Case 1: A Bad Hair Day

  In a lonely alley somewhere in the Blue Collar district, a high-pitched scream sounds out. A gleaming silver blade flashes as it plunges into the victim's chest. As the bloodied blade is pulled out, it is once more flourished as the victim's hair is cut in one swipe. It is only now that the body drops, blood pooling beneath, and the shadow of the killer slowly moves away from the scene.

  The night moves on as it does in Enas City, just another statistic in the city's records...or maybe it's the bloody start of change in Enas? Who's to say as the golden threads of fate twist and knot and unravel and wind whichever which way. The stage is set, the actors are primed, and the spotlight shines upon the characters.

  ~~The Hana Residence, Blue Collar District~~

  A scruffy man stirs from a fitful slumber, his face contorting in fear, cold sweat running down his back as someone knocks on his door.

  “Dad? I gotta go! There’s breakfast on the table!” A melodious voice says from behind the door.

  Hearing his daughter, the man fully awakens and sits up with a groan. “Thanks, hun! Be careful out there! Make good choices!” He shouts, hoping his reply is heard as rushing footsteps make their way down.

  The man takes a moment to mentally prepare himself for another day as he walks towards a window and watches his daughter leave for school.

  “You can do this, Todd, just a quick shower, some breakfast, then back to the daily grind. For your little Petal.” He says to himself out loud before letting out a sigh and starts doing his morning routine.

  Todd was about to enter the shower when he heard his phone ring. He checks the caller ID, sees the words “Santa”, and answers it without hesitation.

  “Morning Nick! Just about to start my day.” Todd says with all the enthusiasm he can muster.

  “Morning to you, Todd! And happy to hear that!” A jolly voice filled with optimism replies. “Just wanted to check up on you and give you a heads up. A cop is looking for you, checked him real quick and he’s clean so I sent him to you.”

  Hearing that, any remaining exhaustion and lethargy disappears as Todd is immediately on alert. “What the hell, Nick!? You know my feelings towards them!” Todd says loudly, anger creeping into his voice.

  “Trust me, you’d want to talk to this one, Todd. I haven’t done you wrong yet, buddy! But, uh, just in case, best try to not make a move on him first. That means no visions, no making him unlucky, and please, no guns!”

  “Fine!” Todd ends the call before Nick can say anything else, not in the mood to talk anymore.

  He paces around the room for a good while before going to check on the drawer beside his bed. He looks at the semi-automatic pistol inside, and against Nick’s warning, takes it with him as he prepares for the meeting.

  Just a few minutes after eating breakfast, a loud knock reverberates throughout the house. Todd hides the pistol behind him, wedging it in his belt, before answering the door. Opening the door, a large and well built man stands before Todd.

  “Are you Todd Hana?” A gravelly voice akin to muted thunder asks.

  Todd takes a good look at the man in a rather casual attire, his black jacket just barely hiding his rippling muscle, as he replies. “Depends on who’s looking for him.”

  “You may call me Adam Locke, Mr. Hana. Now if you don’t mind, I think it’s best if we have a conversation inside.”

  Not waiting for any prompt from Todd, Adam barges inside and makes his way to the living room.

  “What the fuck? Who do you think you are barging into my home!?” Todd, immediately on edge, points the pistol at the large man.

  “Someone who can help you with your problem if you help with mine. Please, close the door, might just prevent prying ears from eavesdropping.” Adam calmly replies, unperturbed by the pistol pointed at him, as he sits down on a sofa.

  Todd deflates a bit as he sees the nonchalant reaction, knowing by now that those who can act like this at the threat of a gun is most likely someone like him, a Rift.

  He puts the gun down, closes the door, then tensely joins Adam, sitting across from him with the gun still in hand. “So, what do you want, cop?”

  The large man scrutinizes Todd with a critical eye for a moment before speaking “Your friend has alluded to your ability to see things beyond what is in front of you yet looking at your records, it seems you have yet to see the very cause of your awakening. I believe I may be able to help with that, provided, of course, that you also help me with something.” He says a bit matter of factly with a tone that suggests that the conclusion is already set in stone and he’s just going through the motions.

  Todd’s temper flares once more at the thought of Nick blabbing on about his personal info, especially to a cop, but reins it. He takes a breath to calm himself knowing that Nick, ever the bleeding heart altruist, only really has his best interest at heart.

  “That was what the detective said back then too, you know. I go help you guys and you wipe my slate clean, give me a chance to start over. He screwed me over badly though, what would make you any different from him?” Todd snorts derisively.

  “Because I-” Adam’s eyes glow with a pale blue as a faint smell of ozone wafts through the air. The immediate surroundings of the two men suddenly buzzing with electricity as lights and appliances start going on and off randomly. “-have real power. Not power derived from my position but power that is my own.” He says before his eyes turn back to normal and the charged atmosphere goes away.

  “Neat trick, well, if you have all that power, why even need my help?” Todd asks, a bit defiantly, trying not to sound intimidated by the earlier display.

  “Ah, well…” Adam rubs the stubble on his chin “my power is not one for subtlety, I’m afraid. Most like us would feel me coming and my target has proven elusive, always just beneath my notice until it’s too late. You, on the other hand, Mr. Hana, can be one step ahead and be sneaky about it.”

  Todd takes a long, hard look at Adam, thinking how much he can trust this man. As the question echoes in his mind, the world darkens in his vision as 22 cards with various symbols appear behind Adam’s back. They shuffle among themselves until the symbol of a downward sword with weighing scales for its pommel reveals itself. Justice. ‘How apt…’ Todd thinks, not entirely liking what he sees. ‘How will this affect my family?’ asking another question which prompts the cards to shuffle once more until it settles on a symbol depicting a large wheel. The Wheel of Fortune.

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  His questions answered, the cards disappear and the world brightens once more, the vision lasting but an instant.

  “Alright, cop, I’ll work with you.” Todd stares directly into Adam’s eyes as Adam sees his own reflection with an image of a skeleton with wings playing a trumpet behind him, seemingly staring down at him. “But know that I can bring down Judgement on you if you try to screw me over.” Todd blinks and Adam smirks as he replies “I keep my promises, Mr. Hana, you should already know that.”

  Adam stands up and hands Todd a card with the words Golden Thread Salon embroidered on it. “Meet me there tomorrow at 8pm, I’ll brief you then with the others.

  Todd takes the card, observes it for a bit before looking at Adam with a questioning look “Others?”

  “Of course, it be best to have a crew for such a job. Not every Rift can walk away from a deadly fight unscathed or, more importantly, alive. And I believe we both know that you’re not exactly much of a fighter aside from that gun you wave around.”

  Adam starts walking for the door as Todd stares down in front of him, reminiscing on the past.

  “I thank you for your time, Mr. Hana. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to invite your new crew.” The large man bids farewell as he exits the house and closes the door.

  “Damn it Nick, this is what you wanted to happen, isn’t it?” Todd mutters under his breath, old names coming to his mind. Santa. Chronos. Wolf Boy. And him, The Fool that he is.

  ~~Enas City Central Library, The Old Quarter District~~

  A bespectacled teenage boy climbs up the large library’s steps, keys in hand, as he prepares to open the vault of history and knowledge to the city at large, or at least he’d like to think that’s the job he’s doing.

  By his side is a black coated Great Dane that guards the teen, alert at every movement, letting out little huffs as if to say ‘All is good, you may continue’ every once in a while.

  The teen smiles at the dog’s daily routine and pets the dog as he unlocks the entrance. “Thanks, Berry! Never change!”

  He then goes about his daily routine of turning on the lights of every publicly used room, dusting every surface, and checking if each book is in its proper place. A quiet hum on his lips as he does so, filling the empty rooms and silent corridors.

  Satisfied with his work so far, he looks around for some choice works for his own pleasure. He takes them with him as he steps into the shadows and reappears from another one by the front desk where he sits down, patiently reading as he waits for anyone that would need his assistance.

  Berry, on the other hand, sniffs and paces around the teen, in a bid to detect would be dangers and/or intruders. Seemingly satisfied as well, he proudly walks toward the teen before plopping down on his feet, ready to sleep the day away.

  It was shaping up to be a quiet, lazy, regular day for the pair when a distant thunderous boom echoed outside.

  Berry jumps to his feet at the sound, moving in front of the teen with ears folded back and growl forming at his throat. The dog’s muscle flexes and seemingly inflates a bit as he moves to a pouncing posture.

  “What’s wrong boy?” The teen worriedly looks at his companion then at the front door it slowly creeks open.

  “Aiden Arkus?” A booming voice asks, prompting the teen to cover his ears as the dog rushes viciously towards the large man that has entered their sanctuary, eyes filled with fury.

  Just as Berry pounced on the man, the man caught the dog by his neck with a single hand, foiling the dog’s attack. “You should tame your pet better. Rabid dogs tend to get put down.” The man advises, unfazed by the thrashing dog that’s beginning to grow bigger and hotter.

  “I’m sorry! He’s just overprotective! Down, Barry! Down!” Aiden rushes after Barry, hugging him and pulling him back from the man, all the while petting the dog to make him calm down.

  “I suppose I was too loud. My apologies, boy. You haven’t answered my question though, are you Aiden Arkus?”

  “Yes, that’s me. Uhm, how may I be of service today, sir?” Aiden continues to pet Berry who has calmed down a bit but is still growling at the man.

  “Detective Adam Locke, I’m here today to enlist your help in catching someone.”

  “Uhm, I think you got it wrong, sir, I’m just a librarian. I can help find you a book, maybe fetch you a phone directory or access publicly available records?”

  “Between your smarts, that dog, and your abilities, I’m pretty sure I got things right.”

  Aiden starts to sweat nervously at the man’s words. “I-I don’t know what you mean, sir. The only ability I have is arranging all the books here using the Dewey Decimal System.”

  “No need to lie, boy. If you wanted to hide it, you should’ve gotten a leash for the dog. He gives you away pretty easily even right now.” Adam points to the dog who growls deeper, liquid fire dripping from his lips.

  Fear and distrust etches itself into Aiden’s face as he hugs Berry close. “Please don’t hurt him! I promise to train him better! He’s just trying to protect me!” he pleas with a hint of desperation in his voice.

  “Calm down, boy, and you as well dog. I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to, not in this place, at least. As I said, I’m here to ask for help and I promise to properly reward you both once your work is done.”

  Aiden takes a breath before replying “I, I can try, just don’t take Berry from me, sir. Do you have their description?” he asks before talking to Berry.

  “It’s okay boy, he said he wouldn’t hurt us. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for now, okay?” Berry looks into Aiden’s eyes to see if the teen actually believes they are safe before puffing out a plume of ash from his nostrils.

  “I know someone who does and it would be better to get it straight from them. Besides, this place isn’t secure enough for such a discussion, you never know who or what could be listening.” Adam fully enters the library, closing the door behind me.

  “That sounds…ominous. And ominous usually means dangerous…”

  “Don’t you worry, boy, you won’t be doing this task alone. There will be others to help you.”

  “Oh, uhm, are they nice people?” Aiden asks, cautiously optimistic at the thought of meeting new people. ‘It would be nice to expand our circle of two. Maybe then me and Berry can learn how to properly socialize.’ Aiden thinks to himself.

  “Hmmm nice-ish at the very least, I’m still rounding out the roster. But I digress, here, you can meet them all at this location tomorrow at 8pm. Just make sure your dog is more behaved then.” Adam gives Aiden a card with the words Golden Thread Salon and Blue Collar District right below the first one.

  “Berry will be in his best behavior, won’t you boy?” Aiden playfully cups the dog’s face and Berry replies by licking Aiden’s face, making the teen chuckle.

  “If you say so. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll see you tomorrow, Aiden.” Adam gives a nod at the teen and a brief glance at the dog as he leaves, not waiting for Aiden’s reply.

  Closing the door once more behind him, Adam slowly looks around, bringing his full attention to his surroundings. It was eerily quiet as he walked down the steps of the library, feeling the various and distant gazes upon himself.

  “Such a warm place, as you all can see, I’m already leaving. Best not stare too long, I might just take it as a challenge. I’m not some young one you all can easily intimidate.” He says to no one in particular, taking out a baton crackling with an aura of electricity.

  The gazes linger a bit, shifting towards his baton before they all vanish save for one. A doll appears in the man’s path, seemingly from out of nowhere.

  “Just let my storm in so I can get going. I have a job to do, unlike some people.” Adam speaks to the doll to which its head drops down as if miming a single nod.

  Black storm clouds start forming above the library, flashes of lightning and rolling thunder forming inside of it. Adam nods back to the doll, raises his baton, and is promptly struck by a thick lightning bolt. After being struck, the only thing left from where he was standing was traces of scorched earth and the smell of burnt ozone. The doll on the ground falls down on its back, looking up at the receding black clouds.