an extinguisher and hand, towards the burning servers. From beneath the mask, their eyes welled with tears from the smoke. A small obstacle, considering the weight of the work they had to carry out. As the smoke grew thicker, they pushed through an innocuous door into an equally smoggy server room, untouched by the fires. The only thing that stopped unauthorized workers like them, a security vestibule, had automatically opened because of the present emergency. They pushed through, hurrying over to a console.
Power thankfully was still available to the room, and they booted up the console. Staring at a login screen, they pulled out a flash drive, plugging it in. They sweated, growing dizzy as the smoke intensified. They could feel the heat from the fire, not too far outside of the room.
The computer chugged for a few moments, the loading wheel spinning in place. Then, the login screen flashed to a desktop. The computer worked away pulling multiple files up from a town named Tomahawk Hills. An innocuous, American town surrounded by farmland and rolling foothills, bearing secrets the worker held the responsibility of keeping safe.
Each file that popped up was heavily redacted, requiring special authorization to uncover. But almost as soon as they appeared, they were deleted. The process continued. Hundreds upon hundreds of files popping up for split seconds, some fully redacted, some partially, some in the clear, and being wiped from the system milliseconds later. By the time the process was finished, it was hard to even see the screen in front of the worker from the smoke. They squinted through tear-filled eyes, as the process brought up the only undeleted piece of information about the town: A list of a few dozen names. They couldn’t make out many of them from the building smoke, but one was highlighted and bolded: Louise Palrick.
The list deleted itself, and a prompt appeared.
“Your work is finished. Throw yourself into the fire, as none must ever figure out what you have done.”
The flash drive sparked, and the screen went black. Without hesitation, the worker turned, leaving the room and turning towards the raging fire.
The line of work they were in meant no shortage of strange orders and strange information. Directions that seemed contradictory, against the interest of their peers, and even their Judge. But they knew that what they received from above was not something they could object to. P.A.I.N understood the strange state of the world far better than they could. If P.A.I.N decided their death was needed for the world, then they would obey without hesitation.
“Come on, come on… We can do this…”
Louise Palrick was sitting on her bed, glaring at the screen of her handheld game console. Her party of monsters and demons were facing off against a massive snake, coiling into itself. Her party battered and resources low, she mashed in her set of attacks, watching the characters follow her order. Several intense attacks filled the screen, striking the boss monster, hundreds of damage dealt. In retaliation, the boss let loose an ominous wave, wiping out her party in one fell swoop,
She threw her head back. “Aw, stupid piece of crud…” She closed the console, tossing it to the side, and got out of her bed to stretch.
All I need is a quick break, but I’m not down for the count yet! But how do I get around that stupid move…
Thanks to how she organized everything, Louise’s average sized bedroom seemed cramped. Her paper-stacked desk only stood a chair’s length away from her bed, and next to that was a corkboard, overstuffed with various news articles. There were posters of alleged cryptid sightings hanging all around the walls. The floors were a mess of mostly papers and textbooks.
She stood from her bed, waking up her computer. She had last left it on a forum discussing strange disappearances around Tomahawk Hills, and numerous other tabs open leading to other sightings of cryptids and mysterious phenomena. Reloading the thread, there weren’t any new posts.
She sighed, staring blankly at the screen.
The day had been like any other for her. School flew by with nothing of note to her at all. Her parents were out at work, the sun was setting, and there wasn’t much for her to do. It was nearly 9PM, and she shuffled in her seat, twitching her thumbs and staring at the ceiling.
No way the night would end and roll into another school day that would blend in with the others, would it?
She jumped as she heard a loud thump against the front door, and she hurried to it. Outside the window, nobody was visible, only a strange, small, metal box sitting lopsided on her doormat.
She opened the front door, finding her full name printed on the top of it. She pulled it in, opening it up without any hesitation, finding only a paper note inside.
I know you’re looking for the truth about this town Louise. There is a clearing in the forest I know you’re familiar with. Be there at 10pm, and I can provide answers.
Her heart raced. The note was concise, delivering a hidden message to Louise: “I know exactly who you are.” This fact alone was enough to raise her intrigue, not having anyone to talk with about her more unusual interests. If somebody already knew that about her, there was no doubt they could answer the myriads of questions she had about her hometown. She hurried back to her room, grabbing a hefty flashlight from her closet, before rushing out the door into the unknown.
As 10PM approached, Louise realized this was the first time she had been at the Umbra Pine Forest this late. It was against the law to be out after dark, the authorities claiming coyotes or other dangerous wildlife became active at this time. She doubted those claims, but never really had much reason to prove them wrong herself. Still, a coyote or two wouldn’t scare her away from getting long-awaited answers.
The spot she was familiar with was a small clearing with an old, abandoned shed. Her “headquarters” for her forest excursions. There was nothing exceptional about the spot, but it was a landmark in the labyrinth-like landscape of the forest. That was good enough for her to claim it as hers. She settled down on a stump, shivering from equal parts excitement, and the chilly night air.
Several minutes passed, as she tapped her leg away with excitement. It was the right place, the right time. Something special just HAD to happen. She felt it was only fair.
A faint buzz from above interrupted the forest’s ambiance. A metal box fell from the sky, landing right in front of the girl. There was a printed note attached to it.
“You’re in danger, put these on.”
Her heart skipped a beat. She opened the box. Inside was a pair of red half-gauntlets. The ends of them tapered off into flame-like whisps. Strange, illegible inscriptions ran across the back palm. Her eyes widened, and she took them out of the box.
She rotated them around, tracing her finger along the strange inscriptions. The metal didn’t feel fake at all, it had decent weight to it.
She had always wanted to get a suit of armor, and these gauntlets were a great start.
They fit her hands in an almost unnatural way. Opening and closing her fists, she could feel unnaturally well with them, as if she wasn’t wearing gauntlets at all.
Her excitement diminished as her mind returned to the note that was on the box. What protection did unfinished armor even provide?
An explosive crack boomed through the forest, and Louise felt something strike her in the back. Something dug into her skin. She was knocked forward, falling over. Her eyes flew open wide, brain processing the only thing that could have happened to her, given all these circumstances.
If somebody was trying to tell her the truth, maybe somebody else was trying to silence her before she figured it out.
She had been shot.
Her eyes were still clenched tight. Her back still stung, but she was alive. She imagined that being shot would hurt far more than being struck with a BB.
She reached to her back, feeling where she was struck. There was no hole, no blood. The stinging pain was fading as well.
It was either a miracle, or she was grazed by the bullet.
She scrambled to her feet and rushed to find cover behind a tree. Another bullet cracked through the air, this time striking her on the side of the chest.
The bullet dug into her side but didn’t break the skin. She gritted her teeth, stuffing a pained yelp from the stinging.
Her brain felt scrambled. She was undoubtedly struck by a bullet dead on, twice now, but she was still walking.
How was she supposed to get away from this gunman? Was he using non-lethal rounds to try to incapacitate her? Would he track her all the way home if she tried to escape?
A deep breath in, then out. Her heart rate settled, and she glanced to where she once stood.
Flashing her light on the ground, she caught notice of two flattened bullets in the dirt.
She stared down at the gauntlets, thinking back to the note.
Fear and excitement excited her heart once again. While they still stung quite a bit, she was actually bulletproof, either due to fate, or more likely, the gauntlets.
Louise stepped out of her cover, digging her feet into the ground and bracing herself. Another shot rang out, striking her in the chest.
Ignoring the pain, she whirled around to the direction she was hit from and charged forward.
“Come on out of your hiding spot, coward! Face me where I can see ya!”
Another bullet shot forth, striking her in square in the chest. She gritted her teeth, feeling the stinging get worse.
“Thanks for letting me know where you’re at!” She yelled, continuing her sprint through the trees and flora. Far ahead, behind a thick patch of brush, perfect for a sniper to hide in. From within, there was screaming, followed by three gunshots in rapid succession.
No bullets flew towards her at all, and she skidded to a halt. From beyond the brush, she heard a low growl, heavy breathing, and flesh being chewed on. Leaping through the brush, she skidded to a halt. The scream and gunshots weren’t for her.
Her assailant lay limp against a tree, a gash in his chest and his rifle cleaved in half. He held a pistol in another hand.
Standing over him was a massive creature, easily three times Louise’s height. It stood on hooved legs, covered in thick fur. Stretching up a very muscular back up to a squarish head, were two massive antlers. The beast turned around revealing its head to be a cross between a human’s and a moose’s; Blank white human eyes and cheeks, with a moose-like snout extending from it, lined with razor-sharp teeth.
There were three red holes in its abdomen, where she could clearly see the pistol bullets embedded. A billow of white mist blew from the beast’s mouth as it roared a bone-chilling cry.
She took a step back. Her heart began pounding, feeling every thump against the wall of her chest.
A part of her wanted to cheer, staring face to face with a cryptid. One of many supposed mythical creatures that roamed the earth. She hoped to at least find one with both a nice camera and hiding at a safe distance. But she was standing in a position many others found themselves in, when they too realized cryptids truly existed.
Or was she? Maybe this cryptid was the true danger she was warned about. She clenched her fists tight. It was do or die with these strange new gauntlets.
It reared back one of its massive claws and swung down at her. She rolled beneath it, and leapt upwards, finding she jumped way higher than she normally anticipated.
More surprises from these gauntlets?
Soaring upwards, she moved her fist straight for the jaw of the beast. The blow knocked it up slightly, but it recovered quickly. She stared in awe for a few moments, realizing the full power these gauntlets actually gave her. At the same time, the cryptid kicked the girl away. She crashed into and cracked the trunk of a pine tree. The pain of the impact throbbed through her body but wasn’t as bad as she had expected. Her breathing quickened as she got back onto her feet, the beast now charging at her on all fours, rearing its antlers.
She smiled. With her newly granted strengths in mind, she knew she could face down this beast. There could be no other reason for this strange gift.
She leapt high into the air, clearing the head of the monster. It skidded to a halt, almost colliding with a tree. Louise landed several feet behind it, stumbling on the landing.
It let out another roar, and she screamed at it in response. “Come on, you want some of this?” She motioned her hands tauntingly towards the monster.
It charged forward, and so did she. Taking the monster by surprise, she jumped, grabbing onto one of its antlers. The beast kicked up a flurry of dirt, grinding to a halt. Like a raging ox, it began flailing wildly, trying to buck the girl off. She held tight, the extra strength of the gauntlets aiding her well. With her free arm, she began to wail away at the thing’s skull. The hardened metal the gauntlets rang the beast’s skull like a bell. It shrieked, reaching towards its head to try and clamp down on the pest on its head.
She kicked off the monster’s skull, sending it staggering back. She landed back on the ground, staring determined at the monster.
“You’re a tough one, aren’t ya?” She panted. “I’m gonna take those antlers home as a trophy!”
The demeanor of the beast changed. It stood up to its full height, making apparent the sheer difference in size she was facing. It outstretched its arms, cutting off her escape and forcing her towards a line of trees. It glared at her, aware of her strength, and was ready to counterattack the moment she moved forward. Louise felt her confidence wane, having a mutual understanding of what the beast thought. Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to think of any way to outsmart the monster.
The beast froze in its approach, like a deer in headlights. It kept its glare locked on Louise, who returned the gaze. It cocked its head, then bolted in the opposite direction, disappearing into the thicket of trees.
She remained tense for a few moments more before she felt her entire body relax. She gasped in relief, disappointment, excitement, a mix of emotions she couldn't fully process.
Cryptids are real! Magic is real! She’s on the edge of an adventure!
But what was the truth that was supposed to be revealed to her? Was it the existence of these things?
She glanced around the forest. And what exactly scared away that giant monster?
From behind her, a snapping branch broke the silence of the night. She swallowed. Her body was feeling slightly sore from the fight. And if there was something out there that could scare away a beast as ferocious as that…
She broke out into a sprint, rushing back to civilization.
From behind a tree, another figure was silently watching her. Wearing a thick coat and night vision goggles, it stared wide eyed at the feat she had just performed. With one last survey of the area, it quite literally vanished into thin air.
It was 7:20AM when her alarm clock blared, waking Louise up. She had worn her gauntlets to sleep; in case she was attacked by some other assassin or cryptid. Thankfully, everything was intact. No holes in the walls or windows, bullets, or anything like that.
She smacked the clock silent and leapt out of bed.
She sat up, thinking about what to do today. That cryptid was still out there, and now she had some magical armor to help her deal with it. But what was she to do next? Maybe return to her familiar spot, and see if there was something new there?
She thought about her parents getting a phone call about her skipping school. She sighed. School it was.
She walked over to her closet, throwing on her favorite look for school: A gray button up shirt, a nice-looking sports jacket, a nice-looking skirt, and of course what she thought pulled it all together: A black neckerchief and some red training gloves. She finished by tying her hair into a side tail, pinning it with a purple star charm. Despite not being the most popular person, she still wanted to have a unique flair to her looks.
She tossed her magical gauntlets into her bag. As cool as they were, she didn’t want to risk them getting confiscated by wearing them around classes. She walked around some of the scattered papers on her floor, grabbing a few textbooks among them to put in her backpack. With her school gear in tow, she hurried down to the kitchen.
Her parents were gone already, having to leave early to make their long work commute. They had already made a loving lunch for her the night before, so she took some sausage patties out of the fridge and began cooking, preparing for the day ahead.
Despite how small and boring Tomahawk Hills was to Louise, she could at least appreciate how she could access most of it just by walking. Her school, Tomahawk High, was just a ten minute walk away.
As she neared the main building, dozens more students were just arriving, by car, bike, or foot. They funneled through the main door, and Louise moved along with the crowd, glancing around at all the other students.
This school and the people here were just like the rest of the town: Boring, unassuming, and pretty normal. She didn’t really know many people here super well, other than knowing a few names of classmates from years past. It was a shame none could keep up with her interests, but she was still cordial with them.
Now none of them could truly relate with her, not after last night.
The school day flew by. Classes were just timewasters, and making sure to turn in whatever classwork and homework was due. When the final bell rang and students flooded the halls, all with different destinations, but the same idea: Get home and relax.
Heading to the main exit, a crowd formed.
“Come on, it’s been months. How are you always so busy?” an arrogant voice spoke.
Louise groaned. It was rare, but scuffles like this were only caused by one person. The only other person she could say broke the mold.
“I have far more going on that is more important than you.” A feminine voice responded.
Kirino Yorogami. A girl a little over Louise’s height with long, black hair. Her usual outfit was a nice blue dress jacket, fancy skirt, and fancy dress shoes. In this school, it was hard not to know about her. She was a bonafide prodigy; Daughter of a tech giant CEO, top of all of her classes, fitness star and a stellar rowing coxswain to boot. Louise couldn’t imagine how anyone’s self esteem could stand simply being around her, but yet because of those facts, situations like this with other boys would happen.
The boy smacked his fist on the locker. “Yeah, because you never give me any time to LET me be important. Why can’t you give me the time?”
“Your behavior here is proof enough that your time is worthless to me.”
She began to walk, but the boy forced himself in front of her.
“Look, I'm serious, just give me-”
Kirino grabbed his arm, flipping him over onto his back. He groaned in pain as she stared down into his eyes.
“For somebody who thinks he’s so important, you’re a pushover.”
She marched towards the exit, and the crowd murmured to each other.
Louise groaned to herself. Kirino could have gone to some fancy private school, to spend time with others like her. But instead, she had to come to Tomahawk High, just to show off how much better she was than everyone. That’s at least what Louise thought.
Louise returned home just to drop off her bags before hurrying back to the woods, but was met by a small surprise: Her mother.
Mrs. Palrick looked similar to her daughter, though more aged and let her hair grow out longer. She was working in the kitchen, beaming an infectious smile to her daughter.
“Welcome home! Work didn’t need me today so I decided to come back early!”
“Oh uh, hey! I was going to…” She thought about her plans. “Finish my homework, and head on out. Is that all right?”
“Hey, there’s still some housework I need you to take care of too. Fix up your room, help clean the living room, then you can head on out!”
She rolled her eyes. “Fiiinee….”
By around 7pm, she had finished her homework but was in the middle of vacuuming the living room. The day was nearly over, she still didn’t understand the full “Truth” about this town, what was she missing? She mused to herself, continuing her chores.
The doorbell rang.
She turned off the vacuum and sprinted over. “I got it!”
Opening the door and expecting another box, she instead stared at a strange boy.
He wore very baggy pants and a large, green jacket with the hood up. To the side of his head was medium length white hair. His strange, purple eyes were somewhat focused on the floor, almost making eye contact with her.
“Uh, can I help you?” Louise asked with an annoyed tone.
He inhaled, then exhaled.
“I saw what happened last night. In the woods?”
She froze up. Her gauntlets were still in her backpack in the other room.
“You’re not…”
He held up his hands. “No no no, I uh… I don’t want to like, blackmail you or anything.”
“Or kill? You’re not a government agent or secret cryptid or something?”
He held his arms in front of him. “No no no, no not any of that!”
“Louise, who’s at the door?” Mrs. Palrick called from inside.
“That’s a good question mom.” Louise stated, giving a suspicious look to the boy. “Who are you?”
“I’m… Davis. Davis Foster. We share a few classes at school, so I thought you’d recognize me…”
Louise turned back inside. “Somebody from school!”
Louise stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
“So, what exactly do you want with me then?”
“I wanted to know what’s up with you? Like, you got shot, fought that wendigo, all this stuff and like… Why? What’s going on?”
She raised an eyebrow. “A wendigo? Now that you mention it, that did look like one. Wait a second, I should be the one asking why you were spying on me. Why were YOU in the woods anyways? I was invited there, for your information.”
He nervously looked around.
“I think we should find some place… Less open to talk.”
“All right then, I got a nice hiding spot in the woods-”
“That wendigo is still lurking around there, and it’s starting to get dark.”
“Well, do you have any better suggestions?”
“I mean, my house is pretty empty. And safe. It’s next to the woods, but monsters don’t usually come near.”
“Hold up, monsters? As in, plural? There’s more?”
“I’ve… seen a few.”
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. She opened the front door. “Hey mom, he needs a bit of help with school stuff! I’m gonna head on out, if that’s all right?”
“Sure, that’s fine! Stay safe honey!”
She grinned. “Well, if your house is nice and quiet, let’s hurry on over! Gimme one sec to grab my schoolbag, you know. For ‘school stuff.’”
The skies slowly darkened as Louise followed her watcher from a distance while wearing her new gauntlets. Davis kept glancing back every now and then, every time meeting the girl’s judgmental gaze. He scuttled along as fast as he could without having to break into a jog or sprint.
It was a twenty minute walk, all the way to the edge of town. Near the Umbra Pine Forest. A small home, with a decently kept front lawn. There weren’t any decorations, flags, or anything stand-out. It was just an ordinary, single-story, modern-styled home.
He unlocked the front door, motioning for Louise to walk in first. She crept in, glancing all around.
Like the house, the living room was picture-esque normal. Almost too normal. A big, comfy looking couch and flatscreen TV were set up and kept neat, aside from some scattered candy wrappers. There was a countertop that divided the living room from the kitchen. Off to the side was a hallway.
It was dead silent inside, no signs of any sort of trickery or traps.
She sighed, and walked further in. Davis followed, closing the door behind him.
“So, uh…” He looked around. “I’ve never had a guest before. If you’re hungry or anything, I got, like, some food stocked in the fridge.”
She sat down on the couch, sinking into its puffy cushions. She turned to him.
“Shouldn’t you be telling me all you know now that we’re somewhere ‘safe’? You spying on me, the cryptids, all that?”
Davis gave a blank stare for a few moments.
“I was just trying to be courteous. Besides, you’re treating all this really strangely.”
She shrugged. “What’s that supposed to mean? Now come on, why were you spying on me?”
He sighed. “All right, uh… Well, I mean to start, I need to show you something about me. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you or anything.”
He walked to the wall, turning off the lights. The room was lit only by the small amount of sunlight that shone through the curtains. He took a deep breath and then vanished, blipping into a faint puff of smoke. Louise’s eyes bugged out of her head, and she stood up. She glanced all around the room.
A voice spoke from behind her “I’m here-”
She whirled around in a panic, nearly whacking him in the face with her fist. He vanished into nothingness for a brief moment, dodging the blow, and re-materialized.
“Hey, I told you I’m not trying to hurt you!”
Louise sighed in relief. “Well, next time TELL me if you’re going to like, spook me with that vanishing act! What are you, a ghost or something?”
“Well uh, no. I’m very much alive. I’ve just been born with this ability to de-materialize into nothing. Or ghosting, or phasing, or whatever you wanna call it.”
Louise stared in wonder, nodding. “That’s so awesome…”
Davis chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, it’s got these limits. Can’t do it in broad daylight, since it makes it feel like there’s a vice grip on my chest. It’s also pitch black when I’m ghosted, so I need night vision goggles to see around properly.”
“Hey still, being able to turn incorporeal like that is awesome! Do you go out in the woods to hunt cryptids or something?”
His smile diminished. “Well uh… Not really. My power is really nice for spying or running away from monsters, but not so much for fighting them…” He looked down at the floor for a few moments, before looking back at Louise. “But I still try! For the most part, I just try to hang around the woods after hours, and try to warn others from entering when it’s dark out. There’s more than just the wendigo in there. I’ve seen like, giant spiders, one time I saw like a tree stand up and walk around! Oh yeah, and bigfoot. He’s 100% real and I KNOW I saw him.”
Louise’s eyes widened more and more in amazement.
“Well uh” Davis coughed. “It seems really cool, but they’re all dangerous. If people are killed by those monsters, the police will just claim they are ‘missing persons’ and never investigate. It’s… Not something nice to think about.”
“Well… You’re doing a pretty good job spying on them and avoiding them! Can’t you just take some photos or evidence and reveal the truth to anyone?”
“Isn’t it kinda obvious?” He said with an annoyed expression. “Only like, crazy weirdos would believe me. Only reason I’m telling you is at least you like, SAW one, you know?”
Louise returned an irked look. “I’m not some kinda crazy weirdo!”
“I didn’t mean- Just ignore that then. But yeah, I’m glad that some people at least, heed my warnings when I do catch up to them… You’re kind of a first though. I’ve never seen somebody throw down with a monster.”
Louise held up her hand, showing off the gauntlets.
“Mostly thanks to these! I just got them from… Well I don’t really know. But all I know, is they made me really strong, bulletproof, and able to wrestle that monster head-on!”
Davis stared at the strange armor, thinking back to the insane fight he witnessed previously.
“I mean… Why though? Was running not a good enough option?”
“I was in danger. It was dropped, probably because whoever gave them knew I was gonna be in trouble. Simple as that!”
Davis sighed. “I guess. But, since you’re here, I wanted to ask-”
Before he could continue, his TV lit up, static burning on the screen. The duo jumped, staring at the screen as the hiss of the white snow fizzed into silence.
An electronic voice pierced through the snow.
A voice spoke over the static, sounding like a phone with bad reception.
“Louise Palrick, Davis Foster…"