Maya

The bullet rips through the fog, a silver streak in the moonlight. Just as it reaches him, I watch as the bullet shatters into a million pieces and scatters like a meteor shower.

Oh, what the hell!

Kieran smirks, dusting the fragments off his black coat like it was nothing.

He takes another step forward and I shoot again, feeling the kick of the shotgun but it does nothing to him. It shatters upon impact.

"You should've listened to me, Maya." He waves his hand and the snow swirls around him. "Now we must do this the hard way."

The snow shifts and glows taking on the shape of four-legged creatures. I watch as sharp claws dig into the earth and glowing red eyes stare at me with a hatred so fierce it sinks into my soul.

Wolves.

The same ones that I had buried.

Grotesque, rotting, and undead. They smell of death and decay.

"Maya!" Safia screams.

I whip my head around to see them. All four of them were bundled in their winter coats with their backpacks on. Safia's arms were held back by Rayan and Carlos as she screamed, blue sparks erupting from her hands. Annette was crying, calling out my name with despair.

I don't know if I would ever see them again.

For whatever reason, I knew I was doing the right thing for once.

I put myself between the kids and the... wolf-like things.

One of them snaps their jaws at me, raising their hackles. Black smoke rolls off their white coats, dancing around their twisted forms.

Kieran crosses his arms. "Go on, then." He lifts his chin. "Bring them to me."

"Run!" I yell at the kids as I aim my shotgun. "Go! Now!"

I fire off the gun, hitting one of the wolves in the jaw. It skids to a stop, making a painful sound as blood leaks from its rotting face.

I shook three times, bullets hitting two of the other wolves but they don't go down.

I'm out of ammo.

The wolves break away from Kieran and run after the kids, snarling and snapping their jaws.

I drop the gun and my hand shoots out. Even if they're dead, blood still flows in their veins.

I manage to catch two, pulling them away and slamming them into the ground with all my might.

The other three manage to get away.

Fuck!

I try to run after them but the remaining two wolves leap in front of me, blocking my escape.

"Stay away from them!" I scream, drawing blood from the wound in my hand. "If you lay a finger on them, I'll tear you limb from limb."

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Kieran says, forming a finger gun and pretending to shoot.

The wolves closed in around me.

Shadows twisted around their hulking forms, and their glowing red eyes locked onto me as my siblings ran for the trees.

I could feel their hearts race as they went further away from me.

I gripped my spear, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. The shaft felt warm in my hands as I willed it to shift, the blood metal collapsing and reforming into a sleek, curved blade.

They lunged.

I spun, slicing through the air in an arc.

My blade carved through the first wolf's neck—dark tendrils of smoke pouring from them as I lodged my blade in their throat.

I wrenched my blade away, watching as black blood sprayed across the snow.

The wolf whimpered, sounding like Ulf when she wanted extra scraps. It limped away from me and fell to the side, twitching. The fur and meat knit themselves back together, dark tendrils of smoke pulling the dead tissue against the bone.

Damn it, they could heal.

Just my fucking luck.

Weird shadow wolves and an asshole that works for some Goddess of the Underworld. I must've drawn extra lottery tickets in fuck-my-like-lucky-extravaganza.

The second wolf lunges at me, its jaws snapping inches from my face.

I brace my arm against its throat, pushing it away. It twisted its neck away, its sharpened claws raked across my arm, pain searing through me, but I gritted my teeth and countered.

"You piece is shit!" I drove my sword into its chest, twisting deep. "Why won't you just stay dead?!"

Kieran leaned against a tree. He cupped his hand around the flame from his light as he lit up the end of his cigarette.

His cold, dead blue eyes caught mine and he smirked, taking a breath in and exhaling a puff of smoke.

Fucker.

Once I'm done with these wolves, I'm going to shove that cigarette down his throat as he chokes on his blood.

With a growl, I ripped my blade free from its chest, blood—my blood—coiling from my wound and latching onto the wolf's limbs. It snarls, trying to bite down but blood is a viscous fluid that only takes the form of the vessel it is in.

Teeth do no damage.

I pulled, feeling flesh and bone Tear, dark tendrils unravelling as it let out a keening wail. I grab the wolf by its jaws and pull as wide as I can. I'm screaming as I feel the muscle in its jaw tear and separate with a wet snap.

The wolf makes a pitiful cry as I snap its neck. I drop its carcass to the ground.

Blood seeps into the ground, black and oil-like.

I can smell the scent of it, it surrounds me like the ghosts of death.

The other wolf jumps, its jaws wide as its teeth aim for my throat.

I was faster.

My spear reformed in my grip. It tried to use its paws to swipe at me but it couldn't reach me.

I duck down and raise the my spear. I drove it through its skull before yanking upward in midair, splitting it in two.

I pull the tip of the spear back harshly, satisfied as I hear the crunch of bone.

The wolf stops making any sound and then tips over, its limbs twitching. Its body started to crumble, dark tendrils swirling around its form as it disappeared into nothing.

I take a step away, my hands trembling.

I panted, stabbing the end of my spear into the frozen ground. My arm is bleeding, making my palms slick with blood.

Fuck me, this shouldn't affect me as much.

I've used up too much power, too fast.

I can taste blood in my mouth.

I've made my peace with dying before. I think deep down I've always wanted it. But that was before—when I was beaten down and alone. Now things are different.

I don't want to die.

I'm desperate to live.

This will not be the place where it all ends. Not for me.

A slow clap echoed through the clearing.

Kieran.

Gods, does this guys having nothing else to do.

He stepped from away the tree where he was leaning against, smug and relaxed, like he hadn't just watched me fight for my life.

His pale blue eyes gleamed with amusement. "Impressive." he said. "Color me surprised. I thought you would die quick."

I lifted my spear, shifting into a defensive stance. "Too bad for you, asshole. I'm an Avenger."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Oh , Maya. Always fighting, always running. And for what?"

I'm sick of this guy talking.

"Shut up!" I growl.

"Or what?"

I lunge forward and drive my spear forward, aiming for his heart.

—

Rayan

He drags Safia into the woods, his grip hard enough to bruise.

She's screaming. Or maybe she's crying.

He's not really sure. His body is almost vibrating as his feet skim over the forest floor, adrenaline mixes into his blood like Kool Aid, and all he can hear is the sound of Maya's heartbeat fading away.

Annette is crying as she runs, gasping and sputtering. Her golden hair sticks to her face, soggy with melted snow.

Carlos is in front of them, leading them away.

Everything reeks of fear.

He raises himself a little higher, nearly hitting the low lying tree branches.

Safia is trying to pull away. She wants to go back but there's no point. Maya told them to run.

Claire also told him to run.

Claire died.

He has to keep running, for Maya's sake and his.

Rayan feels his eyes sting and it isn't from the wind.

He seems something in the brush, a flash of silver with red.

"Look out!" He calls out.

Safia sees it.

She throws a bolt of bright blue lightning at something in the brush.

He can hear the weight of a body as it crashes to the forest floor followed by the sickly smell of burnt flesh.

The wolf things are after them. Their jaws snap at their heels, eager to devour them.

Annette trips over a rock, falling and landing hard. One of the wolf things tries to bite her leg.

He lets go of Safia and dives down, kicking it in the snout. It yelps, its red eyes closing as something crunches underneath his foot.

"Get up!" He screams as he wraps his arm around Annette's waist. "Get the heck up!"

They stumble as they run, Safia providing them cover as she hurls bolts at the remaining wolf. Rayan covers his ears as he flies, trying to block out the sound of his own heartbeat.

He can't feel Maya anymore.

A growl tears through the air as one of the wolves jumps, its claws extended as it tries to snatch Rayan out of the air.

He twists his body away in time, using his power to push the wolve back down to the ground.

"Get away from my brother!" Safia screams, summoning a large volt of lightning from her hands and slamming the wolve into a tree.

It catches fire quickly, burning the remains of the wolf as it howls in pain.

The last wolf is chasing them.

Rayan clears the tree line.

Carlos stutters to a stop, holding his arms out. "Wait! Watch out!"

Annette and Safia screech to a stop, nearly slipping due to the ice.

The edge of the ravine looms before them.

Rayan flies over it, looking down at the dark abyss below. He never knew this was here. Maybe it was used for mining way back when the gold rush was starting.

Who knew how far it went?

He looked across, realizing that none of them would be able to make the jump. The ravine was too wide and too deep. They couldn't go around it and they couldn't jump over it.

Even if he carried them over, it would be too slow.

They were trapped.

"Rayan!" Annette calls out. "Hurry!"

He sees the trees shake in the distance, knowing the last wolf was still pursuing them.

He floats back down. Carlos and Annette hide him and Safia behind them.

He can smell ozone as Safia's body is enveloped by blue sparks. The shadow wolf—the only one left—stop at the forest edge, snapping its jaws as its bright red eyes search for them.

Rayan watches the air before him flickers like the screen on the tv. Carlos is hiding them.

He looks over and sees his eyes slowly turn silver.

That's so cool!

Maya's eyes had turned black. Safia's was bright blue. Annette had pink.

He wondered what his would be.

The wolf takes another step forward, looking straight at him.

"What do we do!" Rayan whisper-screams, he grabs Carlos's arm and shakes it. "Carlos!"

"I don't know! Give me a moment!" He hisses. "Stop shaking my arm, I'm trying to concentrate."

Annette is shaking next to him, her eyes turning pink as she grabs Carlos's hand. Shes actively camouflaging them away.

"Do something," she says. "I can't keep this up forever."

He nods, his grip tightening on the dagger.

The wolf paws at the ground, its nose close to the ground.

Carlos's eyes narrow as he manipulates its senses, hiding their scent.

Annette faints, her eyes draining of pink as they roll back. Safia catches her as the wolf lunges at Carlos.

Rayan yells and plunges the blade of the dagger into the soil.

He squeezes his eyes shut.

A bright light envelops them and Rayan grips onto Carlos for dear life as they're sucking into it. He feels weightless as he's hurled through space.

A millions colors burst around him, making his eyes hurt.

He can hear Carlos screaming in his ear.

Rayan watches beyond the glow, worlds flash before him and the cosmos opens up. He feels an itch fo reach forward and fly out of the beam of light.

The light is snatched away as quickly as it comes.

They land hard.

The big giant glowy thing spits them out like giants spit out human bones in the stories his English teacher used to read to him. 

He groans, feeling his head explode in pain. Spots dance in his vision as the air whooshes out of his lungs.

"Is everyone okay?" Carlos sits up, his glasses askew on his face.

Annette is passed out on his lap, her blonde hair messy and blood drips through her nose.

Rayan feels a strange sense of fear. He scrambles towards her on his hands and knees. He reaches out to grip her hand, hoping that she would squeeze back but she doesn't.

"Is she..." his voice breaks, tears springing into his eyes.

Carlos shakes his head, pulling him against his side. "She's okay. She's just tired. We're okay."

Safia gets up on shaky feet, her hair falling in front of her face. "We have to go back," she says breathlessly. He can see her eyes glowing neon blue.

"We can't," Carlos counters, grabbing her hand. "You heard what she said."

She shakes his off.

"We left her there!" Safia yells.

Rayan turns his face and presses it against Carlos's shoulder, counting backwards from 100 like Dr Franz taught him whenever he felt overwhelmed.

Claire is dead.

Maya is dead.

Now what?

"She told us to go!" Carlos yelled back. "She's...gone, Safia."

Safia's face crumbles.

"I can't feel her," Rayan mumbles to himself.

Maya is dead.

Claire is dead.

Why did this happen?

She sinks to the floor, landing on her knees, defeat and anger all over her face. She shakes her head and starts screaming like a banshee, lightning arching around her. She pounds the floor with her fists, cracking the hard material.

Carlos presses a hand against his eyes, his shoulders shaking as he hides his sobs.

He's never seen her this angry before. Irritated, yes. Annoyed, always—mostly because of him. But her fury is like a storm that has no end.

Claire was dead.

Maya was dead.

What about him?

What about his family?

Rayan looked around him. Everything is so gold it feels ridiculous. They're in some sort of dome like structure.  He places his flattened palms against the cold metal floor, feeling the power around him surge and vibrate.

Safia stooped wailing, she's hunched over herself sobbing. Carlos doesn't say anything. The silence is the worst sound he's ever heard in his life.

He hears footsteps and looks up.

A man in gold armor stands before them, his hands lay atop the pommel of a giant golden sword. His expression is stoic, almost unreadable.

Gold is just overkill at this point.

Ryan resists the urge to reach out and touch the sword.

"Children do not belong here," he said.

Rayan had a few choice words about that. First he had to find out where 'here' was exactly.

"Are you one of them?" He asked, his little hands clenched into fists.

"One of who?"

"The people who tried to hurt us."

Something flickers in the man's gold eyes. Rayan isn't sure what it is but he doesn't like it.

"No." He told him, his tone more gentle. The man shook his head, taking off his winged helmet. He kneeled in front of Rayan, placing his giant sword on the ground. "I am Heimdall. You are in Asgard. Who are you?"

Carlos stiffens next to him. "Asgard? The Asgard?"

He sits up straight, wiping away his tears furiously. "Hello. I'm Rayan." He introduces himself. "We're from Earth."

"Earth?" Heimdall intones. "Ah, Midgard. How did you manage to get here?"

Rayan shrugs.

Carlos takes the dagger from Rayan and holds it up, the blade coated with Maya's blood.

Rayan looked away, a sudden sharp feeling of sadness cuts through him.

"Our sister gave us this." He said, dropping it into the man's outstretched hand. "She told us that it would take us somewhere safe. Do you know what is?"

Heimdall's eyes widen slightly, taking in the runs carved into the blade. Rayan watches as his face morphs from surprise to composed indifference.

"I see." He holds a hand out to Rayan. "May I ask your sister's name?"

Rayan takes the his gloved hand and gets up. "Maya."

Heimdall pauses. "Maya Crowley?" He asks slowly.

"Yup."

He helps Carlos up next. "Is that bad?"

"No," Heimdall shakes his head. "Quite the opposite."