The Shadows of a Supernova

by N P Hector

  “Helen, I hear what you’re saying. Now the good officers were just talking to me about what a good mother you are, what a great family you’ve built. Just because you’ve got a gun doesn’t make me think you’re a bad person.” The gun that had been trained on a tear-stricken Mr. Hankleman was now trained on Selene.

  She had stopped counting the number of times she’d stared down a barrel. Believe it or not, she found that people found it much more difficult to kill strangers. It took a lot to drive someone to the point of hostage taking, and they weren’t about to risk all their work to be shot down by SWAT for killing a negotiator. So sure, she was used to it. But that didn’t make her feel any better about a gun being pointed in her direction. She knew that the officers behind her were terrified. Probably not so much that she’d be shot, but more terrified of the paperwork an injured civilian would entail. More overtime. More filing. Back and forth with formatting. Her death would be a paperwork nightmare.

  Using slow, hushed tones, she leaned against the white picket fence. The picture of leisure and friendliness. Why, if she smiled and tipped her hat, Mrs. Hankleman might just offer her a cup of sugar. “You know, Helen. I think that you’re a good woman who just had a lapse in judgement. Just like your husband did. I mean, you work so hard that you’re probably exhausted and hungry, and who can think on an empty stomach? John here probably just wasn’t thinking right when he said that.”

  Quite frankly, she did believe that this woman had a terrible lapse in sanity. According to police officers, the family was just fine until Mr. Hankleman asked for another cup of coffee and the missus snapped. They’d never had a single call to the Hankleman house. There were no priors on the parents, and no indication that the kids were struggling in school or had suffered abuse. It was unusual in her line of work to have someone devolve to a hostage situation without any indicators. Usually there were threats, a change in circumstance, and a big blow out. Sometimes financial motivations.

  But then again, people snapped all the time for the smallest reason. Looking at the degradation of the house, any number of factors could have caused this snap.

  Helen Hankleman nodded vigorously. “I am exhausted. I work double shifts to put food on the table, and he wants to leave me?” Her voice had been climbing octaves and had reached a shrill level. Her face turned red and her eyes darted back and forth furtively. Back and forth. The gun waved wildly.

  Selene nodded sympathetically. She really did feel for the family. She always saw people on the worst days of their lives, and she tried to remember that this was the darkest moment when she spoke with them. That reminder kept her honest and authentic, and hostage takers appreciated that authenticity.

  She didn’t have to fake how her dark eyes shined with support. “It’s just not fair. But it was a mistake. He clearly loves you-- look, he hasn’t fought back at all. He just wants us all to relax and take a deep rest, and we can solve this all tomorrow, right, John?”

  I bet that’s exactly what he wants. To relax and get the hell out there.

  John, god bless his soul, picked up on what Selene was putting down and nodded empathetically. “I was stupid, Helen. I didn’t mean it, I just...I just want us to be a family again.” Helene slumped after hearing his words and covered her eyes. Her body racked with great, heaving sobs. This was the breaking point. Selene had to be careful here. She had to delicately nudge her. But too much of a push could shove Helen off a very tenuous cliff. And she would take Mr. Hankleman with her.

  She tried for a soothing tone and gestured towards John. “See? Now, your kids are in the car and it’s almost dinner time. We can get a counselor to chat with you good folks tomorrow to work all of this out. But we can’t do anything like that on an empty stomach so I think that you should all sit down to a family meal, right?” Helen’s shoulders slumped and she heaved a great sigh. Selene could tell she was close.

  Just one more teeny tiny nudge.

  “Come on, Helen. You need a break and we can sort this out tomorrow.”

  Helen must have realized that the day was long and that the gun wasn’t holding as much power as it did when she had three more hostages. She nodded thoughtfully and wiped at her tears with the sleeve of her purple sweater.

  Selene opened the gate and stepped into the yard. Extending her hand, she cajoled the woman, “I knew you’d make the right choice, Helen. Now, why don’t you put the gun down and you and John can walk hand in hand towards me.” She put emphasis on the “hand in hand” comment and hoped that John would pick up on her reference. She wanted to make sure that Helen felt comfortable making this decision. If she felt that she was walking away from an unfinished situation then she could turn violent. But if she felt that she was making this decision, united with her husband, then the situation might just be safer.

  She knew that the officers would have preferred them to both come out with their hands in the air, but she had briefed them with strict instructions to let her handle the extraction. She shot a warning look to the officers and cruisers before addressing the Hanklemans again. She didn’t want anyone getting trigger happy or getting a sudden urge to play the hero during promotion season. “You’re a team, so you’re gonna come out of this as a team, am I right?”

  Helen slowly lowered the gun from her husband’s head and laid it on the stoop by the front door. Her husband heaved a huge cry of relief, and Selene shot him an encouraging look. If John could hold out just a bit longer then this would be a clean extraction.

  Selene opened the fence gate and beckoned the couple forward. Selene looked pointedly at their hands. Catching her eye, John then shifted his gaze to Mrs. Hankleman, and raised his voice as if to alert the officers. “We’re coming out now. We’re gonna hold hands.” True to his word, he reached out with a shaky hand and took Mrs. Hankleman’s hand in his own. Selene let out a deep breath in relief.

  Step away from the gun, step away from the gun.

  It was always harder for someone to move backwards than it was for them to move forwards. If she could get them to take a few steps forwards and away from the gun then Selene would feel much more comfortable with the situation. At that point, if Mrs. Hankleman wanted to retrieve the gun she’d have to make some overt movements.

  Selene nodded vigorously and spoke loudly so everyone could hear her. “So, no need to rush them, alright? This was all a big misunderstanding.” Helen looked at their linked hands and smiled. She then strode hand in hand with her husband to the gate and waiting police officers.

  When they were past the gate and John was within reach, Selene grabbed him and moved out of the way so officers could restrain Helen. John heaved great sobs into Selene’s shoulder as his shouting wife was shoved into a police car. There was chaos all around as John sobbed, the police sirens were turned on, and the mass of officers descended on the property to secure evidence and to photograph the crime scene.

  And in the middle of the mess Selene stood smiling. There was noise now, but not a single shot had been fired. Yeah, not a bad day at work after all.

  Amidst the sirens, the lights, and the flashes of blue surrounding the house, no one noticed that a dark figure stood beside a tree. As the chaos cleared, the figure flashed away. A rookie officer noticed the flash of a figure but blamed it on his exhaustion. This was his first hostage negotiation and it had been a long shift. Now that it was over, he just wanted to go home. So, he brushed off the strange flash. He’d only graduated from the academy a month ago, but he already knew that stranger things had happened. So, he turned away and began to think of the nice, cool beer waiting in the fridge at home and his recliner.

  But the figure had been real. And as he dematerialized, he reformed again across town in an antiquated estate. Striding through two massive oak doors, the broad-shouldered man swaggered up towards the circular table, where other members of the order sat and discussed recent changes to their network.

  If the sound of the oak doors didn’t alert the council to his presence, his next
statement certainly did. “Kem must be losing his touch, because another one got away without doing the deed.”

  The man at the other side of the room leaned back in his chair and contemplated the new arrival. His greyish eyebrows were raised in a chiseled face “you were able to prevent the woman from harming her husband?”

  Throwing himself into an empty chair, the man with brown braided hair stretched his arms over his head and made himself comfortable. He’d been on his feet for 8 hours, watching for the moment the cops screwed up and he’d need to intervene. He was both impressed and happy that the moment hadn’t come. It was a pain in the ass to wipe all those memories after he stepped in. Shrugging his shoulders, he remarked “didn’t need to. Someone beat me to it.”

  Rising to lean forward on his muscular forearms, his greyish blonde hair falling forward past his shoulders, the man’s voice was quizzical, “an undiscovered order member?”

  It was exceptionally rare, but sometimes members of their sect were raised outside of the Order. They possessed unusual powers but had no idea how to control them. Once they were discovered they were usually brought into the fold. Exceptional feats of strength or bravery could identify them as belonging to the sect.

  The watcher’s braids moved as he shook his head “no, a woman.” He tried his best to appear nonchalant as murmurs broke out around the table. “A woman?”, one of the men asked. He looked up and flashed his signature smirk. He reveled in the next revelation. “Not just any woman, a human woman.”

  Lenore, a member of a powerful Order family, raised her eyebrows. “And you mean to tell us that a human woman defeated some of Kem’s minions singlehandedly and saved the fated couple. Pah!” She scoffed. Another man at the table rolled his eyes.

  The watcher couldn’t resist rubbing Lenore’s aristocratic nose in it. “A hostage negotiator. I heard one of the blues comment that she was best in the field. Apparently, she saved two others this month.”

  Michael, a member of the Order’s Council, whistled low. “She saved two fated couples?”

  “Well, she doesn’t know that they’re fated couples. She probably thinks that they’re just human couples who have lost it.” He turned to face most of the council members and gave the “loony bin” gesture. “Humans do that, you know.”

  Lenore spoke again. “Well, we know that Fae members do that, too. Just look at Kem! A complete fool, urging people to kill their fated for power. It’s so… unevolved of them.”

  Training his gaze on the map before him, the grey-haired man spoke in low tones. “This woman, you’re sure she’s human? And she’s foiled Kem twice this month?”

  Braided man nodded, and the members around the table mumbled. After a moment of thought, he was resolute in his recommendation. “Romulus, Kem is bound to notice. We have to take her into protective custody.”

  Another man from the table, Michael, spoke up, “but Dougall, she’s not at risk from her own soulmate, we’re not responsible for her wellbeing.” By the letter of the law Michael was correct. The Order’s mandate was to protect members of their own sect, to reunite soulmates, and to avenge those who were murdered by their power-hungry soulmate to double their powers. But Dougall didn’t care very much for rules, let alone the letter of the law. He shot a glare at the Council Member. Michael shrunk back from the glare and sunk into his seat.

  Voices rose in conflict around the table, but as soon as the grey-haired man spoke, it fell silent. He didn’t need to raise his voice. Instead, he spoke in tones so low that everyone had to lean in to hear his thoughts. “She’s someone’s soul mate, and she’s doing our work for us. She’s preventing Kem from poisoning soulmates to consume their mate’s soul. She’s faulting his growing army without even realizing it. Besides, what she’s done is damn impressive. We owe her our protection, at the very least.” As leader of their sect, Romulus’s word was law. He had been elected leader because of the power of his word.

  A bearded man rose from the table and spoke with a deep, booming voice “Romulus is right. We protect the human woman from Kem.”

  The others nodded in agreement and fell silent as Romulus leveled a stare at Dougall. “Bring her in.”

  Lenore shrieked. “But that will expose us to a human. The code forbids it.”

  Romulus ignored the outburst and braced his hands on the table. “Make it quick, Dougall. And don’t scare her.”

  Saluting playfully, Dougall rose from his chair and made for the doors. Before he threw them open, he turned to the leader and winked playfully “happy to, but not until after dinner.”

  “So then” grunt “I told him where he could shove his insanity plea” grunt.

  Sweat was streaming down her face as Selene delivered an uppercut, cross hook, and double jab to the pads her friend was holding. Breathing harshly between hits, Selene breathed out “what an absolute ass.” Her friend Jamie shook her brown bangs from her eyes and tapped the ground with her mitt. Selene dropped to a squat and rose back up again to respond with a one, two, three combo.

  Between punches, Selene managed to ask “so, how are you guys gonna proceed then?” Jamie pushed back against the hits Selene delivered and nodded thoughtfully. “I haven’t decided if I want to decimate his career or self-esteem first. I’m still deciding.”

  Laughing, Selene harrumphed as the instructor yelled “burn out for the next thirty seconds!” She loved classes here. There was a great sense of community and the instructor was a black belt. Down here, she wasn’t a hostage negotiator and her friend wasn’t a prosecutor. They were just two friends beating the crap out of each other, and screaming work frustrations while doing it.

  Her shoulders were screaming and she didn’t think she had the stamina for thirty seconds. She was exhausted from the day, emotionally and physically. But her friend Jamie locked eyes with her and yelled. “Come on, Selene! You’ve got this! Burn out! Ultimatum! Stubborn! Cops with trigger happy fingers!”

  The other groups sparring didn’t pay any attention to the things Jamie was yelling at Selene. It was their standard training encouragement. The best way to last through a burn out drill was to punch in time with the things you hated most. For Selene, that was ultimatums and pushy cops. When Jamie had done her round earlier, it was appellate review and petitions for expert evals.

  As the clock chimed 30 seconds, Selene fell to her knees and worked to regain her breathe. Jamie clapped her on the shoulder and chuckled, “pad Thai or that sad frozen meal you have at home?”

  Wobbling to her feet, Selene pulled off her gloves and asked, “is that even a question?” Shaking out her thick ponytail, she wiped her face with a towel and waved to the instructor.

  “Golden Chicken?”

  “Is there any other?”

  Chapter Four

  Our universe grants every soul a twin-a reflection of themselves -the kindred spirit – And no matter where they are or how far away they are from each other- even if they are in different dimensions, they will always find one another. This is destiny; this is love.

  - Julie Dillon

  It was 8:45pm when Selene finally made it home. Unlocking her door and shoving her gym bag into the corner, she tossed her keyring into the bowl she kept by the door and kicked off her shoes.

  She knew that she should probably turn on the light and place her shoes gently in the closet, but she was just so exhausted after boxing and dinner with Jamie. She looked at her dying bonsai tree and promised herself that she’d water it tomorrow. Or the day after. But definitely sometime this week.

  Padding into her bedroom, she went to close the blinds and to shuck off her work clothes. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had at the gym after her workout. She took it out of the loose bun and shook it out so it wouldn’t dry with kinks. Just before she pulled her shirt off she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She had a moment of complete disbelief when she found a stranger blocking the bedroom door. He was tall, broad shouldered, and had braids in his dark brown hair. He was
smirking and leaning against the door jam. And he stood in her bedroom as if he lived there.

  Before she could register what was happening in her brain, the words “Um, excuse me, what are you doing here?” slipped out. Three beats later the fact that a stranger was in her room registered in her brain and she shook herself.

  She always thought that if she was going to get robbed that she’d be a brave badass and immediately punch the hell out of the intruder. But here she was asking what he was doing there. At least her negotiation experience meant that she didn’t dissolve into a puddle of tears.

  It was 9pm and she was exhausted and confused. It was the strangest thing –the two of them standing in complete silence, staring at each other. So, she did what she could, and with shaking hands pivoted to the bat she kept under her bed. A gift from her very single, very vigilant mother.

  She dove for the bat and ended up taking part of the comforter with her. Her knees hit the hardwood floor and she flipped onto her back and then up to her feet. Her heart felt like it was in her stomach as she held the bat towards the intruder. She’d never actually hit anyone with a bat before, nevermind an intruder. But she tried to appear as if she wouldn’t hesitate to hit him.

  The man raised an eyebrow and pushed off the door jam. He had the audacity to actually step closer to her. “Look, I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, I’m here to protect you.” He opened his arms, palms up, and smiled brightly. She had a feeling that if she dropped the bat he’d move towards her and actually hug her.