Anastasia Duke
The sky was a hungry, velvet darkness on the night they found his body. Far above, beyond the golden, transparent glow of artificial lights was an expanse of diamonds. When we were younger, we used to leave Harper Rock to go camping and enjoy the twinkling of celestial gems, bathed in the warmth of a campfire. But there was no warmth on that night. The authorities told me, when I was called in to identify his body, that he had likely been torn apart by a wild animal. He had not yet been cleaned up, and he still had the stains of the city's gutters on him, the dirt and mud, and caked on flecking blood. He was still handsome, but pale as paper, with closed eyes and limp hair. He had been my husband for some ten years at that point, and staring down at his body; it was like this oppressive weight settled on my shoulders and chest. I felt the stink of heat behind my eyes and my mouth felt dry. It was everything I could do not to break down right there in front of the police and the coroner.
I had built a reputation for being a woman made of steel, and the idea of showing vulnerability to anyone wasn't appealing. Learned behavior. Every time I had ever cried in front of another man before, the result had been more pain. So I held onto my grief until I was alone some time later. Then I began to invest in finding out the truth. I had substantial resources at my disposal. One of those classic success stories. I dropped out of college when a business opportunity came up. Pursued my career vigilantly, with near religious conviction until I assumed full control of the company me and my friend started up. I grew it for a half decade before I ever met Ben, and even when we were together, he understood my heart belonged to my job.
Or so I thought.
By the age of thirty, I had given up on the idea of finding a partner, and had already begun the process of looking into adopting. It was only by chance that I met him at a charity dinner. He was a trust fund boy from the States, nine years my junior, who was only in the charity game because his father's company had been experiencing some bad press, and the charity was a way to get some good PR. I fell in love with his sense of humor almost immediately. He never took things seriously, and I loved that because it gave me permission to let down the iron veil that was my mask to the rest of the world. He was intrigued by me because I was a self made woman who had come from 'poor, moose hunting, log cabin making' stock. To use his exact wording.
Ours was a whirlwind romance, and no more than a month after we met, we eloped. The following ten years were the best of my life. I had everything I wanted, and even gave birth to our daughter, Evangeline.
She's twelve now, only four years after her father died.
Naturally, the idea that my husband had been torn apart by wild animals wandering the populated city streets of Haper Rock was ludicrous. So I put aside some of my substantial personal resources and began to look into other possibilities. Over four years, I gathered reports, and information I quietly developed several theories, but it was not until a few months ago, when evidence of the supernatural began to practically flow out of Haper Rock, like blood from a poorly stitched wound, that I became proactive. Discretely, with some other interested party, the Humanity First party came to life. Each of us had our own reasons, but mine were admittedly and deeply personal.
Benjamin was the love of my life, the only man I have ever loved. The only part of him that still lives is our daughter, and I cannot live in a world where I feel she is unsafe. I refuse to be a reactive citizen in a community that allows monsters to operate in the dark. I will not endanger my daughter by taking a back seat and letting evil control my home, the city where I grew up, toiled to create a successful business, and made my family.
Four years ago, I lost Ben because I was ignorant to the world. Today, I will get my vengeance. I asked to lead one of the squads going to the streets. I picked those who I consider the best; Aadila, Cooper, and Cerise.
We are the few but determined. We are the exterminators of monsters, candles in the darkness. And we are coming for blood and ash.
I had built a reputation for being a woman made of steel, and the idea of showing vulnerability to anyone wasn't appealing. Learned behavior. Every time I had ever cried in front of another man before, the result had been more pain. So I held onto my grief until I was alone some time later. Then I began to invest in finding out the truth. I had substantial resources at my disposal. One of those classic success stories. I dropped out of college when a business opportunity came up. Pursued my career vigilantly, with near religious conviction until I assumed full control of the company me and my friend started up. I grew it for a half decade before I ever met Ben, and even when we were together, he understood my heart belonged to my job.
Or so I thought.
By the age of thirty, I had given up on the idea of finding a partner, and had already begun the process of looking into adopting. It was only by chance that I met him at a charity dinner. He was a trust fund boy from the States, nine years my junior, who was only in the charity game because his father's company had been experiencing some bad press, and the charity was a way to get some good PR. I fell in love with his sense of humor almost immediately. He never took things seriously, and I loved that because it gave me permission to let down the iron veil that was my mask to the rest of the world. He was intrigued by me because I was a self made woman who had come from 'poor, moose hunting, log cabin making' stock. To use his exact wording.
Ours was a whirlwind romance, and no more than a month after we met, we eloped. The following ten years were the best of my life. I had everything I wanted, and even gave birth to our daughter, Evangeline.
She's twelve now, only four years after her father died.
Naturally, the idea that my husband had been torn apart by wild animals wandering the populated city streets of Haper Rock was ludicrous. So I put aside some of my substantial personal resources and began to look into other possibilities. Over four years, I gathered reports, and information I quietly developed several theories, but it was not until a few months ago, when evidence of the supernatural began to practically flow out of Haper Rock, like blood from a poorly stitched wound, that I became proactive. Discretely, with some other interested party, the Humanity First party came to life. Each of us had our own reasons, but mine were admittedly and deeply personal.
Benjamin was the love of my life, the only man I have ever loved. The only part of him that still lives is our daughter, and I cannot live in a world where I feel she is unsafe. I refuse to be a reactive citizen in a community that allows monsters to operate in the dark. I will not endanger my daughter by taking a back seat and letting evil control my home, the city where I grew up, toiled to create a successful business, and made my family.
Four years ago, I lost Ben because I was ignorant to the world. Today, I will get my vengeance. I asked to lead one of the squads going to the streets. I picked those who I consider the best; Aadila, Cooper, and Cerise.
We are the few but determined. We are the exterminators of monsters, candles in the darkness. And we are coming for blood and ash.
To be continued...
