by Kody Boye
The double green doors—which appeared to be stained glass—clicked in front of us before opening to usher us inside.
“Cool,” Aerick said. “Glam with purpose.”
“They’re identifying markers meant to prove who we are as Hunters,” Scarlet said. “They’re made for us and only us, so don’t get any ideas about trying to get one of your own made.”
“I like my jewels just as much as anyone, hon, but I am not about to fuck with the Agency or their Hunters.”
Scarlet nodded. “Good,” she said. “Because if you did, I’d have to kill you.”
Aerick laughed—then, apparently realizing that no one was laughing with him, allowed it to taper out before drawing up alongside me and waiting for Scarlet to take the lead.
“Anything we should know before we go in?” I asked.
“Don’t stare if you see anything unusual,” she replied. “You don’t need to draw any unnecessary attention to yourselves.”
With a nod, and with fear I hadn’t anticipated feeling in what I supposed was the throes of safety, I stepped forward and entered the darkened building.
I was blinded almost instantly.
When my vision cleared—and when I was finally able to see everything around me—I gasped.
The front lobby appeared completely sterile. White tiles, white walls, white chandeliers—everything about the place screamed cleanliness, to the point where I felt as though I was marring its surface with my presence alone. Ahead there stood a single white desk behind which sat an Asian woman whose features were mostly shrouded in shadow, her fingers feverishly clicking away at a keyboard arranged before her.
“Welcome,” the woman said, her voice cold and mostly remote. “Please state your name and identification number.”
“Scarlet Jane,” the Hunter said as she stepped forward. “Agent number 1-3-6.”
“Thank you. Please allow me a moment to process your entry.”
A series of small green lasers appeared from the columns surrounding us and began to scan our persons, likely displaying before the Asian woman’s eyes details about us both as Supernaturals and persons. I grimaced as they swam over my face—as they attempted to breach entry into my eyes—and reached up to wipe a bead of sweat from my temple, that of which was instantly targeted by the laser.
“Kaldr, Howler, Hunter, Agent,” the Asian receptionist said. “Please state your reason for your visit to the Agency.”
“Immigration,” Scarlet replied.
“One moment please.” The Asian woman paused, lifted her head, and looked at us with a pair of white eyes that bore no pupil but only sclera.
“What is she?” I whispered, drawing close to Scarlet’s side.
“A Keeper,” the woman replied. “One of the most ancient races to walk among us.”
“What do they do?”
“Record. Recite. Rewrite.”
“What?”
The Keeper—whom I was not entirely convinced was human and was simply putting on a facade for the four of us to see—blinked once, then twice before saying, “Please step forward, Scarlet Jane.”
Scarlet stepped forward, then, drawing her hands from her side to place them on the sterile white desk, her dark skin a wicked contrast in comparison to the room around her. She appeared out of place, this woman of five-foot-four, and seemed, at that moment, to be calmer than I had ever seen her before. Her dark eyes were solemn, her lips pursed in indecision as the Keeper once again began to feverishly click her keys. It was at that moment that I realized she was staring directly at Scarlet with an unwavering gaze and was not in the least bit faltering as she continued her work.
“Take the Kaldr and Howler to the room designated on this sheet of paper,” the Keeper said as a printer at her side activated and unspooled our fates. “They will be assigned identities in the interim.”
“You don’t need anything more from us?” I asked as I stepped forward, barely noticing and not caring when Guy reached out to try and stop me from advancing.
“We have already obtained all the required information necessary. Please, follow your representative to your room.”
We? How could she be referring to herself as more than one person?
Unless, I considered, there were more of them, and they were a collective consciousness.
Rather than dwell on the possibilities at hand, I watched Scarlet as she took hold of the piece of paper, thanked the Keeper for her time, then followed as Scarlet began to lead us down a hallway to our left, wherein there existed a multitude of elevators.
“So what’s gonna happen to us?” Aerick asked. “I mean… while we’re here?”
“You will be housed until your identities can be evaluated and then will be released back into the general populace whenever they are corrected.”
“How long does this usually take?”
Scarlet shook her head, then palmed a series of numbers along the elevator’s walls.
Not comforted in the slightest, I crossed my arms over my chest—grimacing as the action inspired fresh pain along my arms—and sighed as the elevator began to rise and take us into the depths of the building.
Though I was unaware of how many floors the Agency possessed, it seemed, after a certain point, that we would run out of shaft to rise within. The more I considered it, though, and the more I began to dwell on the logistics of the situation, I realized that the entire building could simply be an illusion—and that physics, as concrete as they were thought to be, had been completely overturned in a place such as this.
I sensed something. Whether it was the result of magic or technology I couldn’t be sure, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it, for as soon as the doors opened we were greeted to a number of sights.
Almost every paranormal creature I could have thought possible could be seen wandering the floor of what I assumed was the Agency’s residential ward. Though I could not determine the Kaldr and the Howlers apart based solely on the fact that they appeared to be human, there were creatures that walked these halls that defied explanation. On one wall there leaned a woman-like being who with long hair and ghastly blue skin appeared to have been pulled from a waterlogged grave, while to our left there stood a man with sweeping white wings that were tucked close to his body. A lizard-creature stalked the halls in front of us, almost colliding with and narrowly missing what appeared to be a Leprechaun carrying a pot of gold, while distantly I saw little impish beings that resembled devils chasing one another, laughing gleefully as they carried miniature pitchforks and attempted to stab one another with them.
In seeing all of this, and while staring at everything that was before me, I could barely believe my eyes.
My world, as small as it once was, had just opened.
“Literally everything about my life was a lie,” I said after a moment’s hesitation.
“Come on,” Scarlet said. “Don’t stare.”
It was almost impossible not to when there were a plethora of Supernatural creatures surrounding us. As we walked, slowly making our way along the hallway and past a multitude of doors that appeared to be just like hotel rooms, we were immediately taken notice of, and as such, scrutinized. I stuck close to Guy, knowing that he, the biggest of us three, would instinctively protect me. Aerick, on the other hand, walked nonchalantly beside Scarlet—who appeared not in the least bit intimidated even by the largest of the paranormal citizens we encountered.
A Cyclops examined her with its one gaping eye.
A coven of witches brooded over a single crystal ball.
A Harpy, beautiful and terrifying, smiled at me as we passed.
Instantly I began to panic, and as such, sweat. The temperature was too great, the sweat beading down my neck discomforting. I reached up to wipe a strand of moisture from my cheek just in time for a frog-like creature to approach, stare at me, then lash its tongue out to swipe the moisture from my face.
I blinked, almost unable to believe that I had been assaulted in such a manner.<
br />
Before I could say anything, the creature was gone.
“Froglings,” Scarlet grumbled. “Disgusting creatures.”
“Please tell me our room is close by,” I said.
“It’s right here, actually.” Scarlet stepped forward, waited until Guy, Aerick and I were taking notice of what she was doing, then keyed in a number before unlocking and entering the room.
Inside was a single California-king bed, along with an attached bathroom, a small refrigerator, and a microwave seated along a countertop. It looked every bit a hotel room, albeit fancier and with a much wider array of space.
“Is this,” I started.
“For the Kaldr?” Guy asked. “It would seem so.”
“Nice and chilly in here,” Aerick said, spreading his arms and sighing as he stepped deeper into the room. “They apparently anticipated a threesome.”
“The Keeper deduced that the three of you were in a polyamorous relationship and selected a room based on your needs,” Scarlet replied, casting a glance back as the Frogling returned and began to oggle the inside of the room. She kicked the door shut behind her and grumbled something beneath her breath before continuing by saying, “If you need anything—anything at all—you can phone in to the requisitions department and they’ll bring you whatever you need. Food. Entertainment. Medicine. Anything you can possibly imagine.”
“Nice room service,” Guy offered.
“Yeah,” Scarlet replied, “but don’t abuse it. The human task force, while complacent in their activities, don’t like to come to this sector. They’ve apparently had an influx of refugees since the news broke out.”
“They’re being driven from their homes,” Aerick said. “Of course they’re going to be crowded.”
“What are they going to do with all these people?” I asked. “Especially the ones who don’t look—”
“Human?” Scarlet asked. “That will be something that the human community will have to decide, though I’d already imagine they’re lining up to judge everyone and everything right as we speak.”
Aerick reached for a remote on the bed and flipped the TV on.
Sure enough, the words, WORLD IN CHAOS AS SUPERNATURAL IS REVEALED was scrolling across the bottom of the screen in big capital letters across a red banner.
“Speak of the devil,” Guy said.
“He’s not real,” I said. “Is he?”
“The Devil isn’t, but things like Him are.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled.
The amount of information being thrown at me was almost too much to comprehend, nearly too impossible to believe.
“I think you should go,” Guy said as he turned to face Scarlet. “Jason’s still new to the whole world, and seeing this… it’s just too much.”
“All right,” Scarlet replied, turning toward the doorway. “Can’t say I’ll see the three of you anytime in the near future, so until then—adios.”
She opened the door and departed without another word.
As the door firmly clicked into place behind her, I turned to look at Aerick, at the TV, and at the reporter as he continued to lambaste the United States government for what was undoubtedly the biggest cover-up in Earth’s history.
“Well,” I said. “I guess this is it.”
The winds of change were coming.
Whether we could anticipate them I did not know.
PART 2
1
Life at the Agency was slow, boring, monotonous, and, for the most part, completely claustrophobic. Though Guy and Aerick were more than willing to leave the room to interact with the supernatural community at large, I was absolutely terrified of stepping foot outside the door. Even the mere idea was enough to make me tremble.
All of this—it was too much. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the sensations—all were a like a conglomeration meant only for the most insane of men, and while lying there, nearly nude save for the boxer briefs adorning my slim hips, I tried my hardest not to succumb to the panic that had been so desperate to overwhelm my mind since our arrival.
The doorknob jiggled.
A pause came.
A click sounded and the door opened to reveal Aerick, dressed in a tanktop whose armholes left little to the imagination and a pair of jeans that strangled both his crotch and ass. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I replied, nodding as he closed the door behind him.
“Are you ok?”
“I’ve had better days,” I replied, rolling over so I wouldn’t have to face the doorway.
“You know,” Aerick said, “the people here aren’t so bed.”
Maybe they weren’t, but I wasn’t ready to face the new and unfortunate world—at last not yet.
With a nod, I sighed and rolled over to face Aerick just in time to see the younger man settle down at the edge of the bed. “Your ass looks great in those jeans,” I offered.
“You think so?” Aerik asked, nudging his rear-end further onto the bed so I could reach out and cop a feel. “Guy thought so too. He couldn’t keep his hands off me.”
“I’m glad the two of you are getting along,” I laughed. “Question, though: where did you get the clothes?”
“They had them at the commissary. Apparently men’s skinny jeans aren’t very popular amongst the Supernaturals here.”
“Is that what we are? Supernaturals?”
“That’s what everyone refers to us as. Haven’t you been watching the news?”
I hadn’t. I couldn’t bear the thought of turning the TV on just to see another preacher condemning our entire populace for being ‘abominations against God’ or some other heinous bullshit when, truth of the matter was: we were just as much God’s creatures as humanity was.
My sigh was apparently enough to give Aerik pause, as a short moment later, he reached out and pressed a hand against my shoulder. “You’re cold,” he said.
“It’s cool in here, I replied.
“I don’t mind that kind of cold. I mean Kaldr old.”
“Do you want to help me?” I asked.
“You think I’d refuse a little necking?” Aerick replied.
“I have a better idea,” I said.
After taking hold of his tank and lifting it to reveal his smooth flat stomach and defined chest, I leaned forward and took a nipple between my lips.
“Shit,” Aerick gasped. “My tits.”
I ignored him as I suckled, allowing the energy to pool form his body and into my person. Instantly his nipple hardened to a diamond point—first expanding under the presence of warmth, then shrinking as the the chill began to seep from my lips. Arick groaned and leaned back to allow me better access to his chest. I immediately switched to the other nipple to avoid causing him any unnecessary discomfort and pulled away only when I felt sated.
“Better?” Aerick asked, his voice once more the sexy drawl that came when he was out of breath.
“Much better,” I said, spreading out alongside him.
Aerick reached down and laced our fingers together, then nuzzled his stubbly cheek against mine before saying, “You think you’re ready to go back out into the real world?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Why? Do you know something I don’t?”
“I just have a feeling,” the younger man said. “That things are going to change sooner rather than later. But no—I don’t know anything you don’t.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “Because honestly, I don’t think I’m ready to go out into the ‘real world,’ however real it may be.”
“Seems kinda like a fantasy land at the moment,” Aerick agreed. “All those preachers, all their words.”
“It’s bad enough that we’re three men living together. It’ll be even worse considering that we’re… well…”
“Different?” Aerick asked. I nodded and grimaced as he tightened his hold around my fingers. “Everything’s gonna be ok, J. We just have to wait until the Agency gets their ducks in a row. Then we can get out of here
and start living normal lives again.”
“I know.”
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Aerick said, tucking himself beneath the covers, “I need to warm my nips up. They feel like they’re about to fall off.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Maybe things really would be all right in the long run.
Maybe, just maybe, things could go back to normal, or at least as normal as the world could possibly be.
2
It was Aerick who finally coerced me out of the room, all with the promise of white witch healing magic that would take away all my pains and worries.
“Man,” he said as he rolled his shoulders, grimacing as the swelling on his right side became apparent from beneath the undershirt he wore. “I’m ready for this to be over.”
“What’s the difference between a white witch and—”
“A dark witch?” Aerick asked. I nodded and waited for him to respond before he turned to face me in the mostly-derelict hallway. “White witches, from what I understand, are like Glynda from the Wizard of Oz—except, yannow, without dropping houses on unsuspecting people.”
“She didn’t drop a house on anyone,” I mumbled.
“Sure she didn’t,” Aerick replied. “Anyhow, black witches are known for the arcane arts—like necromancy, spirit summoning, demon conjuring, stuff like that.”
“But you’re sure we’re going to see a white witch, correct?”
“She said she was. No reason not to believe her.”
There was really no reason to believe her either, but knowing that it wouldn’t do any good to argue, I simply nodded and continued to follow Aerick down the hallway.
We eventually came to a single doorway before which there was quite the crowd, all bearing signs of discomfort or injury that, I imagined, had been caused by the code-black event that had occurred no more than two days beforehand. As we approached, and as people began to raise their voices upon seeing that Aerick and I were cutting forward in line, I reached out and was just about to tell him to stop cutting in line before the door opened and revealed a woman whose skin was white as porcelain and whose long, curly hair was the color of blood.
