Lena Matthews

I ducked quickly to avoid Finn's right hook, trying to keep my body grounded so I could throw my foot forward to knock my older brother off-balance. Finn side-stepped, and I recalculated immediately, throwing a punch towards his gut. Finn caught my fist mid-air, barely flinching as I threw as much force as possible against him. The two of us were locked at a standstill, with me too stubborn to move and Finn willing to wait this out.

Without warning, I stepped out of the way, letting Finn's own force throw himself to the ground. Stifling a laugh, I sprinted away from him aiming for one of the large trees that grew in the courtyard.

"What is this? Tag?" Finn called after me, running in my direction.

I waited by the base of the tree for a few moments before sprinting behind it, allowing the trunk to momentarily block me from view.

"Lena, seriously-"

The second I spotted Finn, I threw my weight against him, taking him completely off-guard.

"I won." I declared, pinning him against the grass triumphantly. 

"Uh-huh," said Finn, unamused.

"I need you to concede officially before I let you go," I warned Finn.

"It's not that-"

"Concede." I interrupted.

"You won." Finn declared. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic, actually," I answered, standing up on my own before offering my hand to Finn. "One last time?"

"You said that the last four times," said Finn.

"It doesn't hurt to get in all the practice I can," I told Finn. "A Forbidden-"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about that right now," said Finn.

"I'm just saying: monsters are real and we should probably be prepared for it," I explained. I got to learn about real fear when I was twelve, when I was told that there were creatures walking this earth more terrifying than I could imagine.

Forbidden (n): A supernatural creature created after a human is killed by a monster and then resurrected as that very monster. They are distinguishable by a brand on their skin, loosely resembling an F. They have two forms: one, as the human they previously were, and the other a monstrosity. They are immortal, solitary creatures, and a danger to any living being they come across.

"Do you think we should go back?" Finn asked, eyeing the sky warily. The sun had all but completely slipped below the horizon without either of us noticing.

"Are you sure you don't want to try one more-"

"Lena," Finn warned me.

"Fine, if you don't want to be beaten by me again we can go." I agreed. Finn rolled his eyes even though he knew I had won almost every match. He walked a few paces in front of me, making his way back to the apartment.

"Come on."

The first half of the walk was quiet, with nothing but crickets to compliment the sky above. I tried to make my steps a bit longer so I could match Finn's pace, but somehow I still ended up a few steps behind. I gave up and jogged forward before trying to adopt a new pattern to my steps.

"So, what do you think about Oregon?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Like everyone else, I was itching to get out of the cramped apartment, but I had my reservations about moving to another state. Mom and Dad seemed nervous about it too, but they were refusing to explain why.

"I don't know," Finn replied, not adding much to the conversation.

"How long do you think we'll be there?" I asked. The move was temporary, I knew that much. We haven't started packing our belongings yet, and were also instructed to leave a lot of things behind.

"It can't be longer than a few months," said Finn decidedly as the two of us meandered across what was left of the tennis courts. Years ago, Oak View Apartments boasted the nicest tennis courts in the land, but all that was left now was rubble and tall grass. I sat down where the net should have been and leaned back, looking up at the darkened sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, watching the stars wink back at us gracefully.

"Yeah," said Finn quietly. He didn't even bother to make me get up. "It makes you forget sometimes." I looked up at my brother, a serious look etched on his face. Ever since we were kids, Finn was tasked with being the protector of the family whenever Dad went away. Even now that we were 16 and 18 and I was capable of defending myself, Finn still thought of me as his responsibility.

"Sit down." I urged Finn, patting the dirt and rubble beside me. "It's nice."

Finn smiled before sitting next to me. "You're a weirdo, Lena."

He barely got a chance to look up before we were interrupted by the sound of a branch cracking. Finn and I jumped to our feet, years of training preparing us to attack at any moment. Both of us listened intently, our breath sparkling in the air. A squirrel rustled its way onto the old tennis court. I relaxed, but Finn was still on alert. "It's a squirrel," I told Finn gently. "Let's go." I patted his arm before he relaxed and we finished the walk home in silence.

The second I stepped through the apartment door, Mom launched into one of her lectures. "Where were you guys?" She asked. "Neither one of you took your phones. Do you know what I was thinking? What could have happened to you guys? The world is dangerous."

"Trina," said Dad gently, appearing by her side. He had the ability to comfort anyone, no matter how worked up they got.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, hugging him. "You're back!"

Every time Dad returned from a trip, it felt like balance in the Matthews family had been restored. He just wasn't here enough. "Seriously guys, I expect you to stay out as little as possible at night," said Dad, not done with the lecture. "Finn, what were you thinking?"

"Lena and I were just practicing. We got carried away." Finn explained.

"And I won," I interjected.

"Good job Lena," said Dad, seemingly unimpressed. He winked at my brother. "Let her win again, huh?"

"I mean, she-" Finn didn't get the chance to defend me before Dad decided to move the conversation forward.

"Do you guys want to sit down?" He asked. Mom nodded, moving her scarf a bit higher so that it would cover her neck more. All of us sat down at the kitchen table.

"Is Aurelie asleep?" I asked. My little sister was nowhere to be seen, but when it came to conversations like these, it was important she stayed out of it.

Mom nodded. "Finn, can you double-check?"

Finn stood up and walked to my bedroom before opening the door and peering inside. He gave us a thumbs up before closing the door quietly and joining us at the table.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked. "You guys seem really serious."

"It's about the move." Mom explained. "We've said a few things about Oregon, but there's something really important you guys need to know."

"What is it?" I asked. I've been taught to expect the unexpected. It was an essential part of Dad's line of work. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems when your father is working for the Agency.

"Well," Dad began. "We are temporarily residing in Atalka, Oregon as scouts for the Agency."

"Scouts?" Finn asked. "Since when has the Agency needed scouts?" He had a good point. The Agency was the organization my dad has worked for for decades. Before him, my grandfather worked for the Agency, and family participation could be traced back until the beginning of time. Despite that, Dad has never mentioned using scouts.

The intelligence division was in charge of tracking potential Forbidden and dispatching an agent to kill them. Sometimes they took input from tips, but they never sent scouts to investigate whether or not a Forbidden was residing somewhere. It was considered a waste of manpower.

"We had a source claim that Atalka, Oregon is a hub of Forbidden. But it's difficult to find any concrete evidence of mysterious deaths in that town." Dad explained.

"So the source was probably lying," I answered. "Case closed. No Oregon trip necessary. How gullible do they think we are? A hub of Forbidden? Everyone knows that they like being alone."

"I'm with Lena on this one," said Finn. "It doesn't make any sense to send an agent to a place with no real evidence of Forbidden."

"Brandon, do you want to talk about the source?" Mom asked. Dad sighed, clearly not excited about this subject.

"The source was one of the Forbidden," said Dad finally.

"What?" Finn and I exclaimed incredulously at the same time.

"You were listening to one of those things?" I asked. "Why didn't you just kill it?"

"We were instructed not to. It claimed to have valuable information. And we will kill it. Eventually." said Dad.

"I can't believe you actually spoke to one of the Forbidden," I protested. "I didn't think they were capable of doing much besides needlessly slaughtering."

"That's what was so interesting about the exchange," Dad admitted. "It seemed capable of higher thinking. This case could shift how we perceive all Forbidden. It could change everything."

"I don't care how it thinks." I nearly snapped. "What type of Forbidden was it? How do you kill it?" Every Forbidden has a specific weakness: wooden stakes, silver bullets, fire, something.

"I don't know what type of Forbidden it was," Dad admitted. "I'm not even sure what it looked like."

"How can you not know what it looked like if you spoke to it?" Finn asked.

"It was clearly a shapeshifter. It looked exactly like your mother." Dad answered. All of us stared at Mom, unsettled.

"But it wasn't." Mom reinforced.

"Of course not," said Dad. "It didn't act like you at all, and it wasn't wearing a scarf. There weren't any markings." Mom pulled down her scarf so that we could see the two scars that disfigured her neck. We all cringed at the sight of it. Mom was attacked by a vampire, not long after she graduated from college. She wasn't killed thanks to Dad, but the mark was a haunting reminder of how close she had come to death.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," I said. "Some Forbidden waltzed right into the Agency, announced that a town called Atalka, Oregon was crawling with murderous creatures, produced zero proof, and then waltzed out, unharmed."

"And now we have to go to the town and scout it for evidence. I don't trust this Forbidden, but if it was somehow right, that puts everyone in danger. Including Mom and Aurelie." Finn finished.

"Tell me how this is a good idea," I demanded.

"There's a chance that the town's perfectly normal," said Dad. "If I don't collect evidence of at least five Forbidden specimens in Atalka within six months, then we'll get recalled, reimbursed for our time, and never have to think about it again. But if our source was correct, then we'll find a way to get the innocent people out of the town and convert Atalka into a scientific community. We could perform experiments for the Agency."

"Like the Floridian division." I connected. One of the biggest branches of the Agency, Lanier Labs, was located in Florida. Dad admired it more than anything else. He had dreamed about setting up a similar facility for the longest time.

"We could relocate to Oregon permanently," said Dad. "I won't be leaving on trips all the time. I'd have a stable job and great pay. I love saving people, don't get me wrong, but I'm getting older. I want to retire. And not like my old man."

Grandpa Matthews was killed while trying to hunt an Ifrit when Dad was sixteen. Dad never knew his mom, so the Agency took him in instead.

"Think about it," said Dad. "I could still save people with the information we gather and come home to my wonderful family every day."

It did sound amazing.

"This isn't easy," said Mom. "I certainly had to think about it for a few months. But, I think that we should do it. Atalka is a gated community, and it's incredibly elite. There are a lot of requirements for living there, and while the Agency can help us meet most of them, the most important criteria is that everyone in Atalka lives with their family."

"That's part of the reason we were selected. The Agency knows that I've trained both of you well," said Dad. "The mission is really simple. All you two need to do is blend in. Just pretend like Atalka is a normal place while I work on getting the evidence. Then we can make history." Dad placed three agent ID cards on the table. One for Finn, one for Mom, and one for me.

I grabbed my card eagerly, and Mom grabbed hers right after. I glanced at Finn, who seemed a bit more hesitant. Finally, he took his card and pocketed it.

"Welcome to the Agency," said Dad proudly.

After spending most of the night talking and speculating about Atalka and the mission, I was finally ready for bed. Mom and Dad were already asleep, leaving Finn and I alone.

"Lena?" Finn asked before I could open the door to my bedroom.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What are you really thinking?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I've been dreaming about being an agent for a while. Dad had his first mission when he was sixteen too, and he actually had to kill a djinn. All we have to do is blend in and keep Dad's cover."

In my head, I was already trying to think of a way I could do something extraordinary. If I could find one of the Forbidden before Dad, maybe he would take me seriously.

"Do you think you're ready to face a real Forbidden?" Finn asked, switching to a much more serious tone.

"I-" I thought the answer was going to be easy, but it wasn't. "I guess I won't know until it happens," I answered finally.

"I really hope that town's normal," said Finn. "I'm not ready. If I saw a vampire, I would faint. And most likely die."

"That's a little morbid," I commented.

"You wouldn't die," said Finn. "I'm sure you would kick its bloodsucking butt."

I laughed. "Good night, Finn."

"Night, Lena."

I opened the door to my bedroom to see Aurelie curled up safely in her blankets. For a second, I wondered what it was like to live in her blissful ignorance. When I shut the door, Aurelie was startled awake.

"Sorry," I whispered. "Did I wake you up?"

"No." Aurelie lied quietly. "What were you talking about?"

"Just grown-up stuff. It's really boring." I explained.

"Oh," said Aurelie, laying back on her pillow again. "Good night."

"Good night, Aurelie," I murmured quietly. I walked over to her side of the room, gently kissing her forehead. Soon, we might find ourselves in a town full of monsters and she wouldn't even know.

I sighed as I lifted the covers of my own bed and tried to hide the jealousy I felt for my nine-year-old sister.

A/N: Hello! That was the first chapter of The Gate! The Matthews seem to be a pretty... interesting family, to say the least. I really hope you guys stick around, because the story only gets crazier from here!

QOTD: What, in your opinion, is the scariest mythical creature or legend?